Ashvin Illangeshwaran says exchanging letters helped him learn a new culture. Photo: Ashvin Illangeshwaran
Today, the average New Zealand Post letter drop off point gets less than two letters per week.
But in a world where technology means we are only one tap away from seeing friends and families, some young people are keeping snail mail alive.
As Amber Parsons shuffles through a collection of letters, she said her penpals range from friends, family, to strangers she met on the odd occasion.
Amber Parsons says letters are a unique and tangible way to connect with others. Photo: Ke-Xin Li
"It was really nostalgic [reading them]. I think maybe one of them might even be from maybe 2016 or 2017. I have a letter from my ex-boyfriend that I forgot that I even had. This letter is from an internet friend from when I was a teenager. We became friends on Pinterest. We kept in touch on Instagram and we write letters to each other."
The 26-year-old started writing letters as a child to stay in touch with family in Zimbabwe. Now, for her it's a unique and tangible way to connect with others.
"I just think letters are a really nice way to send something a bit more thoughtful and intentional and I really like that it's something from your own hands to someone else's hands. It can cross oceans or cross time zones to reach them."
On top of delivering thoughts and messages, Amber sees her letters as mini care parcels and often slides in poems, drawings, stickers, and sometimes teabags.
Amber Parsons sometimes put hand painted cards and poems into the letters she sends out. Photo: Ke-Xin Li
Ashvin Illangeshwaran wrote his first letter when he was five years old - to send gift requests to relatives overseas.
Now 33, Ashvin has moved from Sri Lanka to Hamilton, and he's still writing.
"Because writing takes a lot of courage and patience and discipline. When I write from my hand, it's more emotional than writing an e-mail."
Ashvin keeps his letters simple and said he focuses on his handwriting.
He often writes to his mentor who lives in Dunedin, who he calls "koro". They would also text and call each other, but for them, letters carry a different weight.
Ashvin Illangeshwaran says exchanging letters helped him learn a new culture. Photo: Ashvin Illangeshwaran
"I learned Māori because every time he writes something, he writes in Māori as well. So that's a learning curve for me."
A letter from "koro" also comes with stamps printed with New Zealand landscapes, flora and fauna, and words and phrases.
"I got to learn different birds, different areas, different regions, different cultures."
Noureen Koorimannil-Valiyamannil says writing letters helped better connect with others. Photo: Ke-Xin Li
Twenty-four-year-old Noureen Koorimannil-Valiyamannil always had cellphones and Facebook when she was growing up.
But after writing letters to her friends as a teenager, she fell in love with it as a way to process her emotions.
"Even texting, I think people read it in so many different ways, and there's so many double meanings to a lot of texting. And about calling, again, it's all very instant. I don't think you get a lot of time to process big stuff [in calling]. I'm the kind of person who usually takes my time to respond. In that sense, I think letters made me connect with others in my way."
Now living in Auckland, she writes to her friends in India.
To get the letters safely delivered during India's monsoon season, Noureen would wrap the letters in plastic and tape the address on the envelope.
She wants them to last for a long time, even if they're a bit embarrassing.
"Sometimes me and my friends call and then we'll be reminiscing and then they'll say, oh, remember this letter you wrote and they would quote from that. Sometimes it's so cringe, I'm like, 'can you please stop?'"
But Noureen's chuckle spoke louder than her words. She loved those moments, embarrassed by what she wrote, but was proud to see how far she had come.
And part of the joy of sending letters is also receiving them, as Amber explained.
"It reminds me of being a kid, getting mail and it was so exciting. I think as an adult, most of the time the mailbox is just full of junk mail and bills and stuff we don't even really read. So sometimes I forget to check the mailbox and then when I do and there's a letter there, it's like a really fun surprise and it makes my day.
"It's like, oh my gosh, I got a letter! It feels so whimsical and it's really exciting."
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