Gimme some lovin!

So, many of you have said that you want to send me a package, and asked what I want. As it is, I have pretty much everything that I need, though every once in a while I get a craving for something that I can’t get here. More than anything, I just want fun stuff. Surprise me! Without further ado, here’s my wish list:

Food Stuffs:
Cheese-Its (reduced fat)
Wheat Thins (reduced fat)
Pop Tarts (do they actually make them without frosting, or was the last box I got a fluke? I like the no frosting ones. The regular ones give waaaay too intense a sugar rush. Though you can send them anyway, I can trade them for a wide range of goods and services.)
Fruit Snacks (the bags of little gummy things- I like the organic/real fruit ones. Come to think of it, bonus points for a bag of organic gummy bears!)
Trail Mix (anything delicious!)
Granola Bars (I really like the crunchy Hidden Valley ones)
Frosted Mini Wheats (I’m currently rationing the crumbs from the bottom of my last box. Think about that the next time you walk down the cereal aisle. Any cereals will be greatly appreciated!)
Instant Mashed Potatoes (a bowl of cheesy mashed potatoes can turn the worst day into a win)
Hot Sauce (Frank’s, Cholula, or anything habanero, chipotle, or nifty)
Spices (chipotle, or any good Mexican mix specifically)
Dried black beans (can’t get them here!) or kidney beans (cans are no fun to take on the bus)
Beef or turkey jerky
Coffee!!!!!!! (a bag of Starbucks or Kona gets you a postcard!)
Canned chicken or roast beef (I know it sounds gross, and I never would have touched it back home, but here it can make my life worth living for one more day)
Oreos (for bribes- you’d be amazed at what most PCVs would do for an American oreo)

Trader Joes Stuff:
Seriously, TJs needs to open a store in Lesotho. The volunteers and other expats here alone would keep it in business.
Peanut butter filled pretzels (no salt)
Chili pineapple or mango
Plain dried pineapple, mango, bananas, apples, etc….
Good dark chocolate (dear god, please!)
I especially like Trader Joes surprises!

Other Stuff:
Hand sanitizer (you have no idea how much I need this! You think the kids in American schools are filthy?)
Movies and music (throw a bunch on some CDs/DVDs for me, I need new music and movies! Desperately!)
DVDs/VHS (anything you have lying around the house and never watch- even burned/recorded stuff- will go in the PCV library, and you will be a hero to many)
Photos/pictures/letters/anything to go on my walls and remind me of home
Stickers
Magazines
World Maps (for my classrooms; furthermore, any kind of educational posters will be put to very good use)
Q-tips (the ones you can get locally are no good, especially in the face of the types of deposits that grow in my ears here)
Incense (I like vanilla or cloves; it helps to mask the smell of cow/donkey/chicken/pig shit perpetually drifting in through my windows)
X-Acto knife blades
Chalk (the stuff here crumbles instantly)
Flintstones vitamins (with extra vitamin C)

Bonus: Anyone with access to a running store that sells Gizmo brand socks (for example, Village Runner in Henderson) can become my favoritest person in the whole wide world. I don’t really care about colors/patterns (older designs are often on clearance), and my shoe size is 11 (I think that’s a large). All of my good socks are developing gaping holes faster than I can sew them. A couple of new pairs will make me happy in ways that you can’t possibly imagine.

That’s about it. Anyone who sends me a package will be handsomely rewarded in some fashion or another.

In unrelated news, I’m doing really well here. Having officially separated myself from the Lesotho College of Education, I’m now based permanently in Semonkong, and much happier for it. I have two primary schools that are my main focus; I’m currently trying to set up pen pals (still need American teachers for partners!), and have turned the dusty, unused books at the local youth center into a mobile library, getting the books out to five local primary schools and rotating every 2 or 3 months (ideally; even if the rotation system breaks down, at least the books are out at the schools and being used by the kids, as opposed to sitting in locked cabinets). I’m teaching a life skills/ guidance class one day a week at Semonkong High School for Form A, B, and C students (equivalent to 8th, 9th, and 10th grades in the States), and will soon be starting a remodel of the school library. I’m also in the process of developing the more or less defunct teacher resource center in town, which will also serve as a collection site for a town-wide can and paper recycling program that I’m developing with one of my schools, which will hopefully help raise some money for instructional materials. Plans for the near future include teaching a general fitness class at the youth center (starts next week) and a tree planting campaign to begin in October, possibly at several sites across the country (if the people at the Ministries with which I’m working can pull it together). And as soon as I finish the application, we’ll be starting to raise money to replace a roof and build a new classroom at a local school (if you’re interested with helping me to fundraise at your school/work, let me know, I’d really appreciate any help I can get!). Needless to say, I’m keeping myself very busy.

More soon.

Oh, and my address:

Ro Gluck
PO Box 100
Semonkong, 120
LESOTHO

(On the customs form, under contents, put "religious books and materials." And if you write "Jesus loves you" and whatnot on the box, the people at the post office won't mess with it.)