Just kidding about those plane tickets...

No, seriously! Long story short, I made flight reservations last Saturday, but then learned that there was funding available to cover my flight. So, cancelled those, and got rebooked yesterday on the same flights. :) I'm leaving Atlanta the afternoon of July 7 and returning on the afternoon of August 23, and flying through Dubai both times! (Heard it's pretty swank.)

My mom just told me I should update this more, because my grandmother will be reading (hi Grammy and Grampy!). So, I'll share with you a picture of my packing (you can see that packing light is the order of the day):
















I think my hoard of Clif Bars is the heaviest thing to go! Clif Bars and a few packets of instant coffee are the only American food crutches I'm bringing -- just enough to get through the first few days, when I expect it'll be difficult to navigate my new surroundings and establish necessary habits (and clearly, my priorities in that are eating and coffee). On a packing-related note, I heard through the grapevine that monsoon season has started in Dhaka. :)

Eee, I think the mailman has arrived with my visa! Bye for now.