An Ordinary Hotel Key

ODESSA, UKRAINE

Oliga: Good day David! Unfortunately you forgot to give the keys to the rooms Hotel Jumbo. Please could you send me them back through the train. Thanks in advance and hope to understand. It wasn’t the first time I had left a hotel with my room key. In Europe, at least, some of these keys could be heirlooms. That was not the case with this very ordinary key, but the desk clerk had otherwise been very helpful and had told me she was new on the job, so I responded to her email. The email exchange that follows has been partially edited for readability.

Me: I'm sorry I forgot to give you the key. I will try sending it to you from my hotel here in Odessa tomorrow.

Oliga: I am very grateful to you if you do this. I really hope that you will send the keys to the hotel. So I will not have problems with the boss because I really need this job. Thanks again.

Me: I'll definitely have it mailed to your hotel tomorrow. Please accept my apologies and tell your boss that it was not your fault.

Oliga: Thank you very much, but it's my fault. I hope that everything will be good. Please contact me and then when the parcel arrives that I know and tell the girls at the hotel. Have a nice evening.

Post Office Address

Me: I'm sorry to report that I haven't been able to find a way to send the key to you. The hotel tells me that the post will only accept documents. It's possible that I could use Fed Ex or DHL, but their offices are nowhere near the hotel where I'm staying. You mentioned something about sending by train, but I don't understand how that works. If you can explain better, that may be a possibility. I didn’t mention to Oliga that I had spent an hour looking for a post office just in case the hotel was wrong. Whenever I asked, “Where’s the post office?” I got a puzzled look. The best I could do was find something that looked like a telephone booth although it was clearly marked on my map as a post office.

Oliga: Good day David! There are many options for how to transfer the keys. Can pass through the train to from Odessa to Chisinau to provide the key guide and when I come, or by minibus, but better by train.

Oliga: If you pass the keys to the train. They called me and I will come to train.

Oliga: I beg you please try to transfer the keys.

Me: I'm afraid I don't understand. Who do I give the key to?

Oliga: Woman who works in a train. When you go to the train, she looks the ticket (the controller). You can ask her and she will give in Chisinau, I'll give her the money for it.

Me: What train? What time?

Oliga: Today at 16.50 will train from Odessa to Chisinau. I do not know the train number, but it is the train on which you are traveling. In Chisinau, he will be 21.44. You can pass either through the passengers or the conductor with my phone number and I'll be in the evening at the station.

Me: Okay, I gave the key to the train steward. I also gave him 22 lei. Please let me know if you receive it. It's now 12 p.m. I haven't heard back from Oliga.