Trip to Thailand

Shauna and I had the opportunity to attend an agricultural conference in Thailand. We were able to catch up with some of our friends from ECHO. (The organization we did our internship with in Florida.) It was a good time to learn how to set up community farmer groups, work with small scale farmers and learn about some appropriate technologies. We also got to experience a little bit of the west. Paved roads with only a few potholes, McDonalds, BurgerKing, Starbucks, and Shauna's favorite ... Malls! We were also able to get to know another American family who lives in Thailand a little better, and experience Chang Mai with them.
It was interesting seeing the Thai people and culture but it didn't take us long to miss the Mongolian people and the culture we are learning to love here. It was nice to use our VISA card at restaurants, eat highly processed beef patties, and wear shorts all day but it is good to be home where the evenings are cool and we understand some of the language. It was interesting seeing the faces of the ticket counter workers when they noticed we had no return ticket from Mongolia back to the USA. One asked how long we were staying in Mongolia then kept repeating to herself, "They live in Mongolia" until if finally sunk in.
Thailand is a great place to visit but Mongolia is a great place to live :-)

Wayne's Visit

Quick clean up your dirty clothes, sweep the floor, and change the sheets on the guest bed! These were the sounds in our house a few weeks ago before our regional director Wayne Allen came to visit. While he was in meetings most of the day with JCS, Shauna and I had our normal routine of language classes. It was nice to have him around to talk about our future plans here in Mongolia and get his advise on different specifics. We were able to visit my language helpers home and enjoy some real Mongolian barbecue. Wayne didn't eat a lot but did enjoy the company. We visited a ger and had some milk tea. We even met Egee's (my language helper on the left of the picture) father just after his 80th birthday. Wayne also went to church with us on Sunday and got to experience our normal upbeat 2 hour service. It was very nice to have him here, and the suite case from home that he brought!
Wayne has been our first visitor from the States we hope he is not the last. With only being here for a long weekend he was not able to really see the country. And the fact that he was stuck in meetings all day, poor guy. So when you plan your visit (which of course I know you are doing) plan to stay a minimum of one week to see the sights, taste the tastes, and experience the real Mongolia for yourself.