Thank You, Call Again...

A couple of months ago we played a game in English Club where you had to learn as much as possible about your partner in 5 minutes. Then the other team would ask you questions about your partner. Points were determined by whether the question was answered correctly or not. It was Jenya and Valery against Lenara and I. Jenya asked Lenara, “what is the thing that Sim likes the least about Razdol’noye?” Now, while she knew the names of my parents and my favorite film, this was a question that we had not considered and she was on her own to answer what she thought I would say. The first thing that popped into my mind was the word “litter”. I really hate the way all of the litter keeps this otherwise beautiful town (save the poor quality of the roads) from looking the best it can. Lenara didn’t take much time to answer, except she said that “the post office” was my least favorite thing. I had to be honest and called it no match. The last 24 hours have made me reconsider my answer.
When I first came to Razdol’noye, I met a lot of people in town that couldn’t understand my accent and it was difficult with my limited vocabulary to communicate as easily as I would have liked. I remember, for example, going to the bus station to ask about schedules and having an impossible time trying to get the information I was after. But, after a few times at the station either asking for info or actually buying tickets, they realized that I was doing everything I could think of to be understood and I started to notice that they too were trying to understand- and magically, we were able to come together. Now, I am not sharing tea with the ladies of the bus station, but I would go so far as to say “we’re good now”. The post office? I think they dream up ways to make me despise them for when I do show up, and to mix it up a little, pepper a few things to piss me off on the fly just to keep it interesting for them/frustrating for me. This is the story about calling bullshit at the post office, leaving and calling to complain about bullshit, then calling on them again to put this bullshit behind us- and try to learn a lesson in the interim. As I start to think about preparing to leave, I, like most volunteers am looking into mailing a package or two to keep from having to lug overstuffed suitcases through Europe. I remember and reminded Lenara that about 6 months ago I thought that Erin had mentioned having a problem sending stuff home and had to do precisely that…lug it in a backpack through Europe. If I wasn’t mistaken it was an issue with mailing used clothing. Lenara told me that what I was saying did not make any sense and I must have remembered the situation wrong- which was possible- it was 6 months ago. I took some time last week to pack a box. A full size wine carton. I stuffed as much into that carton as I could without feeling that the sides were going to burst. It was pretty solid and I was able to get a great deal of stuff into the box. My winter coat. My winter boots. My hat, gloves, and scarf too. I had some books, some DVD’s, and even some souvenirs- a fridge door full of magnets that I have been collecting. I didn’t seal it. Lenara asked when I planned to go to the post office to mail my box. I told her Wednesday, unless she would help me, then I would wait to go on her schedule- she suggested Thursday. So, with my, what turned out to be 20 pound box inside a rolling suitcase, we went to the post office at 1pm yesterday. I set the box on the counter. The clerk wanted to know what was in the box and started to formulate a plan for attacking the job of mailing it. She told me to pull everything out of the box and set it on the counter. I complied and almost immediately two of the clerks said “no, no, no you cannot mail any used clothing.” Lenara said that it made no sense and asked what if we bought it on Ebay and needed to return it? The worker offered that because of the possible transportation of bacteria, if we were to ship used clothes or shoes internationally, we would need to go to Simferopol (4 hours each way on a bus) to get a letter stating that epidemiologically the contents were safe for shipping. “OK, I will take the used stuff out and leave the new stuff in.” My next issue was that I had knitted socks, how do you prove if they are used or new? Didn’t matter, they weren’t going without a cellophane bag and a price tag. I had an unwashed, unworn t-shirt that also did not qualify. By the time all was said and done, I had two piles- the clothes, shoes, and coat that weren’t going, and a pile a little bigger than a VHS tape (2 books, some DVD’s and a magnet collection) that could go. I still couldn’t wrap my head about why I couldn’t send this stuff and the bottom line was “all of the people who work at the post office think this is a ridiculous rule too, but there’s just nothing we can do about it. We are sorry.” I put all of my stuff into my suitcase and headed back to the library to think about other options. I called some volunteer friends, but all who I spoke with either hadn’t sent stuff yet, or didn’t ship any used clothes…until I spoke to Anne. Just last Friday Anne sent a package to America from her town which included a bunch of tea cups wrapped in used t-shirts! WTF?! How come my post office is too strict and/or her post office is too lenient? She then sent me a link to an international postal regulation guidebook (god bless the internet) which, upon much searching, said nothing specifically about the prohibition of mailing clothing or shoes. I said that maybe we should go back to the post office and ask them to show us the regulation that backed up their restrictive claims. Realizing that would probably get us nowhere (since the clerk’s supervisor was working behind the counter at the time), I suggested that maybe we could call the main post office in either Kiev or Simferopol and see if we could get a clarification on the rules. Lenara found the phone number and called Simferopol, eventually speaking to a supervisor and explaining our predicament. “What exactly is the rule so that we know?” she asked. The woman said not only would she confirm that there was no restriction on mailing used clothing, but that she would personally call our local P.O. and “tell them how to do their job”!
