What should I send in a care package to a good friend that recently moved from Tampa, Fl to Spain?

Question

My good friend recently got a job teaching children English in a small city of Baeza, Andalucia, Spain. He has lived in America his entire life and is leaving all of his family and friends. It's a big transition for him, so I want to send him a comfort package. I just have no idea what to send him in the care package. Please help me out. Any advice is welcome!!

Answer 1

I live in Andalucia and moved here over two years ago. I love the food here. Having said that, most supermarkets stock international products now. I can´t think of anything that I really miss from the UK and it will be the same for your friends. The food here is much fresher. The fruit is left on the trees longer and as a result is much sweeter and juicier.

If you are prepared to move lock stock & barrel to a new country you should be prepared to live like the locals.  Baeza is in a wonderful area. Your friends are so lucky to be there. I wouldn´t worry too much about a comfort package as they are more fortunate than you with their choice of food now.

Answer 2

I agree with the first answerer. Having lived in Andalucia (Cadiz) for 2.5 years, I will tell you this... their snacks are not like ours. He will CRAVE a chocolate candy bar. Actually...any kind of snacks/treats that are full of sugar. Their idea of snacks over there is sunflower seeds! Dates. Nuts. Figs. Yuck!

Send him a t-shirt with something home-townish on it so that some other american might recognize it.

Send him a map of Torremolinos and tell him that he must NOT miss it.

And tell him to eat at El Faisán D'oro in Puerto de Santa Maria and have some garlic chicken, shrimp, salad, bread and tinto for me. OMG. I am drooling. Tell him to get some paella. Ummmmmmmm!!

Answer 3

How nice you are.

Definitely his favorite candy bars, homemade cookies wrapped really well, a newspaper from his home town, recent pics of family, friends, house, pets, and you.

Answer 4

20 yrs ago, many of our foods like M&Ms and peanut butter were almost impossible to find. But now they have everything from Mt. Dew to Chips Ahoy cookies.  You might want to ask him first what he wants that he *can't* find. If he is looking for something in particular, tell him to go to a Carrefour store, they have just about everything (Pringles chips, kellogg's cereals, hot dogs/rolls, chicken nuggets etc).  However, as a previous poster mentioned, the spanish food is better, so he may not miss it that much.  My suggestion is to send a CD with some new tunes, photos of friends/family/pets etc.  A letter a week with personal updates/news is cheaper than a big box of things he either already has, or doesn't really need.

Answer 5

Outahere2day had wonderful suggestions.

If your friend likes candy, get items that cannot melt.  You don't know how hot the package might get, and you don't want candy to melt.

His family can tell you what his favorite homemade cookies would be.

Pics are a faulous idea.

Since he's a teacher, you might want to send some things that kids the age of his students might find interesting that come from the U.S. and may be different from what they have in Spain.  

Some well known English Children's books would be great.  When I studied French, the BEST books I had were ones printed in France and imported to the U.S.  So books printed here would be a real asset to him in his classes.  Again, go according to  the age of the students he'll be teaching.  This will give his students a glimpse into American culture as well as help them study English.  

Magazines for children printed here in the U.S. are also a good idea.  There are some really fantastic children's magazines.  

Ones I would recommend include:  Highlights for Children, Cricket, Time (for Kids), Boys Quest, Discovery Girls, Pack O Fun, Sports Illustrated for Kids, Boy's Life, Girls Life, Children's Digest, Junior Scholastic, National Geographic Kids and Weekly Reader.

Answer 6

The one thing I still miss is concord grape jelly, you can't find it in Spain (at least not yet)... As to peanut butter, most places in Spain have  a couple of english brands, and there is even a spanish brand now... (35 years ago, when I arrived as a newly-wed, we couldn't even find canned sweetcorn!.. But over the years things have changed a lot)

I suggest you send him a few CD's of american music (especially if you know his tastes).

Something fun would be Halloween candy, that he will definitely NOT find here!

Also maple syrup is findable, although rare and rather expensive. Send the plastic bottle kind for either jelly or syrup (they will mail better and do not risk breaking).

Also Baeza is not the most cosmopolitain city in Spain, maybe he'll apreciate a book or two in english.

Where I live on La Costa del Sol, we find most everything now, from british cuisine to latin american  specialties, but in Baeza he may not be so lucky... If he tells you about any "cravings" tell him to head down to Malaga over a weekend to do some shopping! And I wouldn't mind giving him some hints or general info on this area of Spain, if you know his e-mail, you could "pass it on" to me if you'd care to. Baeza will definitely be a huge change for someone used to Florida!

Answer 7

Why don´t you just ask him instead of shipping things he can buy here? Really, rather send him a letter or a postcard and let him enjoy our local food. Save the money for a trip to visit Spain.

Answer 8

Anything with peanut butter. It's almost non-existant over there. I found it once in the "exotic foods" aisle of the supermarket.

Answer 9

When my daughter lived overseas we brought her peanut butter and Kraft's macaroni and cheese. She was able to get chocolate, but in a small city, he may not get what he wants in the way of chocolate. Is there a cereal he likes? In Europe it's just corn flakes. No sugary cereals.

Answer 10

Plan your next trip to spain to visit with him on your next vacation. Save some money.

I bet he would love to have a CARD sent in the mail.