Tuesday, March 22, 2011

I Got a Box!


A treasure was delivered to my place yesterday. A treasure full of Easter candy, American magazines, and knick knacks I forgot at my parent's house while visiting. 

I'm telling you, there's nothing better than receiving a box when you live abroad!  It's as if you revert to 8 years old again and it's Christmas. You may even know what's inside, but that doesn't matter. Seeing it with your own eyes is so much more amazing than anything you could imagine.  

And I am a very lucky expat. One thing my family have always done well is send me boxes. It goes doubly well now that I have the little ones. Jokes on them though, like I share with my kids!

Ok, I do but in little bits because sugar is not good for them. However, it's wonderful for Mom because it gives me spurts of energy that enables me to keep up. All I have to do is eat more when I hit my sugar low and BAM I'm up again. 

The metamorphosis that happens after the box is amazing.  Any free moment, I am found sitting in sweats, eating chocolates, and reading trash. I'm sure seeing what I could have been if we have stayed in the US is damn sexy for Mr. Rant . 

Anyway, the message is this: Do you know an expat? Is your second cousin's brother's daughter living abroad? Make a box. Fill it with random stuff. You could put in nail polish, lotions, candy, magazines, or a pack of chocolate chips. The list is endless.  

Pack it up and mail it over! You can't go too big or too small. It's not the size of the box but the speed of delivery that matters. 

So do yourself and expats all over the world a favor and send a little taste of home today. 

18 comments:

  1. Rachel I would love to do this for some of my Brazilian friends but what service does your mom use to ship because it seems to be so expensive even for a little box!

    The US Post Office flat rate box is like $45 and it isn't even big!

    Is she using UPS or FedEx? I haven't checked on them.

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  2. I don't know any expats!! *sadface* can I send a box to you instead?? ;)

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  3. Shay - I think the US postal service... She pays...

    R - Of course :)

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  4. Shamelessly post your address

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  5. And have stalkers at my door adoring me? Never ;)

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  6. how does your mom manage to send you stuff that when it arrives they don't charge you for the tax on it?

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  7. It's all in the labels. They declare gifts, candy, old magazines. Everything is always priced lower than the original price if not labeled as free

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  8. Yes, we LOVE boxes of goodies! I think the hardest part for my Mom is the customs slip, itemizing everything and ensuring the total cost (including postage) is under US$50.00. Once she sent a package that went above this amount and I had to go to Correios and pay R$66 to free it. That was an expensive package!

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  9. =) waiting for a box myself!

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  10. Label: used clothing, print materials, forwarded mail, gift socks. Definitely stay below $50, try for less.

    I WISH I could shamelessly post my address and ask for boxes!

    My family NEVER sends s**t, except overdue tax notices. Gee, thanks.

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  11. Oh - and when my mother sends anything she uses my ATM card in Florida to pay for the postage!

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  12. We love boxes! Our last family surprise box contained bottles of Buffalo Wild Wings sauces and Lego Star Wars sets for the kids. It was like Christmas all over again.

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  13. My box is on the way, I hate waiting it makes me crazy. But when it arrives, nossa!

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  14. Yay for supporting the expats! I love boxes more than anything! It's better than Christmas when I see the postman at my door.

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  15. Jim, are you sure you and I aren't related? That sounds EXACTLY like how MY family would react. lol

    Thanks Rachel, maybe I will divide it up into smaller shipments if possible...my welfare check hasn't arrived yet this month and I'm a little low on funds..HAHAHAHA

    JK...I would GLADLY welcome a Welfare check at this point..these freaking gas prices are killing me!

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  16. Jim,

    I am going to send you a box filled with rennet ;)

    Ray

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  17. Rachel - Ray: don't tease me! LOL

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