Tonga

Probably in the middle of the most hectic days...so my postcard sending and blogging has really gone hiatus, but I hope that, once the weekend comes, i can somehow catch up with many things ive fallen behind...well, i better...coz i have these crazy deadlines hanging over my head....but for now, some cards...and ill start of with something extra exotic (at least to me), and brag with a postcard from Tonga :D :D :D *grin grin grin*

And I got it from a dear ten year old girl! Which makes all this more special! Well, I think that all these cards are written by Farfum's students, while he is doing the collecting, addressing and the needed surveillance.

I guess you are wondering, what the hell this card is showing....but it is definitely a very unique one, since the front of the card is actually cloth...and that is genuine Tapa cloth, which was pounded and fashioned into shape from the inner bark of the paper mulberry tree. It is a gift of high value in the culture and traditions of the Pacific Islands, and it is accepted with great appreciation. Traditional designs and pictures are then painted onto them with red, brown and black dyes which are made from bark of the Mangrove Trees.

Lovely!!! Dont you think so??!!! I dont really get postcards which have some special material incorporated into them...so far I think that in such a category would only fall the Vanuatu waterproof card and one wooden I have from Canada (which btw arrived in perfect condition and without a single scratch).

and ta-dadaam!!! here is the very important part of the postcard...the witness that it has been sent directly from Tonga itself! oh, come on...dont be so jealous!!! you have so many great cards from rare countries too!! Plus, it is holidays...it is really unfair to be jealous at this time of the year :P
This stamp is from a set of 15 definitives which were issued back in 1998. Here you see the friendly ground-dove.

And I love the clear cancellation!!