Remember What I Said About My Stuff?

Well, forget it. I miss my stuff. I want my stuff.

As you know, we sent a shipping container from Minneapolis at the beginning of February to Tanzania. We were told it would arrive by mid-March, so we figured mid-to-end April. The container holds 15 pallets of donated books (each pallet has 20 boxes weighing at least 75 lbs.) for the school and our personal possessions--among these are a digital piano, a trumpet, our kids' clothes and shoes for the next 3 years, personal toiletries/medications, our "kitchen" (dishes, silverware, pots/pans, knives, etc.), the boys' complete lego collection, DVD/CD collection, a DVD player, mattresses, bikes, and approximately 30 boxes of personal books.

Through a clerical error, the paperwork for the shipping container was marked to clear customs in Dar es Salaam and was placed into a secured area at the dock. We were advised to avoid doing this as it was more time-consuming and expensive than going to the smaller port of Tanga. After 3 weeks of trying to sort this out and being told the authorities were not going to release the container to Tanga, we decided to go ahead and just have the container go through customs there. The company that is handling the customs clearing here went to Dar to make sure the paperwork was in order.

Last week, we were told the crate was close to being done (which may or may not be true). So we were VERY surprised when we received word that the container was en route to Tanga. Against the wishes of TRA (the Tanzanian tax authorities), who have now levied a $10,000 fine against the shippers for moving the container. Additionally, there are also dock fees that are owed because the container has been sitting in Dar. The shipping company has not taken any responsibility at this point for any of the difficulties that have happened.

Now all of this is just material stuff. We've been getting by without it. We had 2 house fires in our history that put "stuff" into perspective. And if the ship sank or exploded, I think I could handle it, really. But this...I don't know if it's clinging to something that's not important in the larger scheme of life, or a sense of helplessness, or what. Some things could be purchased here, although at exorbitant cost (kitchen stuff). Some can be brought over again from the States, but at cost (clothes/shoes/DVDs/CDs). Some can't be gotten here or delivered (books). Some are not replaceable.

This latest turn of events marks the lowest point to date morale-wise since we've been here in Arusha. It's not Tanzanian inefficiency--it is a company that has mismanaged everything from the beginning. We are so looking forward to watching a movie on the weekend, or reading a book, or being warm under comforters, or playing with new friends with toys, or being able to function more efficiently in the kitchen. Now we don't know what to expect or really how to advance the issue. Our shipping guy here is working to try to get the container released while TRA fights their battle with the shipper, but we're feeling pretty dismal right now.

So the moral of the story is either give it all away because it just causes pain later, or grab it all up and keep it tight because you could lose it. I can't decide tonight.