Maybe don't rely on DHL in Cyangugu, Rwanda

I was in Cyangugu all week for my mid-service training. Spotted this near the border with Congo.

Contact Info & Wish List

I will check my email whenever I can, but may not always have time to respond. I would love to talk on Skype or my cell - you can find my contact info on facebook or by emailing me. My Rwandan number is +250 722 (the last 6 digits of my parents' home phone number).

I would also love to get mail:
Trude (my last name here)
U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer
B.P. 304
Gisenyi, RWANDA, East Africa

Some tips for mail (you can find a wish list below):

1. Writing "Par Avion" and "Air mail" is a MUST. Writing the address in red ink and adding "sister" before my name will increase the chance of my getting it. Seal well.

2. Letters cost 98 cents. Please number them and save a copy because things do get lost and/or arrive out of order. Letters can always include clips of newspaper and magazine articles. You don't have to hand write them - I'm happy to get typed letters. Postcards should be sent inside an envelope - apparently postcards alone are likely to end up decorating someone else's wall.

3. Packages should be sent in fixed-rate boxes to save money. Include a list of contents so I'll know if anything goes missing. On the customs forms, be vague and say USED (e.g. "used personal goods") or I'll have to pay hefty taxes. Valuables might not make it. Christian symbols, slogans, stickers, and Jesus packing tape (seriously, who can resist?) will help a package arrive intact.

WISH LIST

Reading: New Yorker, Economist, National Geographic, Atlantic, Foreign Policy, NY Review of Books, etc. Boston Globe Ideas section, NYT Tuesday Science. Crosswords (Thursday or earlier). Books I'd like (fiction and non-fiction). Offline-accessible stuff you shared/enjoyed on google reader (gonna miss my reader).

Video: new seasons of Lost season 6 (!!), 24 (if it's any good), Dexter, Weeds, Californication, Breaking Bad, (from Feb 22) How I Met Your Mother, Big Bang Theory, 30 Rock. Highlights of Daily Show/Colbert. Notable Boston sports games. New movies.

Audio (so I can update my ipod): podcasts, new music I might like, old music I might like and not have

Food:
Powdered drink mixes (gatorade, crystal lite) + herbal tea bags + hot chocolate powder
Chocolate (if it might melt, ziplock bags are great and I'll reuse them)
Dried fruit/berries that don't grow here (crasins, cherries, blueberries, rasberries, apricots...I can get pineapple and mango fresh)
Gummy bears, starburst, nips, fruit mentos, reese's pieces, oreos, skittles, sourpatch, york peppermint
Cheese powder from mac+cheese, other forms of cheese that will survive
Flavor packets (e.g. taco, thai curry paste), anything spicy/chili,  dressings and condiment packets (mustard, mayo)
Foil packets (tuna, salmon, those thai/indian ones)
Protein bars - I like Clif carrot cake
Nuts (spicy coatings welcome; peanuts not needed cause I have them here), trail mix
Kids' vitamins, stickers (to give away)

Misc:
Surprises!