Some days ago, I came across the Iink of the “Introduce Yourself- February,2021”. In that post, TraciC mentioned; how she had a “National Parks Passport” and how she loved collecting the Stamps, AdamGT replied to TraciC asking; “Also, other than the stamped passport do you end up with some certificate of achievement to proudly frame and hang after visiting all 62 parks?”
Let’s talk about Keepsakes.
What are Keepsakes/Mementos/Souvenirs?
Items you collect that reminds you of a place, of someone, or of an event.
Some of us collect so many of these things, we could create our own “Museum/Gallery” of some sort.?
Because this is Connect and we have to focus on approved topics, I want us to share Keepsakes we have collected that relate to a place we have visited and the beautiful memory it evokes in us.
Update:
The Album is buzzing and I will update this list with the names of people who have contributed to the Album and the places their Keepsakes are from;
- Olga @OlgaKlimchik kickstarted with lovely photos from Belarus
- Devi Dimitra @Ddimitra who shared with us her collections from; Jakarta, London, Kerala, Korea, China, Singapore, Japan, Jaipur, Rajasthan, Germany,
- Isha @Globe_trotter_Isha who shared with us her collections from; London
- Yulia @Yulialabelle who shared with us her collections from; Nepal, Maldives, Paris, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Madrid, Borobudur, Bali , Central Java, London,
- Shreeya @Shreeya_99 whos shared with us her collection from India , Brussels, Paris,
- Nyai @Nyainurjanah who shared with us her collection from Bali and New York
- Jean @travelbyjp shared her collection from Belgium, Germany, Nepal, Uganda
- Indah @indahnuria shared Keepsakes from Istanbul, Morocco, Kalimantan, Jordan, Malaysia. New York, Norway, Walt Disney World Resort, Orlando, Walt Disney, Tokyo, Walt Disney, Paris, New Jersey, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Switzerland, Thailand, Bali, Mexico, Venice, Jakarta, Qatar, New Zealand, Windsor Castle,
- target=_blank@FalguniP shared her collection from Kerala,
- target=_blank@Lawlaw shared her collections from Denmark, Netherlands, Aalborg, Coudenberg Palace,
- Rosy Kohli @RK151 shared her collection from China, Singapore, Sweden, Pakistan, Singapore, Amritsar, India
- Ermes** @ErmesT **shared travel tickets from around the world here
- Jesi** @Jesi **shared with us her keepsakes here
- TravellerG** @TravellerG **shared with us a keepsake from the Niagara falls Here
- Shruti** @Shrut19 **shared her collection
- Erna** @Erna_LaBeau **shared her collection from Indonesia and Michigan
- GuruKrishna** @Gurukrishnapriya **shared her collections fromSweden, Paris, Dubai, Agra, Switzerland, Nepal, Istanbul, and many other parts of India
- Fasi** @fasi6083 **shared his collection from “Germanisches National Museum” here
- My new friend; Abir @maggietheafro has shared keepsakes from; Thailand, India (including a matchbox made of wax!)
- Ajit Thite** @AjitThite **shared some very cute Keepsakes from; Goa, Oman, Shimla, Mahabaleshwar,
- Silvy** @SilvyC **; our “brand new Connect Moderator” ? shared with us her collection here; Walt Disney, California, Catalina Island, CN Tower
- Omer Ali** @OmerAli **shared with us his collection from San Francisco, you know what’s more special? he and his friends left ‘Keepsakes’ in form of painted rocks for people to pick. check it out here
- Stephen ??? one of the coolest here @StephenLammens shared with us the most unusual forms of Keepsakes from Russia, Spain, Malta, USA
Of course, we are going to have an album to keep things organized ? Here is the Album link; Keepsakes (Mementoes/Souvenirs Around the world).
So, I will kick this off;
- The Android Brooch draped in Nigerian Traditional Attire: This brooch is one of the many souvenirs I got from this Google event held at the Landmark Event Centre on the 18th of August, 2015! Every time I pin this brooch on, I feel like I have some Google Super powers.
- The HSBC Travel Guide (Welcome to London): I picked this up at the Heathrow Airport. Every time, I look at this, more than remembering the Airport and all the beautiful places this Guide suggests I visit; I remember hearing my “good ol’ Oats referred to as Porridge for the first time at Giraffe” and how I got served by the same waiter twice in the space of one month and how different (in a negative way) her service was the second time from the first time. ? I still wonder till date what happened.
