We Have an Address!

Wonder of wonders, we FINALLY got an address here! Turns out the woman I had been asking every time I went there was probably lying to me. Because on Thursday when I asked (again) and she said "no locks" I pointed to the 5 locks laying on her desk and said, "What about those?" I was half surprised she didn't just flat out deny they were there. So I said, "I think you can rent me a box today." The look on her face...yikes.

So she started the process, asked for my photos (passport-sized--everything you do here requires a photo) and immediately said they were too large and no good. I'd just have to get smaller ones and come back. "No," I said, "I think these are fine"."No, they're not," she said. "Yes, they are," I replied. "You can rent this box to me today with these pictures and then tell me where to get smaller pictures and then I'll bring those back. After you give me the box today." Again, the look on her face...ouch. But it's not as rude as it sounds. The Swahili language uses commands rather than requests in general so instead of asking someone "can you do this" you tend to use the command form, which sounds less polite to us.

So she did tell me I had to come back on Monday for the key. I was highly suspicious of this wrinkle, but yesterday when I came back she did give me a key...to a box...that worked. So there you have it.

So...our address is (and this is the correct version)

Peace House Academy
Attn: Mark (or Carla) Hillman
Meru Post Office
P.O. Box 13386
Arusha, Tanzania

If you send mail , address things above to make it look official as possible. Also, keep in mind that customs and/or the post office is liable to rifle through the contents and will have no qualms aboutremoving items for themselves. Obviously, please don't send anything of value. It seems to take about 3 weeks for things to arrive. Just let us know if we should be expecting something.

Also, a friend recommended that nothing be shipped in its original package to discourage the theft and reselling of the item. Food can be put in ziplock baggies, DVDs or Cds can be sent in protective sleeves, with the actual cases and liners sent separately, if needed. The less something looks new or useable, the less likely it is to get "nicked".

Many of you have asked what we need or what you can send. We have been doing fine and will be getting a bag in June via a volunteer thatwill be coming over with some things that I realized I should havepacked but didn't (mostly kitchen things that people said we could get here but didn't mention the cost--$15.00 for a cookie sheet or a breadloaf pan, no measuring spoons or cups because everything's metric here). The kids still miss snack foods--pretzels, goldfish, fruit rollups, doritos, chocolate chips. We can get Twix, Kitkats, and Snickers bars so chocolate isn't a problem! We also found maple syrup so they're happy campers at breakfast. Food would also likely to be left alone at customs as often Tanzanians either don't recognize or seem to want wazungu (white) junk food. Other things that we seem to miss can't really be mailed easily and continues to be part of the adjustment.

We are still waiting for our shipping container. Through a series of...well, whatever...some documents were not sent properly and then there was mislabeling somewhere, so the container has been sitting in Dar es Salaam for several weeks now and can't be sent to Tanga where it needs to go to clear customs (clearing there is faster and much less expensive than Dar, along with less cost for road transport to Arusha). We hope/pray every day we'll hear that it's been straightened out and the crate is on its way, but no luck yet. As you are all moving into spring and warmer weather, we are winding down the rainy season and will be moving into the coldest time of theyear...and our blankets are on the shipping container...and maybe other warmer clothes, too. I can't remember if I took anyone's advice to actually pack warmer clothes here!