Correos Chile

Forgot to say something real important.  And that is this:  While Correos Chile is on strike we are not receiving letters through regular mail.  However, we ARE still receiving PACKAGES (hint, hint).  Also, Dear Elders are coming through, because the POUCH mail comes in a package of a bunch of letters all at once.

Some tips for sending packages to Chile:

1.  Be very general in your descriptions of the items included on the customs form.  It's just easier and faster for a package that to go through customs when it says that it contains "candy" or "food" and instead of "Hershey's kisses, Reese's peanut butter cups, microwave popcorn" or "clothes" instead of "skirt, sweater, coat."  I don't know why, but that's how it is.

2.  SEND IT USPS.  Plain old regular mail.  Parcel post or UPS or whatever usually ends up going through an extra customs process and when it arrives in Chile they usually end up charging a customs fee of whatever the package is valued at before it can be released from the post office.  Also, USPS is faster from what I can gather.

3.  Those padded envelopes seem to just fly right on through.  Hermana Snyder was getting them like every single week there for a while.

So, in case anyone was wondering, we're running a little low here on M&M's (peanut butter, peanut, pretzel, or plain, we're not too picky), Sour Patch Kids, pretzels, and fine tip clicky pens (the best are Pilot .38 in black and blue - university bookstore specials).  Also rice krispies would be awesome (just the cereal or the pre-made treats, whichever).  Reese's Puffs cereal would be a miracle.  Basically anything Reese's or any good chocolate because the majority of Chilean chocolate is waxy and weird.  And we always go through that PopSecret Homestyle popcorn pretty quick. (They like their popcorn sweet here, so the salty buttery stuff is a bit hard to come by.  And expensive)  Just a few ideas....  ;)

LOTS OF LOVE FROM ME AND MY COMPANIONS!!!!!!

Hungry Herman