Adventure to Erdenet

Some of our team recently took a van out to Erdenet. We struck out on our adventure at 7 a.m. on April 4.  It was a 6 1/2 hour drive there, and an 8 hour drive home (due to driving in the dark, wanting to avoid potholes and crossing cows and oncoming traffic which happens quite often here, and having a flat tire).   After arriving in town, our driver pulled over and asked a local where there was a good place to eat.  A woman directed us to...

So, Erdenet, a city of less than 100,000 in northern Mongolia, provides Korean cuisine.  It was delicious and nutritious! 

On we went to see the city.  Some of our teammates are considering teaching in this city.  I went along to get to know my teammates and Mongolia a little better.  It was nice to get a different view of Mongolia than just the busy city life we experience daily.  Yes, we've been to a ger, we've travelled out into the country, but this was a different area for me to see; also, Erdenet is the 3rd largest city in Mongolia, and I was curious what it had to offer and how it had developed since it was established in 1974 mainly because of a copper mine industry. 

For more info on the city itself, go here.

We were meandering around the city, seeing shops, a theatre, a sports complex, ATM's and banks.  These are all points of interest to someone who might move to the area.  There were two important places we were having trouble finding: schools and churches.  So, our driver stopped to ask a young boy and girl in front of a Mormon (yes, established in Erdenet) after-school activity center.  They willingly hopped into our van to lead us to a school and church within a block of one another.  Now, if these were my children, I'd be infuriated that someone invited them into their van and carted them around the city as tour guides.  But, this is Mongolia.  And this was a Mongolian driver asking Mongolian children, so I stayed out of it and watched the culture in action. 

Here's our new teammate (just arrived in late February), Barb, sitting across from me in the van.  We had seats facing one another.  Beside her was our young tour guide who led us right to where we needed to go.  We shared some candy with him, and I gave him a small bag of cheese I hadn't eaten for breakfast.  He willingly accepted both.  After taking us across town, our director gave him 500 tugricks (worth a little less than 50 cents) and he and his sister had to walk back across town to get back to their starting point...about a 10-15 minute walk. 

Young girls all over the world love to hang in groups.  Acceptance is such a need in our human heart, isn't it?  These girls cheerfully sang out, "hello" in English.  When we tried to strike up a conversation in English, though, they just smiled.  However, I asked them how old they were in Mongolian...9 and 10 years old.

On the edge of town is a new Buddha statue.  There are MANY steps to the top, and the statue itself sits atop a building which hasn't opened yet.  The idol is HUGE.

Here, a ger and van can be seen off to the left, as well as people in the front. 
This gives a view as to the size of this statue idol.

Perhaps some day our team members will have an encouraging influence on the children pictured earlier.  May each of them come to know the Father.

Getting to Phuket, Thailand

So, we had been in Chiang Mai, Thailand, for a conference with our organization.  My favorite part was singing with over 500 other people, IN ENGLISH!  Remember to appreciate your times of singing with your brothers and sisters in your own language.  And, I'm so glad that our Mongolian friends get the same opportunity...to sing in their own language...so, I'm fine with singing in their language when I'm THERE!

Following are some pictures of leaving Chiang Mai (via a red truck...a normal part of Chiang Mai's public transportation). 

Me in the red truck, ready to go to the airport for our flight to Phuket.

Our time in Phuket has included enjoying a sunset dinner at an ocean-side cheap-o restaurant. Our plate full of shrimp fried rice with chilis and sweet Thai basil was a measly $2.75 a piece! It has been sweltering hot with vivid sunshine; you might say the pendulum has swung very strongly to the other side of the temperature gauge! Remember, we left Mongolia when it was -28 degrees F. Today, it's 91 degrees F. I walked out on the sand and it was HOT. I thought, "Oh, don't be a pansy; just walk fast." After about 5 steps, I had to dash back toward the shade. An hour later, I noticed my big toe has a swollen spot where I have burned my skin. No joke! What's the sand like when it reaches temps over 100 degrees next month? I won't know. I'll be back in Mongolia with single digits again!

The sun is setting.

Our plate full of shrimp fried rice--Kevin doctors his up with extra hot red chilis!  Yum!

This is how to spell "Coke" in Thai.

A Thai Long Boat floats across the sunset venue.

As well as a cruise ship....

Only a minute left of this sunny day!

One more moment and the sun slips out of sight.  Notice the bright spot high in the sky.

A Day Tour in Thailand

This past Thursday, we took our first ever tour in Thailand.  Last year, we just nosed around on our own, but this year we wanted to see some things that we weren't sure how to find on our own.  So, the first stop was...

an orchid and butterfly farm.

