shopping

shopping is one of my favorite ways to spend my free time. i don't actually buy much when i shop. in the states i just love to go to stores like anthropologie and smell all their delicious soaps and touch their super soft clothes. i think for me "shopping" is a way to get out of my house, surround myself with people, and imagine new possibilities - even if the possibility is as simple as new hand soap for my bathroom.

here in mongolia, shopping isn't the same kind of mindless pleasure filled with sweet scents and soft fabrics. instead, it's a rather conscious exercise in both language and culture practice. and it's more like a scavenger hunt than anything else.

case in point, i needed light bulbs for my kitchen. i bought one at a housing goods store, but it was too big for the light fixture. i went back to the store yesterday, but it was closed. so i went to the store next door, but they didn't have the right size of light bulbs. today i need to do a lot of shopping for gifts and stuff like that. i don't want to be carrying around two small, fragile lightbulbs all day, so this morning i woke up trying to figure out the best way to go about actually buying the bulbs and getting them to my house. this is shopping in mongolia. not sweet scents and soft fabric, but how to get light bulbs for my kitchen. hehe

phew

today was my last official mongolian lesson at the "life center". while i'm certainly no where near having this difficult language mastered, it does feel good to have completed one full year of language study. i had no text book and no curriculum, so every day was full of possibilities. i learned how to talk about the every day events that make my life here what it is. i also learned how to tell some stories from my past. most of all i think i learned how to really listen and understand what made my teachers tick. and because my teachers are mongolians who lived through both communism and the current democracy, i got a lot of insight into what makes mongolia tick. some things i learned have broken my heart and almost broken my ability to trust anyone. other things have made me smile and reminded me how much we all need each other and can learn from each other. all in all, it was a productive year of study, and i know that it will serve me well in the years to come.

i will be leaving for a much needed summer break in just a few days, but i want to take some time now to think about what i'll miss about mongolia when i'm gone for 2.5 months.
1. being able to kiss my kitten, muji, any time i want
2. yummy chinese food every wednesday with team meetings
3. an almost constant supply of sunshine
4. friends like jen, mandy, muugii, and mel
5. my peaceful little apartment that feels like my own haven

and things i'm looking forward to in the states.
1. being able to kiss my siblings any time i want.
2. yummy food every where i turn
3. an almost constant supply of laughter provided by my little brother
4. friends like julia, jimmy, laura, yen, rachel, jaemey, sarah g, mandy, samara, shamira, kibibi, barbara, and everyone else i hope to see
5. my family's peaceful home in the country