The Post Office

I received my first package today and now fully I appreciate the U.S. postal service! Now, I must admit my postal experience is due in part to living in a large city, not just Romania.

My mailbox is located at the base of the apartment building and does not necessarily lock on a regular basis. It is about the size of two checkbook boxes stacked on top of one another. Unlike many living quarters in the U.S. there are no large, locking boxes available for bigger packages. Therefore, any package you receive exceeding the limits of your daily mailbox is redirected to another post office. I do have an office directly across from my building, but my parcel was redirected to one about 40 minutes away!

I received notice of my package arriving on a small, recycled, newspaper like paper. Naturally, all text was written in Romanian which required translating by our "go-to-guy," Mr. Lupu. The post office hours varied. Monday, Wednesday and Friday it was open from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. On Tuesday and Thursday it is open from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Normally, these hours would be quite sufficient for retrieving parcels; however, due to our travel time, we had to leave at 3:15 p.m. in order to arrive by 4:45.

Once I entered the post office, I was greeted by approximately five women behind a large glass window. My passport was required for both identification as well as name verification on the package. I was then directed to another small room where the package was opened and examined. Amongst the staff of the Romanian post office, I happily opened a lovely birthday gift.

Luckily, my package arrived in one piece and was not missing any items. Unfortunately, it is common for packages to disappear altogether or arrive empty. Regardless, it was a thrill to get something from home!!!