Another totally different orchid.  This one might be my favorite!

Kevin standing at the end of an "alley" of orchids at an orchid farm.  We were told that orchids need "just right" watering and sun...too much or too little is easy.  Just right is difficult. 

This plant and water fall was in the butterfly farm.  We didn't see any really outstanding butterflies.

However, these butterfllies were interesting.

Here's the dangling roots of the orchids.  They hang on poles to grow; no need to plant into dirt!

Yes, this is a real elephant.  He lifted me up with his trunk, then planted a snotty, sandy kiss on my neck.

Up close and personal!

An elephant with his trainer, painting a picture.

The elephant continues with the painting.

The trainer carries the painting off to display it to be sold later.

See that tennis shoe on the right?  It's mine.  Proof that I was on top of an elephant.  It was a little scary, mainly because I kept thinking horrible thoughts, like, "I hope they tightened this seat down well!"  Here, we were on our way to have the elephant walk upstream in a river with us on his back.  Amazing, the strength these animals have!

 

While on the elephant, I took a picture of this raft.  We had been on a raft like this earlier.  Just like Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn!  Tom and Huck didn't have their own Thai raft guide.  Notice the elephant on land in the background.  This is nothing like a River Ridge Custom Canoe!

Here's our personal raft guide.

And, here we are on the sunny raft with several other friends we met on the journey.

 

Here's the elephant we were riding.  During the whole time, except photo taking, the elephant's driver was sitting right behind his head/right in front of our seat.  Here, I'm feeding the elephant a stick of sugar cane.  Doesn't he look like he's smiling?

Our tour ended with an oxcart ride.  Bumpy...yes.  The day was a fascinating way to see the hills of Thailand around the Chiang Mai area. 

 

We would highly recommend this tour, arranged by Journey Tours in Chiang Mai.  Well done, and it included pick up and drop off at our hotel and a Thai buffet lunch, all for $33 USD each...amazing!

Differences That Make a Culture

There are so many differences in the two Asian cultures of Mongolia and Thailand.  Every year, our organization requires all of their teachers to gather together in Chiang Mai, Thailand, to attend a week-long conference.  Almost all of the teachers who attend also spend 1-3 more weeks in some part of Asia.  This year, we are spending some extra time in Chiang Mai and Phukett...both in Thailand. 

For me, some of the differences seem to be magnified more this year than last...perhaps because last year, everything was new to me in Thailand.  Here are some of the most obvious differences I've taken note of:

1.  Weather!  Mongolia: we left when it was colder than -25F.  Thailand: It's been in the 80's every day we've been here so far.  Long johns, heavy boots, a scarf, hat, and coat have all been ditched for the quick and easy shorts and tank top! 

Proof that it's warm as I get chummy with the craziest mannequin I've ever met!

2.  Food!  Mongolia: Salt and pepper.  Potatoes, carrots, peppers, broccoli.  Amen.  Thailand: Spicy, deep, rich flavors.  Amazing flavors!  Fruits and veggies galore!  Did I say spicy?  Kevin and I had the spiciest meal we've ever had last night.  We were in pain.  Our eyes were watering.   I wanted to get out of my body so I didn't have to feel the pain in my mouth.  Luckily, the hot mouth syndrome died down about 15 minutes after the meal.  We want to go back to the same place later this week, but we'll order "mild"!

The white fruit has tiny seeds much like a kiwi.  It's dragonfruit.

Thai food on the street.  We haven't eaten any warm, meat-based foods from street vendors, however, we've gone to several "hole-in-the-wall" restaurants just like the Mongolian guanzes.  Good food!

3.  Manners.  Thailand:  Spitting or blowing your nose on the sidewalk is not a common occurence here.  People smile at you on the street.  Big, genuine smiles and a nod of the head.  Sometimes even an honorable bow.  People wait for one another to go through doors and offer one another to go first.  Mongolia:  These things mentioned are often the opposite.  To illustrate: The day we landed in Thailand, a Mongolian woman was pushing my back with her carry-on luggage as we exited the plane.  She pushed me again.  I had to stop to allow the man in front of me to bend down to pick up something and she pushed again.  I turned around and said, "You can only do that in Mongolia!"  I smiled politely, but with meaning.  She giggled and said, "Oh, sorry."  It is VERY normal to be pushed, sometimes just ever-so-gently, (and sometimes not) in Mongolia.  I've gotten used to it.  In fact, I sometimes gently press my hand into the small of someone's back to get through an aisle.  When in Rome, do as the Romans do.  However, I'm enjoying the difference of this in Thailand.

