This is the sender's first every Postcrossing card. It is a new year's message wishing me well in the Year of the Horse. Year of the Horse elements include: Fire Yang Cardinal Point - South Lucky Numbers 4, 5, 7 Avoid Numbers 2, 3, 6 Lucky Flowers are sunflower and jasmine Lucky Colours are gold, orange, yellow, red Avoid Colours black, green, blue Season - Summer

The sender works for, I am assuming, for an NGO (non-governmental organization ), in Mali. The photo depicts the production of clay pot via smoke firing. This method of firing pottery would have been used in the earliest example of pottery production. 

As a junior high school teacher, I always appreciate a good play on words. The sender mentions that they were also a junior high school teacher and were involved in a lot of extracurricular activities. These included theatre and debate, which they affectionately refer to as the "little nerd clubs that need space." I couldn't agree more with the importance of extracurricular activities in junior high school. They give students opportunities to explore their interests, develop new skills and, perhaps most importantly, find a place where they feel comfortable and accepted. Everyone deserves somewhere they can go to be with "their people."

Hwaseong was selected in 2007 as the proposed site for Universal Studios South Korea, a massive theme park planned for development south of Seoul. The original proposal called for a US$3.1-billion investment and envisioned a park larger than the other four Universal Studios theme parks combined. The project was expected to create more than 58,000 jobs. The original plans targeted an opening in 2012, although the date was subsequently pushed back. In 2014, the project was cancelled after difficulties securing financing and reaching agreements over the land. Plans were revived in 2015, with a new consortium selected to develop an international theme park that would include a Universal Studios attraction. However, Universal Studios denied having any involvement in the revived project. The plans continued to encounter financial difficulties, and by 2020, the Universal Studios South Korea proposal had officially been abandoned.

This is one of those great Lantern Press cards. The sender mentions that the Boston Bruins are scheduled to play the Vancouver Canucks the day she sent the card. The Canucks were so bad last year I'm sure they lost that game. :(

This card features the Hawa Mahal  ( هوا محل ) , a palace is Jaipur. It was completed in 1799 and is built from red and pink sandstone. It is famous for its honeycomb-like  façade, featuring numerous small windows and balconies.  There are 953 windows, known as jharokhas, which are arranged in a honeycomb-like pattern. These openings facilitate natural ventilation, helping to keep the interior of the palace cool during the summers.  The building was ordered by Rajput Emperor Maharaja Sawai Prayap Singh, the grandson of Maharaja Sawai Jai Sin gh, the founder of Jaipur.

A great lenticular card from Featherdale Wildlife Park in Sydney. The zoo is located in the Sydney suburb of Doonside and is home to a wide variety of native Australian animals. It is known for having one of the world's largest collections of Australian wildlife. The park features animal displays, special events and interactive experiences, giving visitors the opportunity to get up close with some of Australia's best-known wildlife. It specializes in native Australian animals, including birds, reptiles and marsupials.

Did you know that a female seal was called a cow? Did you know that a male seal is a bull? Did you know a baby seal is a calf? I did! But did you know??

These New Year's wishes come from Fukuoka ( 福岡市) , the capital of Fukuoka Prefecture on the island of Kyūshū. The city is part of the heavily industrialized Fukuoka–Kitakyūshū zone, one of Japan's major industrial and economic regions. One of Fukuoka's more interesting attractions is Canal City Hakata (キャナルシティ博多), a large shopping and entertainment complex often described as a "city within a city." It features shops, cafés, restaurants, a theatre, an arcade, cinemas, two hotels and, as its name suggests, a canal that runs through the complex. Located between Fukuoka's two major commercial districts, Hakata and Tenjin, and adjacent to the city's entertainment district, Canal City has become a popular tourist attraction and a commercial success. Its distinctive architecture, fountains and open spaces create an atmosphere that feels almost like an oasis, with much of the surrounding city hidden from view. In 2017, the complex welcomed more than 17 million vi...

