I am going to start writing again. Apparently I just needed a six-month break. In the meantime, here's a list I sent to my sister-in-law, who'll be visiting this summer.

Things you should pack:

· Clothes for work – pants that aren’t jeans, shirts with collars, and so on

· One suit-type thing for more serious work events

· Regular clothes for the rest of the time (the kind of thing you normally wear is fine)

· Swimsuit

· Sturdy purse for traveling

· Party dress in case there is some kind of event

· Debit card (with a visa logo) – can use it to get cash from banks and to buy plane tickets.

· Short skirts are okay, but not in all situations. Probably better to just bring pants.

· A few long skirts for travel in rural areas

· Sunblock – it’s expensive here. Of course, you can always use ours.

· Your computer, if you don’t mind. The office will only be able to give you a desktop to use, and a laptop is nicer to have.

· Portable CD player and other such things for boring travel.

Things you don’t need to pack:

· Tampons, maxipads, etc. Can be bought here.

· Shorts

· Shampoo, conditioner, other toiletries unless you are really committed to your own brand (Kir and I use dove and herbal essences)

· Credit cards – can’t use them in many places

· Travelers’ checks – life will be a lot easier if you just carry cash and don’t lose it. If you’re uncomfortable with that, you can use your debit card to get money at banks but it’s a drawn-out process.

· Too many clothes – we have a washing machine, and a housekeeper who does laundry.

Things you might not realize we don’t have here:

· English language books, newspapers, or magazines (cannot be gotten at all)

· Well-made shoes (unless you want to pay $200)

· Familiar cheese (occasionally you can find it, but it will cost a fortune)

· American snack food – Doritos or whatever

· American candy

· Broccoli (occasionally)

· Tomato sauce in a jar

· Popcorn kernels

· Diet coke (occasionally)

· Most things you can buy in a US grocery store, actually

· Inexpensive clothes, but you can have nice clothes made and it’s not too expensive

· A car – we sold the one in Ashgabat and didn’t buy another. We walk and take taxis. We’re thinking of hiring a driver.

Things you might not realize we have here:

· Popped popcorn

· Wine, beer, vodka, etc.

· Fruit-flavored yogurt

· Spreadable cheese

· Feta cheese

· All kinds of pasta

· Frozen turkey burgers

· Ramen noodles

· Instant soup

· Instant oatmeal

· lots of different kinds of make-up, nail polish, toiletries, and so on.

· A microwave (we have one)

· All kinds of office supplies

· A benetton and a Levis store

· British and German chocolate and candy

· A decent variety of restaurants (Italian, Chinese, Indian, Korean, European…)

· Beauty salons

· Many, many kinds of fruit juice

· Bowling alleys

· One cinema with English movies (sometimes)

· Lots of cheap movie DVDs and videos to buy

· Lots of cheap CDs to buy

· Lots of kinds of ice cream

· Video arcades

· Air conditioning

·

<<|>>

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USAID is one of many donors for the project I work for. The views expressed herein are the author’s own views and do not necessarily reflect those of the author’s employer or especially those of the United States Agency for International Development or the United States Government. And I mean it. I probably give the US government heart attacks.