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Published: February 8th 2008
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Excited!
Astrid and I are officially volunteers and a little happy about it :) That's right, today 35 of us we're sworen in as Peace Corps Volunteers in the beautiful country of Guinea. We've officially started our 24 months of service! Crazy stuff. I'm really excited and nervous at the same time to be off, literally in the middle of nowhere, for a good while.
We're chilling for awhile now, but I'll be off to my site for good on the 15th. This means a couple of things for you, random reader of the blog. First, I'm only going to have internet access once a month at most from now on. Second, you should send me real mail to communicate with me and to keep me sane. And third, you should me packages to keep me sane AND happy. 😊 These can get pricey very quickly though, so be careful. Small packages (like a letter) are still packages and very much appreciated.
Here's some helpful hints from past volunteers: * If it is a package, tell people not to put values for the items inside. If they do put values, make sure they are low. Otherwise, you may have to pay taxes (one guy paid a couple hundred bucks for his
Team Public Health
Me and the other public health volunteers from my training aka G15 (Guinea 15) “$3,000 laptop” to come in).
* Some volunteers find that typed, and not handwritten, addresses have a better chance making it through.
* Others often write “Allah Vous Regarde”, “Materiaux religieux”, or “Pour Allah” on the outside of boxes, or call themselves Frere or Soeur PCV Name. “Produits Femenine” also seems to be a label that sticky fingers at the post office seem to avoid. If you really want to go all out, have sender throw in a couple religious items or pack things inside empty tampon boxes.
* Have people put a list of sent items inside the box so that you can double check contents.
* Avoiding the use of big city return addresses (New York, Washington, etc.) can be a good idea.
* Mice love to get into boxes as much as Guinean postal workers do. Have family and friends avoid sending anything that might release a smell to attract mice (i.e. fresh beef jerky, individually wrapped Reese’s Cups, etc.). If you do need such items sent, it’s a good idea to pack them inside cheap Tupperware. And you'll always need Tupperware anyway.
* Finally - valuable items should be placed toward the center of the box, so that any mice that chew through won’t expose a 30-pack of batteries to a tempted postal worker.
Suggested items to send Sam (this list may change):
- LETTERS! More than anything I want to know what's going on with you. I'm dying for news.
- The Economist, etc. - I'm dying for actual news too.
- Cookies!!! You know how much I love cookies. Anything that you think will survive (Famous Amos, Otis Spunkmeyer, etc do well)
- Pictures - I don't have any here with me. Please print some and send them my way.
- Soy Sauce and ketchup ... just steal some packets next time you see them and throw them in the mail. Thanks 😊
- M&Ms (melt in your mouth, not in your care package unlike most chocolates) / candy in general
- Crystal Light and Propel packets, anything that can be mixed with water (lemonade, juice, tea packets)
- Powdered Soup Mixes (Bear Creek is a hearty, easy to make brand)
- Crackers (Cheese-Its, Combos, Goldfish!: Bulky, but lightweight - it’s the weight that costs when sending)
- Mac and Cheese
- Dried Fruits and Nuts
- Pasta Sauce Packets
- Hot Drink mixes (Swiss Miss with Marshmallows mmm)
- Anything that needs water or less
- Anything random that you find.
Mailing Address: Sam Levin, PCV
Corps de la Paix
B.P. 1927
Conakry, Guinea
West Africa
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Connor
non-member comment
Congrats
Congratulations! Give those AIDS some hell! Hope all is well!