1. The Stanacard Calling card continues to work like a charm. Skype works for text messages. Will is without computer access the majority of the time, but he picks up the Skype text messages.
2. There is a duty on the boxes that the crew members receive, around $6.00. The packages are gratefully received but Will has increased our sensitivity to not overloading his "cupboards" when his fellow villagers have cupboards that are bare.
3. Whether you send the holiday cards one at a time or in one envelope for each post, the cost is a wash.
4. The PCV in Will's area will celebrate T-Day the weekend of the 20th so that they can be in their villages the following weekend for a native holiday celebration. He shared that the more senior PCV are the main cooks for the event. He and his Dad reviewed what it would take to make a Pecan Pie in Niger next year.
5. When the 2011 Crew returns to the training camp in January they each have the option of taking someone from their village with them. Our thought is during this gathering the PCV will speak on projects and proposals for their village and having a local with them might strengthen their presentation or plan.
What are you learning? Share a story this week...
Warmest regards,
Patty and John
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Hi, I am Bobbie Bartlette, we are from the parents of the PCT's that arrived Niger in a couple of weeks ago about 23 October. http://pcnigerdec2011.blogspot.com. What do you find as the most certain way to send care packages that will be received? Boxes, padded envelopes by International Air or Priority International or some other means?
ReplyDeleteThank you
Bobbie
Good to hear from you. At our house we typically save things up and pack a large flat rate box, that can contain up to 20 pounds. It takes 4-6 weeks to get there.
ReplyDeleteThank you Patricia, and thanks for posting information to our blogspot. We appreciate your knowledge. I imagine these first few weeks are probably the hardest on us parents as we let go of our treasured young adults and hold our breath waiting to hear that they can indeed fly (even though we know they can).
ReplyDeleteBobbie
We have been keeping up with our reading but not our posting! Thanks to all who have posted.
ReplyDeleteEmily has settled in at her new post. I'll leave the discription to her at the blog she started when in Niamey at Halloween: http://www.ebniger.blogspot.com/
Our Thanksgiving package arrived and will be shared at with other volunteers in her region at a hostel near Katie's post (Katie of the speech in Zarma at swearing in).
We just got a camera memory card from her, and it has some great photos and short videos. Over winter break I will try to post some of them to her blog for her.
Overall the news is good. Health, knock wood is fine. The frustration with unstructured time seems to be diminishing. It was reassuring to check in with other volunteers who were having many of the same experiences and reactions.
She has ideas about projects and continues to investigate the needs and resources in the community. She seems to be sketching out a plan for the next two years.
She called this weekend and was hosting a demyster, who had been reassigned from Guinea.
For Bobbi, we seem to alternate between a padded envelop with strange assortments of requested items then flat rate boxes that seem to be evolving into sort of thematic parcels. Fall smells and flavors, followed by thanksgiving. Christmas is sitting on the table collecting items now. Have faith, it appeared that none of our first mailings made it through. We felt like package failures as we read reports of happy recipients. Then all of a sudden everything appeared. We do mark the boxes AIR MAIL as all the letters.
Thanks Karen for the list and Patricia for the postage research. I picked up cards last weekend and will get them out soon.
Stacy
After lots of worrying and second guessing how this will all play out, I am going to go with a stubborn optimism that says it will work out for our kids and they will return to their posts or to other posts in country and continue the journey they started and have worked so hard to prepare for.
ReplyDeleteIn that light, I hear a fabulous thanksgiving feast is planned for tomorrow, sharing our thanksgiving boxes with a main dish of duck.
I understand that someone has a plan for the dried cranberries we sent to Emily and she has plans to replicate the spiced peaches. Others are in charge of the ducks and have a plan. Today there is coffee and cookies.
In the same light I will mail the holiday cards to our crew today and finish up the holiday box.
We will give thanks this week for all our children, for their parents who share their precious news, conversations and photos and for the Peace Corps organization which is working so hard to resolve the most recent challenge with care.
Stacy