Anything wrong with my note for UPS deliveryman?

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ohmyrichard

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Dear teachers,
How are you?
I have been living in Austin, TX USA since Sept.10, and still find it hard to handle daily things, for this is my first time to be abroad.
This past Tuesday I bought a used book entitled God Says No on Amazon.com and Amazon told me that UPS would be responsible for the shipping. Then on Wednesday I tracked my package on the website of UPS and got to know that my book would be delivered to my door on Friday by end of day. Over here I live in a rental apartment on the second floor and I seldom leave my door open like the other guys do who rent other rooms in the same apartment building. I feared that the UPS deliveryman might forget to knock at the door or that I might fail to hear his knocks at the door as I might be sleeping or listening to things online at the time of his coming, so I sticked a note on the door, reading:

Mr. UPS Deliveryman:
Please knock at the door. I am inside. Thanks.
Richard

In the afternoon, the UPS deliveryman came and knocked at the door and I heard it while watching a video online. I opened the door and after signing electronically got the book. I thanked him and said "Have a good day!" to him.

As I always urge myself to be an avid learner of English and be clear about English language points I have come across or tried to make good use of in communication, I beg you, especially native English speaking members of this forum, to do me a favor and tell me whether there is anything wrong with my note for the UPS deliveryman-- in any aspect of the language used in this note. Can I say "Mr. UPS Deliveryman" and use it as a salutation? If so, should "Deliveryman" be capitalized or should it be not? And is it proper to say "I am inside."? What would you say in this same situation? Or if you had been in my situation, what differently-phrased note would you have left on the door for the deliveryman?


I am sure that I will learn a lot about the English language from your answers. Thanks a lot.

Richard
 

Barb_D

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Hi Richard,
A minor point: You stuck the note on the door.

So, let's start with the basics. The purpose is to communicate -- and you did just that. You got your package.

I wouldn't say "Mr. UPS Deliveryman" because women work for UPS too.
I wouldn't say "knock on the door" because where else would you knock?

But really, there was no need for a note at all. Even if your door was unlocked, no delivery service would EVER just open your door and just drop off the package, unless you left a note saying to do that, and that seems like a risky thing to do. (Anyone who saw the note would know your door was unlocked and could just come in.)

UPS will usually ring the bell or knock while making a delivery. If you were afraid you would not hear them, then you could leave a note that says "Please knock loudly -- I'm inside." or "Please knock loudly -- I'm here!"
 

ohmyrichard

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Hi Richard,
A minor point: You stuck the note on the door.

So, let's start with the basics. The purpose is to communicate -- and you did just that. You got your package.

where else would you knock?

UPS will usually ring the bell or knock while making a delivery. If you were afraid you would not hear them, then you could leave a note that says "Please knock loudly -- I'm inside." or "Please knock loudly -- I'm here!"
Thanks for pointing out my wrong verb form.
A follow-up question for you: Do you mean that I should have begun my note with "Mr. UPS Deliveryman or Ms. UPS Deliverywoman", which is too long, or "UPS deliveryperson"? I googled "deliveryperson" just now and found that it is always written as "delivery person", as two words instead of one.
My American neighbour told me that several months ago she got a pair of shoes lost but UPS said they delivered the parcel to her door and dropped it at her door. She thought it must be stolen. And this is why I thought of pasting a note on the door.
Your versions of "Please knock loudly -- I'm inside." and "Please knock loudly -- I'm here!" are better than mine. I would never be able to think of "I'm here!"
I love your humor in saying "where else would you knock?"
 

SoothingDave

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I think Barb was saying there was no need to address the note to anyone at all. Just say "Please knock loudly -- I am here!"

If I were to specify who the note was for, I would probably just write:

"UPS - Please knock loudly - I am here!"

No need for "Dear Mr. or Ms Deliveryperson" or anything like that.
 

ohmyrichard

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I think Barb was saying there was no need to address the note to anyone at all. Just say "Please knock loudly -- I am here!"

