1.5.11

The Mail

Some of our family and friends mistakenly believe that there is no mail service in Beirut. They're not entirely correct. See this drop box? It belongs to the Lebanese postal service. And, in theory, if you put an appropriately stamped letter in the box, it will be delivered to its destination.

That's the theory anyway. Over the years, we've had some remarkable experiences with the Lebanese mail. I'll share a few stories:

1. There is no standard residential postal delivery. But, in 2006, a friend who lived in Hamra posted a letter to me in Ain Mreisseh. She used the street name and the name of my building, and listed the floor where I lived. A postman delivered the letter to me within the week. We were both astonished.

2. During the first week of July, 2006, I mailed a baby blanket to my sister for her anticipated newborn. Then, a week later, the airport was bombed and the war started and I forgot about it completely. Months later, October, I think it was, the package arrived at my sister's house. Neither of us could believe it.

3. Last year we mailed children's books about Lebanon and stickers to family and friends. About half of these packages never reached their destinations. This is the same experience we've had with holiday greetings that we've sent by mail. This past season, we opted for an e-card, and that's likely to continue.

Today, bloggers all over the world are posting photos of mailboxes in their city. Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

8 comments:

  1. I am wondering about this superman-like sticker? Is it the official mascot? Is it street art?

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  2. Not sure I'd try mailing a postcard from that mailbox after your explanations! Perfect mailbox snap for theme day with the palm trees and lovely model!

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  3. A picture backed up by real-world true stories.

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  4. Oh the super hero is the official mascot! His likeness isn't on all the mailboxes, though, so I had to find one that had it, and I took the shot so that he was visible. I think it's charming and a little strange. Maybe amusing is the right word.

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  5. Very interesting post. You'd have to be a super hero to pull off some of the mail deliveries you described! Good stuff.

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  6. An interesting tale of mail delivery and also to see mail boxes are yellow in your part of the world as well as Paris.

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  7. ... but all mailboxes are yellow, arent' they? :-P

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