With the first card coming from Jersey...and no, not the US New Jersey....but Jersey in Europe...of which existence i had no idea until i started this postcard-exchange thing. And id be happy to know i wasnt the only ignorant one out there :)
Jersey, or the Bailiwick of Jersey, is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. But its not a part of UK nor EU, but rather a separate possession of the Crown.
If one year ago, i had a million dollar question about where on Earth is Jersey, make sure i would have gone home totally penniless. In order to make it more clear to you about where Jersey is, here comes the map:
Jersey itself is divided into 12 parishes, and all of them have access to the sea. They are all named after the saints to whom their ancient parish churches are dedicated. And on this card in particular, you can see an image from somewhere in St. Brelade, which occupies the southwestern part of the island and is the second largest parish of the island.
The name St. Brelade is derived from a 6th century Celtic or Welsh "wandering saint" called Saint Branwalader or Saint Brelade, who is said to have been the son of the Cornish king, Kenen. He is also said to have been a disciple of Samson of Dol, and worked with this churchman in Cornwall and the Channel Islands.
Well...proud to have this card...and yes, it is indeed a new country in my collection...with some great lighthouse stamps you can see below :)
these two awesome stamps were issued in 2003, coming from a total set of 6 commemorative stamps, called "Jersey lighthouses" (second series).