Contact Me!

I'm going to miss you.  A lot.  Here are some ways you can tell me how much you miss me, too:

1.  Write me letters!

The first couple months I'm in Malawi, I will be on communication lockdown, without phones and internet, but I will be able to send and receive mail!  Even after I get to my official site, I may not have frequent access to the internet, and the best way to contact me will be by snail mail!  Letters can take one to two months or so to reach me on site, and up to two months for me to send one to you.  Please number and date your letters so I know if I missed one, and once I get your first letter, I will let you know how long it takes to get to Malawi.  

If you send me postcards, send them in an envelope - I hear Malawian post offices love to keep cool-looking postcards to decorate their walls, and I'd rather put them on mine!

 

My permanent address is:

Namandanje Parish
Allison Hargreaves, PCV
PO Box 98
Ntaja, Malawi
Southern Africa

If you already mailed stuff to my old address at the Peace Corps office, I'll still get that mail, but this one is closer to me!  I promise that anyone who writes me a letter will get one in return!

2.  Send me packages!

Totally not necessary, but a number of you have already promised to send packages, for which I am eternally grateful!  It looks like your best bet will be USPS international flat-rate boxes.  Some packages will get tampered with, but suggestions to deter potential tampering include writing in red marker, scrawling Bible quotes or religious messages (ie, "Jesus is watching"?  Should be entertaining coming from my Jewish family and friends!), or labeling the box as containing femine products or educational materials.  

Conclusion: be really safe, and put everything inside of a tampon box, labelled as educational materials with some religious messages!  

Also, if you send me a letter in a package (which I would LOVE), make sure to hide it, as I will be taxed more.  Try taping it underneath the mailing label, or hiding it inside a magazine or tampon box.  It's like sending candy to camp! 

Make sure you send any packages by air mail, as otherwise it could take 6 months or so to get to me.  

3.  Email me!

I will check my email whenever I can (who knows how often that will be), and I promise, even if you just send me a 2-line story about something funny that happened to you on a bus, I will think it's hilarious and will be relieved that you haven't forgotten me yet.  Seriously.  

4.  Call/text me!

I don't have my cell phone number yet, but I will have one!  Supposedly it is much cheaper/easier to use skype to send messages and phone calls.  

Remember, even if you haven't heard from me in awhile, I'm probably fine.  The Peace Corps, especially at first, is one of those places where no news is good news!  And if all else fails, ask my parents if they've heard from me lately.  They have emergency phone numbers to call at Peace Corps HQ if they have to.