Erdenet
is
Fantastic.
I honestly can say that my life has not been this mellow since I was 12. =)
After leaving UB, I went to the camp that I will be working at in the summer for a few days before coming to Erdenet and moving in. Now I am completely settled in, equipped with my laundry haning lines on my apartment balacany.
Did i mention that I have hot running water? I am pretty sure I almost cried when I felt the steam coming out of the pipes. It was a fantastic surprise.
Other than that, nothing is happening. School doesn't start until next week so I have just been organizing my classroom and meeting my fellow teachers. I did however cut the mess out of my arm the other day when i decided to take on 4 boys in a game of basketball. The gravel here is brutal. It was still incredible and they got a kick out of seeing a big white girl play ball. I have a feeling it will become my Saturday ritual.
In 2 days I will be reunited with most fantastic man on the planet. Nick flies in to visit me for the next two weeks and watch me completely butcher the Mongolian language as I give a speech at my school's opening ceremony. He also gets the great pleasure of watching me bake my first birthday cake in Mongolia using a toaster oven. Yup. Good times ahead for all. =)
I miss you all so much. The interent in Erdenet isn't too bad so the blogging will most definitely continue. Brace yourself for the many hilarious stories that are about to take place when they put me in charge of people's education.
Hope all is well in the States.
all my love,
kim
Monday, August 27, 2007
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Address and Job
So today was day 1 with my supervisors. They both rock my world. I can't wait to jump in and just fill myself with work. It shall be an adventure to be had. I will be working Mondays and Tuesdays at the Nonformal Education Center with vulnerable children (orphans and those that dropped out of school). Then Wednesday - Friday I will be at the Vocational School teaching English, lifeskills, and some computer classes. So rad. My plate will be full starting September 1st. I am in for quite a ride.
However, I will not be having internet after today for a little while because my directors are taking me straight to the summer camp to spend some time in the countryside riding horses, hiking, reading, resting, and studying Mongolian. It will be a great way to just process all of the events that have accumulated over the past 3 months of training and prepare myself for what is to come.
However...I do have a new address. Those of you that have my old one, throw it away. I am pretty sure Peace Corps will not keep packages or forward them to me after training. So your best bet is to copy the address below, throw it in a word document, blow it up, print it out, and seal it to the envelope or package with some glue, tape, love, or all of the above. =) I would love to hear from all of you. Here it is:
Kim Lewis, PCV
Монгол Улс
Орхон аймаг, Баян-Өндөр сум
Албан бус боловсролын төв
Mongolia via China
In the meantime, I am enjoying eating food in the capital that I can't find anywhere else. I never thought I would see the day where a bagel or piece of chicken would make my heart do cartwheels. Well it has arrived and after tomorrow it will disappear until the next time I come to UB. However, my city is amazing and just opened up a pizza place. Oh. Yeah. Life is good. Hope everyone is well. I miss and love you mucho.
Kimba*
However, I will not be having internet after today for a little while because my directors are taking me straight to the summer camp to spend some time in the countryside riding horses, hiking, reading, resting, and studying Mongolian. It will be a great way to just process all of the events that have accumulated over the past 3 months of training and prepare myself for what is to come.
However...I do have a new address. Those of you that have my old one, throw it away. I am pretty sure Peace Corps will not keep packages or forward them to me after training. So your best bet is to copy the address below, throw it in a word document, blow it up, print it out, and seal it to the envelope or package with some glue, tape, love, or all of the above. =) I would love to hear from all of you. Here it is:
Kim Lewis, PCV
Монгол Улс
Орхон аймаг, Баян-Өндөр сум
Албан бус боловсролын төв
Mongolia via China
In the meantime, I am enjoying eating food in the capital that I can't find anywhere else. I never thought I would see the day where a bagel or piece of chicken would make my heart do cartwheels. Well it has arrived and after tomorrow it will disappear until the next time I come to UB. However, my city is amazing and just opened up a pizza place. Oh. Yeah. Life is good. Hope everyone is well. I miss and love you mucho.
