1 year down...

...14 months to go!

That's right. I am writing on the same exact day that I arrived to Mongolia one year ago. My mind cannot even begin to wrap around what I have learned and seen in this short but compact time of growth in my life. I left all that was familiar to me with a rather different mindset than the one I have now. Tonight, there will be a group of over 60 Volunteers from the States (the largest group to ever come here in the 18 years PC has been working in Mongolia) beginning exactly where I had to a year ago. I remember all the excitement of going to a new place with an open mind for what is to come, mixed with the sadness of leaving those you love and care for back home, topped off with the dreariness of completing the 18 hour flight (not including layovers) and the 16 hour time change of your life. The whole world seems a little upside down, but your mind is still racing trying to imagine what Mongolia looks like in the daylight. (We arrived at 11:30 pm and were taken by bus, in total darkness, to the countryside for our first night).

So, in honor of those coming today, here is, in no particular order, a small list of the lessons I have learned in my first year here, followed by things I hope to never take for granted in the United States. All of which are true, regardless of how silly they may seem. : )

1. Though the host family's pots look rusty, as if they are used for cleaning, they are in fact used for cooking, so washing your underwear in them is a very bad idea.

2. Carrying cookies in your pockets keeps you from getting rabies. Not because they have special power, but because all dogs like them, no matter how much they may be foaming at the mouth.

3. It takes approximately two women and three trips to the water pump, a half mile down the road, to fill the 20 gallon, metal trash can, used as a water supply inside the house for the following week.

4: I can use my body to tell the temperature in the winter. For example:

-5 to -10: My hands turn purple, even with my mittens on, by the time I reach the sports complex, approximately a five minute walk from my home.

-10 to -15: After being outside for around 30 seconds, snot-cicles begin to form. This is where every ounce of fluid contained inside your nose, freezes together to create rather sharp and frozen sticks, resembling icicles that I once admired on the roofs of cabins in Big Bear.

-15 to - 20: It becomes so cold that my eyes water uncontrollably; however, it is also the temperature range at which small amounts of fluids freeze almost immediately. This means that within seconds, my eyelashes stick themselves together. On these days I look like I have a bad case of tics, as my only defense is to blink, extremely hard, in hopes that my lashes will unstick themselves during my 12 minute walk to work.

- 20 to - 40: I am forced to wear so many layers that I waddle like a penguin. This range of temperature also contains all the other strange discomforts of the pervious levels. You really just can't feel anything. And any bodily form that is exposed, for long periods of time, is a likely candidate for frostbite. We all get to walk around, with everything, including our faces wrapped, resembling colorful ninjas.

5. Your water distiller can, in fact, be a fire hazard.

6. Public forms of exercise are not common in all countries. You run a high risk of herdsmen asking you, "what is chasing you?" or "what are you running from?" and the option of children throwing rocks at you, if you decide to go for a jog.

7. Changing the temperature on an oven is a luxury. Other ovens, can and will, electrocute you...twice.

8. Every taxi ride you take, will inevitably take three times longer than expected. There is also a possibility that the driver will take you up a mountain, visit a friend/family members ger, make you eat freshly killed goat out of a pan, ride their horse, and milk their cow.

9. Two-headed cows do exist. There is one inside my city's museum. However, they take it as a miraculous surprise. I can't help but look at the mine down the road, near where the cow was found, and think of my water supply as a threat.

10. Camels are living dinosaurs. And there are still theories about birds.

11. The long-winded, scientific names for dinosaurs are boring. The better names include: big dinosaur, little dinosaur, and the ostrich like dinosaur.

12. All people love basketball. Including the fingerless, drunk man that wants to take a shot.

13. If you are white, you are automatically Russian.

14. The best pick up line I have ever heard evolved from this:

Rachel and I were teaching our photography class about motion and movement. We decided a great project would be, combining photography with earth day, to use recyclable items and teach them how to make and decorate kites. After running around on the top of a mountain in the chaos known as Mongolian Spring wind, a teenage boy drives past on his way to who knows where, see us flying our kites, and decides to take a detour. He then drives his vehicle up the side of the mountain, flinging up dirt, rocks and dust, leaving us momentarily blind, rolls down his window, and in a sly and seductive manner asks in Mongolian:

" you wanna tie your kites to my car?"

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In no particular order, I vow to never again take the following for granted:

1. The FDA and ADA
2. personal space and single file lines
3. OPTIONS, OPTIONS, OPTIONS!!
4. grocery stores and supermarkets...being able to buy most of what you need in a single place.
5. selections of shoes made especially for people that are taller than 5'2" or have a shoe size larger than a 5.
6. anything and everything antibacterial.
7. BOOK STORES!
8. thick walls in your house.
9. shower heads.
10. being able to control the temperature inside your house.
11. the combination of the washer AND dryer. Particularly, the magical lint catcher that is attached to the dryer.
12. ovens, microwaves, pots, pans, and anything else that helps cook the foods I love.
13. the option of good health care
14. the dentist. (oh how i love and miss you so)
15. the efficiency of the United States Postal Service, including having mail delivered to your door.
16. mattresses and beds that are longer than a child's size twin.
17. fast, working, consistent internet
18. paved roads
19. safety laws, especially for drivers and pedestrians.
20. Coffee shops!
21. alcohol limits.
22. various forms of entertainment.
23. being able to work out or even be outside (without getting heat stroke or freezing to death) for more than 2-3 months a year.
24. wearing flip flops or sandals of any form, shape, and color!

and last but far from least...

25. THE OCEAN!
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So there it is. Believe me, the list grows on a daily basis. I try to absorb or soak in as much as possible, each and every day. There are always surprises as this opportunity most often resembles a roller coaster, with twists, turns, and loops that leave you breathless yet begging for more. New lessons and stories are bound to come and I promise to store some up to share with you, in person, upon our return. I am sure Nick has some of his own as well.

Regardless of how silly or minor some of these lessons and longings seem, each one leads to a more expansive understanding of God, myself, this culture, and the undeserving blessing bestowed upon me to have been born in America. There are incalculable deeper lessons that have resulted from all these humorous/ minor comprehensions. Ones that humble my spirit, quiet my soul, and protect the flickering yet constant burning desire to live in faith. And those are what have made this first year worth while and supply me fuel for the upcoming months.

in the words of my adorable husband...

more to come.
Kim