Yes! We are now in India!: Snail Mail

E-mail and internet are great. Instant communication. I really can't imagine living overseas without today's technology. However, receiving actual mail is also nice. I know, I know...most of you probably only get junk mail and bills. However, when you don't even get that, you miss it. You really do. We receive our mail from our U.S. address once per month. It is shipped priority to S at his office. It's mail week here...S should be bringing it home to me any day now. Normally all that is in it are bills and an occasional card or letter from someone. However, I still look forward to receiving it each and every month.

I had heard that receiving mail at a residence address in India was very unreliable (after all, my friend here received her birthday package from her mother 3 months after her birthday). I didn't quite believe it since so far I haven't had any issues sending letters to the U.S. from here. The letters have been getting to the U.S. in about 7 to 10 days, and the cost is cheaper than mailing a letter within the U.S. I believe the cost of a stamp in the U.S. is now up to 41 cents. To send a letter to me here in India would cost I think around 90 cents or so. So, it's quite a deal for me to be able to send a letter to the U.S. from here for 15 rupees (about 38 cents).

Anyway, a few weeks ago I was talking to my cousin and our friend on the telephone. Somehow we got on the topic of mail and how I only get mail once per month since no one ever sends anything to me at my India address. Well they decided to send me a postcard. Ever since then, they have been bugging me about whether or not I have received this postcard...I can hardly wait to see what is on the postcard or written on the postcard...knowing them, it is hard telling what it will be.

Since it has now been a few weeks, I finally decided I had better check to see if mail is actually delivered to our house (after all this is India, so you should never assume anything). So, I talk to my driver...after explaining about 3 times what I was wondering about (he speaks great simple English, but trying to explain that I was expecting a letter from the U.S. and why it hadn't been delivered yet was a little more complicated for him). Anyway, he told me that he would check on the mail delivery. Well, he got back to me that when a letter is delivered to the local post office, it will then be delivered to our house...but get this...it will take 15 to 20 days to be delivered to us! Not to mention that in India whenever someone gives you a time frame, you normally have to double or triple it to get a more accurate estimate. So, 15 to 20 days may actually mean more like 30 to 60 days. Yikes, talk about snail mail!

So, yes Carrie and Beth, I think your postcard is still coming. You will be the first to know when it arrives. To everyone else, forget sending me a Christmas card here...I doubt if you even mailed it out today that it would arrive for Christmas. You might want to consider mailing my birthday card though since my birthday is in May...it might actually get to me on time!