Sukhbaatar: More Canadians?

new friends II, originally uploaded by Wanderings.

Apparently, Canadians are part of my destiny this year. Specifically -- crazy Canadian girls. Who would have known?!

I crossed paths with these two via my teammates up in Sukhbaatar. They've been on the road since November -- traveling from Canada to SE Asia to Mongolia -- visiting friends or making new ones, touring or teaching. They'll be here for a few more weeks and then it's off to China and home.

What kind of girls take a leave of absence from work to take a ministry trip that includes Mongolia in the dead of winter? Really cool ones!

Elaine came down and stayed with me in UB for a couple nights at the end of the last week and talked me into coming back up to Sukhbaatar with her while we were treating ourselves to Indian food at Hazara. I couldn't help it! All that yummy food had lowered my defenses and before I knew it, I was agreeing to spend my holiday week in a house with no plumbing (which means no heat.

We've had a lot of fun already as they've shown me the ropes of life up here -- stocking wood, carting water in and out in buckets, starting a fire in a wood-burning stove, trekking to the outhouse in -40°F. We've talked about our favorite bands and our favorite books; we've watched movies and helped out with meals and braved the Sukhbaatar markets. We've had a TON of laughs already and there are sure to be many more before the week is up.

I'd only spent a few hours with them before I decided to come up to Sukhbaatar, but I feel like I've known them for months.

Note: I've backdated a post about Casey's birthday here.

Sukhbaatar: A New Adventure

A friend of some teammates of mine (who live in northern Mongolia near the Russian border) stayed with me in UB the last two nights while she was running some errands and trying reserve train tickets. In the midst of chowing some yummy Indian food at one of my favorite UB restaurants, she managed to talk me into going up to Sukhbaatar with her for the week. I already have most of this week off because of the Mongolian New Year celebrations of Tsagaansar, so she had a pretty easy job of it.

We made the 4-hour trek with another set of teammates and arrived early yesterday afternoon.

Staying here for a week will be a bit of an adventure and definitely a change from life in UB. My friends here live in what looks a lot like an A-frame log cabin, on a small plot of land that is pretty typical of most nomadic communities (although they themselves are not nomadic). The house is heated by two cast iron stoves -- one on the top floor, one on the bottom. The girls and I will be staying upstairs and are responsible for our own heating (which means we'll most likely be waking up in a chilly -15°F room). We have internet and electricity, but no indoor plumbing. I'm trying to think of it as camping.

More stories coming soon!

A sixth birthday in Mongolia

originally uploaded by Wanderings.

Valentine's Day doesn't exist in this family other than as an excuse to put red and pink hearts on Casey's birthday cards/cake. That's right -- Casey was born on the day of love and, at least thus far, has been a good sport about sharing his birthday with the gushiest and (dare I say it?) girliest of holidays.

Casey, aka "Baatar" (which means hero in Mongolian), may be the most eclectic of the kids and thus is difficult to describe. Where do I even begin?

He is easygoing and rarely gets angry when asked to share something with a sibling or help out with the chores or change seats so that one of the older folks can have the big chair. He's quite musical and is prone to spending hours listening to the same handful of songs over and over again. You can often find him sitting at the computer singing along to anything from TobyMac to the Madagascar soundtracks to The Sweet's "Ballroom Blitz". He also has a sense of humor that's impossible to describe except to say that if you knew my brother as a kid, you'd have a sense of the dry, goofy, sometimes downright strange jokes Casey makes on a daily basis.

Casey is genuine, bright, quick to apologize when he's done something wrong or hurt someone's feelings, and slow to get angry (whether he's losing a game or being followed around by his little sister). As with all of the kids (and especially the ones I didn't babysit), I'm grateful for this time to know him better and am excited to see who he becomes in the coming years.

Tastes Like Horse (ed. 8): Hot Dutch Pie

Hot Dutch Pie, originally uploaded by Wanderings.

Mmmmm ... nothing says Mongolian food like a Hot Dutch Pie. :) I went to this coffee shop/cafe with a new friend a week or so before Christmas. It's owned and operated by a Dutch ex-pat and has a small selection of tasty sandwiches and Dutch foods as well as really good coffee (as evidenced by the "illy" logo below). So what does it taste like? Well ... it was a flakier, more pastry-like version biscuits and gravy, which is pretty much EXACTLY what I want when I've been wandering around the city in sub-zero temperatures.

Cafe Amsterdam, originally uploaded by Wanderings.

What do you do when the weather drops below 0?

You go shopping. You go out for coffee. You take a walk. I never thought I'd be doing any of the things I'm doing in this cold, cold weather. Actually, I never thought I'd be living in a place that gets this cold. But here I am. And I'm surprised by how easily I'm able to proceed with business as usual. Life goes on. I just have to wear more layers.

first solo cab ride, originally uploaded by Wanderings.

