Modern Madeline: The Italian postal...system
Courtney Sparks, Staff Columnist
Issue date: 12/2/05 Section: World Traveler
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The package arrived only a week after it was sent. Upon arriving at one of my school's offices, I was told that I would need to go to the other office and pay 70 euro, about $90, for my package.
As soon as I arrived at Dilit, the other office, I demanded to know why I had to pay to receive a package whose shipping had already been paid for. They couldn't tell me the exact reason, but the woman at the office told me that the deliveryman would arrive soon and she would ask him why.
I went to class, hoping that it was all a mistake. When I returned to the office after class, I was informed that my mother had insured the package for $300; the Italians are notorious for stealing packages with expensive contents, so we thought it was wise to insure it.
First, I was told that the 70 euro was a custom import tariff that I was paying for the import of my camera. Then I was told that it was the payment I had to make for using the insurance. In the end, no one could really tell me why I was being charged or what it was for, simply that I would have to pay.
The delivery man had already come and gone, and apparently, angered by my unwillingness to blindly hand over a large sum of money, had decided that my package would not be redelivered but would be marked to be returned to the states whenever they decided it was prudent, or perhaps it would simply get lost in the chiasmus void that exists in all Italian services.
I had my school call and ask them to redeliver the package. I decided to simply pay the amount rather that trust the Italian postal service to actually return the package. The school called, arranged for it to be redelivered that Friday and I left them with my money.
That Friday, after a relaxing trip to the hot spring in Viterbo, I returned to a very cold Rome, with wet hair mind you, and trekked down to the Dilit center. When I arrived, my package was not there and the woman at the desk had no inclination as to telling me why.
I left very cold, very discouraged, and completely overwhelmed by an all-consuming anger. I had to wait until Monday before anything could be done. On that day, I returned to Dilit and attempted to discover what had become of my package. The office called the post office only to discover that the entire postal service's computer systems were down. No one knew where my package was, or how I could get it.