Kimba*
Saturday, August 11, 2007
GOING TO SITE...
Well, well, well.
My predictions were correct. I definitely received the site and job that I thought I would. For the next 2 years my location will be Erdenet, Mongolia. It is actually a great city to be in. It is the 2nd largest city in the entire country equipped with many NGO’s, great markets, and awesome co-workers. It will be super easy to plug myself into many different organizations and the possibilities are a lot less restrictive in comparison to smaller cities. This will be fantastic when it comes to my secondary projects, such as working at an orphanage, sport and or art clubs, etc.
On the other hand, I am responsible for following in the footsteps of a fantastic and highly productive volunteer. I am replacing Danny who just finished his service here. I actually work at 2 organizations in contrast to most volunteers who are in charge of one. I am placed at both a non-formal education center and a vocational school. I can’t wait. I might be doing anything from a life-skills radio show to teaching photoshop classes. Who knows. I am just stoked to plug myself in and get to work. It is time to finally put all this training to use. It is also a relief because my bosses asked for me specifically. This means they will be more likely to support my work and ideas. It feels great getting to enter into a job knowing that you are wanted and needed. This makes for a smoother transition. Plus, that camp that I was able to visit not too long ago will now become my summer job. Danny did a fantastic job of showing me the ropes when I was there, and I look forward to spending my time in that beautiful countryside again. Needless to say, it will be a glorious adventure filled with many challenges and tasks.
On a sidenote, I only have one other site mate that is a M18 (Mongolia volunteer, 18th year). The only other Peace Corps Volunteers in my town came last year and will be leaving next year. He and I trained together in Sukhbaatar so we know each other extremely well. I will be working with children and he is working with businesses so hopefully we can create some sort of amazing secondary project and combine efforts. Have I mentioned that him and I could not have had more diverse childhoods? It has been quite a riot getting to openly express our experiences and see them completely baffle the other person. And if he truly wants it, I will teach him how to be independent and self-sufficient. It shall be a fascinating side development and experiment. I might take notes, pictures, and documentation of this process to later publish in order to help other reliant boys across the globe. =)
I am also proud to announce that I jumped not 1 but 2 levels on my language proficiency exam. I guess tutoring truly helps. It is a process I plan to maintain while at site. One of my agencies speaks no English so I will be forced to advance and push myself. I want to continue to excel in order to adapt to this culture and truly communicate properly. Wish me luck.
In the meantime, I must go enjoy time with my fellow volunteers. Right now we are in Darkhaan for 2 more days before heading to the capital, swearing in, and then getting split up. I will miss some of them dearly and look forward to traveling to their sites and seeing what work they are a part of later.
p.s. our last day here in Darkhaan is family appreciation day. Our host families are coming into town and we will perform Mongolian dances, songs, and compete in a volleyball tournament. I can’t wait to see their faces again. I already miss them. Little things like kicking a ball around with my brother, cooking with my sister, or watching Korean dramas with mom. And my family is in for a surprise. Everyone else decided to learn these beautiful traditional songs….Robin and I took it upon ourselves to cause a little ruckus and decided to learn a choreographed routine to a Mongolia rap song. It is hysterical. We can’t wait to throw on our black, zip-up hoodies and jump around to a song that we have no idea what they are saying. Hahahaa. It shall make for some change of expressions in the audience. Hopefully someone can take video or pictures so I can show you guys later.
I hope everyone is well and enjoying their summer. In a few short months here, I will not be able to walk long distances for fear that my lungs will freeze. I pray that my apartment is a warm one (I have no control over the heat) that way my laptop does not freeze and break. I am just stoked to know that I will have running water again. Oh yeah. No more walking to the well.
It might be a while before I can write again but know that I miss and love you all. I think of you daily and can’t wait to continue to keep you informed on what I will be doing.