If I were to specify who the note was for, I would probably just write:

"UPS - Please knock loudly - I am here!"

No need for "Dear Mr. or Ms Deliveryperson" or anything like that.
Thanks for pointing out my misunderstanding of Barb's idea, SoothingDave.
Your version is economic in wording and saves a lot of trouble.
Thank you.
 

Ouisch

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Just for future reference, when ordering items from Amazon there is a field called "delivery instructions" on the order form. You can type in specific instructions in this space, such as "leave at manager's office" or "knock on door loudly". :-D
 

ohmyrichard

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Just for future reference, when ordering items from Amazon there is a field called "delivery instructions" on the order form. You can type in specific instructions in this space, such as "leave at manager's office" or "knock on door loudly". :-D
Thanks for reminding me of this Amazon information. To be frank, this is just my second time to order things from Amazon(USA) since my arrival in America. When I was in China, I ordered items from www.amazon.cn whose delivery style is slightly different from here in America.
 

Barb_D

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Don't worry, Richard.

If this is the most confusing difference you find between Texas and China, you're lucky!

I hope you're enjoying Austin otherwise. Are you starting to embrace American football?
 

ohmyrichard

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Don't worry, Richard.

If this is the most confusing difference you find between Texas and China, you're lucky!

I hope you're enjoying Austin otherwise. Are you starting to embrace American football?
At the end of last month, I watched the live broadcast of the game between Oklahoma and Texas on the local channel at home. I never expected that you guys are so enthusiastic about this sport. I cannot get tickets for such games at UT Stadium; I am stupid, I do not know where to buy them. To be frank, I'm not a sport fan. But I would like to be a spectator on the spot to deepen my Austin experience at least once in the future.
 

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It's been said that in Texas, football is more of a religion than a pasttime.

The Oklahoma game was ugly (if your'e a Texas fan). They did much better this week against Texas Tech.
 

ohmyrichard

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It's been said that in Texas, football is more of a religion than a pasttime.

The Oklahoma game was ugly (if your'e a Texas fan). They did much better this week against Texas Tech.
When I was watching the live broadcast that day, I noticed that there are two teams called Texas and Texas Tech respectively taking part in the serial games. Then is the team of Texas the UT Austin team? Yes, that day Texas lost the game to Oklahoma by a big margin.
You are right about football in Texas. I have seen that on the campus of O'Henry Middle School near my residence almost every afternoon students are practising it under the guidance of PE teachers. When I first got here, I took some pics of them and sent them to my wife and daughter for a look.
 

emsr2d2

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I think that the people who teach the kids to play football there are called "football coaches" not "PE teachers".

In BrE, a PE teacher is someone who teaches children from the age of 5 until about 12, teaching them a variety of sports or just helping them to keep fit. My PE teachers in my first two schools took us for swimming, netball, hockey, football, kickball, gym etc. They did not usually have a specialist sport.

In America, I believe that sports are taken much more seriously in schools so there will be a specific baseball coach, football coach, basketball coach etc.

As always, I'm ready to be corrected by my friends across the pond.
 

SoothingDave

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A high school football coach is traditionally also a teacher. Often a PE teacher, rather than an "academic" subject. The coaching is done for an extra stipend, an addition to his normal salary.

Of course, there are exceptions. Some coaches have other professions/occupations and are paid by the school district only to coach.

I don't think we are at the point of a full time, full salary coach at the high school level. Though if it were to happen, i'm sure it would happen in Texas first.
 

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When I was watching the live broadcast that day, I noticed that there are two teams called Texas and Texas Tech respectively taking part in the serial games. Then is the team of Texas the UT Austin team? Yes, that day Texas lost the game to Oklahoma by a big margin.
You are right about football in Texas. I have seen that on the campus of O'Henry Middle School near my residence almost every afternoon students are practising it under the guidance of PE teachers. When I first got here, I took some pics of them and sent them to my wife and daughter for a look.