4.  Religion.  Both countries practice Buddhism.  However, there are many more temples here in Thailand.  There's a temple around every corner and large statues everywhere. 

Over 30 idols who can't see, hear, or help.

5.  Trash: It is perfectly acceptable to drop pieces of trash onto the ground in Mongolia.  I've seen proper citizens drop their gum wrappers purposely on the ground.  The best reason I can explain for this is that the socialism era has not totally died in Mongolia.  It's somebody's job to sweep the street and sidewalks.  Dropping trash contributes to someone else keeping their job, because there's trash which needs to be cleaned off the street. Thailand has a King rulership, and has for many years.  I'm not sure what the rules are concerning littering, but there's just not as much random litter, even though there are trash piles on sidewalks, collected, and ready to be picked up.  I am speaking of directly downtown.  We've been on some back streets with some major trash.  Don't get me wrong...this isn't heaven...there's just differences.

6.  Varmints:  In Thailand, we've seen a large mouse/small rat running along the sidewalk with a chicken leg; I swatted a mosquito last night which left a nice, round bloody mark on my calf (I needed to go to the hospital for a transfusion, he took so much blood!).  And we had a cute little lizard outside our B & B door last night.  Mongolia: mosquitoes are rare...well, non-existent this time of year, of course.  I've seen one little mouse over a year ago on a sidewalk.  I've never seen a lizard in UB.  I like the lack of varmints in UB, Mongolia! 

7.  Open alcohol use:  It's amazing that I haven't seen a single drunk passed out on a sidewalk here in Thailand.  The weather is perfect here for that to possibly happen.  However, in Mongolia, I've seen men and even a teen girl once (whom we helped), passed out in the freeeeeezing cold on the sidewalk.  I'm puzzled how this can be true.

8.  Language:  We stopped into a large, modern bookstore yesterday.  The number of American and British-written books which had been translated into Thai was astounding!  There were quite a number of original Thai-written books as well.  We even saw the Harry Potter series translated in Thai.

9.  Alphabet:  I'm so thankful that the language I'm learning is Mongolian.  Even though the alphabet is slightly different than English, it has many letters which are the same.  Thai?  It looks scary!  It looks like hieroglyphics.  sample of Thai language

10.  Traffic:  Taxis in Mongolia, of course, are cars.  One form of taxi in Thailand is a red truck that holds many people.  And, it's open to the weather.  Another traffic difference?  Motorbikes in Thailand.  Hardly a motorbike to be seen in Mongolia...even in the summer.  And the biggest difference? Very few horns are honking in Thailand.  In Mongolia, buses and cars drive with their horns!  Honking means, "I'm right here, don't pull out," "Get out of the way," "Move over, Rover," or any other thing the driver wants to communicate.  A horn is rarely used in the traffic in Thailand.

A red truck, open at the back, and benches on each side...a great taxi.

Friends in Korea

While we were in Korea to treat an infection in Kevin's arm (see earlier post) from February 28 until March 8, I stayed at the Hilton Hotel (our evacuation insurance paid for me to be at this particular hotel). Kevin's place of residence was the Severence Hospital most of the time, with two days at the end of our time at the hotel for a little more recovery before travelling for a full day to get back to UB. We had a joke going, that I had the better accommodations, and he'd say, "Hey, who's the sick one here?" I know...it just wasn't fair. I had three concierges that were exceptionally kind and sweet. Here's their pictures. I'm still in contact with the two women via facebook and email.

There was one day that I needed to get some antacids, but I didn't know where to get them, nor what they'd look like.  One of the concierges wrote out what I needed in Korean, and then proceeded to draw a map of where to go to find a store that might carry the item.  I was glad for her instructions.  I would've never found this store on my own, as it was so much further from the hotel than I would have ventured if I didn't have hope that it would be "there".  Isn't that true for much of life?  If we know that there's hope of getting something or somewhere by the way we're going, we can keep on going forward.  I passed furniture shops, book stores, all kinds of food stores, a hardware store, and all of a sudden I came upon a nice little pharmacy.  Very small.  But, they had what I needed.  And, the package was all in Korean.  Fortunately, the owner spoke some English, too, which was rare I was finding out, and he actually gave me instructions to swallow two pills whole (don't chew!) with a glass of water.  Nice!

Another time one of the concierges called the hospital to find out if there was a place to do laundry close by.  She informed me where I could get a load done, "Because it's soooo expensive here at the hotel."  I think she had started to "get to know me", that I wasn't one of the rich ladies who were staying on the floor, willing to spend $10 for a load of laundry to be done for me!

