Postcard 7 on article 5

Dear Anneke,
I wanted to let you know I am not enjoying my stay here in London at all. Remember that budget hotel you recommended? I still remember your famous words that it would not be any different than any other hotel. You even compared it to budget airlines. Those who choose to fly on a budget airline deserve to be accorded the same safety levels as those who pay full whack on scheduled flights. Thus people who have bagged a bargain city centre room for under £100 a night should still be able to expect the same standard of hygiene as those in a five-star hotel - if not the comfort, service or décor. I can tell you from first hand experience that it is a lie. A big fat lie! After arriving at my hotel I was escorted to my room. On first sight nothing looked out of the ordinary but, on first smell something definitely did. The room reeked of stale smoke, beer and some kind of French cheese. Absolutely disgusting! The curtains were closed so it was pretty dark. In an attempt to let some fresh air in I opened the window. When I opened the curtains I found out my view consisted out of a wall with a huge billboard encircled with fluorescent green light. Since I had no natural light I was able to enjoy green light every five seconds. I had to lie down for a few minutes to overcome this shock. Laying there in the blinking green light, I figured I deserved a treat. Some comfort food to get over the disappointment. I called room service. After ten minutes my order arrived. As I was bringing the sandwich towards my mouth I noticed something strange. I asked for white bread, yet this bread seemed to be mixed with herbs since it had green dots. When I examined the dots a little closer I saw that the dots were mould! Can you believe it? They gave me mouldy bread. I immediately got my luggage and fled from the hotel without checking out. Right now I am writing you this card from probably the cleanest budget ‘hotel’ in London. It is nothing too fancy. Not a five star hotel with mints on my pillow and a Jacuzzi. Nevertheless I can tell you that the staff is nice and they are treating me very well. I even have room service and there is no fungi insight.
Love,
Rosalie
Cellblock 5

Postcard 6 on article 4

Dear Anke,
I just read a wonderful and uplifting article. This article was about a man who travelled around Turkey. He had visited several towns and festivities during which he met extraordinary people. There is a situation he describes that made an impression on me. At one point during his trip, the tour group is invited into the home of the mayor of a village. Once inside this house he paints a portrait of what is going on inside the house; children and grownups making music and dancing. Even the writer does a little dance he claims that Turkish dancing is easy. The author points out that the mayor kept emphasizing how welcome they were in his home. That the Turkish people are hospitable is not a big surprise but it is the following that I found remarkable. The mayor takes the author into a room where his Quran bag hangs. A Quran bag is the bag in which he keeps his Quran. Then the mayor says: “In my Quran bag I keep a Quran, a Bible, and a copy of the Torah. It reminds me that Jews and Christians, like we Muslims are 'people of the book' — we all worship the same God." In these times of trial and tribulation; 9/11, Israel-Palestine, Taliban, Geert Wilders and other misery it is a refreshing sound. This is a man living in a country in which Islam is the most practiced religion. At the moment the Islam is one of the most criticized faiths in the world due to extremists and terrorists. Yet there is this man who is open minded and acknowledges that all these different religions are based on the same faith and god. Luckily, this man is not the only one with these ideas and most people will probably share his opinion. With all the negative news you hear lately it is these kind of encounters you can read about that will uplift your spirits.
Love,
Rosalie

Postcard 5 on presentation Sweden

Dear Bella,
You’ll never guess what happened here in Sweden. The last few days it has rained nonstop. It was like a monsoon, for a moment I felt like a holy cow! Back to the story. Imagine that everything is soaked and there is not a dry patch of land to stand on. Well, me and the girls decided to see if we could find a place where we could shelter. We found this dry spot near a shack, it was covered with thick leafing and we decided to spend the night there. The next morning when I woke up, Harry told me he was going for a walk. He wasn’t gone for long when all of a sudden I heard a scream. I followed the sound and there was Harry looking at some silly woman trying to build a fire with wet branches. She kept waving a smoldering twig in front of her. Harry was amused. It reminded him of his cousin Luis’s job. Where people wave red cloths at him and how he would chase them just to have a laugh. Harry snorted a few times and then he walked away. I heard the woman say, ’it must have been the smoke’. Can you believe they are the ones calling us stupid cows?
Moo,
Olga

Postcard 4 on article 3

Dear Daniella,
Do you remember we were talking about taking a winter break? I think I have found the perfect destination. It ticks off all demands on our wish list. It is always sunny, there is a white palm beach and, no need to say this beach comes with an emerald blue sea. In addition to the lovely weather and beautiful sights, the food is delicious and they make mean cocktails over there. Now you really want to know what paradise I am talking about. Well, hold you breathe it is…Acapulco, Mexico! I just read this amazing article talking about the facelift Acapulco has been through and why you should spent your holiday there. Acapulco is back on the touristic map since the government has invested loads of money to improve the environment and infrastructure. The water around Acapulco is pollution free and the beaches are renovated to be more accommodating to tourists. They have taken several measures to protect the state of the fragile ecosystem. So, now you know the government is committed to preserving its beauties let me tell you about the possible holiday activities. Acapulco is a port city and is surrounded by the sea. Water sports are of course the main attraction. Scuba diving is fun and you will find shipwrecks, walls, caves and small coral formations. Viewing the native marine life is fun and fascinating! Since I know you are not a big fun of scuba diving maybe we could go snorkelling and look at Mexico’s sea creatures without a tank strapped on our backs. But do not worry we do not have to spent our entire holiday under water there are things we can do on land as well. We can enjoy the sandy white beaches as well as Acapulco’s other interesting attractions including a large number of lush green parks, old forts and an aquarium. I know your crazy about history so we can also sign up for a guided history tour of the city, which includes stops at landmarks such as Fort San Diego, the Chapel of Peace, and the old Flamingo Hotel, frequented long ago by the biggest names in Hollywood. Let me recap this fantastic destination for you: the weather is perfect the whole year round, there are beaches, the food is delicious and there is plenty to do. When are we leaving? I will sent you the article and hopefully it will convince you.
Hope to hear from you soon!
Love,
Rosalie

Postcard 3 on presentation

Dear Mom,
I promised to write you as soon as possible to tell you all about my first impressions. I want to tell you so much I do not know where to begin. I will start by telling you that we are doing fine and we are enjoying ourselves very much. With that being said I will tell you our story from the moment we arrived in Ireland from the plane. After a considerably short and comfortable flight we arrived in Ireland and went to get our luggage. Once we had our luggage we went in search for a company where we could rent a car. We got a really cute rental car, an Opel Corsa. You know I always wanted one myself so this must be faith. Until that point our holiday went smoothly and we both thought this was a good omen. We changed our minds from the moment we had to drive our car onto the open road. They drive on the left! Of course we knew this in advance but it is really weird. Surprisingly enough, the only thing that makes sense are the roundabouts. The roads here are really narrow and remember those lovely green hedges alongside the road? There are stone walls behind them so it is not like you can bump into them without doing any damage. These narrow lanes are not just used by regular cars. Buses and lorries drive on these roads as well. We already had one incident involving a bus. There was this big bus coming from the opposite side and I decided to keep driving thinking he would let me pass. The bus driver had that same idea and we were both unable to pass. I got really mad at the bus driver and you know what he did? He gave me the chicken! You know as in chicken tonight. I had no choice but to back up and find a bay so he could pass. I put the car in reverse and started to drive but I was so mad I was unable to drive backwards in a straight line. Diana had to take over and I sat in the passengers seat sulking. I was not upset for long and now we have our first holiday anecdote. I will write another engaging story soon!
Love,
Rosalie