Adventures with the Почта России (Russian Post)

Yesterday, the package that my parents mailed to me just over two months ago finally found its way into my hands. The Russian postal system is not renowned for its expediency (and my prior experiences are in line with this reputation - it took about five weeks for an envelope that I mailed home to get from here to my house), so I wasn't holding my breath while waiting for the package to arrive. Nevertheless, I was extremely happy to finally get the package and all if the goodies inside.

My family had intended that I recieve the package in time for Christmas, or at least sometime around then, but things didn't end up playing out that way. Often, though, a late Christmas gift is even better than an on-time one; it makes it seem like the holiday has been extended. My package arrived at an excellent time, too. Halfway through my second week back in Russia, I was feeling a bit exhausted and disheartened, but then I had a little bit of Christmas to cheer me up.

I had known since Monday that my package was in Saint Petersburg, but, home delivery being an uncommon thing in Russia, I needed to find time to go pick it up from the post office where it was waiting for me. Yesterday afternoon I finally had several free hours, so I took my passport and the slip telling me to come pick up my package and headed off to the post office.

The post office isn't far away from the academy, so it only took me a few minutes to walk there. I was really happy to discover it completely empty of any customers besides myself, so I didn't have to wait in line (which could have taken a rather long time).

Soon afterwards, I had my package.

 

When I got to my room (finally, after walking up six flights of stairs, realizing that I'd forgotten to pick up the key to my room, walking back down to the first floor to get it, and then climbing back up all of the stairs once again), I sat on my bed and unpacked the contents of the box. Inside, I discovered a Christmas stocking, several packets of peanut butter and almond butter, and some other little packages. Abandoning any and all attempts at self-restraint, I happily opened every last one of the presents that I'd just received.

My family has a tradition of waiting until after we've opened all of our other gifts before opening the gifts in our stockings. Often that happens in the evening, after we've already had our Christmas dinner. The wait always feels unbearably long, but it's nothing compared to how long I had to wait to open this stocking. I left Russia more than a month after my parents mailed the package, spent two weeks at home, and still arrived back in Saint Petersburg a week before my box. Was it worth waiting so long? Absolutely. After all, I got to celebrate Christmas all over agian. In February. And I think that's awesome.