Mail

Parents,
Now that your daughters have left for southern Africa, (and you've had a moment to collect yourselves and get back to work, etc.) you might be thinking about sending out care packages and letters. So, it's time for me to send out a reminder about mailing packages. I've taken this from the web site, so you may have read it already. Please take a moment to reread it as a reminder about mailing packages overseas.

Mail

Every semester many packages don't make it to their overseas destinations due to various factors: they are too large and have a tax placed on them, they arrive after the group has left the area and cannot be forwarded, or they are lost in the mail. Communication can be one of the most frustrating aspects of sending your daughter overseas, yet getting mail to your daughters need not be a stressful or futile activity. Here are a few suggestions to help you successfully keep in contact with your daughters while overseas:

1. Mail early. Plan ahead and mail small packages and letters early to ensure they are waiting for your daughter when we arrive in a city. TTS will specify mail pickup addresses and dates for each semester. Give mail at least three weeks to arrive to its international destination.

2. Mail small packages. When you haven't seen your daughter for several months, the inclination is to send as large a package as you possibly can. While this is an understandable imperative, please realize that it is the host families who collect the packages, and when they are large, the families often have to pay a tax to pick them up. Keep your packages to the size of a football – any larger, and they may not arrive or they may be expensive to collect. Don't send boxes: send padded envelopes. Better yet, send flat envelopes to ensure timely delivery of overseas correspondences.

3. Think about what you send. Please also consider what you put in the packages. In Nutrition class, we discuss healthy eating habits and wise nutritional choices, so while a moderate amount of candy and chocolate is acceptable, please be thoughtful in what you send your daughters. Students love to get photos of their family and friends, CD mixes, handwritten notes and cards, and articles about local events.

For this semester, the only mail drop is at one of the home stay homes in Cape Town. The Cupidos have been working with TTS since our first semester in South Africa (2003). They have agreed to collect all the mail for our teachers and students and distribute it to them when we arrive in October.


A reminder regarding packages and letters: Everything should be sent:

C/O Sharon Cupido

Your daughter's name

249 12 Avenue

Kensington 7405

Cape Town

RSA/ South Africa

Please remember that the post office charges delivery fees for international packages and that everyone must reimburse Sharon on arrival.

Plan on mailing your package very early, (it generally takes 3 weeks or more for a package to arrive) so that the packages and letters make it to South Africa in early to mid-October. International Fed Ex Express or UPS can also be problematic, since this often means having the student pick up a package at the office herself, which often is difficult to make happen.

I hope this helps! Feel free to pass this on to your daughters' friends and other family members. Please contact me if you have further questions.

Thanks,
Jennifer