Junk Mail

by Cindy

When we moved, we transferred our "permanent" address to my mother's house. That really only consisted of the two credit cards we kept and the life insurance policies. Otherwise, we canceled everything. So, how is it that we have received mail EVERY day since we arrived in America? That's makes no sense to me.

In the UAE we don't have government-run mail service. We have UPS, FedEx, DHL, and Aramex if we need to ship something to or from the UAE. We also have couriers if we need something delivered locally. That's really about it. The strange thing is that we can't really have the government-operated mail service like in the US because we don't have street addresses in the UAE!!! Nobody has them.

Technically, I have a PO box but it is actually the University's address so all University mail goes to the PO box. If you asked me for my street address I would have to tell you something like, "PO Box 26666, American University of Sharjah." That's it. There's no street.

It's hard to give directions with this kind of system - or lack thereof. If a delivery person doesn't know where my University is, I might elaborate by telling him "Universtiy City in Sharjah" or "take Emirates Road, follow the signs to University City, then go to AUS. It's near the Sharjah Airport. At the campus guard gate, ask for my apartment number." Although this does seem odd, works (and it isn't a huge money-loser like the USPS).