Mount Etna

Mount Etna is an iconic site encompassing 19,237 uninhabited hectares on the highest part of Mount Etna, on the eastern coast of Sicily. Mount Etna is the highest Mediterranean island mountain and the most active stratovolcano in the world. 

The eruptive history of the volcano can be traced back 500,000 years and at least 2,700 years of this activity has been documented. The almost continuous eruptive activity of Mount Etna continues to influence volcanology, geophysics and other Earth science disciplines. 

The volcano also supports important terrestrial ecosystems including endemic flora and fauna and its activity makes it a natural laboratory for the study of ecological and biological processes. The diverse and accessible range of volcanic features such as summit craters, cinder cones, lava flows and the Valle de Bove depression have made the site a prime destination for research and education.

The Mirsky Castle Complex (Belarusian: Мірскі замак, Polish: Zamek w Mirze) is a UNESCO World Heritage site in Belarus.[1] It is located in the town of Mir, in the Karelichy District of the Hrodna voblast, at 53°27′4.46″N 26°28′22.80″E, 29 km to the north-west from another World Heritage site, Nesvizh Castle. Mir Castle Complex is situated at an elevation of 164 meters.

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Historic Centre of Warsaw

During the Warsaw Uprising in August 1944, more than 85% of Warsaw's historic centre was destroyed by Nazi troops. After the war, a five-year reconstruction campaign by its citizens resulted in today's meticulous restoration of the Old Town, with its churches, palaces and market-place. It is an outstanding example of a near-total reconstruction of a span of history covering the 13th to the 20th century.

Melaka and George Town, Historic Cities of the Straits of Malacca

Melaka and George Town, historic cities of the Straits of Malacca have developed over 500 years of trading and cultural exchanges between East and West in the Straits of Malacca. The influences of Asia and Europe have endowed the towns with a specific multicultural heritage that is both tangible and intangible. 

With its government buildings, churches, squares and fortifications, Melaka demonstrates the early stages of this history originating in the 15th-century Malay sultanate and the Portuguese and Dutch periods beginning in the early 16th century. 

Featuring residential and commercial buildings, George Town represents the British era from the end of the 18th century. The two towns constitute a unique architectural and cultural townscape without parallel anywhere in East and Southeast Asia.

Paramaribo is a former Dutch colonial town dating from the 17th and 18th centuries planted on the Northeastern coast of tropical South America. Composed of mainly wooden buildings, the plain and symmetrical architectural style illustrating the gradual fusion of Dutch and other European architectural and later North American influences as well as elements from Creole culture, reflects the multi-cultural society of Suriname. 

The historic inner city is located along the left bank of the Suriname River and is defined by the Sommelsdijkse Kreek to the north and the Viottekreek to the south. Laid out from 1683 on a grid pattern along an axis running north-west from Fort Zeelandia, the main streets follow shell ridges which provided a naturally drained base for building. At the end of the 18th century, Dutch engineering and town planning skills enabled the town to be extended over marshy land to the north. 

Important elements in the townscape are Fort Zeelandia built in 1667 and the large public park (Garden of Palms) behind it, wide, tree-lined streets and open spaces; the Presidential Palace (1730) built in stone but with a wooden upper floor, the Ministry of Finance (1841) a monumental brick structure with classical portico and clock tower, the Reformed Church (1837) in Neoclassical style, and the Gothic Revival Roman Catholic Cathedral (1885) built in wood.

Antigua, Guatemala (Spanish pronunciation: [anˈtiɣwa ɣwateˈmala]) (commonly referred to as just Antigua or la Antigua) is a city in the central highlands of Guatemala famous for its well-preserved Spanish Baroque-influenced architecture as well as a number of ruins of colonial churches. It served as the capital of the Kingdom of Guatemala. It has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Antigua, Guatemala serves as the municipal seat for the surrounding municipality of the same name. It also serves as the departmental capital of Sacatepéquez Department.

Berat is a city and a municipality located in south-central Albania, and the capital of the County of Berat. In July 2008, the old town (Mangalem district) was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The municipality was formed at the 2015 local government reform by the merger of the former municipalities Berat, Otllak, Roshnik, Sinjë and Velabisht, that became municipal units. The seat of the municipality is the city Berat.The total population is 60,031 (2011 census), in a total area of 379.98 km2. The population of the former municipality at the 2011 census was 32,606.

