life ebbs and flows

A couple of nights ago, I went to look out the window at 10 pm at the fresh snow. When I looked out, I saw a man sweeping up the snow off the sidewalk and out of the street. It was 10 o'clock. That meant the sun was long gone (and had been for nearly 5 hours). Which means, it was cold. Really cold. Here I am, thinking how annoying it is to move the outlet strip from the stove in the kitchen, to the heater in the bedroom, and this man is sweeping snow. He is sweeping the snow so that I don't slip on it when it freezes, which I did, (rather ungracefully too) and so cars don't slide when they drive across it. A funk is quite an understatement for what I've been in as of late. My computer crashed, I got food poisoning for the second time, and I burnt myself on the hot water pipe in the bathroom. Seriously, what is wrong with me? I've decided it is time for my little (BIG) pity party to end. On Christmas day, we went to visit some Hospice patients. The first family I vis...

the Mongolian Christmas edition of quirks and joys: 1. We went to the black market on Monday looking for some vegetables and a kitten. There were plenty of puppies but we knew we couldn't get one because they get too big. So I decided to tell the man standing next to us, trying to give me his business card about pets, that we wanted a cat. He started making a small motion with his hands. And finally he said "mini cat." I was like, "Yes!! a mini cat!" He asked us if we wanted a man or woman mini cat, got our number, made a phone call, then he said our cat would be there in 2 hours. Not even 10 minutes after we left, I got a phone call saying, "Your mini cat has arrived." So, we turned around and got ripped off, I'm sure. We payed 13,000 tugrugs for him, that's around 10 dollars. The guy pronounced to everyone around "arron-goro" (13) as if to tell the world how much he got from us. It was hilarious. We named him, Dobby, after the hous...

Just a brief catch-up...the H1N1 lockdown is officially over! Now we are working at our respective churches. I am teaching a lot of English (which bothers me some) to children, youth and adults. I had forgotten how much I enjoyed teaching. Also, I am getting to join in with some of the woman's ministries they have at the church. There is a craft class, where I learned to make felt from sheep's wool, and a mother's class. And I am going to start working with the Kindergarten some as well. From all I have gotten to experience thus far I think I am really going to enjoy working at my church. The church is called Gerelt UMC, which means light. "Peace begins with a smile." -Mother Teresa (Liberia, Africa) "Everybody smiles in the same language. And for that, I am so thankful." -Jena Lee, Hope in the dark (Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia) "Light up the darkness." -Bob Marley "Those who look to Him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed."...

A while ago we saw a rather large building (of sorts) being erected in the main square of town (Sukhbaatar Square). We thought it was strange but then they started putting the letters on it...LOUIS VUITTON. Then we knew it was strange. This, I am certain, is a very elaborately touched up picture. But telling nonetheless. Every time I see the Louis Vuitton store here, I am amazed and so confused. I'm pretty sure that no one here really has the money to be spending on Louis paraphernalia. Recently, Erin was doing some research about LV and stumbled upon this site that talks about the fashion show (complete with red carpet) that was held in the building pictured above. Check it out. I personally enjoy the baby lambs, they bring just the right touch of Mongolia. Despite this ridiculous quirk, I am really beginning to like it here. Today marked 7 weeks of living in Mongolia. That, I can hardly believe.