When I left the house on a Saturday just before Christmas, it was -17ºF. When I returned, it was -20ºF, but the weather widget at the bottom of this page said that due to wind chill I was feeling it at -39ºF. As far as I'm concerned, anything below 0ºF is a new kind of cold, but that felt especially cold. We're thankful for the wind, because it clears away a bit of the pollution, but it is coooold.

On days like that -- when its already unbelievably cold and then the wind steps in a takes it down another 20 notches -- the warm woolen hat/scarf/gloves suddenly don't feel as warm as they usually do. I'm beginning to understand why all the Mongolian women are wearing down coats with fur-lined hoods. I've figured out that in order to keep my thighs from burning for 30 minutes after coming inside, I have to wear long underwear any time I'm going to be outside -- even for the 5 minute walk to the co-op.

Would you believe me if, after all that, I told you it isn't as bad as it sounds?

To paraphrase a friend of mine:

It's not bad.
It's mind-numbingly, breath-catchingly, face-searingly freezing.
But it's not bad.

the kids -- in pictures

water sprite, originally uploaded by Wanderings.


classic, originally uploaded by Wanderings.


by the pool I, originally uploaded by Wanderings.


laurel, originally uploaded by Wanderings.


real smile, originally uploaded by Wanderings.


songthaew, originally uploaded by Wanderings.


heather, originally uploaded by Wanderings.


kyle, originally uploaded by Wanderings.

PSA

We interrupt this stream of Thailand posts to inform you that Jen is sick and, not often finding herself in this situation, is being a big baby about the whole thing and drowning her sorrows in sleep. We hope to resume our regularly scheduled postings shortly.

Thank you for your patience.

Thailand Roomies

untitled, originally uploaded by Wanderings.

What do you get when you take two girls and ask them to share a room for a couple of weeks?

If you answered bonding, you'd be right.

Heather and I got to be roommates in Chiang Mai. I hadn't realized until we left how hard it is to have meaningful conversations during our daily life in Mongolia. There always seem to be interruptions or prior commitments or little listening ears. But in Thailand, we had the time and the space for some serious girl time. We laughed and stayed up too late. We listened to each other talk in our sleep and I got to see Heather sleepwalk once or twice (which is surprisingly eerie). We scared the living daylights out of each other (once on purpose, once not). It was like being at camp!

Even more than the fun and the laughs, I'm glad we had the time to talk and have some heart-to-hearts. I think it was during those two weeks that we really settled into our friendship. I miss those times, now that we're back.

Chasing Waterfalls (Thailand continued)

chasing waterfalls, originally uploaded by Wanderings.

This was one of my favorite days in Thailand. We headed out with our friends from Mongolia and another family we knew in Thailand to spend the day climbing around on limestone waterfalls. We got picnic lunches from a bakery near our lodgings, piled into 3 vans, and drove out of Chiang Mai -- away from the traffic and the tourists and the busy-ness of the city and into the nearby mountains (hills?).

The sun was shining and the weather was warm. We arrived at the waterfalls to find that we had the park to ourselves. What a perfect day. It was beautiful and lush and green and warm -- I tried to absorb it all into some happy summery part of my heart so that I could tap into it during the remainder of this cold, Mongolian winter.

We climbed down the waterfall and back up again over and over until our legs were shaking with the effort. We stopped for lunch and lazed around in the sun, letting it dry our clothes and hair, before taking the trail away from the waterfalls and towards the spring. It was so peaceful and clear, I still can't understand how it creates enough water for the falls. A few brave souls tasted the spring water, we took some pictures, and then it was back to the vans and Chiang Mai.

My legs hurt for days afterward, but even so ... if I had a pool to swim in every day, a waterfall to climb every weekend, and friends to do it with me, I might never complain about exercising again.

A Canadian, a South African, Elephants, and Crazy Nighttime Tuk-Tuk Rides

before our wild ride, originally uploaded by Wanderings.

These girls were an unexpected blessing during my time in Thailand. We were at the same dinner table at our guest house one night and a few hours later, we were on our way to the Night Bazaar. I hadn't known how much I needed a girls' night out until we were there in the midst of all the hustle and bustle -- laughing and shopping and learning how to barter. One of the things I've missed most is the freedom to go out on the town. I miss spur-of-the-moment decisions and busy restaurants and I miss shopping malls! Who'd have known?

new backpack, originally uploaded by Wanderings.

Over the next few days we got up close and personal with some elephants ...

elephant getting fresh II, originally uploaded by Wanderings.


untitled, originally uploaded by Wanderings.

went to a free concert ...

untitled, originally uploaded by Wanderings.

and even braved a public restroom at the Saturday market.

saving our pants, originally uploaded by Wanderings.

I'm grateful for these girls and their friends who invited me into their circle for a few days. I told them before they left, I've shared with some other friends since, and I'll tell you now that their presence in my life for that weekend was an answer to a prayer I didn't have the faith to pray. Second only to spending time with the fam and my other teammates, they were the highlight of my trip.