Counting down the days~

Just a few more weeks until I "ship out" to Guyana! I'm really looking forward to seeing a new country, tasting new foods, meeting my counterparts (I have to get rid of the word homologue!) and getting to work with the kids at the Carol School.

People have been asking about my address. This is the address that I have from my paperwork but I am not sure if it will change or not.

Here is additional information about the mail service in Guyana.

Mail service between the United States and Guyana is fairly reliable. Airmail letters from home usually take two weeks to arrive in Guyana and four to five weeks to arrive in the United States from Guyana. Surface mail may take months.

Right now my address in Guyana will be:

Jocelyn Friedman, PCV-PCR

Peace Corps

PO Box 101192

Georgetown, Guyana

South America

As for packages, I am responsible for paying import duties on items mailed to me from outside the country. The customs process for obtaining sent items is often lengthy, although the duty on items is generally minimal. Customs will notify me directly if I have been sent a package.

Small padded envelopes are recommended over boxes.

One alternative to shipping packages through regular mail is to send items through a service such as DHL International or Federal Express. Both companies have offices in Georgetown, but their services are expensive.

You can have items sent through these companies to the Peace Corps office in Georgetown, but you must provide the street address and phone number. (The street address for the Peace Corps is 33A Barrack Street, Kingston, Georgetown, Guyana. When calling from the United States, the phone number is 011-592-225-5073. Another alternative is a local company, Laparkan that offers relatively inexpensive air freight service to Guyana from New

York, Toronto, and Miami. Surface mail for packages takes four to six weeks.