So this post is going to be about snail mail....a system that I rarely used even in the States. But snail mail here is a totally different animal. Having read blog post's from other expats, I know that where I live definitely does not have the worst mail system ever, but it still doesn't cease to make me laugh :)
One of the best things in the world is the care package. I mean, think about the name! It has the word care in it, and man does it make me and Danae feel cared about. Our first care package arrived a few weeks after we got to our city. It was from my parents, and it contained some completely necessary ;) items like chocolate chips, homemade blueberry preserves, and some things I had accidentally left at home. A lady came to our door and delivered a slip saying that our package had arrived and was waiting for us at the post office. We just needed to come and collect it. However, she said that the "parcel" (they don't understand when I say package) was damaged. Although my heart rate increased a little at the word "damaged," I was still super excited to get to the post office to retrieve my parcel. Danae and I left promptly and walked to the post office which is only about a fifteen minute walk from our flat. When we arrived, we honestly had no idea where to go, but eventually after walking into a room and having a woman shake her head at us, we found where we needed to be, and the woman handed me the package. It looked like it had, at one time, been a beautiful brown box, but alas, had been broken into and it appeared that something had exploded inside of it. I only prayed that it was NOT the precious blueberry preserves. I grabbed my parcel that was only being held together with twine and left. When I got home. I was sooooo excited to open it. Even if everything was broken, it was still a taste of the United States that I just needed. I opened the parcel, and let me tell you, it was a bit of a mess. But no worries, Mom (I almost didn't want to tell you cause I didn't want you to freak) everything turned out just fine! The chocolate chips had melted and then somehow exploded, but they are currently chillaxing in the freezer to be ground up in the food processor and used in something yummy :) The blueberry preserves were completely perfect! The pretty glass jars were totally in tact. The corn flour also exploded a bit, but I washed off everything and put the corn flour in its own special container. So all in all, I would say it was a pretty successful care package :) Thanks mom and dad!
Since then, Whitney and Robin have also sent me a care package. Or should I say packages. I know, I know, I have the best friend in the world. This time, the packages were not damaged at all, and I had the best time going through all the goodies! I had forgotten the simple goodness of the Poptart. I mean seriously, they are so stinkin good. And the ease of cleaning with the Clorox Wipe. It's nice to know that 99.9% of germs are getting killed in my kitchen every time I whip one out :) Also, we have been blessed by lots of Danae's friends who have sent us care packages. We have gotten black beans, taco seasoning, and lots of other fun stuff!
So I decided that since so many people were sending me lovely gifts, I wanted to attempt to send something in the mail to America. I had heard that it was not very expensive, and I had found some cute presents for my favorite three children in the world (who I miss more than anything), so Danae and I made up our minds to try it out. Let's just say, it was an experience for sure.
Here is the problem in our neck of the woods with mail. A lack of boxes. It's not like you can walk into the post office and buy a box. They will look at you like you are crazy (even though they already look at us like we are crazy). So Danae and I used the only boxes we could find. Fortunately, she found a white box that our blender came in and packaged it up all nice. I, however, could only find a giant box that our doll house came in (we got it for language study). So I used it. I stuffed my goods inside, and taped it up really well to make sure that nothing would fall out. I even taped my sister's address on the front. I thought it looked nice enough.....well besides the creepy child on the front playing with dolls. But I figured, in SA, it would be fine. Well.....I was quite wrong.
So Danae and I took off for the post office once again. I noticed that people were looking at us a little funny so that made the walk all the more interesting. When we got to the post office, we went upstairs and waited in long line of people. We weren't even really sure we were in the right line, but we waited paitiently anyway. When we finally got up to the counter, the man took one look at my package and started gibbering off stuff that I couldn't understand. He gestured for me to scoot further down the counter toward a lady (who had quite a scowl on her face), and she continued to shake her head at my package. She got a different lady who spoke better English. This lady started smiling and laughing at me a little and explained that my parcel was "not neat and tidy." I was a tad confused because, yes, the picture was obnoxious, but the parcel itself was not beat up or anything. She continued to explain that I had to cover my parcel in white fabric and get it stitched. What?! Cover a parcel in fabric? Stitch the fabric? Not gonna lie, I just had to shake my head and laugh at the ridiculousness.
I left the post office on a pursuit to find white fabric and a tailor. I found the white fabric, but unfortunately, no tailor. So Danae immediately whisked me to my American refuge, KFC. I downed my favorite drink, Mirinda (seriously, this stuff is the jam), and ate my favorite chicken wrap. It made me feel better, and I felt more ready to conquer the parcel problem. I went back to the fabric store, bought the fabric, and proceeded to the closest tailor. It ended up being quite fun! The ladies only charged me like 60 Rs. to do it, and while we waited, they let us practice our Malayalam.
So a few days later, Danae and I went back to the post office, and this time I was ready. My parcel was "neat and tidy," and I was determined to make the grumpy worker lady smile. I walked in and saw the same workers as the other day. The man weighed my parcel, and sent me to the lady to get her to ok it. And she did! AND she smiled back at me :) It was a successful day in my book. So Jenny, your "neat and tidy" parcel should be arriving in the mail in a couple weeks (hopefully). I know the kids will enjoy the toys, but you also have some surprises as well. Love you, sister!
