The Little Things

Once again yesterday, I was "soaring" through life I got a quick slap in the face that said "you are not in America any longer."  It was a good weekend, albeit exhausting.  I taught for four hours in Spanish and think they understood what I said.  I had a relaxing lunch with a wonderful Spanish couple and even laughed at the appropriate times (if you have ever learned a foreign language you understand that humor is one of the very last things that develops).  We entertained a Spanish friend for pizza and numerous rounds of UNO and laughed and exchanged stories for hours.  We went to church and I got the sermon - toes stepped on and all - in Spanish.  And then, all I wanted to do was mail a box to Hannah.  Compared to the rest I felt like was walking towards easy street.

Uh no.  The first problem, my box weighed more than 2 kg.  This means that it is now treated as a package and not a letter.  (A letter is anything, regardless of whether it is in an envelope or a box, that is less than 2 kg - new fact I learned yesterday)  I had the wrong paperwork filled out.  No problem, except for the fact that with packages you must list everything included in the box, including the package of Spanish candy I was sending her.  Uh oh - if you list it on your paperwork you cannot send food.  So now I have a 2+kg package, not letter, with a package of candy in it that cannot be mailed and a long form in Spanish to complete regarding the package that I do not understand, and a great gentleman at the post office who is trying to be helpful but has such a strong accent I have no idea what he is saying.  Solution - take everything and go home.

So now I have two packages, both weighing less than 2 kg with the paperwork I understand completed and will make attempt number two to mail them.

You know, it isn't the big things in life that trip me up - it is always the little things that come along just about the time I think I am making progress.  Today I am also off to two different banks - one to pay our car taxes and the other to complete the process for opening a bank account for our non-profit agency.  Wonder how many surprises are ahead of me today?