back to "routine"

will life in mongolia ever be totally routine for me? sometimes i think the answer to that question is yes, and other times it is decidedly NO. today i feel like there would be one simple way to make my life seem easier and more "routine". here's a not so simple story explaining what that "solution" is:

i've been back to language school for a week now. last semester, there were 3 small mongolian classes meeting at the same time, and we enjoyed a coffee break together halfway through our 3 hour lessons. i always needed those few minutes to only speak english, have a chance to catch up with my teammates and just generally have some social time. this semester it's just me, my teacher, and my friend jen who studies with us 3 mornings a week. you can guess what a difference it makes for me when there is no one else to talk to for 3 hours and even during "break" time i'm still communicating only in mongolian. today was one of the days when jen wasn't even there, and by the end of class i though my brain had turned to complete mush. all i wanted to do was come home and take a long nap. here's why that didn't happen:

my bathroom light has been broken for about a week. this afternoon i knew my friend odko was coming to fix it, so i had to wait for him to call. he came around 2:30, figured out that he needed to buy another part for the light, went to the store, and promised to return by 4:00. in the meantime, i got a message from my cell group leader, mandy. last night we had agreed to meet at a certain bus stop today at 5:00 to go to her new house together. apparently it's hard to find her new place, and she didn't want me to get lost. anyway, mandy sent me a text message asking if i could meet her somewhere else. i asked her what bus i needed to take in order to get there, and she said she'd just meet me somewhere else instead, because i guess she didn't know which bus i needed either. so i need to leave here in about 5 minutes and go wait for her at the bus stop. here's why i don't want to do that:

it's cold today. muji kept me up until 2 last night because he thought it was a better idea to run around on my bed than to sleep. it's cold today. i really just want to put on my pj's, watch a movie, and eat kettle corn. cell group is in mongolian, and as i already mentioned, my brain has turned to mush for the day. and did i mention that it's cold today? hehe

so it all comes down to one very simple thing. (please understand my sarcasm here. hehe) if i had a car all my problems would be solved because i wouldn't have to leave my house in 5 minutes and stand in the cold at the bus stop!