One of the best things in the world is the care package. I mean, think about the name! It has the word care in it, and man does it make me and Danae feel cared about. Our first care package arrived a few weeks after we got to our city. It was from my parents, and it contained some completely necessary ;) items like chocolate chips, homemade blueberry preserves, and some things I had accidentally left at home. A lady came to our door and delivered a slip saying that our package had arrived and was waiting for us at the post office. We just needed to come and collect it. However, she said that the "parcel" (they don't understand when I say package) was damaged. Although my heart rate increased a little at the word "damaged," I was still super excited to get to the post office to retrieve my parcel. Danae and I left promptly and walked to the post office which is only about a fifteen minute walk from our flat. When we arrived, we honestly had no idea where to go, but eventually after walking into a room and having a woman shake her head at us, we found where we needed to be, and the woman handed me the package. It looked like it had, at one time, been a beautiful brown box, but alas, had been broken into and it appeared that something had exploded inside of it. I only prayed that it was NOT the precious blueberry preserves. I grabbed my parcel that was only being held together with twine and left. When I got home. I was sooooo excited to open it. Even if everything was broken, it was still a taste of the United States that I just needed. I opened the parcel, and let me tell you, it was a bit of a mess. But no worries, Mom (I almost didn't want to tell you cause I didn't want you to freak) everything turned out just fine! The chocolate chips had melted and then somehow exploded, but they are currently chillaxing in the freezer to be ground up in the food processor and used in something yummy :) The blueberry preserves were completely perfect! The pretty glass jars were totally in tact. The corn flour also exploded a bit, but I washed off everything and put the corn flour in its own special container. So all in all, I would say it was a pretty successful care package :) Thanks mom and dad!
Since then, Whitney and Robin have also sent me a care package. Or should I say packages. I know, I know, I have the best friend in the world. This time, the packages were not damaged at all, and I had the best time going through all the goodies! I had forgotten the simple goodness of the Poptart. I mean seriously, they are so stinkin good. And the ease of cleaning with the Clorox Wipe. It's nice to know that 99.9% of germs are getting killed in my kitchen every time I whip one out :) Also, we have been blessed by lots of Danae's friends who have sent us care packages. We have gotten black beans, taco seasoning, and lots of other fun stuff!
So I decided that since so many people were sending me lovely gifts, I wanted to attempt to send something in the mail to America. I had heard that it was not very expensive, and I had found some cute presents for my favorite three children in the world (who I miss more than anything), so Danae and I made up our minds to try it out. Let's just say, it was an experience for sure.
Here is the problem in our neck of the woods with mail. A lack of boxes. It's not like you can walk into the post office and buy a box. They will look at you like you are crazy (even though they already look at us like we are crazy). So Danae and I used the only boxes we could find. Fortunately, she found a white box that our blender came in and packaged it up all nice. I, however, could only find a giant box that our doll house came in (we got it for language study). So I used it. I stuffed my goods inside, and taped it up really well to make sure that nothing would fall out. I even taped my sister's address on the front. I thought it looked nice enough.....well besides the creepy child on the front playing with dolls. But I figured, in SA, it would be fine. Well.....I was quite wrong.
So Danae and I took off for the post office once again. I noticed that people were looking at us a little funny so that made the walk all the more interesting. When we got to the post office, we went upstairs and waited in long line of people. We weren't even really sure we were in the right line, but we waited paitiently anyway. When we finally got up to the counter, the man took one look at my package and started gibbering off stuff that I couldn't understand. He gestured for me to scoot further down the counter toward a lady (who had quite a scowl on her face), and she continued to shake her head at my package. She got a different lady who spoke better English. This lady started smiling and laughing at me a little and explained that my parcel was "not neat and tidy." I was a tad confused because, yes, the picture was obnoxious, but the parcel itself was not beat up or anything. She continued to explain that I had to cover my parcel in white fabric and get it stitched. What?! Cover a parcel in fabric? Stitch the fabric? Not gonna lie, I just had to shake my head and laugh at the ridiculousness.
I left the post office on a pursuit to find white fabric and a tailor. I found the white fabric, but unfortunately, no tailor. So Danae immediately whisked me to my American refuge, KFC. I downed my favorite drink, Mirinda (seriously, this stuff is the jam), and ate my favorite chicken wrap. It made me feel better, and I felt more ready to conquer the parcel problem. I went back to the fabric store, bought the fabric, and proceeded to the closest tailor. It ended up being quite fun! The ladies only charged me like 60 Rs. to do it, and while we waited, they let us practice our Malayalam.
So a few days later, Danae and I went back to the post office, and this time I was ready. My parcel was "neat and tidy," and I was determined to make the grumpy worker lady smile. I walked in and saw the same workers as the other day. The man weighed my parcel, and sent me to the lady to get her to ok it. And she did! AND she smiled back at me :) It was a successful day in my book. So Jenny, your "neat and tidy" parcel should be arriving in the mail in a couple weeks (hopefully). I know the kids will enjoy the toys, but you also have some surprises as well. Love you, sister!
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