Survival Tips for Long Distance Letter Writing

The romance of paper letters may be a great way to carrying on meaningful correspondence with your partner, but there are many practicalities you should consider, especially when carrying on a long-distance international correspondence. Because my partner is an archaeologist and because I travel frequently as well, we have carries on letter writing between a wide variety of countries including the US, Canada, Britain, Italy, Cyprus and Syria. Each has its own unique quirks to their postal systems, and regulations as well as delivery times vary widely between countries. Because of these experiences, I can offer you the following advice on carrying on a long-distance correspondence.

1. Always date your letters. Also always number your letters. This way you'll know in what order to read letters that may come all at once or out of sequence.

2. Be aware that some countries have policies that may allow them to open and read your correspondence before it gets to you. Use common sense about the contents of your letters when writing to such regions and establish code words in advance with your correspondent for topics that may be sensitive and the delay or prevent the delivery of your letter.

3. Always number the pages of your letters in case the recipient drops the letter or a page is removed by government screeners (yes, this has happened to us).

4. Do not send packages without researching in advance customs duties and legal prohibitions on materials sent. You'd be shocked at the perfectly ordinary things some countries ban or charge high fees on.

5. For countries that use non-Roman alphabets, addressing your mail in English will usually work. However, addressing the letter in the language of the country of destination can speed the process. It is best to find a native speaker of the language in question (try a university or online community) and get them to write out the address for you once. Then xerox it and tape it as a label to each of your letters.

6. Use durable paper. I deeply lament the lass of onion skin and airmail paper, but if your letter is going to have a long journey, heavier papers and well-sealing envelopes are important.

7. Don't use water soluble ink! This sounds obvious, but it's easy to forget. Your letters may face the elements on their journey.

8. Try to write neatly. My partner still has to ask me to translate parts of my letters to her because my scrawl can be so bad.

9. Some countries have multiple speeds for international mail that are non-express. These usually cost the difference of less than a dollar. Use the faster speed if it is available, otherwise your letter may be going by boat (as correspondence I recently sent from Italy to Syria did).

10. If possible, always send your letters from the most significant postal facility possible. Dropping it off at a post office will always be preferable to using a box. Dropping it off at the main post office, as opposed to a local branch will further speed your letter. Local curb-side boxes are the most problematic as they are not checked regularly in some countries and can get your letter trapped in small-town inefficiency.

As the world becomes more advanced in a way that often negates the need for paper letters, it is important to remember that many postal systems have no changed significantly in decades, and faith and patience is required to keep up a regular correspondence between far flung locations.