Mail call
I’ve had a few people ask if they can send me anything. The answer is always yes. Although rural Paraguayans don’t have addresses and mailboxes in any sense meaningful to North Americans, I can receive mail through my city’s post office. The town is small enough that the post officer can find me without a street number. Address it to:
Mary W______
Tacuatí
Dpto. San Pedro
Paraguay
If you don’t know what the W stands for yet, e-mail me and I’ll happily tell you. Letters and packages sent this way typically take between 2 weeks and 2 months to arrive. In no way is it worthwhile to pay for expedited shipping – the hold-ups relate to the airline industry’s chronic underservice in this region. Everything is backlogged, all the time.
Worse, I can’t get into the customs office often. If your package gets flagged for a search, it could take 2 months to cross the equator, another three weeks for me to get word that it’s arrived, and then get thrown away because I couldn’t get to Asunción in time to prevent it being classified as unclaimed mail. Overweight packages are at especially high risk. They’re cracking down on this. Please keep a close eye on the two kilo (be safe and call it four pounds) weight restriction. Likewise, please don’t send anything expensive. If it costs more than the postage, it might “get lost” on the way down here.
I can also receive mail through the Peace Corps central office, but that’s only recommended for packages you know are pushing the weight limit. My address of record is:
Mary W______, PCV
Cuerpo de Paz
162 Chaco Boreal c/ Mariscal Lopez
Asunción 1580
Paraguay
It is possible to use FedEx or DHL for things that are especially sensitive or unavoidably heavy, but the cost is insane. Also, FedEx and DHL only deliver to the Peace Corps office, not all the way out to Tacuatí.
There are a few things that I always enjoy getting:
TOYS
- Photos of yourselves I can show to curious folk here. Farms, large animals, prom dresses, and exotic travel locales are popular subjects too;
- Chalkboard paint, the kind they sell for kids’ playrooms that you can scribble on. A quart would be plenty;
- Catnip. Nothing like chemically altered kittens to while away an evening;
- State quarters, especially from states where you live or interesting things happen;
- Crossword puzzles or other brainteasers. I’m pretty well stocked for sudoku at the moment, though;
- Stupid action movies on DVD;
- Stupid comedies on DVD - the more absurd and offensive the better;
- Season Five of Red vs. Blue;
- Books if you’ve got a story you just have to share;
- Music if you’ve got a playlist you just have to share;
- Magazines:
Scientific American, Discover, Smithsonian, National Geographic, The New Republic, Wired, Metropolitan Home or Veranda, anything else with striking photography, People, Star, or US Weekly, especially trashy issues of Cosmo or Lucky, and The Weekly World News (particularly editions relating to Elvis or UFOs). Sister Katie sent me a copy of Vogue - that was a run away hit with Paraguayans of all ages and other volunteers alike. After a few months of mandioca, you start pining for a sense of style;
- Not so much hometown papers (more current on the Internet anyway) or news magazines (we get complimentary copies of Newsweek) unless you personally are in them.
- Anything that can be used to amuse children ages 4-14. Non-language-based brainteasers and puzzles up to 500 pieces are a big hit. Legos would be unbelievably cool. Rubik’s cubes would also be crowd pleasers. Toy cars have also gone over very well. Other volunteers report a rabid response to frisbees. Stickers and temporary tattoos also light up eyes. Twister doesn’t take much to translate;
TREATS
- Anchovy paste. Yes really. And not just because I want to irritate the customs guys;
- Bacon Bits or shelf-stable packaged bacon;
- Nuts. Plain or seasoned, any kind but peanuts;
- Blue box macaroni and cheese - save on shipping and just send the sauce package. I can get noodles easily enough;
- Rice-a-Roni;
- Jerky or hard sausage;
- Any kind of dried fruit, provided it’s in resealable, ant-resistant bags;
- Food seasonings, including: kim chee pickling spices, canned curry paste (especially the red kind), sun dried tomatoes, pesto sauce, gatorade powder, hot and sour soup mix, and pretty much anything spicy or piquant;
- Any kind of heat resistant junk food. Chocolate will melt in the mail truck even in midwinter here. Wasabi peas and Jelly Belly beans are personal favorites. Those York mints (the kind in the little round tin) came through the mail well enough. Instant pistachio pudding mix is a perennial favorite. A recent bag of Snyder’s buffalo pretzel bits was a stroke of genius. Of late, I’ve been craving Combos;
TOOLS
- Bic Soleil razor cartridges;
- Lint rollers;
- Cedar balls to keep bugs out of stored clothing;
- Pipe cleaners;
- Facial astringent;
- Black, gel ink ballpoints;
- Neutrogena T-Gel shampoo (which always leaks - package with care);
TOGS
I stay around a US size 12 depending on how the parasites are treating me. I can get things altered, to a point. Drawstrings are the best invention since the wheel. Great thing about living in the southern hemisphere - whatever´s on the clearance rack at home is perfectly in season here. White clothing in wonderful in theory, but in practice I get about three wears, max, out of such items before they´re indelibly stained.
- Bandannas;
- Socks;
- Mossimo v-neck T-shirts from Target. Size XL, any color but white;
- Pro Spirit mesh Size L track pants, capri or full length, also from Target. None of this new fangled micro fleece nonsense, just classic gym class standard issue;
- About 8 months out of every year are too hot for sleeves. I live and die by my collection of tank tops. The PC dress code doesn’t accommodate spaghetti straps, but I love my workout wear tanks because they’re super cool and swoosh-free enough for office wear;
- Skirts down to knee level, bermuda shorts, and capri pants rock my world;
In general, assume that if it’s liquid, it’ll leak. Putting anything remotely gooey in a sealable plastic container or bag serves two purposes: it protects the rest of the package and it gives me a new storage option. There are a few “one time only” things, but those are on a separate Amazon page. For the time being, my basic needs are well met and then some.
Amazon, it’s worth noting, will deliver directly to Paraguay although many of their affiliate sellers won’t. Smaller retailers and eBay sellers usually won’t, but so long as you’ve got a US billing address the big guys will ship out this way.