Cologne Cathedral (German: Kölner Dom, officially Hohe Domkirche St. Petrus, Latin: Ecclesia Cathedralis Sanctorum Petri et Mariae, English: High Cathedral of Saints Peter and Mary) is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Cologne, Germany. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Cologne, currently, since his 2014 transfer from Berlin, Rainer Maria Cardinal Woelki, and of the administration of the Archdiocese of Cologne. It is a renowned monument of German Catholicism and Gothic architecture and is a World Heritage Site. It is Germany's most visited landmark, attracting an average of 20,000 people a day.

DE-3304602

UNESCO World Heritage Site

Type Cultural

Criteria i, ii, iv

Designated 1995 (20th session)

Reference no. 292

State Party Germany

Region Europe

Endangered 2004–2006

The Historic Centre of Macao, also known as the Historic Centre of Macau (Chinese: 澳門歷史城區; Portuguese: O Centro Histórico de Macau), is a collection of over twenty locations that witness the unique assimilation and co-existence of Chinese and Portuguese cultures in Macau, a former Portuguese colony. It represents the architectural legacies of the city's cultural heritage, including monuments such as urban squares, streetscapes, churches and temples.

In 2005 the Historic Centre of Macau was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, making it the 31st designated World Heritage site in China. It was described by UNESCO as: "with its historic street, residential, religious and public Portuguese and Chinese buildings, the historic centre of Macao provides a unique testimony to the meeting of aesthetic, cultural, architectural and technological influences from East and West," and "...it bears witness to one of the earliest and longest-lasting encounters between China and the West, based on the vibrancy of international trade.

Giant's Causeway and Causeway Coast

The Giant's Causeway lies at the foot of the basalt cliffs along the sea coast on the edge of the Antrim plateau in Northern Ireland. It is made up of some 40,000 massive black basalt columns sticking out of the sea. The dramatic sight has inspired legends of giants striding over the sea to Scotland. Geological studies of these formations over the last 300 years have greatly contributed to the development of the earth sciences, and show that this striking landscape was caused by volcanic activity during the Tertiary, some 50–60 million years ago.

Budapest, including the Banks of the Danube, the Buda Castle Quarter and Andrássy Avenue, holds a number of influential constructions from the Middle Ages to the late 19th century.

The Budapest World Heritage Site consists of three parts:
1. Buda Castle Quarter
This holds the city's medieval sites, with Buda Castle. Also there are the remains of the original Roman town Aquincum.

2. Banks of the Danube
This includes the Parliament (1884-1904) and the suspension bridge (1849).

3. Andrássy Avenue
The extension with Andrássy Avenue in the year 2000 included the Opera, Millennium Park and the Underground Railway.

Nesebar (often transcribed as Nessebar and sometimes as Nesebur, Bulgarian: Несебър, pronounced [nɛˈsɛbɐr], Thracian:Melsambria, Greek: Μεσημβρία, Mesembria) is an ancient town and one of the major seaside resorts on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast, located in Burgas Province. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Nesebar Municipality. Often referred to as the "Pearl of the Black Sea", Nesebar is a rich city-museum defined by more than three millennia of ever-changing history.

It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations and seaports on the Black Sea, in what has become a popular area with several large resorts—the largest, Sunny Beach, is situated immediately to the north of Nesebar.

Nesebar has on several occasions found itself on the frontier of a threatened empire, and as such it is a town with a rich history. The ancient part of the town is situated on a peninsula (previously an island) connected to the mainland by a narrow man-madeisthmus, and it bears evidence of occupation by a variety of different civilisations over the course of its existence. Its abundance of historic buildings prompted UNESCO to include Nesebar in its list of World Heritage Sites in 1983.

Paphos /ˈpæfɒs/ (Greek: Πάφος [ˈpafos]; Turkish: Baf) is a coastal city in the southwest of Cyprus and the capital of Paphos District. In antiquity, two locations were called Paphos: Old Paphos[2] and New Paphos.[3] The currently inhabited city, New Paphos, lies on the Mediterranean coast, about 50 km (31.07 mi) west of Limassol (the biggest port on the island), which has an A6 highway connection. Paphos International Airport is the country's second-largest airport.