Lenara and I returned to the post office today after lunch and as we walked in there was a very different demeanor among the staff. They were laughing and joking with us, telling us that they expected us back yesterday and thought we had gotten lost. Knowing that we hadn’t actually sent the box yet, we were careful not to break this jolly mood. I brought the box back to where it was yesterday and again the clerk behind the counter stared at it like she was preparing to diffuse a bomb knowing full well that in minutes, like a jack-in-the-box, everything would be expanded to cover the entire counter. She instructed that all like items form piles…as in all shirts in one pile, all shoes a second pile, all socks a third pile etc. I got to the books and DVD’s and was told that these items would have to be shipped separately. Lenara and I asked “why?” at the same time- except she added, “the supervisor in Simferopol said we could mail it in the same box!” At this point we heard the supervisor in this local office say something to the effect of “just let them do what they want”. Well, we liked that. The clerk then proceeded to weigh every pile of separated items and read the weights off to the other clerk who was acting as scribe. “Socks. Three pair. 445 grams. Gloves. 2 pair. 305 grams. etc.” What a painfully slow process. But, we were leaps and bounds ahead of yesterday. Now that everything was weighed, I needed to try to pack it again. There was some discussion if I would be allowed to use my own box or if I was required to buy one of theirs? Since I received this box through the post office when it was sent to me, there should not be a restriction on sending it. “Just let them do what they want” comes from behind the counter. Midway through packing the clerk leans over and tells me that I need to remove all of the previously affixed packing tape from the box. Knowing full well that peeling the tape could cause some thin spots in the cardboard, I counteroffer to cover all packing tape with my silver American duct tape, adding they can cover the duct tape with their own tape. “Just let them do what they want”. In addition to packing the box I have to fill out an itemized manifest with item category, number, weight, and cost…in triplicate- carbon copies are for rubes. All had to be handwritten in full thrice. From this point on, it was a bit of smooth sailing. They asked for a few signatures and calculated the shipping fees. When all was said and done it cost me 521UAH (about US$65) to ship the 9kg (20lb) package. I was given a tracking number and sent on my way, fingers crossed.
As we walked back to the library I had a few thoughts. First, how does it take 1 ½ hours just to send one package?? And this was with Lenara translating! Imagine if I had been there alone? I am certain I would have given up much earlier. But, the other problem was questioning authority. Surely I wouldn’t have been able to solve this issue by myself, but I couldn’t help but wonder how many people before and since Erin had been told the same thing and accepted the clerk’s erroneous regulations. As I walked, joking with Lenara about what had just transpired, I felt a tremendous feeling of teamwork to overcome a challenge. Not that it was a substantial hurdle, but upwards of 3 hours to identify and solve the problem on day one plus 2 hours taken out of our schedules to actually mail it on the second day was substantial enough in our small town. This was a challenge that I should have been able to solve by myself (after 2 years here!), but fear I wouldn’t have been able to do it with her help. It underscored the teamwork that we can accomplish when push comes to shove.
Interestingly, at English Club, I presented everyone with this scenario and asked for their opinion and what they would have done. One guy suggested talking to the local supervisor to ask why were couldn’t mail the stuff, another suggested taking the package on the bus to the next city and trying to mail it from there, and a third, clever boy, suggested I mail the box domestically to my friend who had sent clothes without a problem and ask her to mail it to America for me. I’m glad that it didn’t come down to either of those last two options.

I would like to take this moment to publicly thank my partner for her help in this matter. And also prepare her for the possibility that I will have another package to send next month! Thanks Lenara, I couldn’t have done it without you.