(Publicación en inglés)
Before I start, I want to tell you that the text is long, so I suggest reading it in stages. It would be very sad not to read the point of view of each one of those who participated in this chain of letters. All these stories are very funny !!
A few weeks ago in a comment to @PaulPavlinovich I told him that, although I really like to use ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) I still have a taste for paper: when I read a book, as a teacher when I make a draft of the words for a school event, to keep memories in a photo album …
From that moment I wanted to tell this story and my friend @Avraham_Jurado motivated me to do it.
I was very excited because Argentine girls I know, with whom I share Meet Ups, ideas and talks on different social networks were about to go to Connect Live and in a way I felt represented by them as Argentine, as if a part of me was traveling with them .
It was like that, as if almost without thinking about it, the idea of sending something I held in my hands, a “paper” written in handwriting, to my LG friends on the other side of the world.
When I told @Cecilita , she immediately told me that she would help me, so she became my first ally. I assembled some small packages with a little card decorated with “pampa” motifs and caramel candies, both traditional from our country.
Then also other LG collaborated who traveled to Connect, to bring the little present to their respective countries.
@RussyStella received one of them and took another one to @KellyHyojeongKim , with whom she would meet in a Meet Up when she returned to her country, Korea @Nyainurjanah , from Indonesia also received a package.
And the last one was delivered to @ArchitOjha I did not know him before, but generously offered to take him to his country. He would mail it to @IshantHP_ig
I was excited with just the idea of thinking everything those little gifts would travel to get to their destination, but I never imagined the great emotion that it would cause in all who participated. I started receiving photos and words of thanks for WhatsApp and Telegram. They also told me how they shared these candies with children or co-workers.
And my surprise, a chain of mails began. And I still wait for letters from other LG friends who are traveling from different parts of the world as they have already told me.
Then, in December, just by the date of my birthday I received mail from @RussyStella . She had already requested my address by mail, so I was waiting for a letter. I received much more! I couldn’t believe it was a box!
I received a letter with some beautiful earrings and souvenirs from the Connect Live that he shared generously with me.
There were so many gifts that I wanted to share a couple with @abraham jury, LG Argentina, whom I do not know personally but with whom I always keep distance contact. We live in the same country but at 3077 KM, a little more than the distance from Paris, France to Moscow, Russia.
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STELLA @RussyStella from Korea: Last year, when I knew I was going to San Jose, I was very excited.
And before going to San Jose, I started getting to know other local guides.
- @EugeGallardo was one of them.*
One day, María Eugenia said that she sent me something, I did not expect it.
It’s chocolate with small letters. Letter written by hand, it was really touching.
A long time ago, about 20 years ago? I sent letters to my friends often.
It was a pretty romantic and beautiful memory.
- @EugeGallardo helped me remember that memory again.*
Phone, text, a lot of SNS! Of course they are so comfortable and nice, but they can’t be compared to letters!
Why don’t we write to each other? It’s going to be our incredibly awesome memory.
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KELLY @KellyHyojeongKim from Korea**:** We can meet many people all over the world online. But sometimes online space has fake friends. So I hesitated to answer someone’s approach.
From now…
I’m not afraid anymore.
We’re the same local guides…
I could feel with a warm heart that my friends are trustworthy. Thank you for showing the butterfly effect and good influence. Maria.? You are kind and special?
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ABRAHAM @Avraham_Jurado , from Argentina: “I thank Maria Eugenia for making such a great gesture by sending me a beautiful letter and also many memories from Google Maps. It was a nice surprise.
I remember the time we talked about the importance of taking the time to write a letter and we felt that in this digital age that did not fit, that it was part of the past but it is worth trying.
I really didn’t think she would take the time and write me a letter; Today where everything goes so fast and lives in a hurry, it is very valuable to sit and think the words carefully so as not to get confused when writing hehe, since it is not as easy to erase as when you are at the computer. Writing a letter requires patience and dedication.
I have known Maria recently and I have been surprised by her kindness and willingness to help. María is a woman who strives to learn new technological tools to improve contact internationally, but also strives to encourage the use of old forms of communication such as writing a letter. Thanks Maria!! I hope we can continue to cultivate our friendship for many more years.
I hope to write you a letter soon and send you native gifts from my city to continue fostering this tangible contact between crazy guides from all over the world. It would be interesting to see this practice among other LG Connector do something similar. 
I think it’s a great idea!
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ISHANT* @IshantHP_ig *from India. Namasté!!
