Advice for future travelers...

Hi everyone.

We just got back from a 2.5 hour walk, and our lazy american asses are VERY tired! We're definitely going to lose some weight on this trip!

Anyways, we had a great time. It was nice because it was our first chance to be out on the town alone without any americans or translators, so we had to fend for ourselves. Once you do that for the first time, you start to feel a bit more comfortable in this very foreign land. We bought towels, a potty, lunch, knives for the apartment, and we scoped out some VERY cool souveneir gifts for those of you who are cool enough to deal (Pete and Sandra, you just wait... yours is by FAR the coolest we've seen so far!).

So through our relatively tame adventures, I am starting to think of little tidbits I want to share with other Kaz traveling families, especially those coming to Kokshetau, especially those of you coming in summer.

-Shorts are fine. Tanktops are fine. Ladies, a godsend for me has been Gap brand camisoles with a built-in bra. They pack VERY small and are perfect for the heat with no other shirt. Also been wearing bermuda shorts and capris. Bring a hoodie of some sort, as it rains in the afternoon.
-Sandals feel great, but it's a catch-22. The sidewalks and roads have a lot of pebbles on them, which inevitably end up in your shoes. I would suggest bringing both tennis shoes and walking, cushy sandals. I have a pair of slip off clog/tennis shoe hybrids which have been nice and I can wear with (not so fashionable) or without socks. I didn't bring normal tennis shoes like an idiot and now I'm regretting it.
-Plan on there being a shortage of towels when you get here (at least there was in our apartment). We just bought two bath towels and two dish towels at the bazaar for $9.
-Don't be afraid to go across town (10-25 minute walk, depending on where you're staying) to the bazaar. Just keep your money and your hands in your front pockets. Bring a calculator.
-Don't be afraid to eat the food. We just bought lunch for two for 50 cents at the bazaar (fried bread with unknown meat inside...whinny...ugh...but whatever it was, it was good). One Pepsi cost the same as lunch for two!
-In Kokshetau and Shchuchinsk baby houses, bring a package of diapers to pilfer from in your apartment. They are very expensive here and the women at the baby house will ask you to bring a few each day.
-Go out now and find the most comfortable backpack you can find (think REI or Copelands Sports). In hindsight, we both would have bought a small version of a "backpacking" pack, with the cushy hip strap to put the weight of the pack on your hips. We've been hauling all our crap with us wherever we go because we never know it we'll end up with the other american family here or not, or where our driver will be picking us up. Both of our packs are not the best, not that big, and not that comfortable. We underestimated our need for them. If you have yet to buy a diaper bag, I do NOT suggest the Columbia brand backpack; it's not comfortable to wear.
-Bring tissues. All they've got here is sandpaper toilet paper. They sell tissues by the teeny package, but best to buy a package of travel tissues from home and bring those, as these are expensive.
-Basic words you need to learn are simple, hello, goodbye (Paka Paka!), please, thank you, how much.
-Buy your gifts and donations HERE! We definitely should have done that, as it would have saved us lugging two very heavy bags with us.

Time for a NAP! I'll make more suggestions as the trip goes on.

Jen