mayabelle

IMPORTANT: Due to personal conditions outside of my control, I am dropping out of all swaps that don't have partners assigned yet. :( I will send everything that I owe partners in swaps with partners already assigned. I will also be deleting all of my own swaps. I hope to come back to swapping again soon!

Hello, my name is Maya. I am 28 years old and I live in the United States, although I was born in Israel. I am an American and English is my first language. I know a "smidgen" of Hebrew (spoken - I always have trouble with the written language), according to my grandmother. She thinks that I should know more than I do. I took three years of Spanish in high school, but sadly I remember very little of it. I also know a little German and Yiddish.

Judaism is a big part of my life. I haven't been very devout for most of my life when it comes to religion, but Judaism has always been more than just a religion to me. To me, it is a heritage and way of life. I will not bore you with my philosophies, though. I am a third generation (3G) Holocaust survivor descendant, which makes me proud, sad, angry, and many other things... I visited the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York City recently, and I am now determined to be more devout. This makes my family very happy. ;)

I am a very tolerant person. I think religion (or lack of!) is a personal choice, and as long as your religion or life philosophy makes you happy and a better person, then that is good! I will never preach to you. I do not believe there is one right path that everyone must follow.

I am a college student majoring in allied health. Yes, it has taken me this long to figure out what I want to do with my life! I am currently not employed (by choice) so I can focus on my studies. I hope to graduate in 2010. I live with my parents and love it; we are very close, and I don't see myself moving out any time soon.

I struggle with depression; to fight it, I try to eat right and exercise. I've tried medication, but it didn't really do anything for me except make me very anxious and unable to sleep.

I love written communication - letters, postcards, journals, the like. I have always loved getting mail. When I was a little girl, I was always thrilled to get a letter from my grandmother addressed to me in her very neat script, and all of the pretty stamps she would put on it. I am still excited to get letters from her. :)

I love chocolate, although I should probably cut back. A friend in the UK sent me a Crispie bar and that is one of the most delicious chocolates I've ever had. I also love good coffee. I don't drink tea.

I enjoy swapping postcards, mostly tourist-y things. I am a (new) member of Postcrossing; I am the same name there.

FINALLY, I HAVE FOUND A CRAFT THAT I CAN DO AND ENJOY: CROSS STITCHING! It's following a graph, so I can do that without mucking things up too badly! :) No big surprise, I love anything to do with Judaica (not Messianic). Right now I am making a Challah cover.

I can't sew, or draw, or make jewelry, or paint, or scrapbook (that is dreadfully hard - I have tried!). I can make potholders with those nylon loops though; that's really it, but I think that I have made enough potholders now for a small country.

I have loved Beauty and the Beast ever since I was a child (it's where my screen name comes from - my father started calling me "Maya Belle" and it stuck). I also like Jane Eyre, especially the version with Ciaran Hinds as Mr. Rochester. I liked The Dark Knight, although I think Harvey Dent was the best character in the entire movie. I recently watched Sense and Sensibility and remembered how much I love the book and just about every visual adaptation. I also love The Nightmare Before Christmas.

Really, the only TV show I watch is Dexter. I cannot get enough of that show. Once in a while I'll watching Project Runway or Top Chef, but that's usually only when I'm bored. Oh, I also enjoy Family Guy.

I usually enjoy classics, like Jane Eyre, Frankenstein, Antigone, Persuasion... I've been recommended "The Book Thief," but I'm not sure if I'll ever read it, since I tend to avoid things set in World War 2 and the Holocaust in particular.

I enjoy those sad, sometimes poignant types of songs. I don't have a lot of "real" favorites. Right now, some of the most often played songs on my iPod are "Where I Stood" by Missy Higgins, "How to Save a Life" by The Fray, "Goodbye My Lover" by James Blunt, "Under the Bridge" by RHCP, and "November Rain" Guns 'n Roses. I promise that I am not as depressing as my playlists!

Letters, postcards, note cards, pretty stationery, new penpals who won't stop writing after a few letters, good novels, historical books, kawaii stickers, kawaii letter sets, good coffee, tasty chocolate, good thoughts, pens that don't leak ink everywhere :), interesting music, book recommendations, music recommendations, blank journals, moisturizing or medicated lip balm, lotion, good smelling bath things, necklaces, earrings, interesting family stories, France, Germany, Austria, Israel, the Star of David, musical theater (A Little Night Music, Avenue Q, Beauty and the Beast, Elisabeth, Jekyll and Hyde, Les Miserables, My Fair Lady, The Phantom of the Opera, Sweeney Todd, Tanz der Vampire - just to name a few!), Beauty and the Beast anything, The Nightmare Before Christmas, pretty scarves and gloves and hats for winter

Tea, romance novels, pencils, erasers, anything to put in my hair (my hair is very short), scented lip balm that makes your lips feel dry, make-up, bracelets, proselytizing, mittens

I have recently discovered Postcrossing, and I am now hooked on postcards. If you want to know what type of postcards I like best, here is my general wishlist:

http://bellemaya.wordpress.com/wishlist/

I have had penpals for a very long time, over half of my life. I always like to meet new friends, but I am kind of picky over who I will I write to; specifically, I look for handwritten letters (although typed ones are okay once in a while) that are at least a couple pages long, from people who aren't "collectors" and are genuinely interested in the people they write. No racists, anti-Semitic people, or people who try to "save" me. Other than that, I will write to anyone. :)