Preparations

8/3/2006-Well we are armed with laptop, camcorder, camera...now if I can only learn to set them up and use them before I leave on Sunday. Where will all the clothes go? We haven't started packing yet, but have bought all the stuff we think we'll need...everything but the kitchen sink. I am frustrated with my blogging efforts, I can't seem to post anything new. This is very frustrating. I try out the camcorder and it works and I figured out how to play back the DVDs. These small accomplishments keep me motivated. Maybe I am too focused on the techie stuff and not enough on the bigger picture. I should be happy...I am...but I feel overwhelmed by the prospect of being a a foreign country where paractically no English is spoken. I will be completely reliant on my agency's staff in Kazakhstan. There is also a decision to be made about where to stay...hotel or flat. It is 95 degrees in Almaty and the 5 day forecast show little change. In a flat there will probably be no AC or fans. A hotel has a better likelihood of these creature comforts but will be smaller and not have the convenience of a kitchen and a cook. We decide that we will spend a few days in a hotel and then move to the flat.