so...i hope you were able to figure out from the title that i am in fact home! and its already friday...and i just realized that i hadn't really given my blog any closure...so...this will be my last post...until i go to italy in the fall!
anyway, i'll fill you in on my last few days in UB...monday morning i went to the hospital again...my doctor only had one surgery though...it was some sort of heart operation (it had to do with a shunt/heart murmur) on a 10 year old little boy...we did all of the usual prep work prior to the patient being brought into the room...but this time we had to take the anesthesia to the little boys bedside...when he saw the doctor coming, he immediately started screaming...then his screams quickly turned into heartbreaking tears as the nurses held him down...he was terrified...and it broke my heart that i couldn't even give him comforting words (language barrier)...i just had to stand there...it took all of me to keep from crying...i dont think seeing me cry would have made him feel better...my doctor had to just hold him after for a few minutes after he got the injection...it was hard to watch...but, his surgery went very well...and they fixed the murmur! i got to listen to his heartbeat before and after and you really can hear a difference...they know what they are doing...crazy...but they do...
after that emotional morning, my doctor and i went to the cafeteria and got a picnic lunch (mongolian style) and took it back to her office to eat with her doctor friends...one of which speaks pretty decent english...the other is taking english lessons...so she kept sneaking her book out and then asking me questions like "how is, your fam...family?" or "what is you do for work?"...and then she'd randomly say "please to meet you"...i laughed...the doctor who spoke english sat me down and told me not to become a doctor...apparently, and i quote, she "has no life, and never has"...it was sort of hard trying to have a serious conversation with such a limited vocabulary...it was obvious that she wasn't happy...i hope she finds something that gives her joy...sadly, i feel like there are a lot of people like that in mongolia...the entire city is full of people just surviving...no one is helping...i get that there are people like that everywhere...but this city really needs help...especially at the rate its growing...people are basically living on top of one another...and the poor are multiplying...and they aren't even interested in looking out for each other...i think they just expect the rest of the world to fix their problems...
anyway, after lunch AB and i did a little souvenir shopping...i bought a favorite snack of every mongolian to bring home to my family...dried fermented goat and horse milk...it's rancid...then we went to this fashion show with our host brother and sister...at first it was all the traditional garb and throat singers and such...all of which i expected...then they brought out the runway and all the models came out in "modern day" traditional garb...even though that's not a thing...it was funny...
we met with the volunteers again at the irish pub...i really just wanted to go to hear the band again...they played "kiss me" on sunday night and i flipped...it reminded me of this one night at furman...if you are elizabeth or amy, you'll understand...anyway, it left me wanting more! and plus, it was my last night in UB so i wanted to say goodbye to everyone...AB and i ate dinner and then people came later...it was good getting to talk to everyone one last time...unfortunately, the band never played...so, i gave my goodbye hugs and we headed home...
on tuesday, i didnt have to work again...so i took the morning to pack all of my things and get everything in order...then Ashley and I went to have lunch with Jodi (the aussie)...she is so great! she is taking an entire year off from her job to just travel...and she's even going to be in Europe while i'm there so hopefully we can meet up...it was a wonderful lunch (and i ate with chopsticks...i'm so good now) even though i had to say goodbye to Jodi at the end...AB and i then went to buy our host family some little gifts as a farewell present...i suggested buying a pack of cigarettes for the dad, since he smokes instead of speaking...we bought the parents wine instead...and then we bought another puzzle (because loved the first one...they framed it) and we bought the kids 3 movies...all of which were in english (ha) but apparently, movies don't ever come in mongolian...or even with mongolian subtitles...that only happens in the theater...they didnt care though...i guess that are use to that...
so after dinner, we just played with Hongrav...AB got some hilarious videos of him speaking english...i'll post them if she emails them to me...around 8:30 Hongrav came running into our room shouting "fire, fire"...he turned the tv onto the new channels and AB and i tried to figure out what was going on...UB just had a big election on sunday...and apparently, the revolutionary party got accused of cheating...so there was a riot...happening about an 8 minute taxi drive away...in the square where we hang out all the time! the people set a government building on fire, threw stones at the police and each other, and even high-jacked a tractor and attempted to ram it into the building...it was a mess...and terribly barbaric...5 people died and 220 were injured...here is a short article on the riots from CNN if you are interested...everything seems to be fine now...but it made feel ok about leaving...
so...my 4 weeks in mongolia are over...hard to believe...my flight back was pretty terrible...lots of layovers...i was awake for 51 hours...but, i slept through the night once i got home...and then got up today (Thursday) and played 18 holes of golf...unfortunately, the jet lag is now kicking in...its 4 A.M. and i'm still up...i'll be fine eventually...
and just so you aren't left wondering...i love mongolia...the people are beautiful...inside and out...they have a remarkable ability to love, even without belief in the God who has shown me what love is...which makes it all the more incredible...i have learned so much, not just about the world but about myself too...i actually miss it...the world seems so much more real over there...i don't know if anyone will understand that, but its painfully true...my only regret is that i wish i could have found a way to physically help more...perhaps i'll come up with something...let me know if you have any ideas...
thank you for keeping up with me while i was on the other side of the world! you have no idea what an encouragement it was...so, thank you from the bottom of my heart! hope to see all of you soon! i'm in b'ham so, friends come visit!
peace
sal