All my love,
Kimba
My predictions were correct. I definitely received the site and job that I thought I would. For the next 2 years my location will be Erdenet, Mongolia. It is actually a great city to be in. It is the 2nd largest city in the entire country equipped with many NGO’s, great markets, and awesome co-workers. It will be super easy to plug myself into many different organizations and the possibilities are a lot less restrictive in comparison to smaller cities. This will be fantastic when it comes to my secondary projects, such as working at an orphanage, sport and or art clubs, etc.
On the other hand, I am responsible for following in the footsteps of a fantastic and highly productive volunteer. I am replacing Danny who just finished his service here. I actually work at 2 organizations in contrast to most volunteers who are in charge of one. I am placed at both a non-formal education center and a vocational school. I can’t wait. I might be doing anything from a life-skills radio show to teaching photoshop classes. Who knows. I am just stoked to plug myself in and get to work. It is time to finally put all this training to use. It is also a relief because my bosses asked for me specifically. This means they will be more likely to support my work and ideas. It feels great getting to enter into a job knowing that you are wanted and needed. This makes for a smoother transition. Plus, that camp that I was able to visit not too long ago will now become my summer job. Danny did a fantastic job of showing me the ropes when I was there, and I look forward to spending my time in that beautiful countryside again. Needless to say, it will be a glorious adventure filled with many challenges and tasks.
On a sidenote, I only have one other site mate that is a M18 (Mongolia volunteer, 18th year). The only other Peace Corps Volunteers in my town came last year and will be leaving next year. He and I trained together in Sukhbaatar so we know each other extremely well. I will be working with children and he is working with businesses so hopefully we can create some sort of amazing secondary project and combine efforts. Have I mentioned that him and I could not have had more diverse childhoods? It has been quite a riot getting to openly express our experiences and see them completely baffle the other person. And if he truly wants it, I will teach him how to be independent and self-sufficient. It shall be a fascinating side development and experiment. I might take notes, pictures, and documentation of this process to later publish in order to help other reliant boys across the globe. =)
I am also proud to announce that I jumped not 1 but 2 levels on my language proficiency exam. I guess tutoring truly helps. It is a process I plan to maintain while at site. One of my agencies speaks no English so I will be forced to advance and push myself. I want to continue to excel in order to adapt to this culture and truly communicate properly. Wish me luck.
In the meantime, I must go enjoy time with my fellow volunteers. Right now we are in Darkhaan for 2 more days before heading to the capital, swearing in, and then getting split up. I will miss some of them dearly and look forward to traveling to their sites and seeing what work they are a part of later.
p.s. our last day here in Darkhaan is family appreciation day. Our host families are coming into town and we will perform Mongolian dances, songs, and compete in a volleyball tournament. I can’t wait to see their faces again. I already miss them. Little things like kicking a ball around with my brother, cooking with my sister, or watching Korean dramas with mom. And my family is in for a surprise. Everyone else decided to learn these beautiful traditional songs….Robin and I took it upon ourselves to cause a little ruckus and decided to learn a choreographed routine to a Mongolia rap song. It is hysterical. We can’t wait to throw on our black, zip-up hoodies and jump around to a song that we have no idea what they are saying. Hahahaa. It shall make for some change of expressions in the audience. Hopefully someone can take video or pictures so I can show you guys later.
I hope everyone is well and enjoying their summer. In a few short months here, I will not be able to walk long distances for fear that my lungs will freeze. I pray that my apartment is a warm one (I have no control over the heat) that way my laptop does not freeze and break. I am just stoked to know that I will have running water again. Oh yeah. No more walking to the well.
It might be a while before I can write again but know that I miss and love you all. I think of you daily and can’t wait to continue to keep you informed on what I will be doing.
All my love,
Kimba
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
update overload!
Hello friends.
First, let me apologize for the lack of updating. To make up for it, I will give you an information overload as of right now. =)
It has been insanely busy here in Sukhbaatar, Mongolia. In the last couple of weeks, I have taken a trip to a monastery, taught an English class to adults in the government building, finished a community project which consisted of a game day and painting checker boards on the cement tile outside of a local school, learning a Mongolian rap dance that I will perform in a few days, and studying for my LPI (language proficiency interview) which I took today. This was all aside from my 8 hours of classes every day. Let me tell you, it feels great to actually dust my computer off and try to gather my thoughts.
