On September 22, Pitirim Sorokin Syktyvkar State University hosted an international campaign for students in the popular postcrossing format “You have got mail!”.
Komi is a unique region of Russia, the birthplace of the Komi-Zyryan people. It is the place where the Finno-Ugric culture and the taiga nature of the northern region exist in harmony. This year the Komi Republic celebrates its 100th anniversary. To honor this, the “National Library of the Komi Republic” and Pitirim Sorokin Syktyvkar State University together with the “Post of Russia”, organized the action “You have got mail!”. The action was attended by university students from Kyrgyzstan, Egypt, India, Algeria, Somalia, Bangladesh, as well as students from different parts of Russia.
– The action is timed to the centenary of the Komi Republic, International Writing Week and World Post Day. Most of the international students of Pitirim Sorokin Syktyvkar State University wrote “real” letters and filled out postcards for the first time: they entered the address, index, pasted stamps. In response, we expect to receive postcards with views of those countries and regions where students sent the letters to,” said Valentina Maltseva, head of the Center for Patriotic Education and Interethnic Cooperation of the Youth Policy Department of Pitirim Sorokin Syktyvkar State University.
Postcrossing is the exchange of postcards with people around the world. Today, only few people send paper letters to share news or any information, so they are especially pleasant to receive.
The students were greeted by the director of the National Library of the Komi Republic Alexei Prosuzhikh:
– We hope that your friends and relatives to whom you send letters will in return send postcards with views and sights of those countries and regions where they live, – he summed up.
Then the presenter spoke about the National Library: how it can help students in their studies, about the library website and its rules. Also, the participants of the action were invited to join the group “Foreign languages in Syktyvkar”, which is run by the foreign department of the library.
Finally, the students were shown postcards about the Komi Republic with views of Syktyvkar, the Yugyd va National Park, the “visiting card” of the region – the Manpupuner plateau. The presenter explained to international students that the inscription “чолöм” on postcards is the Komi for “hello”. For students who did not understand Russian well, the presenter was simultaneously translated into English.
Students filled out postcards addressed to their relatives, writing them many warm words and wishes. Students were smiling joyfully while writing. Many of them wrote “real” letters for the first time.
– I’ve written a letter for the first time. Before the event, I had a sense of anticipation, and now I am really looking forward to the postcard reaching our village. This will be the first time a postcard is sent there by mail, because nothing came to our village apart from documents before. I really like the design of the postcards, it is very beautiful, like the Komi Republic itself. My parents will be happy to receive a postcard, – shared her impressions Madina Shermatova a first-year student from Kyrgyzstan.
The students wrote to their families about their impressions of the region where they will live and study.
– First of all, thank you very much for inviting me to such a wonderful event, I am glad that I’ve become a part of it. I was shy at first, but when people started talking to me, I felt that we were like a family. The action allowed me to convey my feelings, which I wanted to tell, but have not told my family yet. I am glad that I am studying in the Komi Republic. This is a very good place, there are friendly and responsive people, – said a listener of the preparatory department Deepak Kumar.
43 postcards went to cities and countries of the world, with international stamps pasted on them before being sent.
