Package Mailing Tips
I didn’t want to write this section because it would sound like we are telling people to send us stuff. Don’t feel that by reading this you should send us a package. Letters, photos, and emails are wonderful too. It’s incredible how expensive it is to send Velveeta and Doritos across the world. However, if you’re thinking of sending a package here are some tips to ensure that it arrives intact:
- Flat rate boxes from the post office are the cheapest way to go (volume costs more than weight). Buy the smallest box you can that fits everything you want to send. If you're paying more than $60 (gosh that's expensive!) you should probably check out other options.
- Fill whatever box you send FULL, as if you were wrapping a kid’s Christmas present so that when he shook violently it nothing moved. It'll be jostled along and dropped plenty on its way here. The more tightly packed it is the stronger the box holds up, thus it is more likely that it can arrive intact.
o Cool ‘filler’ ideas: corn nuts, chips, trail mix, M & Ms (which believe it or not do NOT melt!). You don’t need to buy fancy packing peanuts and air packs.
- Getting a photo or two of people and letters is awesome, in a package or an envelope. Don't send every photo from your latest vacation though (it’s hard to tack anything to our walls, and I don't know how we'll transport it all back home in 16 months). For perspective: it costs about $1 to send us a letter.
- Brief geography lesson: Africa is a continent. South Africa is a country in Africa. Burkina Faso is also a country in Africa, NOT South Africa. You don't need to write 'Africa' on the box, but when you talk to the Post Office make sure they know where Burkina Faso is (right above Ghana and Ivory Coast). We just received a package that traveled from the USA to South Africa, back to the USA, and finally to Burkina Faso two months later because they wrote Burkina Faso, South Africa.
- Pre-cooked, unrefrigerated Tyson bacon makes it over here just fine, but if you're sending anything you'd normally refrigerate (or find in a grocery story cooler) make sure it isn't necessary to refrigerate BEFORE opening.
- Perfumed products like soap (and some candles) mix with the flavors of everything else in the package, so avoid those
Stuff we can easily find in Burkina: powdered milk, hygiene products (toothpaste, soaps, etc), tomato paste, hot chocolate, mayo, mustard, pastas, office supplies, flip flops, medical supplies, popcorn, honey.
We've been shocked by how many packages we've received honestly, and it feels like a holiday everytime one arrives. Really, thank you thank you thank you to everyone thats sent one, and to everyone that's written an email or facebook message (that said more than 'update your blog!'). We feel incredibly and deeply loved by you.