Today marks the end of my pre-service training. My test is taken and the packing begins. In a few days, I must part ways with Sukhbaatar and my host family and head into Darkhaan to meet up with fellow Volunteers. This is when I get to find out where I will actually be living and working on my own for the next 2 years. I already have a hunch so we will see how it plays out. Peace Corps is pretty good about keeping it hush hush until the moment we find out. I look forward to that.
After Darkhaan we all head into UB, the capital, for swearing in. We get to stock up on any sort of goodies we might want for a while. This includes name brand juices, real toilet paper, and perhaps some cereal, or fruit. Most of us will be unable to get such things cause we will be scattered throughout the country and the weather will soon be changing. (side note- winter here is 6-8 months long with temperatures reaching -40 degrees Celsius. California did not prepare me for this. Haha) Aside from being the place of import, Ulaanbaatar also has real food restaurants. That’s right folks. We are talking Mexican, Indian, and a place called “California”. I hear they have amazing hamburgers. I am stoked. It will be nice to have something besides goat and vegetable soup. However, I will miss my mom’s суу таи будаа in the mornings. (that is milk and rice- or Mongolian oatmeal as Robin and I like to call it). It is the perfect morning meal.
I couldn't have asked for a better training site. The sky, landscapes, teachers, and families have been incredible. I almost feel like I am leaving for my first day of kindergarden or something. It is as if I am little sail boat and they are pushing me away from the dock. Off I go with the little I know about ropes, the wind, and sails to embark on my own journey. It is just beginning and I could not be more excited.
In other news, I finally had my first encounter with a theif. Yoomie and I went to the market the other day to do a little shopping and I didn't feel like carrying a purse or my backpack with me so all I had was my keycahin attached to my back beltloop. No worries, I was not robbed of my housekeys and lock out of my house for hours. Oh no, no. This theif decided to ignore the 4 different keys and chapstick that hung near my back right pocket. Instead, he went straight for my mase. =) As of right now, someone in Mongolia has their own pepperspray supply. So much for my securtity blanket at night. Lesson learned. I just hope he doesn't figure out what it is and tries to use it on me later. That would make for an interresting phone call to the Peace Corps office. =)
On a completely other note, I had a wonderful experience exploring this thosand year old monastery in the middle of nowwhere mongolia. It spoke to me on so many levels and allowed me to step back and examine the contrasts of faith. I wrote to Nick about it already and have enjoyed getting to digest all that I saw. Here are a few of my thoughts that I sent to him:
“As I was weaving in and out of the 1,000 year old, wood carved buildings, I couldn’t help but admire the devotion of those living in a place like this. I wish my life were similar to their obedience to worship, even if the God I would worship would be different. There is power in suppressing all that is worldly and I applaud them for that. Each section seemed to hold its own sacred nature. I especially liked walking around the buildings that were hidden in the back. They were broken- some locked- but mainly just run down and deserted. It was odd to me that for Buddhism to be centered around the idea that enlightenment can be attained by letting go of worldly submission, every centimeter of the main worship areas were absolutely covered in gaudy items, money, gold, statues, etc. There is the same desire to harvest, obtain, and worship materials. Objects. Possessions.