- The Coins (Cents and Pounds): Everyone who knows me; knows the relationship I have with money. Please don’t blame me ? it’s the mode of exchange when I go to the market or want to enjoy an activity. You need money to enjoy life if you are not living in the Monastery or Convent. The coins are important in London for making calls. You know why I kept my Coins? It reminds me of the honesty of the people who live in the West and how transparent they are. Here, in Nigeria, if a store tells you an item is; ₦499, you will pay ₦500 and get no change except you pay with your card or take another item, What can ₦1 get you by the way? Nothing! I was so surprised that people here will give you change for everything! I kept the coins to remind me that; “Honesty can be so ingrained in a culture that it permeates and keeps the country corruption-free”. Also, I kept many of the coins from the US because they were all so different, each state had something unique about its own coin while the coins from London varied in thickness. ? Those who live in these two places (United States and United Kingdom) can tell us more about them.
- Wikki Spring Water Pet Container: ? Who keeps their Pet bottles? Well, I do for recycling purpose and all but there was a particular one I kept and not for recycling purposes; the one I got when I visited the Yankari Game Reserve! I know the first thing that is remarkably different for those outside Nigeria is the Cap, Yes, our the cap of most of our bottles come in this form. This particular one is very special to me? Why? Two reasons. The first; This place is such a popular place. Yet! There is very little information available on how to arrive there (Yankari Game Reserve) anywhere. So, I took my time to not only travel there but fetch information for people, prices, what it costs to stay, how to get there, make 360 photos, do map edits, etc. all of these I did on the very 1st day of the year; January 1, 2021, my father’s birthday and the day many people would have been spending time with their family! Unfortunately, before I could upload or backup, my phone got stolen ?! The second reason I kept the bottle is because of the attributes of the bottle; many of the bottled water pet bottles I have seen usually come with blue caps, this one comes with a green cap which is reminiscent of the green water of the Wikki spring located in the Yankari Game Reserve and I doubt I have seen “manufacturing date, batch number and expiry date” on any bottled water I have seen, this one has that. So, this bottle is a reminder that I visited this place and that; I have to revisit this place to bring this information to Maps accompanied with photos.
- ?The Receipt/Ticket that looks like an ATM Card/Hotel Card Key: It’s the entrance Ticket to the Walt Disney World Resort, Orlando, Florida. Yeah, everyone might have kept it because of how beautiful it is, but it is more than that for me. I had been in the United States for over 3 weeks before visiting the Resort and I just kept thinking to myself; “What’s the hype about visiting the United States?” At this Resort, my eyes were opened to a lot of things; How people here (in the United States) spend time relaxing with their kids without waiting for a special occasion like we often do here, how organized the people are about maintaining a queue without security intervention, how each of the themed parks were focused on not just the games but on teaching something, and the “happiest parade” totally blew me off. This card brings a lot of happy memories.
- Brochure: I have a collection of books; which include; Journals, magazines, brochures, etc. I collect or buy them because I love to read. One of the magazines I got I never threw away was this one;
One; it taught me the importance of “catalogs”, taught me that; people go on Sea cruises not just for the experience, but to purchase jewelry, that; as a business, I should get better with age and be able to compete "with the trend of the time"
- The final one is of a Map! Tadaa! yeah! A Map!: we all know the function of a Map and how we all work towards ensuring that people don’t get lost among other things by improving the Map. There are many buildings of the world you visit and you get a Map because they are so big, you may get lost! If you think this is not important, flash back to Titanic ? (the movie) and imagine how many times Jack and Rose got missing because they had no Map. Now, I will share with you one;
Just looking at this Map takes me back to this experience, if I close my eyes, I could find myself enjoying food in any of the dining, dancing in the Piazza, attending Zumba classes in one one the many “disco halls”, swimming in the many pools and what not.
Now, it’s your turn to share with me something you collected (from a place you visited or that someone gifted you), what that thing reminds you of and why you can’t do away with it. Let’s go.
Here is the Album Link one more time; Keepsakes (Mementoes/Souvenirs Around the world).
P.S.: I want to say a very big thank you to everyone who participated in sharing their Banana stories from across the world; where it’s grown, what it’s used for, why they love it, etc. in the Let’s Go Bananas Photo Album. Thank you.
’ It’s a skill we should add on our C.V. but you will never understand if you don’t live in a place with epileptic power supply.
I look forward to seeing them! Please search and let’s see what you come up with in between those cuddles 