It's been almost 2 years that I did not write letters to friends and some penpals due to the pandemic. The letters I sent in late 2019 and early 2020 did not arrived the recipients, some were lost and some were returned to sender. Just like this letter which I sent to my friend in USA which was actually returned to sender because it was "unclaimed".
I sent this letter in December 2019 and it was expected to arrive in USA in late January 2020, but this time was the start of Covid-19. There were restrictions and the letter was not delivered, claimed and then it was returned to me around July 2020. It made me sad. Aside from it was costly and it was just returned to sender, the efforts in sending it seemed to be put to vain. But these are realities in sending letters, one can experience lost mails, return to sender mails and letters not responded by recipients.
However, I was able to receive a letter from Suriname which arrived to me at least 5 months after it was sent. It was a Christmas card for 2020 and I received it in May 2021. I know this friend from IG and she never failed to send me a letter every year for Christmas or my birthday. She is so thoughtful and mind you, all of her cards are handmade by her.
I was so happy when I received this letter card.
Why I love to write to penpals and friends?
When I was just new in this platform, I wrote these articles:
Pen pals? Is it still existing?
The first one tells about my journey in writing to penpals, while the other one are the steps on how to have penpals. I am writing letters since elementary up to now.
I believe in the art of letter writing. It conveys a different message when it is written by hand. You got to know people because of the letters sent and received. I love to exchange messages to people through this way. It gives me happiness to seem talking to them through the every word written in the letter. It is a means of communication.
I missed writing letters.
So this month, I decided to start writing again. The first card I sent was for my aunt for her birthday. I did not use the Post Office for sending it, instead I use J & T since they have discount rates now and I also have some items to give her and I am happy that she was glad when she received it.
And I am now preparing to send Christmas cards to some of my friends and relatives abroad. I know how these people missed Philippines and receiving cards from Philippines would surely brighten their day. I would also be sending postcards to penpals as well. I bought these supplies from a Japanese thrift shop here in our place and these cards were very affordable but have a good quality.
Want to receive a postcard from me? Just let me know how I can reach you so that I can have your address and I will be sending a postcard to you with high hopes that it will arrive your doorstep.
Special Note:
I was happy that I was able to read an article written by @Yzza0625 - The Last Time I Wrote A Letter. I just felt happy that there were also writers here who loves to write like me.
That's all for now. Keep safe!
~Miz Lhaine
this is nostalgic. i have had a lot of pen friends in the country and used to pen Palling back in the 90,s. it was fun and that was the time i developed my writing skills.
snail mail these days is commonly used by companies to send to send notice and other billing notifications and the act of writing people has been revolutionized by emails.
I think this is more sense of value if we write people by means of this traditional letter sending via air mail. the connection between people is more valuable than with instant messages .
add me on twitter @bjorn_biorn