Whenever we get the little yellow slip from the post office informing us that a package has arrived, we go a little nutty with glee. Then, we brace ourselves for the inevitable joust with The One Who Must Be Overcome: The Mwanza Post Office Customs Official.
We may be misinformed, but we’ve been told that our visas exempt us from paying duties on packages. Whenever I tell this to Bwana Customs Official (Bwana = Mr.) he goes into great detail, in very pronounced English and with very dramatic arm waving WHY I am mistaken.
I had a game plan today though. A colleague of Duncan’s, who is Tanzanian, of Indian heritage, coached us on how to handle such dealings. He advised using a few simple techniques, which he uses with great success. These include shouting, shouting “DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?”, dropping an important name while shouting, threatening to take serious action and shouting and/or slipping the gatekeeper a small to moderate amount of cash.
Ok. So, realistically, I wasn’t going to do any of those things and had no game plan. But I was determined not to pay more than a few dollars. So when Bwana Customs Official finished his speech and told me I owed 22,260 Tsh ($17), I calmly gave him a 5000 Tsh bill ($4) and said that was all I would pay. He in turn, calmly wrote out a receipt for me and told me he was doing me a favor because one of us works at Bugando Hospital.
For the record, Duncan has managed to walk out with TWO big boxes from the US without paying a cent. I’ve yet to experience this.
With that out of the way, we must now thank Whitney and all our dear friends at Redeemer for sending a package that has struck us dumb. For all the Easter love and chocolate and especially the Girl Scout Cookies, we thank you!
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