While the monastery was absolutely beautiful and I am beyond grateful to get to experience such a place, I couldn’t help but feel slightly uneasy about that type of lifestyle. As I said before, on one hand, that type of commitment and devotion to live without the necessities and dependency on the world is simply stunning. I mean that should be the same desire of Christians. However, I think that is only half of faith. These men are in such a secluded area that no one can find them. It takes 5 hours through streams, over rocks, and through hills just to come close to seeing it. While they are blocking out the ugliness of the world, they are also blocking out those that live in it. There is no sense of action to their worship. They live in routine. While it is obedient, there is little application. It is like practicing a sport all day long, hours on end, but never playing a game. You are never tested. These monks are giants in terms of compliance and submission, but midgets in nature of battle, mechanisms of process, and action. Aside from the difficulties of living in solitude (which I do commend them for being able to rely on nature and somehow deal with the implications of loneliness), there is no adventure in that. I absolutely love alone time. I take it. I embrace it. I need it from time to time. However, on the opposite side, I adore community. Relationships. Being able to feel, hear, and experience. To come together and rest. Rationalize. Reason. Discuss. It is amazing. To live. To make mistakes. And to try again.
On the contrary, those that live in the world, live in the opposite nature of the monks and abuse this sense of freedom and practice. While the monks live their lives on a schedules and tallies, worldly centered people drown themselves in materialism and live solely for experience at the expense of others. There is a lack of concern in today’s culture, mainly in America. There is a disregard for satisfaction. We have become a possessive society rather than a nurturing society. We want to own everything, including our faith. This is how we find value not only in ourselves, but how we rank others. Our possessions are beginning to define who we are, rather than our abilities. We should be asking ourselves, not what else we can own, but what we can do with that we have. We want to feel so assured, yet we are never satisfied with the security of God’s promises.
If nothing else, there is one similarity amongst the two. Both in seclusion and overindulgence, there is a lack of balance. With isolation there is a lack of human interaction and sharing of experiences. With gluttony of materialism, there is a lack of giving and contentment.
I want both. I want to worship God with the same submission as the monks while living amongst the brokenness of the world. I want receive whatever treasures the Lord may give me, but also let generosity be the movement of my hands and feet. More than anything, as I walked along that trail today, the wind swaying my skirt, with my magnet in hand, I realized that I want to do all of that with you. I am so thankful for these moments alone. This time apart. Because if nothing else, it has absolutely opened my heart and mind to the beauty found in the power of presence. This overwhelmingly contentment and reliance on God has allowed me to comprehend the weight and power of a single person. I take in every second of this time away from you because it will only make me appreciate the future that we will one day build together that much more. The balance we will formulate. I want our freedom to be found in what we give away not in what we will possess. Let us be stewards of steadiness, obedience, and compassion. All that we have is given by Him. Let our hearts rest in His promises and security not solely in routine or drowned in discontentment.”
In other words, balance is key. Each day I am realizing the power of exploration. The importance breaking out of schedule. Living life one day at a time. Taking in every sight, sound, smell, touch, laugh, and activity. Travel a different path. Make a point to take a different route to a regular desination. Give something away that you truly want to keep. Be compassionate. Take time away from the choas of the world. Sit in silence. Enjoy company. Light a candle. Find balance. Remain steady in hope while testing narrow paths. It is in that balance that we can truly learn to reach and understand those on the opposing sides. Regardless of whether or not you agree with me, I challenge you to make a point to just understand. Take the time to research and listen to someone that does something completely dissimilar to you. Taste a sample of change. You might be surprised at what you find.
In the meantime, I am off to pack. In Darkhaan, I will hopefully get to update you guys again and revist that orphange from last time. I am stoked. Then, I can clue you in on my whereabouts for the next 24 months. Yay! So much will be answered in those few seconds when they shout out my site destination. Can't wait.
I hope you all are well. Know that I miss you dearly.
-Kim
p.s. here are some pictures from the trip to the monastery last weekend. Enjoy!
welcome!
hike
money doesn't grow on trees...but mushrooms do!
sheep
one of my trainers getting "rebirthed"
jr. monks
walled.
message in the mountains.
windows
abandoned statues
ger and monastery
candles
broken doors
scarfs and milk
view
side temple
almost every mongolian can write in this ancient text. i can barely handle cyrillic. haha
what can i say? i am a sucker for old architecture.