And, another time, she wrote out in Korean (for a taxi driver) where to take me to visit the biggest Christian church in the world (which I visited on the only Sunday we were there in town)...the Yoido Full Gospel Church.  Here's a picture of me in this large church which was reminiscent of the building in New York City for the Brooklyn Tabernacle:


Front of building




This is the artwork at the top of the front part of the building.



An usher offered to take my photo in between services.  I think there were five services on Sunday, and several of them have live translation through headphones.  The amazing thing is that the service is translated into 7 different languages; you choose the language you need to listen to by dialing the headphones to the number designated for your language.  Amazing!  Here, you can see the choir in the red robes and the full orchestra in front of them.  The men in white jackets are the ushers.


So, back to my newfound friends, there were times that there were very few people around on the floor where I was staying, also where the concierges had a desk by a business lounge, so I visited with them several times.  We had some great conversations which I am seeking to continue via email.  Remember these friends when you talk to our Father.

It's a Small World After All!



While in Korea, we had some visits from a couple Korean families.  This is Rok Seon and So Yang and their two sons.  They came to visit us at the hotel we were staying at, after Kevin was released from the hospital.  We were connected to them via Rosie in Rochester, MN (where we lived for 12 years).  Rosie had spent time with them while they were in Rochester for Rok to work at Mayo Clinic.  As we visited with them, we came to realize that they had visited Berean about three years ago, so we might have shaken their hands at one time in the past.  Neither of us remembered the other since it would've been a quick meeting in the lobby, yet, it was fun to find out they had been there a couple times.


Another couple also came to visit while we were in Korea.  Unfortunately we didn't think of getting a picture of them.  They visited Kevin in the hospital and also later came to the hotel one evening with dessert.  This couple has their son, a Korean exchange student, in the Denver area living with my sister's friends.  They found out about our medical visit to Korea through this Denver family their son is living with.  We enjoyed meeting them and we knew that both of these Korean families would be such good friends to spend time with if we lived in the same city!

Rambling Thoughts on Being in Different Cultures...and Insurance in the Tough Times

So, we are NOT in Mongolia.  We landed in Mongolia one year ago, March 1. 

Today, we are in Seoul, Korea, fighting an infection in my husband's arm.  We are at Severance Hospital, with him hooked up to iv antibiotics for a strange, unknown infection which has settled in his arm.  No reason we can figure out why it's his arm.  It could just as easily been his heart or brain...so, I'm thankful for the arm!

Cultures are so different as we go from culture to culture.  In February, we were in Mongolia, Thailand, the Chinese airport (boy, did we experience culture there), and Korea.  There truly are differences in each culture.  It's still most comfortable in my own culture, but I'm reading a book called, "Figuring out Foreigners".  It's for all foreigners...which we ALL are.  It's just that different cultures are foreign to each of us. 

So, I must tell you about a language problem I had last night:

I got in the taxi at the hospital. I showed the taxi driver the card to take me to the hotel. Unfortunately there are two Hiltons in town and he took me to the WRONG one. I thought it didn't feel right, but wasn't sure...after all I'd only been in Korea less than 24 hours. I got out and thought, "Wow, I wonder if there's two Hiltons because this doesn't look the way I remember!" Also, it cost a couple bucks more to get to this one than the other one. I should've questioned him and made him wait, but how do I do that when I know not a stitch of the language? So, I got out, went to the information desk which looked totally different, and the man apologized (as if it were his fault) and drew a map and wrote in Korean where I needed to be taken, so I could show it to the next taxi driver.
I got in another taxi and he took me to the right place. By this time, I've spent $12 more than I should've. Oh, well. Live and learn.

Then, tonight, when I got into the taxi at the hospital, I showed him this wonderful little card which I'll guard with my life.  I got to the RIGHT hotel, this time!  Now I'm sitting with delicious appetizers at the computer at my hotel.  The evacuation insurance we have puts people up at this very nice hotel.  Many foreigners have this insurance for the express reason of getting out of second and third world cultures in medical emergencies.  It has been a blessing to us to have this elevated medical care.  They had antibiotics here in Korea that weren't available in Mongolia.  We were thankful for the care we had in Mongolia...the best there was there!

Thailand Begins Next Weekend!

On Saturday afternoon, we are scheduled to fly out of shivvering Mongolia and land in cozy Thailand for three weeks of warmth as we do a little travelling and also attend our organization's mandatory yearly conference.  I decided to peruse around Youtube for some information about Thailand.  Here's some of the best videos I found (click to view on youtube):

Thai Food

A little corny at times, but good shots of natural sites, culture, dance, and art!

A short, quick tour (1 minute)