The other day the kids and I finally found the post office. It was difficult to find since it was disguised as your regular old cell phone shop with only a small mail slot outside to give any indication of any secret postal business. We were happy to finally send the postcards we had written 2 weeks ago. On the walk home I told the kids we probably wouldn’t be sending any more since it was relatively expensive (15,000 dong per postcard!).
I had mostly forgotten about those postcards until the woman from the shop showed up at my door tonight talking loudly on her cell phone and holding an air mail envelope. She said something to me that I didn’t understand and then handed me the phone. Not knowing what else to do, I answered. “Hello?”
The woman on the other end of the line explained to me that she lived in England but her sister (the woman from the shop who stood in front of me) had called her to interpret something important. She said her sister was very sorry and embarrassed but she had overcharged me for the postage on my postcards and wanted to give me back the money. She said her sister hoped I would come back to her shop anytime. Finally, she asked if I would please give the phone back to her sister because they hadn’t actually talked in a while. I handed the phone back and was given an envelope of money.
It was one of those reassuring experiences where I was reminded that the world really is chock full of good people. And I was also left with some questions. First, how did the post office lady know where to find me? (It’s a little disconcerting that the entire town knows exactly where we are). Also, were my postcards mailed? (I never had time to ask the lady in England). And, what is the actual price of sending a postcard overseas?
2 comments:
Andra, this is an awesome post. It sums up so much.
How refreshing, there are good people in this world. That is kinda scary that they were able to find you, but I'm sure it's nothing to worry about. :)
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