How not to get your Christmas gift via China Post....

[K'Tesh]

In my rush to send off a list of materials to my mom, along with my address, I forgot one little detail.

The word...

"Rocket"

My mom has never been into the hobby, though she has seen me launch on a couple of occasions. She never paid that much attention to what a rocket was, and I'm unsure if she ever knew what was in a kit, though she did see me unbag a rocket at least once.

She was told at the post office that there was no way that she could send a rocket. She was told that if she sent the rocket, the Chinese would certainly open the package and confiscate the whole package, and I'd be out everything. So, she didn't send them.

I forgot the phrase...

"Unassembled Model"

I should have told her that on the customs tag, she shouldn't think "Rockets", she should use "Unassembled Models" because the word "Rocket" implies fireworks, and is certain to arouse attention of both the US, and Chinese postal systems.

The mistake was all mine. However, now she's kicking herself for not figuring it out, and I'm kicking myself for not remembering how literal she could be.

Really... The one person I didn't give the warning to... At least she didn't send them that way.

You can imagine the phrases I'm kicking around in my head right now...

No Goblin, no Quinstar

Nutz

 

[Cabernut]

Might be a bit late but I'm sure she can try again.

I know whenever I order stuff off ebay from China, on the customs declaration, they mark it as 'gift' or 'toy' even though it's neither.

 

[K'Tesh]

Might be a bit late but I'm sure she can try again.

I know whenever I order stuff off ebay from China, on the customs declaration, they mark it as 'gift' or 'toy' even though it's neither.

She spent quite a bit of money sending me the Christmas gift, I can count on not getting it sent until my birthday (on her dime).

 

[terryg]

I would think a small fiber glass rocket, like the ones from Madcow, could survive the journey if packaged properly.

 

[K'Tesh]

I would think a small fiber glass rocket, like the ones from Madcow, could survive the journey if packaged properly.

Not if the customs tag has the word "Rocket" written on it.

 

[KidRockET]

You're in China?

Who knew?

 

[tim cubbedge]

You're in China?

Who knew?

But more so, why?

 

[K'Tesh]

You're in China?

Who knew?

I presume you're being facetious. I've been posting about coming to China ever since I started in TRF, I've been posting that I'm here for just under a year now.

But more so, why?

Work. I'm teaching English. I wanted a job that I could travel with, and one that wouldn't be replaced by the internet (like my former job as a travel agent).

 

[fyrwrxz]

I told you so.....LOL!
It's an arcane system riddled with layers of inspectors, enforcers, petty thieves and just plain stupid people. as I told you before, Jim, the expats refer to living in China as "Life on the 'hard' setting." I could go on but most people tend to forget they are still a Communist state. Despite the overwhelming display of capitalism, they still have restrictions on most things we would never consider. Send your son some SPF 100 sunblock?-No-they'll confiscate that (because 'whiteness' is cherished and some postal worker's daughter will squeal with delight when she gets something that uses real Zinc Oxide and not LEAD!) and good luck getting it repacked well enough to continue on it's way. I only hope someday you , my son and I can sit down over a beer and laugh about the crazy crappy days in Chine. Until then, hang in there and keep the faith. Don't take any plastic rice!

 

[K'Tesh]

I told you so.....LOL!
It's an arcane system riddled with layers of inspectors, enforcers, petty thieves and just plain stupid people. as I told you before, Jim, the expats refer to living in China as "Life on the 'hard' setting." I could go on but most people tend to forget they are still a Communist state. Despite the overwhelming display of capitalism, they still have restrictions on most things we would never consider. Send your son some SPF 100 sunblock?-No-they'll confiscate that (because 'whiteness' is cherished and some postal worker's daughter will squeal with delight when she gets something that uses real Zinc Oxide and not LEAD!) and good luck getting it repacked well enough to continue on it's way. I only hope someday you , my son and I can sit down over a beer and laugh about the crazy crappy days in Chine. Until then, hang in there and keep the faith. Don't take any plastic rice!

Incongruent had a nice little suggestion for getting things to me... Have something written on the package, in crayon, with a very young child's scrawl that says "Shēngrì Kuàilè Yéyé!". It means "Happy Birthday Grandpa!".