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

laura's visit

what a great time laura and i had while she was here! pictures follow this post, so you can skip to those if you want and then come back and read some more. :)

the Father's timing in my life is so perfect, and he brought laura to me exactly when i needed her. my first year in mongolia was a lot harder and lonelier than i had anticipated. the events in recent months at my local fellowship have rocked my world in ways i couldn't have imagined were possible. there have been a small number of people who have helped me process it all, and laura is one of them.

laura is a friend who isn't afraid to ask tough, deep questions, and doesn't let me get away with surface-y answers. her visit to me in mongolia, just a few weeks before i return to the states for the summer, was just what i needed. she helped me think about my experiences here and sort through the good, the bad, and the ugly. being able to do that in person is something i definitely don't take for granted. being able to do that before i'm bombarded with life in the states is a blessing beyond anything i deserve!

and of course, we just had a good time together. :) laura brought over several movies that i've been wanting to watch for a while, and it was awesome to sit on my bed and watch them together. we spent one night in the countryside in a ger and a couple of nights in darhan at my friends' house. we walked around, shopped, ate, laughed, and drank lots of coffee. i can't even express how refreshing it was to have her here, to share some of my life with her, and to introduce her to some of my favorite people here. the Father is so good to me, and i'm thankful for the friendship he gave us with each other.

and now for a few pictures...

mongolian princesses?

i convinced laura to get pictures taken wearing traditional mongolian costumes. i think the results are pretty hysterical.

viz garcan okhduud

these girls are going to spend 3 months in virginia this summer through a program called interexchange. i helped them practice for their visa interview, and they had just gotten their visas this day. as you can see they are pretty excited. :)

haircuts

laura and i both got our hair cut at a salon here. less than $7 each and i think we look pretty good. we ate yummy chicken for lunch afterward.

pink cafe

one of the great things about having a friend visit is that it gives me a reason to eat out and not look like a weirdo for eating alone. this cafe is almost entirely pink and red. this picture was taken using a setting that only picked up those two colors, so you can see what i mean. :)

ger camp

we spent one night in the countryside. it was quite an adventure. we stayed with a real countryside family and ate meals in their ger with animals coming in and out. laura's bed broke in the middle of the night and we tried to build a fire, but ended up nearly choking on smoke. needless to say, i'm a city girl at heart and prefer a life where i don't need to make my own fire to keep warm. hehe

zaisan monument

laura and i at the zaisan monument overlooking ub. it's a great place to go to get a view of the whole city.

countdowns

i have begun counting down to the three most exciting things that are coming up for me.
1. my dear friend laura's visit here....she'll be here on may 13th.
2. my last day of mongolian language lessons....june 3.
3. my flight to the states for the summer....june 12. :)

here's the problem with countdowns though; it's hard to feel content here in the meantime. and the last couple of months have been pretty tough anyway.

there's been a lot going on in my mind lately about relationships and the fact that currently almost everyone i care about lives on the other side of the world. there is a mongolian phrase that has been entering my thoughts along with all this relationship stuff.
"dotnii naiz" it basically means an intimate, comfortable, be totally yourself with kind of friend. i don't have anyone like that here in ub, and it's been a pretty lonely year. i am longing for a "dotnii naiz" here in mongolia. and counting down until i get to spend time with my "dotnii naizuud" (that's the plural) in america this summer!

grace & mercy

simple sunday school definitions:
grace - getting something good that i didn't earn
mercy - not getting something bad that i did earn

how i've been seeing these words lived out in mongolia in the past few weeks:
GRACE
*an inspiring and fun two weeks of practice teaching
*a friend giving me about 4 kilos of fresh beef from one of her relatives who lives in the countryside
*skipping church this morning at 11 and running into an old friend on the street when i finally left my house around 1
*discovering a new depth in friendships with both foreigners and mongolians alike
*counting down the days until my friend laura comes to visit me (current count 22!)
*finding a great cat sitter for the summer

MERCY
*being connected to a local body here and experiencing the ways the Father uses to make us hunger for holiness
*sticking within my budget last month because so many friends offered me unexpected meals
*warmer weather this spring than most mongolians have experienced for the past several years
*potential conflict at my language school avoided
*needing some plumbing repairs and having the women who work at the elic office take care of everything

