As I’ve mentioned here and there on the board, I went to Fiji at the beginning of the month. I had a fabulous time and met many wonderful people- Aussies and Fijians alike. I’ve been in contact with several of the folks I met, something that is definitely much easier for the Aussies who do things like email :).
One of my Fijian friends has called me a few times (which is very sweet considering 1: how much that costs 2: how poor I know he is) and, most recently, he sent me a little post card. Very cute.
Upon inspecting the post card, my friend said, “Aw, you should send a little box of stuff over to him. Like, American stuff!” To which I exclaimed, “That’s a super cute idea! Ok, American stuff. . . what kind of American stuff. . .”
And then there was perplexed silence.
Hey, it’s hard to think of good things to send from my country to his, since all of my things are so mundane to me. (It’s sort of like when he tells me all these ridiculous stories about Fiji, then says, “Tell me something about America.” I usually don’t know what to say other than, “Uh. . . it’s very different than here.” I’m a poet, I know.)
So, Dopers: ideas? FWIW, the friend in question lives in a house that doesn’t have running water and when he visited our house we were renting, he stared at the ceiling fan in one of the back rooms and said, “Oh, I’ve never been in a home with a ceiling fan before!” So, just to add some perspective about his day to day life.
EDIT: Ooh i thought of something. Root Beer. I’ve read around here that most of the rest of the world doesn’t drink root beer and think it’s kind of yuk. So I would send some mentioning that fact and ask him what he thinks.
I sent American care packages of food to friends in the Peace Corps. These would all be stuff at the grocery store that is dry / canned / packaged.
Package 1: All American kid. Mac & Cheese. Cheetohs. Tuna cans. Miracle Whip. Yellow mustard. Spaghetti Os. Oreos. A set of the cereal boxes of sugar kids cereal.
Package 2: Storebought Tex Mex. Packaged tortillas. Enchilada sauce. Canned jalapenos. nacho cheese (they make that in cans too). Spices and seasonings.
Package 3: Make your Thanksgiving. This one had everything but the bird. Everything for pumpkin pie (canned stuff and seasonings, pre-made graham cracker pie crusts). Potato buds. Canned gravy. Bouillon cubes of chicken broth. Cans of green beans and french fried onions. Stuffing mix.
Basically grab a theme, then hit the grocers with a shipping box in hand. It can get pricey, but based on the responses worth it.
What you need is something American that isn’t part of the media tide that washes out of the States across the world. Something local, perhaps. Do you have any local fairs/art shows/weird things by the side of the road/literature or coffee-table books about your area/music/theatre/cooking?
I suppose this is a good place to interject something else that may be relevant: friend in question grew up on a little island off of the main island of Fiji and his education stopped at 9 years old so he could care for his family. He speaks Fijian and taught himself English so he could get one of the many tourism-centric jobs. So, he does speak English, but it’s rather basic and I feel like Mark Twain may be a bit complex ;).
Don’t know how American-y or relevant this is, but our family had friends in Antigua and on Kwajalein Island and they really appreciated cans of coffee. Hard to get and very expensive.
Does your friend have kids or little cousins? If so, I would get some American-style hard candy. Jolly ranchers or those See’s hard candy that comes in little bags. Honestly, I hate those stuff, but most kids seem to like them well enough and they ship well, which is especially important during the summer.
I think the idea of clothing is a good one. I think you’re in California, right, Diosa? So maybe a baseball cap with a Dodgers or Angels logo would work.
Given the poverty that you describe, it seems it would be best to keep it simple. He might not have consistent electricity or some of our basic kitchen implements, so be cautious about sending certain types of food that needs to be prepared.
I would like to hear about your trip to Fiji if you have the time. It sounds like you had a great time. I love to hear travel stories.
Thank you for all the wonderful suggestions (everyone who has posted thus far, too!). I’ll PM you a link to my Livejournal, as I’ve been posting updates regarding my trip. Only 2 of lord knows how many entries are up, but I plan to post more throughout the weekend.
I realize you’re totally kidding, but Fiji water is basically all they have for tourists to drink there (I mean the brand in the rectangle bottle, of course). Cracked me right up, it did.
And that’s definitely not a bad idea. Though I’d say the vast, vast majority of tourists there are from Australia, not America. Still, maybe he’d like to see a US map.
