I do not collect postage stamps. At least not on purpose.
I think I’m just drawn to pretty pictures (read: cheap art), which is maybe why I seem to have accumulated so many. I don’t really know what to do with these things, so I figured that maybe I should post them on the internet. Welcome to the over-sharing generation!

These images are not actual size. I arranged them to fit into squares and highlight the interesting ones.

Cuba (Pre-1959)

Mongolia

Bolivia

Mozambique

This is an art form likely to disappear in the coming years. Sending snail mail is already a dying practice (Saturday service is scheduled for the chopping block), and electronic postage makes sending tiny works of art nearly unnecessary. The US post office does still release fabulous designs (why did I not buy more cowboys??!!) though buying special stamps seems willfully nostalgic.

I’m breaking this post up into two parts. Next time I’ll post a batch from post-revolutionary Cuba. Take note of how the Cuban stamps before 1959 featured two American presidents- Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt. Once the cold war hits they’ll get replaced by Russian astronauts.

-Sarah

Yo soy el hombre de la selva,
perfume, cántico y amor,
pero encendido de relámpagos,
pero rugiendo de huracanes.
Yo soy un río de pie.
-Raúl Otero Reiche

There aren’t a huge number of tourists in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, in the eastern part of Bolivia. The foreigners that do turn up don’t tend to arrive solo. So when I showed up alone and with my big dorky camera, I looked pretty conspicuous. It’s a little unnerving to unapologetically take photos of a big and busy city. I think when it comes to travel, we only see what we want to see. So I don’t know if these photos are reflective of anything. It’s entirely possible that I’ve captured the skin of the city and failed to reveal the heart.

This trip was a real comedy of errors. I lost my luggage! I got lost in the middle of the night! I got locked out! I got locked in (the door had to be broken with a kitchen knife)! I got called a heathen! I got computer viruses on my new camera! I almost got robbed by gypsies! And it was AWKWARD sometimes. But I lived, damn it. And I met some fantastic people along the way, people who were so kind that I could never possibly thank them properly.

A few more photos of Santa Cruz here.

Cioa,
Sarah

Hola.

There´s been a serious lack of updates around here lately, I know. But I really do have an excuse: I´ve (temporarily) run away to Bolivia.

I wrote that like it was a sane thing to do.

It seems in vogue now for single women to run off to exotic countries, and while I´d love for this to turn out like some Eat Pray Love fantasy trip of a lifetime, I´ve been hampered by a streak of bad luck. This trip does not make me want to take up yoga. It makes me want to take up smoking. I´ll be hanging out in Santa Cruz de la Sierra for one more week, then it´s back to the regularly scheduled programming of fabric designs and wacky embroideries. Please, wish me luck.

Ciao,
Sarita