Gifts

Some of you have asked if you can send me something, and if so how to do it, where, when, etc.
I have a PLAN. And for those ready for the adventure of sending via MSF mail, here's THE PLAN:
First of all WHAT do you send? there are two options:
1) Every so often, I will write about an item on the blog, on the last line, beside my signature, something like
"love you lots, roll of Charmin", or "see ya later, 32 bars of dark chocolate", etc.
Next to the words I will put either one star* (would love to have this - Charmin*) or
two stars**(am desperate, likely to perish if I don't have this - chocolate**). Simple enough.
2) You can surprise me

Secondly, How much to send?
MSF makes it quite clear the limit is 2 pounds, absolutely no more and preferably less. So, no 32 bars of chocolate**. Shucks. Small packages are great. No restriction on the number of packages, but here's the catch: every package will have to be carried to me by an MSF staff coming from Paris - it's called MSF MAIL.

So, here's how it works:
You package an item and address it to:

Doctor Genie Pritchett
Sukhumi, Abkhazia
Medicins Sans Frontieres
8 rue Saint Sabin
75011 Paris France

What happens to the package?
It will go to Paris, it will be opened in the mailroom at the MSF office. Every package is opened for security purposes. It will then be put on a shelf for other items going to Abkhazia and when the next person goes to Tbilisi Georgia, the package will accompany that person, in their carryon backpack or in their checked luggage. It will come to the MSF office in Tbilisi. Then once a week there is an MSF transfer from Tbilisi Georgia to Sukhumi Abkhazia and it will go via car with another MSF person. At the border the package will be transfered from a Georgian MSF car and person to an Abkhaz MSF car and person to be driven to Sukhumi, as long as there are allowed border crossings, which has not been a problem for the past few months. It will go to the MSF office in Sukhumi.
When I show up the next morning, someome will hand me the package and I will go WHAHOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!! and ravenously rip the package open and sing the national anthem and jump up and down until I am told SHEVACHEROT. (stop)

So, how will you prevent sending duplicates, ie all of you sending me Charmin instead of chocolate?
I have asked Ballard to create a little spreadsheet and it will include the following items:
Item
Date sent from USA
Date Arrived in Abkhazia
Person

He will figure out how to post it on the internet. It is beyond my computer-capacity today. You can look on the spreadsheet, fill in the item, date sent and your name, and I will fill in date arrived in abkhazia.

We can see whose item takes the least and the most time!!!!!! A game. A miracle.

So all those interested, LET THE GAMES BEGIN!!!!!!!!

May the best man, woman, child win!!!!!

I love you all,
a small, pocket-sized English-Russian dictionary**



and more thanks than I can say in the space remaining.

gp