APO:

One of the nifty things about my position here is that I get an APO address. This means that I can receive mail sent from the US with only US postage. For example, Christmas cards (hint, hint).

It's pretty cool because certain things are unavailable or very expensive here. Today I got a box from CVS.com with razor blades and the right contact lens solution. Interestingly, someone from CVS.com had gone to the post office, filled out the customs declaration (by hand) and mailed the box to me, the same way that my mother does. I found that surprising. I would have expected a big company like CVS to have some sort of agreement with USPS.

The form was filled out in a way that would have gotten me in trouble. The box was listed as containing "OTC pharmacy items," not itemized as the APO here insists that you do. But AQIS hadn't bothered opening it. They seem to only open things labelled as "boots" or "food."