More tips on sending packages (if you are so inclined)

Just a quick add-on to package sending (of course, only for interested parties):

My friend Adam sent me a package with two magazines, a package of playing cards including UNO and a T-shirt. The T-shirt was stolen out of the box. He did everything right, he put the crescent moon and star all over the package and taped it up really good, but a desperate worker at the Kyrgyz post office still ripped it open and took what was probably a cheap and funny T-shirt that I really would have liked to have received. From this first (of hopefully not many) stolen items I have learned the following about sending packages from the US to Kyrgyzstan:

1) Tape the box with dark colored tape, preferably duct tape as it is easier to see any possible tampering thereby acting as a built-in deterrent.
2) Put the crescent moon and star over the space that the box’s flaps come together so that whomever decides to try to steal any contents has to actually cut through it. Adam did that on the top of the box, but on the bottom he put it on one of the flaps individually, letting whichever thief that stole my shirt have less on his conscience…which very well could have made my box an easy target. In general, I think it’s a good rule to make desperate thieves have to work a little harder than that and deal with the spiritual consequences laterJ
3) Pack all of the items in the box under copious amounts of popcorn packing material and put the most valuable items in the middle of the box (preferably in their own box, so they can’t be quickly identified…though what use a Kyrgyz man has for a funny and ‘inside-joke’ sort of shirt I have no idea)…also it’s best to declare a shit-ton less value than the contents may actually be worth. Adam did a stellar job of this, but evidently there’s a hot black-market for funny shirts in Kyrgyzstan that I’ve yet to encounter…until now, unfortunately.
4) Pack items in a bigger box than necessary. I think they ship by weight and not so much by size, and the bigger the box the less easy it’ll be to quickly open and close without a supervisor seeing.
5) DO NOT WRITE “USA” ANYWHERE ON THE RETURN ADDRESS!!! I know this might sound dangerous, but if it needs to be “returned to sender” for any reason it will eventually get back to you. Having USA on the return address is the easiest way for any scummy-bastard-T-shirt-stealing-goat-fucker to see that the box’s contents might be worth pilfering. Just write your return address like you would if you were sending it within the US and it’ll be just fine.

This is of course assuming that anyone wants to send me anything…however, although Adam’s box had only current editions of Time and Popular Science magazines, some pictures and a nice letter (a T-shirt too, but that’s a bit of a sore subject so please don’t bring it up again) I really, really, really appreciated it. Not to guilt trip anyone, but if you see a trinket, a funny game, an interesting magazine…fuck…anything that’s American and you think that I’d like then I can’t stress enough how welcome that sort of gift would be. Plus, my birthday is October 12. I’ll be at my permanent site by then and will post the address as soon as I receive it, but for the next 30 days the address I posted in my previous blog will work great. Also, FYI, Adam sent the package on 7/21/08 and I received it on 8/04/08…not a bad turn-aroundJ

Thank you to all, and I promise many more stories to come…