The sender comes from Incheon, but he card comes from Busan. The photo shows Bukcheonsa temple in Yeodgdo.  Bokcheonsa Temple  복천사  is a historic Korean Buddhist temple on the slopes of Bongnaesan Mountain in Yeongdo, Busan , overlooking the harbour and sea. Traditionally associated with the late-Goryeo monk Naong, it combines an old temple heritage with an unusually scenic hillside setting and is designated as one of Busan’s traditional temples.  Tradition holds that Naong (나옹화상) founded the temple in the late Goryeo period, although the precise date and circumstances are uncertain. It was historically known as Haeunam (해운암) and later Bokcheonam before taking its present name; in 2008, it was designated Traditional Temple No. 31.  Bokcheonsa is especially significant for its collection of Buddhist paintings, ritual objects, and texts. Its holdings include the Ksitigarbha and Ten Kings Painting , Amitabha Pure Land Assembly Painting , Josanggyeong , and other de...

Stanley is a city of approximately 2,300 people in northwestern North Dakota. Its economy is closely tied to the oil industry and the Bakken Formation, a major oil-producing geological formation that extends across northwestern North Dakota, northeastern Montana, and parts of southern Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Oil was first discovered in the Bakken Formation in the 1950s, but extracting it was considered too expensive with the technology available at the time. This changed in the late 2000s with advances in horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing (fracking), which made extraction economically viable and sparked an oil boom in the region. The Bakken became one of the largest onshore oil-producing areas in the United States outside Texas and California. In a 2008 assessment, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) estimated that the Bakken Formation contained between 3.0 and 4.3 billion barrels of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil, with a mean estimate of 3.65 billion barrels.

This is a great first-day cover card commemorating the 2024 Winter Youth Olympic Games (2024년 동계 청소년 올림픽), held in Gangwon, South Korea. The card highlights cross-country skiing. The 2024 Winter Youth Olympics brought together more than 1,800 athletes representing 78 countries. Cross-country skiing featured 160 competitors and was held at the Alpensia Biathlon Centre (알펜시아 크로스컨트리 경기장) in Daegwallyeong-myeon. The five events and their gold medal winners were: Men's Sprint Freestyle: Federico Pozzi, Italy Men's 7.5 km Classic: Jakob Moch, Germany Women's Sprint Freestyle: Elsa Tänglander, Sweden Women's 7.5 km Classic: Nelli-Lotta Karppelin, Finland 4 × 5 km Mixed Relay: Sarah Hoffman, Jonas Müller, Lena Einsiedler and Jakob Moch, Germany Germany had the most successful cross-country skiing team, winning two gold and two silver medals. Sweden finished with a gold and a silver, while Finland collected a gold and a bronze.

The sender is from Dettelback but the card comes from  Würzburg. In the picture is the Old Main Bridge. On the back, the caption about the photo reads:  Evening atmosphere at the Old Main Bridge. On the eastern side of the bridge—which was constructed as a stone structure between 1473 and 1543—stand the Town Hall, with its romantic "Grafeneckart" tower, and St. Kilian’s Cathedral. The bridge’s Baroque appearance, featuring statues of saints, was only added from 1730 onwards.

I wish I could tell you about the photograph on the postcard or where you can find this particular card, but all the information is in Japanese. If I manage to figure it out, I'll update this post. Yokohama is Japan's second-largest city by population, with approximately 3.7 million people. It is located on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, and is an important economic, cultural, and commercial centre within the Greater Tokyo Area. It is also part of the Keihin Industrial Zone, one of Japan's major industrial regions. The transformation from a fishing village of 600 people into a city of nearly 3.8 million is remarkable. It also provides a good explanation for why Yokohama became such an important international city. One of Yokohama's most recognizable areas is Minato Mirai 21 (みなとみらい21), the city's central business district. Its name translates roughly as "Harbour of the Future 21." Development began in 1983, with the goal of creating a new urban centre that wou...

