Adventures with Packages.
May. 17th, 2007 03:06 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sechan19Earlier in my trip, I'd asked my father to send me some packages of candy to give as gifts to people I'd be visiting here in Japan - as a personalized thanks for their hospitality. I sent him an address where I could receive mail, and he responded that he'd get the things off to me as soon as possible.
Cut forward to this afternoon, when, coming out of class I was intercepted by the program coordinator, Tanaka-san, who informed me that I had a package. There was a snag, though. Dad had written the address down completely wrong, and the only reason the package arrived at all was because the workers at the company that did receive it made a tremendous effort to figure out where it was supposed to go. They apparently looked the school up online (tough because even the school name was wrong!) and came to our offices with the package to make inquiries and, as it turned off, hand it over.
In view of this Tanaka-san suggested, and I heartily agreed, to make a visit to the office and offer my thanks for their amazing kindness.
Off we went, both of us marveling at how lucky it was that a) the mistaken address did actually exist and b) the people who got the package were so intrepid. Once there, Tanaka-san introduced me to the man who'd brought the package, and I bowed profusely to him - thanking him sincerely for his efforts and apologizing for the inconvenience involved in hand-delivering the package to the school. He in turn was very gracious, assuring me that it had been no trouble at all (very Japanese) and asking me not to think of it.
As we left, Tanaka-san seemed pleased and even complimented me on how I'd handled the situation. I guess I did alright in the Japanese etiquette department. Not bad for a foreign devil. ;)
Cut forward to this afternoon, when, coming out of class I was intercepted by the program coordinator, Tanaka-san, who informed me that I had a package. There was a snag, though. Dad had written the address down completely wrong, and the only reason the package arrived at all was because the workers at the company that did receive it made a tremendous effort to figure out where it was supposed to go. They apparently looked the school up online (tough because even the school name was wrong!) and came to our offices with the package to make inquiries and, as it turned off, hand it over.
In view of this Tanaka-san suggested, and I heartily agreed, to make a visit to the office and offer my thanks for their amazing kindness.
Off we went, both of us marveling at how lucky it was that a) the mistaken address did actually exist and b) the people who got the package were so intrepid. Once there, Tanaka-san introduced me to the man who'd brought the package, and I bowed profusely to him - thanking him sincerely for his efforts and apologizing for the inconvenience involved in hand-delivering the package to the school. He in turn was very gracious, assuring me that it had been no trouble at all (very Japanese) and asking me not to think of it.
As we left, Tanaka-san seemed pleased and even complimented me on how I'd handled the situation. I guess I did alright in the Japanese etiquette department. Not bad for a foreign devil. ;)
