Nothing really new to report. As of today we are leaving on the 30th of June. We leave from our home airport here in North Carolina and fly to DC. From DC we fly to Frankfurt and then onto Almaty. We should arrive in Almaty on July 1 at 10:15 PM. We will have flown over 7500 miles by the time we get there, and that is just one half of the trip! I'm tired just thinking about it.
J and I have been very busy over the past couple of weeks. We have started pulling everything together as far as clothes and other necessities and making lots of lists. I have been buying gifts, gifts and more gifts to give to the various people along the way. I have really enjoyed shopping for our little one's caregivers as well as our translator and driver. These are folks that I know that we will truly feel indebted to by the end of our time in Ust-Kamenogorsk. However, there are other folks that I need to have gifts for like the officials that have approved our paperwork along the way etc. These gifts are a lot harder for me to buy. I will likely never meet some of these folks. From what I understand, when J and I arrive in Ust we will hand over the 13 gifts for the "adoption officials" to our coordinator and then we will never see the gifts again. Apparently, while our coordinator is calling on these folks in regards to our adoption, she will present them with a token of our appreciation once the task has been completed. We are not to spend more than $10-15 per person, so it is not anything really nice, but it is hard to know what would be appreciated.
Not to mention that there are severe weight limitations on our luggage once we get to Kazakhstan. Until we arrive each of our bags can weigh up to 70 pounds without overage charges. However, once we enter Kazakhstan and have to travel domestically we will be charged $5 per pound over 40 pounds! So, we are trying to make sure that our bags don't weigh too much over 40 pounds each. This may prove to be very challenging.
Lots to do this week...so no time for cocktails!
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1 comment:
Wow, June 30th!! That is right around the corner! So excited for you!
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