los carteros

Today, when the mailman delivered the mail, he wanted to talk to me.  He asked I understood Spanish well.  When I answered yes, he asked me if we would be able to stop by the post office later with a van to pick up food.  I said yes, smiled, and said thank you—all the while thinking I must have misunderstood.  Why would we go to the post office to pick up food?

Later, when Jen and I went to mail some packages, the man at the desk asked (in English) if we were there to get the food.  (So I had understood correctly.)  He explained that the USPS had recently had a food drive and the chosen charity did not want the food.  So, the men at our post office thought of our school.

We pulled the van around the back and they rolled out a huge cart filled with food.  The back of the 15-passenger van was full!  It took Jen and me two hours to put away all the food.  

The generosity of the community and the thoughtfulness of the mailmen was truly touching.  Food is our biggest school expense, so this gift was extremely appreciated!

Side note--We finally discovered our mailman's name.  We've slowly been making friends with him.  (It helps that we have cute deaf kids that run excitedly to his car every time he drops off a package.)  On his birthday, we made cards and sang to him: "Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you.  Happy birthday dear----(awkward glances when we realize we don't know his name) mailman, happy birthday to you."  Now we're ready for next year!