Christmas Postcrossing has reached its fourth edition this year and it only feels like yesterday that AEGEE-Warszawa first announced on Facebook a new and interesting event. If you don’t know what we are talking about, then read this article and find out more about the story behind it. We had a little talk with Wiola Rudnicka, the organiser of this edition to tell us more about it.
Paulo Magalhães, initiator of Postcrossing from Portugal
The AEGEEan: Let’s begin by telling us how, when and where did this initiative start?
Wiola: The idea of Postcrossing started few years ago, and the first edition was not Christmas Postcrossing but Summer Holidays Postcrossing coordinated by Aneta Bielicka, the PR responsible at the time. Last edition was coordinated by the current president of AEGEE-Warszawa, Marta Pąk. My history started during one of our AEGEE weekly meetings. Marta described a few projects, and between other this one, and after she finished I offered to coordinate it. For me the idea is fantastic and I love receiving Christmas cards. [she smiles]
How does it work exactly?
The main task and the hardest is to send all e-mails to everyone with details about all the addresses and members, but before you do it you need to send the application form, where you need to write your personal details and something about yourself. It was not obligatory and not everyone did this, but some of the applicants wrote really nice and very, very long descriptions and their feelings about Christmas. It was very nice to read some of them. [she smiles]
Then you must remind people about this event on Facebook and spread the information among your friends. The closer to the deadline, the more you remind AEGEEans about filling in the form. This is the hardest work; it is like a three-day “date” with your laptop, while sending e-mails all the time with few breaks to eat something and trying to have a little break for your eyes and your backbone.
When it is over, you feel satisfaction that you have done, but later you need to remind people to send their Christmas cards. I am sure that 80% of them unfortunately will not be received before Christmas, but still it will be nice to receive them anyway. For the coordinator, the best time is when you can see all the Christmas cards uploaded on Facebook and you are happy that they received something, which they were expecting so much for so long.
At the end you just enjoy watching all cards and of course, the one that you are going to receive. I really cannot wait to receive the one that was prepared for me and I am full of hope that mine will also be delivered someday.
How many applicants did you have this year? Is the number of applicants bigger than last year?
This year we received 743 applications, so it is a really nice number. Last year it was more or less around the same. I hope that next year the number of applicants will be enhanced.
Did you encounter any challenges along the process? How did you manage to overcome them? 
Yes, I have encountered a few challenges. Encouraging people was quite nice and easy, however, I would of course like to engage even more people to take part in such a fantastic project. [she smiles] The biggest challenge I encountered, was sending all the e-mails. I did not imagine that it could take so long. There was a moment when I was fed up with this.
However, I was sure that all the smiling faces and all of the Christmas cards that are already travelling, and will travel all over Europe, will be uploaded on Facebook and I would then feel that it was a good job. You may think that such a small card is nothing, but I have learnt during my life that our lives are made up of little things, so we should be more sensitive and cherish each moment. I love to receive cards, and to receive it from a person I do not know, is even more exciting.
The second thing was related to e-mails that “came back” to me, because they were miswritten. I received a lot of e-mails and messages informing me that people were still waiting for their addresses. I tried to handle this as soon as possible and logged in to my e-mail and Facebook every day to check if there is still someone waiting for an e-mail from me.
How do you plan to improve the whole process?
I would like to improve the process by finding one person to help. It was only me sending all the e-mails to all AEGEEans taking part in Postcrossing. I had a small delay and I did not like the fact that people had to wait more for their e-mails than they should. I would also like somehow to engage more people next year to beat the record. [she smiles]
How many people are in the organising team?
In the organising team of the 4th edition of the Christmas Postcrossing there was only me, however, I must and want to mention again Marta Pąk. She is my “mentor”, she has been helping me a lot and giving me great feedback, so I would really like to thank her for it. [she smiles]
What would be one of the most interesting postcards you have received and from whom?
It is the first time that I am taking part in Postcrossing, as I am an AEGEE member since September. However, the best Christmas card I have received is from my friend from Germany.
I did not think I was going to receive anything from anyone, because nowadays people do not send cards, rather messages on mobiles or through Facebook, so I was surprised. She also added some traditional German sweets. It was really nice.
What do you wish to all the AEGEE members for Christmas and the upcoming year?
What I wish…
I wish to all AEGEE members for Christmas and the upcoming year the gift of Faith, the Blessing of Hope and the Peace of Love at Christmas and always. And of course, I wish them also happiness and success in both their private and AEGEE lives. And at the very end – I also wish that all the Christmas cards will be delivered to their addresses and all the people will enjoy them. [she smiles]
Written by Gabriela Geană, AEGEE-București