Yes, the University of Texas team (Usually just known as "Texas" on the scoreboard) is from the Austin campus.
 

ohmyrichard

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Yes, the University of Texas team (Usually just known as "Texas" on the scoreboard) is from the Austin campus.
Thanks a lot for confiming my guess.
To take "Texas" as an example, lack of information will sure get one confused about the meaning of things, and oftentimes too much detailed information will lead to the same result. Very often when I go to wikipedia for information about say British and American school systems, I get clear, confused, clear again ,confused again, and ultimately confused while reading those entries. The other day I asked the Chinese guy who subleased his rental apartment to me about the differences between middle school, junior high school, senior high school, and high school, this guy, who has been living in America for twelve years failed to come up with an answer. When you've got a minute, please tell me about their differences and commonality.
Thanks.
 

Barb_D

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Traditionally, "junior high" is 7th and 8th grade - ages 12-14 or so.

"Middle school" usually starts in 6th grade, so it's 6th, 7th, and 8th.

I understand that the "junior high" that I went to as a child is now a middle school.

I don't hear the term "senior high school" used that much -- usually it's just "high school," but the terms are synonymous - grades 9-12, or ages 14-18 (more or less).

Adding to the fun, we use "school" in the US to mean college/university, so if you say "My kids are still in school" it could mean they are 5 or 22." And if you say "Where did you go to school?" it means "where did you go to college/university."

And finally, we don't really differentiate between college/university. I've seen other sites where someone has given entirely wrong information, saying a college is less prestigious and doesn't offere the same degree. Both a college and a university award bachelor's degrees.
 

SoothingDave

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Just to clarify Barb's point, a school district will usually have three schools for children of different ages. First, from Kindergarten to grade 5 or 6 is "elementary" school (or sometimes "grade school"). Then there is either a junior high (7-8) or a middle school (6-7-8). Finally, there is the high school (or senior high) for grades 9-12.
 

5jj

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The system in Britain is very different. I shan't go into it here, as the question has not been asked. I'll just note that "My kids are still [STRIKE]in[/STRIKE] at school" could not be used there for offspring over the age of 18/19, and 'college' in Britain is often (but not always!) a 16-19 extablishment.
 

ohmyrichard

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Just to clarify Barb's point, a school district will usually have three schools for children of different ages. First, from Kindergarten to grade 5 or 6 is "elementary" school (or sometimes "grade school"). Then there is either a junior high (7-8) or a middle school (6-7-8). Finally, there is the high school (or senior high) for grades 9-12.

Thanks a lot. Then I've got a follow-up question along your line: Are elmentary school, middle school and high school independent of each other? May it be that a junior high and a senior high are two administrative parts of one school and there is only one head teacher /principal for them?

I used to work in such a school for three years before I started my MA studies back in China. Now the junior high part of that school is an independent school at a new location and the senior high now does not share the campus with it.
In China, when we say "the middle school"(not in the American sense), we mean a school for students who have graduated from elementary school and haven't been admitted into higher education institutions.So, in Chinese school system, this "middle" means "between elementary school and college/university" and "the middle school" in Chinese is a too vague or general term which is usually made speccific by saying that a stuent is attending a junior high or senior high. You will see that there is a huge difference between "the middle school" in China and a middle school in America.

Please give an answer to my questions at the beginning of this same post. Thanks.
 

ohmyrichard

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The system in Britain is very different. I shan't go into it here, as the question has not been asked. I'll just note that "My kids are still [STRIKE]in[/STRIKE] at school" could not be used there for offspring over the age of 18/19, and 'college' in Britain is often (but not always!) a 16-19 extablishment.
Please tell me about the British education system. About four years ago when I chatted with a British college girl student about your education system, she gave me too much information and threw me directly into confusion. It seemed that your education system is rather complicated, especially its higher education part. Tell me something about it to help me to get a clear idea about it.
Thanks.
 
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