Please Send Us Letters & Goodies from Home!

Greetings from hot and rainy Atlanta! 

Shaun and I are here for a few days for Peace Corps-Zambia Staging (orientation, paperwork and lots o' shots!) before we go overseas.  We figure PC brought us to Atlanta to prepare us for Zambia's hot-wet season (Dec.-Apr.)   :)


Many of you have asked us what communication will be like for us and where you can send us letters and packages- which we're very much looking forward to receiving!  We recently received Peace Corps' "Family and Friends Letter," so I've pasted below excerpts that I thought you might find helpful.  For quick reference, here's our mailing address during Pre-Service Training (July-Sept 24):


[Name of Volunteer], PCV
Peace Corps
P.O. Box 50707
Lusaka
Zambia


Helpful Communication Info:
1. Irregular Communication.
     Mail in Zambia is fairly reliable. Volunteers find they generally receive mail and packages from the United States two to four weeks after it has been sent. The same is true in sending mail from Zambia. Of course, there are exceptional cases in which a letter or a package might arrive within a shorter period or be substantially delayed. Some mail may simply not arrive. We suggest that in your first letters you ask the Volunteer to give an estimate of how long it takes for him/her to receive your letters, and then try to establish a predictable pattern of how often you will write to each other. Also, try numbering your letters so that the Volunteer knows if he/she has missed one.


2. Telephone Calls.
     Telephone lines in Zambia are fairly reliable. During the pre-service training though, opportunities for the trainees to call the United States will be limited. Most Volunteers purchase cell phones, although coverage is limited and international air-time is expensive. Volunteers may or may not have residential phones; however, some Volunteers, use public phones, or find that a neighbor or the organization they work with has a phone they are able to use to make and receive calls. They will be able to inform you of telephone numbers where you might reach them once they arrive at their permanent sites (in October).


     The Zambia Desk maintains regular contact with the Peace Corps office in Lusaka through phone calls and e-mail. However, these communications are reserved for business only and cannot be used to relay personal messages. All communication between family members and the Volunteer should be done via international mail, personal phone calls, or e-mail. Volunteers may have access to e-mail at Internet cafes on a weekly or monthly basis, depending on their location.


3. Sending packages.
     Family, friends and Volunteers like to send and receive care packages through the mail. Unfortunately, sending packages can be a frustrating experience for all involved due to occasional thefts and customs taxes. You may want to try to send inexpensive items through the mail, but there is no guarantee that these items will arrive. Even though many Volunteers choose to get local post office boxes, you may also use the following address to send letters and/or packages:


Name of Volunteer, PCV
Peace Corps
P.O. Box 50707
Lusaka
Zambia


     It is recommended that packages be sent in padded envelopes if possible, as boxes tend to be taxed more frequently.  That said, RPCVs I've spoke with recommended that family and friends at home send packages in "flat rate" boxes/envelopes to save in shipping costs.  

     For lightweight but important items (e.g. airline tickets), DHL (an express mail service) does operate in Lusaka. If you choose to send items through DHL, you must address the package to the Country Director, c/o U. S. Peace Corps/Zambia, 71A Kabulonga Road, Kabulonga, Lusaka, Zambia (the phone number for the Peace Corps office in Zambia is 260-21-1260377, as DHL will need this information). If you send the item to the Country Director, no liability can be assumed. For more information about DHL, please call their toll free number, 1-800-CALL-DHL, or visit their web site at www.dhl.com . Other courier services do operate in Lusaka - DHL is only one possibility.


I hope this was helpful for you.  Please know we'd love to exchange letters with you, so please write and catch us up on what we're missing at home!  Unfortunately, as denizens of the Digital Age, we didn't collect many of your mailing addresses, so please include them in your letter because we certainly will want to write you back. 


Many thanks for tuning in, folks!
- Megan