Trying to send post packages in Italy...

Some of the things I have taken for granted and never really thought of how well things work in my home country. One of those things is the postal services. Earlier in Finland most post offices closed at 5pm with a few exceptions of post offices that were open until 7pm. But then came a big new change and some of the small post offices were closed and their functions were given to regular grocery-stores and small shops.

The hole Finland seemed to be in chaos. People almost revolted for this new procedure. Sure at first there were some missing posts - yours truly filled a document telling the authorities that I was moving - that document never got to the authorities and still today I have the wrong moving-day in their files. But now I have come to accustom to the fact that I can take care my post matters until 9pm in the evening in the near-by store - Collect my post-packages, send post and so forth.

Also Finns seem to be postcard people, postcards are sold EVERYWHERE. Literally everywhere, kiosks, food stores, department stores, post office, bookstores and so forth, every place sells a good quantity of different types of postcards. Never really thought of it before I came to Rome.

2 weeks ago I was desperately trying to find some postcards here in Rome. Postcards that would not read "Buon Compleanno" (Happy birthday). Hmmm.. didn't do that well in finding another type of postcards. I went shopping in a big  shopping mall, with several stores, but could not find a regular postcard. Carrefour shop had only those Compleanno -postcards. The bookstore had NO POSTcards at all, strange I thought. So the hole shopping mall had only Happy Birthday cards. Ok, I'll try from downtown tomorrow I though.

Next day I finally found a bookstore downtown and found a few postcards without text. Great, one thing done, another to go...

Finding a postcard is one thing, but completely another issue is sending postpackages in Italy. I did that twice last week. Let me tell you about it...

First you need to find a post office that is actually open after 2pm - I mean who makes it in the post before 2pm anyway. After I found one some 400 meters away from my home I decided to walk to the post office. But my roommate said that there is no road to walk to the huge shopping mall area practically next-door. The only way to access the shopping mall is by car. Even with bus there is only one bus from downtown Rome... WHAT????????????????????? No way to enter a shopping mall that is just 400 meters away. That is crazy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

But being a Finn, I don't give up that easily. So way I went - WALKING - to the nearby shopping mall, since that is were the post office is. Sure I got a few strange looks from the cars passing by, while I WAS WALKING IN THE DITCH... Sure the few cars that saw me passing a busy motorway did not quite get it why I was there ON THEIR ROAD. But I made it in the end and found the post office.

So in I went to the postoffice and waited for my turn to come... and by the way there is ALWAYS A LOT OF PEOPLE WAITING at the post office in Italy. My turn came and I explained in English that I need a big envelope and I need to send something to a friend. Way he went to fetch someone that can speak English. In the end I finally got the package on it's way....

Then another day I needed to send a package to Holland and again I went to the post office (different one this time... with no crossing motorways) to send the package abroad. Guess how many papers I had to fill in... 3 documents.. all with the same details, sender and receiver. 3 times or actually 4 times since I had to add the same details on the envelope I purchased from the post-office. All this time while I'm writing these same details the postman was waiting, waiting and waiting. And the queue behind me was waiting, waiting and waiting. I thought to myself that if they would have one paper to fill then this hole process would be faster and both the post-officer and the people would not have to wait for so long.

This ordeal of trying to find a postcard made me decide one thing... next time I see nice postcards - I WILL BUY THEM IMMEDIATELY! Just to make sure I don't have to search for them again...