Holiday Mail

I have mentioned before that I have a private mail service with Mailboxes Etc., a company that no longer exists in the United States, but which survives in Mexico.  My mail is sent through an address in Miami, Florida, and then shipped to an office of Mailboxes, Etc. in Mexico City.  It's about a two-mile walk from my apartment, or I can take the Metrobus down Insurgentes Avenue.

The day after Thanksgiving, I received an email that a piece of mail had arrived at the office.  It was too late to go there that day, and they are closed on weekends.  I spent a couple of days at the Alejandro's family's house, so it was not until this past Wednesday that I had a chance to go to the office.  When the lady pulled out what appeared to be a greeting card, I thought, "I've received my first Christmas card."

However, it was actually a Thanksgiving card from one of my former teaching colleagues.

The postmark on the envelope was November 12, so it took about 2 1/2  weeks to arrive.  That seems to be about normal for the mail service, and it is certainly speedier that if it were sent through the Mexican mail service.  Since it arrived the day after Thanksgiving, my colleague had just about timed it correctly.

Yesterday there was another email notifying me of mail that had arrived.  I stopped by the office, and once again the employee pulled out a greeting card.  When I saw the British stamp, I knew that it was a Christmas card from my cousin Kevin in England.  The last time that we had chatted on Skype in November, he had said that he was going to send a card early so that it would arrive here before Christmas. The postmark was November 15, so it took twenty days to arrive here in Mexico. 

Meanwhile, I have heard from friends back in the United States that my Christmas card had arrived.  I had made out all the cards before taking my trip to the Ohio in October.  I took them with me, bought stamps at the post office, and gave them to a friend.  She mailed the cards the day before Thanksgiving.  So, even though I am down here, my reputation remains intact.  My holiday card is still the first one that people receive.