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I am thrilled to say that my website has been circulating around the Emerson community. David Griffin has been excellant about publicity, it is the third "hit" on Google with the keywords "castle well", and the first "hit" with keywords "emerson castle", which hopefully means anyone seeking information will view my site!
I have also received several emails in regard to my site, with many good questions.
Below you will find some of the inquires I have addressed.
Thank you to everyone who has contacted me; keep 'em coming!
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FOOD, SENDING PACKAGES, AND TAXES:
Hi Whitney, I enjoyed your site. My daughter is currently at the Castle and I was hoping you could help me out. Im trying to send her some food items. Those snacks you just cant get in the Netherlands. Can you give me any insight. I will be sending this US mail. No dairy or meat.
Do they tax these items? I saw you mentioned something somewhere and was hoping you could help me out with this. Thanks.
I think it depends on what she likes. The store in Well has some different snacks and a few of the "same old". I like the new choices, and since I'm not too picky, I didn't miss anything from home really...except bagels. It's very rare to find bagels in Europe.
I would think of every day food and what your daughter enjoys/eats a lot. Snack items like jam, peanut butter, rice cakes, etc. are readily available in the dining hall and the local store. Snack bars are different at the store. Candy is pretty much the same...actually, it's much better!
As far as tax goes, that's a tricky question. I know that items are taxed occasionally. I heard that you should avoid writing down whats in a package, otherwise you'll be taxed, but this may depend on the company.
The official castle site reads: "whenever possible, a value should not be given for the contents, which should be identified as personal belongings or a gift. Giving a value to the item(s) may require the payment of customs duties when the package arrives in the Netherlands, and may hold up delivery of the package."
The castle was having difficult receiving UPS packages; send Federal Express if you can. BLANKETS AND HOSTELS
I know that the program provides blankets for me. I've never used a hostal before: do I have a bring my blanket and pillow from the castle to use when I'm traveling? Thanks for the kind words and question. Don't worry about the hostels, they're generally very safe and comfortable enough. They often provide blankets, but 50% of the time there's a small fee (about $3). So, if you have room you can bring your own sheets. A friend of mine bought a really cool blanket set from Edie Bauer (I think) that was a bottom sheet, a top sheet, and a pillow case all in one! Plus, it wrapped up small and didn't take up much space. I would recommend that or just paying the fee.
Hostels are fine. There are many great websites where people give their comments. Trust them.
I didn't have a very bad experience at a hostel. Just keep your things with you, don't bring anything expensive or valuable, and if you do, keep it "on your person" the whole night/dont leave it in the room when you leave. Otherwise, leaving clothes/backpacks at the hostel is generally safe. As long as you are aware, you'll be fine. |
