In preparation for a student service/adrenaline trip to Costa Rica, our educational tour company sent t-shirts, journals, and luggage tags for all participants.
It was my responsibility to pick them up.
Upon our arrival to the Cayman Islands, one of the first little nuggets of advice my fellow educators gave me was the following: have anything other than a letter sent with a friend in their luggage. Otherwise, you would have to pick it up from the Cayman Post Office and exchange your firstborn or pay a duty.
When a package is waiting at a Cayman Post Office, the process is as follows:
- Receive a notification in your mailbox
- Stroll to the airport post office and present said notification
- Post office attendant retrieves said package
- Attendant opens package and assesses if you must pay a minimal duty (tax) (Yeah, I said duty)
- Walk away happy with your love from home, or t-shirts from people at an educational tour company that you’ve never met before
The reality was slightly different.
I never received a note in my mailbox. In fact, I haven’t received the postcard you promised to send. After reading this, get to writing.
I did have a delivery notification from the U.S. Postal Service in my email stating that the package was already on island.
Four days later, the U.S. Postal Service the same email stated that it had arrived, cleared customs, and was ready to be picked up. Yet I never received a note from the Cayman Postal Service. What the heck, I figured I would chance it and go without a note.
I left a two-hour cushion to run between classes and the post office. I strolled into the post office at 9:10 with no one was in the lobby, always a positive sign, unless someone happened to go postal.
I asked the attendant if there was a nice, little box for a John White from Cayman International School.
Over the next 30 minutes, the postal worker searched the most remote corners of the warehouse. The warehouse measures slightly larger than two joined garages.
Just to be sure, he came out to confirm my name, John White.
Then it’s spelling.
And finally to confirm who exactly was the sender.
The box was finally located “in the back corner under some boxes”. Probably just the cornerstone for a pyramid of air conditioner boxes.
He then opened the brown box and emptied out its’ contents. A box of 17 t-shirts, 17 journals, and 34 luggage tags valued at $200 on the U.S. customs form produced a modest duty of $60 CI.
Lesson learned.
To be duty-free, don’t send it to me.
Unless it’s that postcard you have meant to send.