When I think of England, I certainly don't think of mountains. However, in the Lake District National Park in northern England, there are some impressive peaks. The postcard shows five of them: Skiddaw – At 931 metres, Skiddaw is the fourth-highest mountain in England. It is one of the more accessible Lake District mountains of this height, with a well-trodden walking route leading from a car park northeast of Keswick. The mountain lends its name to the surrounding areas of Skiddaw Forest and Back o' Skiddaw, as well as the isolated Skiddaw House, a former shooting lodge and youth hostel. Skiddaw slate is used to make tuned percussion instruments, including the Musical Stones of Skiddaw, which are held at the Keswick Museum and Art Gallery. Striding Edge – This is a narrow, rocky ridge on the approach to Helvellyn, England's third-highest mountain, which stands at 950 metres. Striding Edge is a popular but challenging hiking route that involves some scrambling. It connect...

Hope Mills is a town of almost 18 000 people in North Carolina and can trace its beginnings to 1766, but the first permanent settlement was established in 1789. The natural water power and abundant timber in the area attracted a variety of businesses, including a lumber camp, sawmill, gristmill, and pottery works. The first cotton mill was built in 1839 and was powered by the Hope Mills Dam. The cotton industry became an important part of the local economy. However, during the American Civil War, General William T. Sherman's Union soldiers burned the cotton mill and many other buildings to the ground. The original dam was built to provide power for the cotton mills and created a lake of almost 90 acres. The lake eventually became an important recreational feature of the community. However, the dam has had several problems. It failed in 2003 following heavy rainfall and breached again in 2010 because of problems beneath the spillway. The current dam was rebuilt and completed in 2016...

Meizhou (梅州) is a city of almost four million people located in northeastern Guangdong Province, China. Its economy is based largely on mineral resources and tourism. There are 48 identified types of minerals in the area, including coal, iron, limestone, rare earth clay, and porcelain clay. Tourism attractions include historic sites dating back to the Tang dynasty, former residences of notable historical figures, natural scenery, and distinctive Hakka cultural sites. Meizhou is often referr ed to as the Hakka capital of the world. The Hakka are a distinctive cultural group of Han Chinese whose ancestors migrated south from northern China, particularly the Yellow River region, over several centuries. These migrations were influenced by warfare, political upheaval, and the search for new places to settle. The Hakka developed their own distinctive language, traditions, architecture, and cuisine. Many people in Meizhou speak the Meixian variety of Hakka, which is one of the best-known form...

This card shows a duck-billed dinosaur called Hypacrosaurus . Fossils of this dinosaur have been found in Alberta and Montana, where it lived approximately 70–75 million years ago. It could grow to about nine metres in length and weigh up to four tonnes. Hypacrosaurus had a hollow, rounded crest on the top of its head. Scientists believe it may have been used for communication, possibly producing sounds or helping individuals recognize one another. Like other duck-billed dinosaurs, it was a herbivore. Its many tightly packed teeth formed grinding surfaces that helped it chew tough vegetation. One particularly interesting connection is that Hypacrosaurus nesting sites and eggs have been discovered in southern Alberta, including the Devil's Coulee area near Warner. These discoveries provide evidence about how the dinosaurs reproduced and developed. Fossils have been discovered representing different stages of development, from embryos and hatchlings to adults. This has allowed palaeo...

Shinjuku is one of Tokyo's 23 special wards and a major secondary centre of the city, with significant commercial and administrative districts. During the 1960s, it became a hub for new ideas and artistic avant-garde movements. Young filmmakers associated with the Japanese New Wave frequently used Shinjuku as the setting for their films, including Diary of a Shinjuku Thief , Shinjuku Mad , and Funeral Parade of Roses . Café Fugetsudo became a popular gathering place for artists, intellectuals, and members of Tokyo's LGBTQ+ community during the 1960s. Among those who frequented the café were actor Takeshi Kitano, artist Taro Okamoto, actor and singer Akihiro Miwa, poet Gozo Yoshimasu, and filmmaker Shuji Terayama.

I love this type of Chinese art. In English on the back the caption says:   I call dusk in the word.  I collect the word gentle to see you.