05.09.04 - 19:35

As a Public Service Announcement, I'd like to make a list of ideas for care packages to be sent to peace corps volunteers. This list was compiled by some of Mauritania's finest. (Please note: this is NOT a plea for care packages for myself. However, if you are the parent or friend of another PCV, I do urge you to shower them with mail.)

WHAT TO SEND

* candy: M&Ms varieties, hard candy (Cremesavers get a special nod), gum, Twizzlers, Skittles, jelly beans. DO NOT SEND CHOCOLATE, unless it is coated in a candy shell. It will melt.

* dried fruit (helps with needed vitamins and fiber!)

* granola bars (great for taxi brousse rides, or after an uneaten meal of goat head)

* meal substitute bars, like Luna and Clif. Nutritious and delicious for that volunteer struggling with Mauritanian diet!

* old magazines. We'll read anything in English, except perhaps Newsweek. I myself have been known to read a battered Us Weekly cover to cover several times.

* batteries. The ones here are wretched. However, batteries can be heavy, so use the sense yo mama gave you.

* cheap gifts, such as pens, toys, and playing cards, for your PCV's family

* hot chocolate and hot apple cider mixes. As a bonus, these can be put in oatmeal. Yum!

* Mix tapes. Who doesn't love them?

* Books on tape.

* Spoken letters (aka "letters" recorded on cassettes. I'd love to get a couple of these m'self...)

* Pictures of you and what you're doing. Keep your PCV in the loop. Also great are:

* Newspaper clippings

* church programs/newsletters/sis's graduation announcement

* US stamps, as it's easy to get people to mail letters for you while they're visiting in the States

* powdered sauce packets. (Knorr makes a mean pesto, for example.)

* spices

* Kool-Aid/Crystal Light/Gatorade

* toothbrushes. Your PCV will definitely want to stick to the "replace every two months" recommedation. Eeew.

* Pack everything in Gladware/Tupperware and/or Ziploc bags, as these are hot commodities too

* LETTERS!!!! None of these can compare to some personal communication.

TIPS FOR PACKING

* Lie. Always list the contents of your packages as something along the lines of "socks and reading materials." Sending electronics? Batteries? Can openers? DON'T LIST THEM. They could get stolen.

* Bulletproof your packages. Which is to say, make sure they can only be opened with a machete. Tape every edge, corner, seam. If sending a box, consider packing one box inside another box. Try to make it easy to see whether the package has been tampered with.

* Always put a list of package items inside the package, so your PCV will know if something's missing.

Oh, and welcome to all the RIMPCV family and friends who have started reading my blatherings since their darlings have joined us in country. Hope I haven't scared you too much... :)

previous - next