It has already been 3 weeks in Mongolia and Allen and I depart tomorrow, at 9:00pm. i've made alot of friends here. For me, they feel more like family. When I think about when I will return, I get some sort of strange feeling. Then I think to myself, "will I ever have another chance to return? Will everyone be here and still the same?"  Although this trip wasn't as physically challenging as the mission trip to the Phililppines, I experienced and learned many things.

When we arrived at the airport, Allen and I had to go to the bathroom REAL bad. So after a waiting a disturbingly long line at the immigration gate, we went. There was one toilet. I ran in before Allen did. When I pressed the strange looking flush button, it broke and fell off into the bowl. Then Allen went and the toilet got plugged.

We said to ourselves, "wow, what have we gotten ourselves into this time?" I began to think that this was going to be the most horrific experience of my life. Even worse than the Philippines. One of the KAYAMM alumni missionary that previously went to Mongolia told us some disturbing stories. It all began to pop into my head.

Then we found two men holding a little piece of paper that said "KAYAMM". I remember it being hand written and some what messy. Then I thought to myself, "wow, there must be no computer nor printer here.   :(  "

But when we stepped outside of the airport, the climate wasn't as hot as the Philippines nor as cold as Canada. It was nice. And I started talking to this guy who kind of resembled the face of a Korean, but with slight white features. Later I learnd that his name was Otgoo, age 29. He had the most innocent-happy face a guy could ever have. Throughout the entire trip, I have never seen him stressed out or angry. He was always smiling, so he was very easy to approach.

Then we arrived at this tall building. A young looking boy came out and helped me carry my things to the third floor, where Pastor Park and his wife lived. I slapped him on the back and said thanks, thinking he was my age, or even younger. For a while I treated him as a teenager. Later I found out he was married and close to becoming a father. Haha.. I was pretty embarassed.

But thats ok. Here in Mongolia, there is no hierchy between the older and the younger, as they do in Korea. Everyone can be friends. There is this boy named Daadag, age 20. He seems to be a very lively fellow. He fears no older men with respective titles, such as pastors. He goes around putting arms around them, making fun of them, and even slapping their butts. Yes, Mongolia has a very friendly environment. Crime rate is also very low, and you can freely talk to strangers. Apparently, Allen and I look like Mongolians; many, many Mongolians have approached us and said something in their language. I said "uh huh" and walked away pretty much every time this happened.

The road system here is crazy. Throughout my entire trip, I think I've seen 2 pedestrian crosswalks and 1 pedestrian light, which did not work. If you think you are a crazy wild person full of excitement  for jay walking, you would be considered normal here. Cars never stop for you. Buses simply never stop until they reach their destination. It's cars' right of way first and lives of pedestrians second. This morning (July 21), I saw a woman get hit by a car going about 40-50km/hour. It was a direct hit to the hips and she flew into the car's front window. But this is rare, and it is really not that scary once you get the hang of it. NOT. The first time I crossed a road felt as scary as bungee jumping.

Some people consider Mongolia a third world country. I would describe it as a "developing nation"; it is not as bad as a typical third world country like Africa. It really is not so bad here. You can find pretty much everything in super markets, malls, etc. There are many replicas like some DVDs (that has messed up subtitles), clothing, and car companies (ie.TOYATA). The fruits here are mad expensive. We bought 6 small plums (you can fit 2 in your mouth) for over 7 dollars. However, meat here are very cheap. There is basically meat in every meal - if you are vegetarian, I think you would literally starve, since there is nothing else to eat. Pastor tells me some vegetarians eventually begin to eat some meat here because they become so hungry.

There are 5 national animals. They eat all 5 of them like its their job.

We've gone horse back riding every weekend here, about 2-4 hours each time we went. The horses here arn't as big as the ones in Canada, but they are very fun to ride. Mongolia is about 7 times bigger than Korea, but Korea has about 23 times more people. Meaning, much of the Mongolian land is nature and horses can run freely in the wild. When they give you a horse, you can pretty much go anywhere you want. Up and down the hills, across a river, up the mountain, anywhere you desire. Plus, horses here are only about 300 dollars each. Otgoo's father had over 1000 horses, which he donated to the Mongolian army during the Second World War.

I can't say enough about Mongolia. Its 11:16pm. I'll write again next time.