New Address!

I now have an address in Opuwo (my permanent site), so feel free to send me letters and packages! It'd be much appreciated :)

Peace Corps Volunteer Alison Proctor
PO Box 244
Opuwo, Namibia

Here are a few tips for sending packages:

•  When you’re declaring the items for the customs paperwork, don’t actually declare the real items, including the real value. If you actually declare the actual value, expensive items will get stolen. And if you’re claiming the real items, like honey (not able to get imported to Namibia) or even batteries, they’ll also get stolen. A safe bet will be to declare the items as less than $20 US dollars and that they’re school supplies, pamphlets, books or religious materials.

• To ship packages, the cheapest way is through USPS international flat rate boxes. It’s the best bang for your buck and is pretty reliable. DHL is very expensive and other companies (UPS, FedEx, etc.) might not even ship to Namibia.

• Reinforce the corners of the box with lots of packing tape. From the US to Namibia, it’s gonna travel a lot and get banged up a lot. Cushion the package too with t-shirts, bubble wrap, etc.

• If you’re sending something of value, hide it among other things. Put it in an empty granola box, among a box of tampons, in between books, etc. Make it so it’s really difficult for someone to unwrap the package and find the expensive items. It’ll be a pain to unwrap, but that’s okay :)

And here are some suggestions of things to send me:

• Granola bars
•  Dried fruits (fruits & veggies are pretty expensive here, so having any kind of fruits will be mucho appreciated)
• Snacks (some kind of trail mix, or anything you think I’d like :) )
• Handwritten letters (snail mail means the world to a volunteer)
• Crystal Light packets (After drinking at least 2 Nalgenes a day, plain water is going to get boring real fast)
• Hard candy (stuff that won’t melt)
• Magazines & newspapers (I miss hearing about what’s going on in the world…so even if it’s an entertainment magazine, that works!)
• SD cards for my camera
• And anything else you feel like sending me!

From what I’ve heard, mail can take anywhere from 6 weeks to 6 months to get from the US to Namibia. So don’t rely on the post office’s timeline of when it’ll arrive. I’ll let you know (with much excitement) when it does arrive :)