Thread by @wiczipedia

Americans take the US Postal Service for granted. Having lived in two countries where mail is chronically unreliable (to put it diplomatically), I do not.

Here are a few stories about my misadventures with mail in Russia and Ukraine.

The first time I lived in Russia, ten years ago, my then-boyfriend (now husband) sent me a Valentine's Day card. It never made it to me at my university address; eventually, it was sent back to him as undeliverable after more than two months of globe trotting.

I tried to send postcards; like many Russian state services the post office keeps a ridiculous schedule and it took me a few tries to find it open. Triumphant, I waited in line and asked for some international stamps, only to be told they weren't sold at that time/day.

I recently sent review copies of my book to colleagues in Moscow. They did not ever make it there.

Things were slightly better in Ukraine- the post office was a bit more predictable and Nova Poshta, Ukraine's UPS-type service, was fairly reliable. But even they had trouble delivering a package to an American neighbor's former exchange student.

When I was packing to leave Ukraine I faced a conundrum with all the books I had acquired; they made my already full-to-bursting suitcases too heavy. I didn't want to entrust them to the post office, and private delivery service was going to cost hundreds...

...take a long time, or force me to travel to the outskirts of the city for service that was unreliable and slow and wouldn't deliver directly to my house in the US. I ended up finding a foreign service friend who was also moving and willing to take my books in their shipment.

Moral of the story: the USPS provides a public service. Affordable, reliable mail. Some people cannot afford UPS, DHL, or FedEx- USPS is the only option. It also reliably serves rural locations. And it will be important in delivering our votes this November. #SaveUSPS