Dear María Eugenia “I’m really thankful to you for sending the handwritten note along with sweet candies from Argentina, it was really delicious.”
also i am thankful to Cecilia for hand over your parcel to @ArchitOjha during Connect Live event at San Jose and finally it’s deliver at my doorstep by the help of Archit. Literally the candies and letter covered a long journey from Argentina via San Francisco and then in India 
But I’m truly appreciate your love and affection which is related to sending sweet & memorable gifts to all over the world. Apart from this I’m feeling lucky and excited to give you some traditional gifts from India.
As i know you are really passionate & hard working person also like to adopt new technologies, wish you a very bright future and looking forward to meet you somewhere in the world
I like to interact with people which have similar interest just like we all are local guides so helping in maps is our passion and community provides us a good platform to be connected virtually via Connect forum.
Thanks Avraham for motivating Maria to create a document for Paper Surprises.
“Friendship is the hardest thing in the world to explain. It’s not something you learn in school. But if you haven’t learned the meaning of friendship, you really haven’t learned anything.”
“Good wishes to Team Argentina, which literally a most active and helpful community.”
Most Welcome in India!
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NYAI @Nyainurjanah from Indonesia: Warm hug from Sukabumi Indonesia 2019 is my incredible year as local Guides , signing in connect and selected for Connect live 2019. The spirit of local guides bring me know Ishant and let me know also better fellow local guides from all arround the world .
Kelly Hyeojoong, María Eugenia, Russy Stella. It’s amazing .
María Eugenia ,we’re sometimes send private message via WhatsApp talking each other about many things , we are same learn speaking English and support each other .
Connet live 2019 second day at Google event centre in Sunnyvale , I’m still remember one attended from Argentina, Cecillia, come to me and show me a beautiful letter and ask , “Do you know this person?”
Oh my God I’m really surprised , beautiful hand made letter and sweet of message. It’s really my happiness dear Maria Eugenia , speechless .
I bring this gift to my country Indonesia with tons of smiling in my face . Few week later I shared sweet candy with my sweet co-workers in factory office , there’s really sweet memories .
Saying thank you not enough for expressing my true heart ,thank you from button my heart .
Local guides bring true happiness from all arround the world ,keep touch and stay connected .
Big hug for you Mauge .
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CECILIA @Cecilita from Buenos Aires, Argentina:
“I must say that at first time, when Mauge asked me to bring some “packages” to Connect Live, I was a bit scared. I had a lot of things to bring, as I was carrying a lot of things we had bought (with the other Argentinian attendees) and I was not sure if I was going to have enough space to carry more things, but when Mauge told me that she intended to send just handwriting letters and some candies, I immediately agreed to help.
One day before travelling, I met her in a subway station between my work and her house, and she gave me all the things to bring. Since then, I started my career as a postwoman. Haha… just kidding… 
The package included some letters, some dulce de leche candies and a box with small bags of Mate Cocido. I accommodated everything in my suitcase and the “packages” and me, started the long trip.
I had never seen Stella nor Nyai before and I was not sure If Kelly nor Ishant was going to be there, so I was a bit anxious until I found them. I carried the packages in my backpack since the start of the event just for not losing the opportunity to give them the gifts if I casually met them somewhere.
The first one I met was Stella, that sent me a message during a lunch and told me… “I am sitting in this sofa and I look like this” and sent me some photos of herself and the sofa. 
She was going to send the package to Kelly, so I had two packages already delivered.
Then I met Nyai…. I received some help from @Jesi to find her in the conference room, but finally I found her, and the third package found its owner.
Only one was missing… the one for Ishant! I had no idea how I was going to deliver the package to him as by that time, I realized that he was in India! Then… the destiny made me know Archit an he was so kind to tell me not to worry that unless he lives far away from Ishant, he could send the package to him once back to India.
And that was my last package! My work as postwoman has been concluded with sucess!
Well… it was not so sucessfull…I must confess that a part of the package has not been delivered to the proper receiver. 
The first day at Connect Live was very exciting and a bit confusing. I wanted to know all the people I could, buy things in the store, eat, drink, take photos, talk to people and give the presents we had brought with the other Argentinian girls. All that only in three hours! You can imagine that I was very busy, and becouse of that I got distracted, and in some moment, the Mate cocido Mauge had given me, got mixed with the other presents we had brought, and they finished in other LG hands! I am so sorry!! I promise that if I get selected again some time, I will bring another box of Mate Cocido for all of you!!! 
To finish… I want to say that I am so glad that all these people has been connected by this “paper surprises”. At the end, Connect and Connect Live is all about connection between Local Guides. Right?"
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The experience was wonderful for everyone and strengthened our relationship, with some, despite the difficulties of having different language (and not being very good with English).
We also want to invite @ArchitOjha to participate in this post written jointly by communicating privately. Thank you
Hopefully more LG join the proposal to send paper letters.
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The format of this colaborative post was taken from #teamargentina’s ideas.
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sharing with us.
