Is AUTHOR wrong in the post ? POST : For the reddit secret Santa exchange, there are very simple rules. Spend around 20 USD (more if you want), actually send your gift to your person, confirm the receipt of your gift. You can elect to match with people from a different country if you want, but there’s a big warning that international shipping can be quite expensive that you must acknowledge. 

I signed up be to an international reddit secret Santa this year, primarily because I thought it would be really fun and interesting to give / receive a little unfamiliar culture with some international neighbors. 

I did a ton of research into my match’s country, figured out what they do and do not have access to there, and sent a little of what their particular interest was along with a little culture from my country. 

I had a blast being a Santa! I had a ton of fun doing the research and learning about their culture, the things they are into, etc. It was quite expensive to ship from my country to theirs (around 80 USD), but I kind of expected that, and reddit did have a *very explicit* warning about this, so no worries there. 

As much fun as I had gifting (believe me, It was a ton of fun), I was just as excited to have an encounter with someone outside of my country. When my gift was marked as shipped, I was super excited. I spent a ton of time tracking what times they accessed my information, when stuff was marked as shipped, etc to try to figure out where they were from. 

It took roughly a week for me to see the tracking number. Seeing where it entered my country, I was trying even more to try to figure out where it came from based on geography and international flights, etc. I was so excited. 

Then I received my gift. It was from a local vendor, nothing that I wouldn’t have been able to pick up from any local shop. Didn’t seem to be very thoughtful, even for a domestic gift. Where I thought the package entered my country is actually where it originated. 

Don’t get me wrong, I am very appreciative that someone spent the time and money to get something for me. The cost is irrelevant to me, i know that there is a ~20 USD recommendation and all of that. What I was excited about was receiving something, ya know, foreign. What’s the point of signing up to participate internationally if you’re not going to share something special with another part of the world? 

Am I the asshole for being disappointed / was I expecting too much? 