Things on Postcards that You Did Not Enjoy Reading Written by Postcrossers ? :(

It could very well have been an oversight. It has happened to me with a couple of Russian cards and one French one. I can read basic French. And the Russian ones, I was afraid they said something like F- Americans (considering the political situation) but I have a Russian brother in law who read them for me and the messages were very pleasant and positive. I believe you can use Google Translate and take a photo of the text in question. It seems to read clear handwriting though the translation may be questionable. Or as suggested by another Postcrosser you can get help on the forums.

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Here ( in the UK), I will always use the name and sign off with a ‘kind regards’ or ‘best wishes’ Kim at the end. I loathe using the username, it’s too impersonal.

I’ve gotten several cards written in what I guess is Russian this week - one had Russian stamps and one came from Belarus. I don’t read Russian and Google Translate couldn’t get past the postmark and USPS markings. I just assumed the best and didn’t let Admin know. My view is, maybe some Postcrossers aren’t comfortable in English.

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I don’t mind people talking of their religious experience, it’s part of culture and it’s interesting. But when it goes past that to try to bless me, and not just a few words, but a whole paragraph on that, and tell me to trust myself to this or that god, I get the ick, don’t like that, it feels trespassing of a personal boundary.

It happened with Shri Ganesha, and the Christian God.

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Yes, at one point I got so many cards in German.
One even wrote something like “I thought it will be fun to write you in German”. So they knew I don’t know German, but still wrote it. Didn’t enjoy at all.
To one I wrote my Hurray in Finnish, thanking for the card, but telling I don’t understand their message.
That was a little childlish :slight_smile:
It was the time when I got many profiles written only in German, cards in German, and mean remarks if Finland didn’t have Google translate :laughing: obviously Germany didn’t.
Some other members wrote their cards in Finnish, if the profile was German.
I wrote something short, and decorated heavily.
I think there had been some news or something in Germany, at some point, about Postcrossing, many people joined, and these members thought we translate everything, like keep the whole browser in translation mode or something.

Now it hasn’t happened for a long time.

Could it be there is similar situation with Russian members now?

I think it’s always good to let the sender know, if you don’t understand the message.
But in a nice way, like tell that the postmark covered something and you couldn’t translate. Maybe they can translate it for you, or someone in the translation thread.

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Hi @keohusa
If you get a card like this you can always ask for help in the language sections. I think that there is a general translation thread too. If you cover the ID and any addresses in the image you post, it is OK ask for translation help.

and here

https://community.postcrossing.com/t/need-help-translating-a-postcard-youve-received/10228/2999

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I received a card from a ‘trance medium’ with a message from my dead mother. My mother is alive.

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Wow! Just wow!

It could be since you write liking weird, odd, crazy, and the sender thought it means the message too.

Really weird at least it is :frowning:

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This forum is great in the sense that you can learn things here that you wouldn’t know otherwise. Specifically, this topic touches on one thing that has been really incomprehensible to me, and that is- why people react so strongly negatively to wishes for blessing and God’s protection. Are you afraid that you will be connected to a strange egregor with it?
For me, this issue has been on the agenda outside of postcrossing, ruined some good relationships, and caused pain (and I’m not a very religious person at all, I just think that God’s blessing can only ever come for good).
Can someone explain to me this amazing thing - the fear and aversion to God’s blessing?

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I think those who think strongly negatively are more loud, and those who like it or don’t care, stay quiet.
Also sometimes it’s the need of attention or being noticed, noted, understood (what is the word?) that not all like it, but then it’s same with every subject. What could be a subject everyone is happy about?

Average adult person maybe mostly is annoyed (if they don’t like it), not feeling fear. I wouldn’t worry scaring someone with wishing “God bless” :slight_smile: So if that’s your way of wishing wishes, keep doing it.

Likewise average adult lets other be what they are, lets you wish blessings, and expects other let them wish what they want to.

Only then it’s an issue when it’s “selling” it, but then it’s also same no matter what subject .

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I no longer write such a wish to anyone who has not clearly shown in their profile that they are a person of faith. But my real life (in the past) relationship with an English teacher (of Indian origin) has gone bad because of this: from warm to completely icy. It still hurts. Sorry if this was already offtopic.

I’m so sorry to hear that!
Maybe one day it will get better again.


I know for some the “God bless” comes very naturally, without thinking, I always take it happily, even when I’m not a member in church.

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Because I don’t care about your god or any god. Why would I want to hear from them? It’s like if you wrote ‘my toothbrush says hi!’ on the card - you may well have one but it means nothing to me.

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And what about “Have a nice day”? It is better?
(In John Patrick’s play “That Strange Mrs. Savage” there is an episode where people tell a girl how to say “I love you” in different ways. They say that for example “Put on a cardigan!” and “Do you want an apple?” means “I love you.” ,
In the same way, “Have a nice day” can also be said with other phrases.)

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I strongly dislike ‘stay safe’ but had it had again recently.

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I have one card that says: “I’m greeting you normally” :star_struck:

I don’t know if it’s translation from their language, word from word. But off topically to this thread I really like it.

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I have been fighting with oncology for the last year and although it looks like I have won, nothing is guaranteed. And of course, all this time, until it was not clear that I would win and continue to live, all the wishes for good health and “stay safe” evoked not the best emotions. But I could understand that the people who write do not know anything about my situation and really do not mean anything bad when they write their wishes.

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It brings back depressing memories of covid lockdowns to me.

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If I am already involved in the conversation, then probably I should also tell about the topic - what I don’t like, written on the card. I would not like the preaching of imperialism - that big countries have the right to do with smaller ones, as it comes to mind, and that the smaller nations are somehow inferior and less important than the big ones. But I haven’t received anything like that so far, at least not in clear text.

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