We decided that we would not send "a crate" over with our belongings. We felt that cost was too high and most of our stuff was not coming with us to the Philippines. We sold the majority of our big furniture and dispersed the remainder to family. So to get our stuff to the Philippines, we decided to use a Filipino mainstay - the "balikbayan box". This type of shipment is common for many Filipinos. Many Filipinos will leave their country to find employment and as part of the deal, they will send their families "balikbayan" or a gift sent to home. These boxes are delivered door-to-door from the US to the Philippines with customs taken care of by the shipper. (If I can avoid a governmental agency it sounds like a better deal to me!) So we shipped 10 boxes in mid-June and another 16 boxes in July. I wasn't quite sure about our choice at first because the place we left our boxes in America seemed "semi-seedy". It was a deal accomplished in the far corner of a shipping warehouse. Fears aside, our first 10 boxes arrived today. So far only one picture frame has been found broken. I am not sure who was more excited, Emily and Will to have a box full of their toys arrive or Ginger to have her house taking shape as she planned.
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