To: Heidi in Germany

Deutschland

My first postcard is going to Germany!

How super exciting! I've been to Germany once in my life for a school trip and it was a wonderful experience- one of the few that I will never forget. I remember that my hair was super blonde when I went to Berlin but, I hadn't touched up my roots and I remember (back then) looking at pictures and thinking 'why didn't I go to the salon?' Haha!


I believe that when ever you travel you leave a piece of you behind and you take a piece of that place back home with you. The one thing I took from Germany was the history, the rich stories form WWII that not only seeped deep in the land of that nation but, spilled into the oceans and travelled far into the seas.

I don't know why I am so fascinated with the facts and history form World War II but, I am. I remember standing in the center of the city of Berlin and looking east, thinking that was once territory of the Soviet Union, and then looking west, thinking that the 'western' buildings were a bit outdated compared to the newly constructed eastern part of Berlin. But, that feeling in the center of the city didn't compare to the feeling I had when my class and I went to Oranienburg, Germany to visit a concentration camp. Being inside the Sachsenhausen concentration camp brought goosebumps and chills to my body. I was so glad I went there, learned as much as I did, and experienced all that I did. Maybe it was that moment in that camp, being in the middle of it all, that triggered my interest in the war.

Postcard of the Statue of Liberty.

Because of my trip to Germany I was very excited to be picking out a postcard for Heidi. I had walked up and down an avenue full of shops and restaurants near my house and I couldn't find any postcards! None what so ever. I know I don't live in Manhattan but, my neighborhood is still on the map! Sure, it's predominantly Hispanic and there are tamales stands in the corner but, does no one want to send a postcard back home to mom and dad in Mexico?  

Written postcard to Heidi. 

The one place I did find a stand of postcards was the last place I'd look- in a cigar shop! I don't know what made me go in there and check it out but, I did. And, in the very back of the shop hidden by the greeting cards was a stand of old, yellowed postcards. All I could think was, 'good thing Heidi wasn't picky on which postcard to get her', because there was no variety! I kept looking for a date stamp because I was certain they were a few decades old but, I couldn't find any. In the end I decided to take old lady liberty home.

A hand made envelope.

I decided to make hand made envelopes to everyone across the world that I would send a postcard to. Yes, I know that a postcard doesn't need an envelope but, I didn't want it to get ruined while it traveled all those miles across the sea. And mainly, it was my way out out of having to buy envelopes and an amazing opportunity to get creative.     

Heidi, I hope you liked your little surprise in the mail and are doing well in that land far, far away. 

xoxo, 

Mariela