Near Palaepaphos (Old Paphos) at the seaside of Petra tou Romiou is the modern mythical birthplace of Aphrodite, theGreek goddess of love and beauty, and the founding myth is interwoven with the goddess at every level, so that Old Paphos became the most famous and important place for worshipping Aphrodite in the ancient world. In Greco-Roman times, Paphos was the island's capital, and it is well known for the remains of the Roman governor's palace, where extensive, finemosaics are a major tourist attraction. Paul the Apostle visited the town during the first century AD. The town of Paphos is included in the official UNESCO list of cultural and natural treasures of the world's heritage.

The Historic Centre of Riga boasts the largest collection of Art Nouveau buildings in Europe. Between 1896 and 1913, the city expanded and a housing boom followed. The style which developed in Riga was influenced mainly by German, Austrian and Finnish architects. Mikhail Eisenstein is one of the most famous proponents of the style in Riga. 

After the revolution of 1905 a distinctively Latvian variation of Art Nouveau developed, known as National Romanticism. Architects started to use traditional Latvian folk elements and natural building materials. Typical elements were steep roofs, heavy structures and the use of ethnographic ornamental motifs. 

Riga as a city made its first mark in history in the 1201. In that year, Albert the Bishop of Bremen established his first German fortress here. With his Knights of the Sword he executed a Crusade to the Baltics. The town started to prosper as a trading station. This resulted in joining the Hanseatic League in 1282.

2012 Postcrossing in My Classroom

I have been a member of Postcrossing for almost a year now.. 356 days to be exact.. http://www.postcrossing.com/user/Erica8899  so far I have sent 86 postcards and received 78 postcards.. I do a lot of direct swap too with members of several FB postcard groups..

:)  In case you are wondering, Postcrossing  is an online project that allows you to send and receive postcards from all over the world!   

I have another blog : http://spoons-of-love.blogspot.com/, where I uploaded some of my postcards collection..  Do visit my postcard blog ! :p but  haven't updated it yet since last June.. will do so in a week or two.. :)

This year (January 2012), I'd organize a program called 'Learning English is Fun'. It's a POSTCARD EXCHANGE program with my high school students aged 13 to 15 years old. It can be a one time exchange or continuously throughout the school year (once a month).

My students will most probably write about themselves, their family, hobbies and ambition etc.. You have to bear in mind, that they are 13 to 15 years old students.. As English will be their second or third language, They don't really know how to write in ENGLISH very well.. :-)

All postcards that will be send through this program will be written by the students under teacher's supervision.


Here is the link to the FB Page :  https://www.facebook.com/Teacher.EricaChan

So far, most of the students had at least received one or two postcards from their pen-pal.. only a few are still waiting for a reply from their pen-pal...

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These are the list of My Postcrossing Friends who Participate in this program:

1 x  Exchange
- Amy Steely : Chung Xing Yi (G), Tiatira Justin (G) & Abdul Majid (B)
- Yenny Rere : M.Rahimi (B)
- Olya Manina : Haslinda Md.Irwan (G)
- Ralf Hinterhölzl : Christine Famila

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Once A Month

Philippines
- Jonathan Blaza : Christine Familla
- Eduard Azurin : Nur Hajjratul Aswa

USA
- Georgina Muela : Nur Fadzilah (Girl)
- Ria Cabral : Nur Atikah , Tiatira Justin & Ellis Chu Yee Mee (G)
- Amy Genberg : Siti Syazira (G)
- Gregory Lentz : Agustitin (G)
- Linda Roberson : Nuraina Syawana (G) & Ali Azrul (B)
- Kim Hansen Amundsen : Nur Fatehah
- John McDade : Md.Norazman
- Suzanne Lee : Nur Shafinaz
- Lori Holmes Fournier : Siti Nur Farah Ain
- Hallie Berline Feldman : Mohd Uwaiz
- Carrie Courter : M. Syahrizal
- Shelia Dawn Carter : Syazana Nadiah


