June 5, 2008 Sticker Shock

So far, I’m batting 1000. Every time I’ve gone to the post office, there’s been a package for me. I know this can’t last forever, but it sure feels fantastic. :) Today’s, though, came with sticker shock. I know that the Moroccan government has the right to open any package and check the contents, but I don’t think it has happened before now. The packages always looked unopened, anyway. But today’s had been examined in detail, and I got stuck with a hefty customs charge. It was marked “Gift”, both because it was and because I’d been told that you don’t have to pay customs on gifts, and I’d passed that information along to everyone who was thinking about sending me stuff. But I guess that’s more of a guideline than a rule. Anyhow, I had to leave the package there until I could come back with floos (money). It felt a bit like the time that my car was towed for having an expired tag. (It’s my car, parked in my lot, and you are forcing me to pay you to get it back?) Today, the thought was that this is my package, delivered to my mailbox, and I have to provide money before I can get it? :(

Oh, well. The contents were worth waiting for. And even worth forking over a week’s pay for. :) Even without chocolate. ;)