Since we have had various inquiries by friends and family as to what things we'd like from home, we thought it might be a good idea to address the issue of sending us things, and provide a list of things we might want from home. We still aren't sure about the timing of packages coming to us, we only know if we have mail if we go and ask at the post office or if the postlady sees us in town and tells us we have a box. IF you are sending us a package, please be aware that there is a likelihood of theft, though we havn't lost anything yet. In order to deter theft it is strongly recommend to write something on the outside fo the package to the affect of "
Dios nos bendiga", "God Bless us" or "
Dios guarda este paquete", "God protects this package". If you have religious stickers or want to draw pictures, that'd be cool too! Also, if you are sending electronics, please do NOT select that on the customs form. We pay a minimum $100 (ie: half our monthly income) fee for any electronics. So, wrap them in socks and say they are clothes, please! I'm pretty sure the cheapest way to send packages here is through USPS flat rate envelopes, but I'd welcome some feedback on that from people actually doing the sending.
As to things that we would like from home:
- Stuff to make beer! Primarily yeast and hops. Actually, if people send Champagne or wine yeast, we can get everything else necessary to make mead with local honey. For beer we would need malt extract (or actual grains), hops, and yeast. A homebrew store can point you in the right direction.
- Seeds (We have a garden. Many normal-to-us vegtables are hard to find seeds for. Chinese Cabbage would be sweet. If at all possible, we would prefer open-polinated varieties, not hybrids, because they seeds can be saved from the fruits and planted the next year)
- School supplies, mostly markers, nametags, colored pencils, masking tape, construction paper, glue sticks (we use a LOT of flipchart paper, but that doesn't travel well)
- Bug zappers (the tenis-racket thingers with electricity that kills bugs)
- Starbursts
- Postcards! (we will need things to decorate our walls with, and if you send us a postcard we won't forget you!)
- New knitting things (can never have too many?)
- E-Books. We like reading, and the Peace Corps office here has a lot of books we can borrow, but e-books are easier to carry around.
