Thursday, June 10, 2010

Paquete, por favor!

So yesterday I met up with my friend to run an errand. She and I reconnected here after not seeing each other in 12 years. We went to the same elementary, jr. high and high school and now, here we are. We took a drive into the city to find the post office so I could pick up two packages that were waiting for me. One was addressed to Chris, one to Sam. When I handed the employee my package slip, she got my package. While standing behind the counter with the glass, she and two other women watched my friend and me as we waited anxiously for the parcels to be handed over. Here, it's always a game--can you get what you need before they find a reason not to give it to you? Sure enough, as she handed me the school notebook to sign my name for the package, she asked to see my ID. I quickly realized that my ID has my maiden name which did not match the last names on the packages. After explaining that my name changed and that the package was coming from my family, she was about to hand it over and then her supervisor said "No, we can't. It's policy and we follow the rules." When they asked who Sam was, I told them my dog. The ladies started giggling and outright laughing but then said I needed some sort of ID or proof of identification for my dog in order to pick up the package. Good thing my friend was there because she was able to help with communication. I would have been completely lost in what to say. She asked what they would do if Sam was a child instead of a dog, "Would a small child need ID as well?". "Well, a mother would have proof of their birth certificate or something and she could vouch for the child," they responded. My friend added, "Well, that's what she's doing. She's vouching for the dog." At this point, it was more amusing than frustrating that we were going back and forth over toys for Sam. Eventually, they agreed to give us the packages if we had some form of ID of Chris' since his name was on the other box. Finally, almost an hour later, we left the post office.