hike to zaisan

on saturday my teammate andrea and i hiked to a memorial called zaisan. it is the best place to get a view of the whole city. there is also a new buddha at the base of the hill where the memorial is. it wasn't there two years ago when i visited mongolia. it was really odd to see it there and to observe the mongolians who were visiting it. there seemed to be very little sense of reverence or anything even remotely devotional in the way people behaved in its presence.

this is a view of the buddha from the left side at the top of zaisan. can you see it in the middle of the picture?
another view of the city from the right side at the top of zaisan
andrea and me

another week in mongolia

it's been about a week since i posted, and a good week it was. :) my teammates and i spent some time at a hotel just outside the city. it was SO good to wake up every morning and look out the window to see mountains. i went for a hike one day and got some gorgeous views. maybe these pictures will give you a slight idea of the beauty i saw.....and maybe they will tempt you to come visit me sometime in the next four years. :)

test

i just changed my settings to see if i can publish to my blog from
email. did it work?

mongolian birthday party

my birthday was on saturday. i celebrated with some of my new teammates. here we are:

mongolian culture show

several members of my team attended a mongolian culture show on friday night. here are a few pictures of the dancers and singers. mongolians are very proud of their traditional music, so it is great to see young people continuing to learn the old songs. and i love fashion, so it was fun for me to see all the costumes. maybe someday i get an outfit like the girls in the orchestra. :)

where am i?

is this really mongolia? these apartments totally remind me of florida with their tiled roofs and mini yards.


lest you disbelieve that the former apartments really are in mongolia, just look at these horses in the middle of the city. if you look to the far right background you can see the tile roofed apartments.

shopping

shopping is going well. i'm beginning to feel a lot more settled. still have a few more things to get, but overall it's going well. i am really liking my teammates and look forward to working with them.
here are a few pix of my apartment:

in mongolia

i arrived in ulaanbaatar (ub) earlier today. i went on an unpacking "rampage" and got as settled into my apartment as i can until i can go shopping and pick up some more things. i'll take pix as soon as i can and upload them here when i get a chance. the really good news is that i should be able to have high speed internet in my apartment, but the not so good news is that i don't know when that will actually happen. let's hope sooner rather than later. :)
love and miss you all!
~amanda

palm springs

i just spent a week in palm springs california for training. it was great to meet my teammates and fellow teachers going to various places in asia. it was awesome to spend time getting to know more about the organization i'm going with. they really have a clear vision for how the father wants to change the lives of university students in asia. i can't wait to meet my own students in mongolia. i'll be in language school for a year and a half though, so it'll be a while before i'm standing in front of a room full of students. here are a few pictures of my time in palm springs for you to enjoy!
1. the view from my hotel room
2. in palm springs
3. with my teammates
4. with my dear friend marynn who came to visit

summer weddings

i haven't updated in forever, but i've been insanely busy. rather than give you all the details, i'll just share a few pictures.

i had the privilege of being the maid of honor in my friend sarah's wedding. we've been friends since 7th grade, so it was amazing to be there for her special day - 7.14.07


the next weekend i was a bridesmaid in my friend irina's wedding. we met in college and remained friends through the past few years. and yes, i wore the same dress in both weddings. awesome, eh?

in orlando

my friend laura and i are headed to the beach in a few minutes - after we stop off at my favorite mall. i spent all day yesterday with friends from nac and spent the evening with some dear friends i knew growing up in kentucky. this trip to florida is just what i need after a very hectic few weeks in wheaton.
i'll be flying into chicago on tuesday the 10th, and my parents and i will drive my furniture and other miscellaneous things to kentucky as early as possible the next day. please join me in asking the Father for a smooth and quick move.
thanks,
amanda

packing

i'm in the midst of packing and seem to be losing steam. i just keep making piles but then not doing anything with the piles once they are spread around my floor. if you have seen my apartment in the past few weeks you know how difficult it has become to maneuver. i seem to go through spurts of being able to toss things without emotion to sudden bouts of clinginess that make me want to hold on to everything. sheesh!

tickets

thanks to the Father for building a strong and awesome support team. we met the deadline on friday, and i can purchase tickets to mongolia for august!!!!!

deadlines

i tend to get the most work done when i have a major deadline pressing in on me. it is a bit trickier when there is a deadline pressing in, and i have to trust someone else to do the work.

in this case, the deadline is friday. the work is having 4 months worth of support in my account, so i can get airline tickets. and God is the one who has to do the work. well, i have to make some phone calls and send some emails, but he is the one who will move in my friends' hearts to have them join me in his work through me in mongolia.

dear friends, please join me in asking him to provide through others' generous gifts. (if you think you may be one of the "others" but haven't talked to me about it, please send me a message, so we can chat)

thanks so much! love to all! glory to him! ~amanda

update

hello friends! i just wanted to post a quick update for those of you who may already be checking out this blog. leave me a comment to let me know you stopped by. :)
i went to kentucky last weekend to visit my family and attend tessa's (one of my younger sisters) high school graduation. it was so good to be with family and visit friends. as my time in the states is drawing to a close i am ever more aware of how precious time with loved ones is. i will be in the wheaton area for only a month more, and i am really trying to make the most of the time i have with my friends here. july will be really busy with travel, but june is looking to be a whirlwind of a month as well.
here's what my schedule looks like:
*work about 20 hours per week at papyrus, the stationery store where i have worked for the past (almost) 2 years
*create one section of a volunteer training program for in home english tutors
*substitute 2 days for a teacher who will be on her honeymoon
*pack up my apartment here - try to make wise decisions about what to store, what to keep, what to sell/give away
*spend as much time as possible with friends here
*find some time to go for a bike ride or two while i can enjoy the quiet tree lined streets of wheaton/glen ellyn
*try to use all the canned food/pasta/frozen food i have

*most important - spend time on the phone or in person connecting with my support team (please ask the father to go before me as i have these conversations and bless the time we will have)

if you received my most recent newsletter you know that i'll be traveling a lot throughout the month of july. i am really excited to connect with friends, but i know that traveling isn't the most restful way to spend my last month in the states. please ask that i will use my time wisely and spend quality time with the Father.

thanks for reading, and please leave me a comment to say hi! :)