Malaysia
- Jiaqi Holiday : Ibrahim (Boy)

Netherlands
- Christel Van der Ree : Chung Xing Yi (G)
- Monique Dubbeldam : Nurul Ezanni (G)
- Edith De Jong Hof : Ikhwan Zainal (B)
- Marcel de Jong : Abdul Majid (B)
-Annemieke Reinderink : Mohd Syamirul

United Kingdom
- Julia Aulich : Nur Atirah (G)
- Patrycja Jasinska : Rahimi Ramlan (B)
- Gilly White : Nur Ain (G)

Germany
- Katrin Witzmann : Nurul Fatin Syafiqah (G)
- Felix Rommel : Nurul Izzah Syazwani (G)
- Anke Gunther : Sakilah Sainan (G)
- Benedikt Binder : Ibrahim (B)
- Penelope Avril Binder : Nur Nabila (G)
- Britta Fritsche : M.Rahmat (B)
- Melanie Becker : Nur Ilya Shamiza (G)
- Santa Mervien Alexandra : Edika Sharul

Romania
- Calin Zborovsky : Nur Farahdila (G)

India
- Bhaskar Pakrasi : Nurul Syahirah (G)
- Shivani S Poojary : Nurul Asmiatinah (G)
- Colin D'souza : Ariina Natasya (G)

Australia
- Nicole Hansell : Siti Hamizah (G)
- Annie Jones : Ismail Harun (B)
- Vikki McGrath : NorMaisara (G)

Indonesia
- Peifen Lin : Nurasimah (G)
- Hardian Syahputra : Nasir Sobre (B)
- Priscilla Cieldz : J.Nurnismaliah (g)

Taiwan
- Yi Ting Chen : Dayang Maysarah (G)
- Sherry Chiang : Nur Shazarinah (G)
- Paoli Lee : M.Hakimi Muis (B)
Siti Nur Azmahani (G)
Norazman Hadisel


Canada
- Linda J Milsap : Nazzura Sutrisno (G)

Costa Rica
- Soph Machado : M.Hakimi Hamidi (B)

Czech Republic
- Luci M. Kraus : M. Syahrizal (B)
- Marketa Selinijana : Nuriza Kallang (G)

Thailand
- Miso Pim : Dg. Siti Noorhafiza (G)
- Tukta Chaywichian : Siti NurNatasha Amira (G)

Denmark
- Sabrine Kortsen : Siti Aishah Jafri (G)

Japan
- Saya Kitajima : Md. Shahrul Niezam (B)

Poland
- Klaudia Ziegiel : Nasrulnizam
- Pawel Maciejewski : M.Hanafee

Finland
- Satu Kylmälä : Mohd Shahrazi

Trinidad and Tobago
-Angel Boodoo : Mohd Shafiq Sabie

Brazil
- Maria Gabriela Dias : Dannyen Johnny

Scotland
- Hannah Kennedy : Normeraznah Adbul Musad

Portugal
- Ana Serodio Fernandes :Syazana Nadiah
- Celeste Silva : Farahin Aimy

France
- Angelique Pavy : Karmila Ramli

 So, what is Postcrossing?? :) 

 

http://www.postcrossing.com/about

What is Postcrossing?

The objective of Postcrossing is to allow people to exchange postcards via mail (real mail, not email) with random Postcrossers from around the world. Oh, and it is absolutely free, meaning, if you send a postcard, you will receive one back from another random member.

How does Postcrossing work?

It goes like this:

1. Register on the website. You will need to provide your postal address so that you can receive postcards.
2. Request to send a postcard. An address is displayed along with the member's profile. This address is accompanied by a Postcard ID - a unique code that identifies your postcard.
3. Choose a postcard, write something nice on it along with the assigned Postcard ID, and mail it to the address you were given.
4. Wait, wait, wait. :-)
5. Hoorray! The card arrives to its destination and is registered by the user! Now you too will receive a postcard! 

Is it free?

The Postcrossing website is absolutely free! You will not receive any postcards if you do not send any; that is what makes the system work. The more postcards you send, the more you will receive. It is simple, but you still have to send postcards to make it work.

Note that you will need to spend money on postage to send the postcards and to buy postcards if you do not have any.