First, let me apologize for the lack of updating. To make up for it, I will give you an information overload as of right now. =)
It has been insanely busy here in Sukhbaatar, Mongolia. In the last couple of weeks, I have taken a trip to a monastery, taught an English class to adults in the government building, finished a community project which consisted of a game day and painting checker boards on the cement tile outside of a local school, learning a Mongolian rap dance that I will perform in a few days, and studying for my LPI (language proficiency interview) which I took today. This was all aside from my 8 hours of classes every day. Let me tell you, it feels great to actually dust my computer off and try to gather my thoughts.
Today marks the end of my pre-service training. My test is taken and the packing begins. In a few days, I must part ways with Sukhbaatar and my host family and head into Darkhaan to meet up with fellow Volunteers. This is when I get to find out where I will actually be living and working on my own for the next 2 years. I already have a hunch so we will see how it plays out. Peace Corps is pretty good about keeping it hush hush until the moment we find out. I look forward to that.
After Darkhaan we all head into UB, the capital, for swearing in. We get to stock up on any sort of goodies we might want for a while. This includes name brand juices, real toilet paper, and perhaps some cereal, or fruit. Most of us will be unable to get such things cause we will be scattered throughout the country and the weather will soon be changing. (side note- winter here is 6-8 months long with temperatures reaching -40 degrees Celsius. California did not prepare me for this. Haha) Aside from being the place of import, Ulaanbaatar also has real food restaurants. That’s right folks. We are talking Mexican, Indian, and a place called “California”. I hear they have amazing hamburgers. I am stoked. It will be nice to have something besides goat and vegetable soup. However, I will miss my mom’s суу таи будаа in the mornings. (that is milk and rice- or Mongolian oatmeal as Robin and I like to call it). It is the perfect morning meal.
I couldn't have asked for a better training site. The sky, landscapes, teachers, and families have been incredible. I almost feel like I am leaving for my first day of kindergarden or something. It is as if I am little sail boat and they are pushing me away from the dock. Off I go with the little I know about ropes, the wind, and sails to embark on my own journey. It is just beginning and I could not be more excited.
In other news, I finally had my first encounter with a theif. Yoomie and I went to the market the other day to do a little shopping and I didn't feel like carrying a purse or my backpack with me so all I had was my keycahin attached to my back beltloop. No worries, I was not robbed of my housekeys and lock out of my house for hours. Oh no, no. This theif decided to ignore the 4 different keys and chapstick that hung near my back right pocket. Instead, he went straight for my mase. =) As of right now, someone in Mongolia has their own pepperspray supply. So much for my securtity blanket at night. Lesson learned. I just hope he doesn't figure out what it is and tries to use it on me later. That would make for an interresting phone call to the Peace Corps office. =)
On a completely other note, I had a wonderful experience exploring this thosand year old monastery in the middle of nowwhere mongolia. It spoke to me on so many levels and allowed me to step back and examine the contrasts of faith. I wrote to Nick about it already and have enjoyed getting to digest all that I saw. Here are a few of my thoughts that I sent to him:
“As I was weaving in and out of the 1,000 year old, wood carved buildings, I couldn’t help but admire the devotion of those living in a place like this. I wish my life were similar to their obedience to worship, even if the God I would worship would be different. There is power in suppressing all that is worldly and I applaud them for that. Each section seemed to hold its own sacred nature. I especially liked walking around the buildings that were hidden in the back. They were broken- some locked- but mainly just run down and deserted. It was odd to me that for Buddhism to be centered around the idea that enlightenment can be attained by letting go of worldly submission, every centimeter of the main worship areas were absolutely covered in gaudy items, money, gold, statues, etc. There is the same desire to harvest, obtain, and worship materials. Objects. Possessions.
