Biometrics & the Weak Dollar

Today was very exciting. In the mailbox was a very official looking envelope from USCIS (US Citizenship and Immigrant Services = former INS). Naturally, my heart immediately started pounding because I knew exactly what it was. I carefully opened the envelope in the car (of COURSE I could not wait until I got to the office) to find my appointment for FBI fingerprinting. So, next Friday, May 2, 2008 at 8:00a.m. I have to be at the office with my documents. It's about 1.5 hours away so I will leave 2 hours ahead of time. 

I also found out today that because our economy is such a mess, all of the in country prices in Kazakhstan have been greatly increased. So, now I am fundraising more than i had anticipated, but this is not a surprise. Having worked in cultural exchange, I have seen program fees increase and decrease due to the exchange rate. How did I manage to get my salary in Swedish Kronor when the USD was strong and now I am getting paid in USD when it's weak? Typical.

Things really are moving along at record speed. It's important to note that while I am lucky to be in a region which quickly moves through the adoption process, I will soon enter the Kaz world which boasts the same waiting time for everyone. So, pretty soon we will just have to hurry up and wait. My agency sent me a long list of things to do while you are waiting. I think I will start at the top and work my way down.