Seven HUNDRED Dollars?!

After five weeks “in country” there has been so much to see and do and buy that I just couldn’t help myself from shopping for all my (and other people’s Harley-related) Christmas gifts while I’m here. I mean really…who could possibly pass up that fuzzy camel wearing pink lipstick?!

That being said, it will come as no surprise that I have bought too much stuff! So now I’m faced with some choices…how do you like choices, Taunya? Hmmm…at this point I don’t like them much at all.

Being the smarty pants that I am I thought, “Hey, no big deal. I’ll just ship a box or two home and save myself the trouble.” For those who have not traveled abroad, please take this opportunity to learn from my naiveté.

Picture, if you will, happy little Taunya, executing Plan A – Ship Stuff Home. Packing up her 2 boxes and heading out to find a UPS or FedEx. Doo-dee-doo…Taunya walks into FedEx and sets the boxes on the scale, hands over her corporate shipping ID and awaits the total.

Two boxes…10 kilograms…$700…quick head-snap to look the clerk in the eye because by now I am SURE that it was because we may not speak the same language.

“Um, excuse me? You mean Dirhams, right?” Taunya says expecting the common misunderstanding.

“No Miss…Dollars, American Dollars…Seven Hundred.”

Whoa. Yeah…not happening…moving to Plan B - back in the car to see what UPS has to say.

“Hi there nice UPS lady. I’d like to ship these two small boxes to Colorado, USA please.”

“Absolutely, ma’am…that will be $630.”

UGH!

Now I am forced to create a Plan C, which is not something I am used to doing as a card carrying member of Advanced Planners Anonymous.

This is where my Canadian colleague comes to the rescue! Men…they have a different approach to travel that normally includes “packing” the equivalent of the clothes they are wearing and (if you’re lucky) a toothbrush. Because Captain Canada is this type of male, he has kindly offered to schlep a bag on his flight to the US and then ship it to me for the proper price of $20 MAX!

WHEW! Now all I have to do is buy an entire new suitcase to put it all in…excellent…another trip to the mall for me!