While the monastery was absolutely beautiful and I am beyond grateful to get to experience such a place, I couldn’t help but feel slightly uneasy about that type of lifestyle. As I said before, on one hand, that type of commitment and devotion to live without the necessities and dependency on the world is simply stunning. I mean that should be the same desire of Christians. However, I think that is only half of faith. These men are in such a secluded area that no one can find them. It takes 5 hours through streams, over rocks, and through hills just to come close to seeing it. While they are blocking out the ugliness of the world, they are also blocking out those that live in it. There is no sense of action to their worship. They live in routine. While it is obedient, there is little application. It is like practicing a sport all day long, hours on end, but never playing a game. You are never tested. These monks are giants in terms of compliance and submission, but midgets in nature of battle, mechanisms of process, and action. Aside from the difficulties of living in solitude (which I do commend them for being able to rely on nature and somehow deal with the implications of loneliness), there is no adventure in that. I absolutely love alone time. I take it. I embrace it. I need it from time to time. However, on the opposite side, I adore community. Relationships. Being able to feel, hear, and experience. To come together and rest. Rationalize. Reason. Discuss. It is amazing. To live. To make mistakes. And to try again.
On the contrary, those that live in the world, live in the opposite nature of the monks and abuse this sense of freedom and practice. While the monks live their lives on a schedules and tallies, worldly centered people drown themselves in materialism and live solely for experience at the expense of others. There is a lack of concern in today’s culture, mainly in America. There is a disregard for satisfaction. We have become a possessive society rather than a nurturing society. We want to own everything, including our faith. This is how we find value not only in ourselves, but how we rank others. Our possessions are beginning to define who we are, rather than our abilities. We should be asking ourselves, not what else we can own, but what we can do with that we have. We want to feel so assured, yet we are never satisfied with the security of God’s promises.
If nothing else, there is one similarity amongst the two. Both in seclusion and overindulgence, there is a lack of balance. With isolation there is a lack of human interaction and sharing of experiences. With gluttony of materialism, there is a lack of giving and contentment.
I want both. I want to worship God with the same submission as the monks while living amongst the brokenness of the world. I want receive whatever treasures the Lord may give me, but also let generosity be the movement of my hands and feet. More than anything, as I walked along that trail today, the wind swaying my skirt, with my magnet in hand, I realized that I want to do all of that with you. I am so thankful for these moments alone. This time apart. Because if nothing else, it has absolutely opened my heart and mind to the beauty found in the power of presence. This overwhelmingly contentment and reliance on God has allowed me to comprehend the weight and power of a single person. I take in every second of this time away from you because it will only make me appreciate the future that we will one day build together that much more. The balance we will formulate. I want our freedom to be found in what we give away not in what we will possess. Let us be stewards of steadiness, obedience, and compassion. All that we have is given by Him. Let our hearts rest in His promises and security not solely in routine or drowned in discontentment.”
In other words, balance is key. Each day I am realizing the power of exploration. The importance breaking out of schedule. Living life one day at a time. Taking in every sight, sound, smell, touch, laugh, and activity. Travel a different path. Make a point to take a different route to a regular desination. Give something away that you truly want to keep. Be compassionate. Take time away from the choas of the world. Sit in silence. Enjoy company. Light a candle. Find balance. Remain steady in hope while testing narrow paths. It is in that balance that we can truly learn to reach and understand those on the opposing sides. Regardless of whether or not you agree with me, I challenge you to make a point to just understand. Take the time to research and listen to someone that does something completely dissimilar to you. Taste a sample of change. You might be surprised at what you find.
In the meantime, I am off to pack. In Darkhaan, I will hopefully get to update you guys again and revist that orphange from last time. I am stoked. Then, I can clue you in on my whereabouts for the next 24 months. Yay! So much will be answered in those few seconds when they shout out my site destination. Can't wait.
I hope you all are well. Know that I miss you dearly.
-Kim
p.s. here are some pictures from the trip to the monastery last weekend. Enjoy!
welcome!
hike
money doesn't grow on trees...but mushrooms do!
sheep
one of my trainers getting "rebirthed"
jr. monks
walled.
message in the mountains.
windows
abandoned statues
ger and monastery
candles
broken doors
scarfs and milk
view
side temple
almost every mongolian can write in this ancient text. i can barely handle cyrillic. haha
what can i say? i am a sucker for old architecture.
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