GRACE + MERCY
*being given my teaching assignment for next year.....at a college here in the city that is known for having high academic standards (and girls who dress like they are on "fashion tv" hehe)
*being given a choice of where to live next year
*choosing to stay in my current apartment....this will be the first time i haven't moved in 10 years!!!!!!

practice teaching

i have spent the last two weeks doing a teaching practicum of sorts. 20 countryside teachers came to ub during their spring break in order to attend our seminar and improve their speaking and listening skills. i was amazed at their low level of english, and i wonder what exactly they are teaching their own students! it helps me gain perspective on what an amazing privilege and huge responsibility i have here as an english teacher. being able to influence these teachers even for just 2 weeks, means that i will have an impact on all sorts of students way out in the countryside, too. oh how humbling to think that the Father called me to this work!

many of you know that i'm a fan of the tv show, "the office". well, if you know that show, this picture will probably make you laugh. we had our own version of "diversity day". hehehe

easter

he is risen!!!!!!!

this morning i enjoyed singing about this world changing event in the midst of a couple hundred mongolians who were dancing, waving flags, and showing their joy in ways more obvious than i have seen it expressed in most american easter sunday morning services.  it brought me to tears to think about all the changed lives surrounding me that only a few years ago or even a few months ago had never experienced the joy of knowing that HE IS RISEN!

we boisterously sang songs that proclaimed this most beautiful of all truths.  it was like being at a high school pep rally - in the best way. :)  then the tone changed as one of the college aged guys brought out his violin and played during a song about our "servant king".  (this is an old song written by graham kendrick if you want to find all the lyrics) part of the chorus says: he calls us now to follow Him, to bring our lives as a daily offering of worship to the servant king.

we have sung this song many times on sundays, but today it rang true to me in a new way.  i was teary as i sang it, and looked around to see many of the same people who had just been cheering now crying as well.  i think the reality hit me that it isn't enough to just be joyful because he is risen.  certainly this is a response that pleases the father, but he wants more.  he wants us to follow him every day and give our lives as an offering of worship.  i know that more times than not, i fail in this.  instead of seeking to worship him in all things i find myself focusing on my own wants and needs, hurts and disappointments.  i am neither joyful nor living an offering of worship.  my desire for this year is to put Him ahead of myself and really, truly live as a follower.  i want the fact that he is risen to be the defining mark of my life!

setting goals

lately i've been thinking a lot about setting life goals. some of them are just for the next month, others for the coming year, and of course then still more for the long term. i never imagined that i'd be 28 and still trying to figure out what my future might hold. i took a class in college called "gifts, guidance, and goals." one of the assignments was to write an imaginary time line for my life. according to that time line by this age i should be married, have a kid or two, and be happily settled in some warm, exotic asian country.

hmmm, i can check off only part of one of those dreams. i've got the exotic asian country, but it certainly isn't warm most of the time. hehe and as for being settled here, well, that's something that's surprised me. i'm learning that life really and truly is all about a Person. it isn't about a place, family, friends, language, warm boots, fresh coffee, good books, disappointments, laughter, or feeling so angry i want to scream. it's about how well i know and love the One who created ME and ALL these things i both love and hate about life this side of heaven. i'm coming to grips with the idea that i'll never feel settled here or anywhere on earth because this isn't the place i was created for.

so then how do i set goals when i know that reaching them isn't going to bring the satisfaction that i expect? i guess it has something to do with remembering that changed expectations and goals are the result of our fallenness and the fact that life on earth will never bring me the one thing i really crave.....uninterrupted fellowship with my Creator. i can set goals for my time here as long as i remember that i'll never be truly satisfied until i look into the loving eyes of the One who made me.

it's still winter because.....

yesterday was probably the first day that it "warmed up" to above freezing. i wore my big winter boots to class, because there had still been some ice on the sidewalks the day before, and i didn't want to fall. on the way home from class, i noticed that the ice had almost all disappeared. with much excitement i decided NOT to wear my boots to the event i was going to last night.

my sisters can tell you the rest of the story, and i'm sure most of you can guess. :)

just in case you can't guess, i'll give you a hint. it wasn't above freezing last night and my butt is rather sore this morning. hehe