Getting ready for this adventure has been a little crazy.  The Peace Corps sends you a book for Armenia that includes packing tips along with a lot of other useful information.  I think that Packing and deciding what to take and not to take is the first test, and the one that everyone stresses about.  Why?  Well just in clothes you need to pack business clothes and casual clothes but you also need to pack for warm summers and really cold winters.  Plus don't forget all the footwear, from casual to dress to winter boots. 

Just as an example I went and did a little shopping and bought:
North Face Winter Boots
Down Parks
2-in-1 jacket (Outer shell and fleece liner that can we worn separately or together)
Warm socks
New jeans
A whole bunch of collared shirts
Winter gloves
Glove liners
Long underwear

Then there are the gadgets:
I got a very portable very cheap laptop to use as a back up and to watch movies
My regular laptop
External hard drives
rechargable batteries and charger that works on 220
multi-tool knife
Crank flashlight and radio
world band radio (still need to find a good one) This is recommended for getting BBC and US news

I also want books to read
Journals to write in
entertainment which means an MP3 player and a hand held game machine

Finally they also recommend you bring gifts for the host family and other people you meet.  I am going to keep this small

I got onto a Peace Corps Armenia group on Yahoo and found a lot of great information there but they recommend a bunch of other stuff like a sleeping bag, towels, cooking gear, spices, etc.  If I packed everything recommended I would need 4 big suitcases and it would run into the hundreds of pounds   So I am trying to cut down on everything but I am sure I am going to be over the weight limit on the airlines.  I am just hoping that they will be generous since we are Peace Corps.  I am going to plan on paying extra for the overage because I have been told it is cheaper than shipping it.  I can believe that because I already sent a couple packages ahead to a Peace Corps Volunteer (PCV)  who I have been talking to.  Sending a small box cost about $50, the bigger box was closer to $80.  Ouch

Well that it is for now.  I will write more later

Brian