A week in Mongolia

As the title suggests, its been a week now since I've arrived in Mongolia. Many people ask me, how's Mongolia? The answer, sadly, is that I don't know. I haven't been to the downtown area of the capital, UlaanBataar. I've only been to the outskirts. I haven't seen any horses or anything like that either. I haven't even really eaten much Mongolian yet. I'm so disappointed in that.

However, I have seen some really beautiful plains. Particularly one river bed that is covered in bushes taller than a man on a horse. Except the bushes aren't clumped all tight together like a bramble bush. They are conveniently spread out such that a man on a horse could easily wander around them, getting lost in them, enjoying the sound of the breeze blowing on the leaves and making that calm rustling sound. Even the color of the leaves, a blue-ish green, perfectly captures the emotion of calm and serenity.

From what I can gather from the fellows around me is that Mongolians are more western than their southern neighbors in China. They are more eastern than their northern neighbors in Russia. And sadly, they are entirely surrounded by those two countries so there is no separate comment for their east or west neighbors. Perhaps it is because of their neighbors to the north, but in most respects, they have a similar attitude to Americans. Now, bear in mind that I have only been here a week and have had very little exposure to Mongolians, other than the ones that I work with, but this is my first impression. While I cannot say many good things about the food yet, the people are nice.

I must make it short for now, just wanted to drop a word and say hello, let everyone know I'm still alive. Must get some pics up next time! Toodles!

Last Day in Korea!

I never thought that it would come to this. My departure from Korea has finally come. I leave many good friends, many fantastic and vivid memories, and most importantly, I leave my wife behind. But I mislead you, intentionally. I am not returning to America, though the desire to do that does indeed grow stronger daily. Rather, I have been dispatched to a construction site overseas. To the fun and happening country that hosts the Gobi Desert, the country that is most famous for Genghis Khan, horse riders, and nomads, the country of a thousand winds, Mongolia.

Very sudden, isn't it? It is for me as well. While we knew almost from the beginning that we would be sent to a site, recently I had raised my hopes that I could actually be sent to a local project. Our official dispatch notice, however, crushed those hopes most effectively. As it was only less than a week ago that we received our dispatch notice, I am still recovering from the whole experience.

Today is my last full day here. I believe that me living apart from Jiyoung has not yet fully sunk in. Leaving Korea has not fully sunk in. It feels mostly like its a dream. It's not all a nightmare, mind you. The opportunity given to me is a great one for a potential career in the aviation construction field. The big question is then, can I return to the design field and use that experience. The simple answer is, I have to.

Words cannot really describe my feel right now. A dream... as the time of departure approaches, that dream becomes darker and darker...

Wish me luck!