15 January 2009

New Mailing Address!!

We have a new mailing address in Nouadhibou!

Katie & Mike Yunghans
B.P. 1771
Nouadhibou, Mauritania
West Africa
Par Avion

Note: In Mauritania, the numbers one and seven, when handwritten, are often confused with each other. To avoid this problem, draw a dash through the vertical line of the seven (see the picture for an example).

Don't worry if you've sent anything to the old address recently though. We should still be able to get mail from the old box while we're transitioning over to our new one. By now we know the guys who work in the post office really well and they just call us anytime we have a package that needs to be picked up.

Also...we have noticed recently that many of the packages (and envelopes) we've received have already been opened upon arrival (or partially opened). We think it's probably happening more now because of the holidays and the expectation by some that there could be money or valuable electronics inside. To our knowledge, nothing has been missing from any of the packages. However, I would encourage liberal use of packaging tape on all boxes (all seams, corners, etc) and that you reinforce envelope sealing glue with scotch tape.

We also no longer recommend that you draw religious symbols on the outside of care packages or envelopes. Given the current situation in the Middle East, we believe the use of these symbols may draw unnecessary attention to the packages.

For more tips on sending mail or care packages you can go to our Wishlist page. We regularly update the list by adding and removing items as we receive new packages in the mail. Thanks for everything! We love and miss you all!