By Mark
We have been pleasantly surprised by many things that we can find in Mongolia that we were not expecting. Just the other week at Nomin (the Mongolian version of Sam’s club) we saw bread knives- there is no guarantee they will be here next week or we could get them again but there they were. There are many things we have found here that take longer to do, some only a few minutes extra, others are a lot longer- to give you some insight into our new world here are some things. I want to be clear that I am not complaining that things take longer but it does take longer. Next time you do many of the “mundane” things in your home don’t take them for granted. Because things take longer simply accomplishing the every day living tasks can be tiresome.
- Food: There isn’t pre-packaged food here (except for Ramen) so everything gets made from scratch. It tastes good but takes longer. Also all the produce needs to get washed off before we use it so that takes longer. One faster thing is the rice cooker we have- makes it in under an hour, just add water, rice, push the button and perfect rice every time.
- Washing: We like our washing machine, a front loading Samsung. Its smaller than ones in the States so you cannot wash as much and there is no dryer so everything is air dried. With the heat on it now goes faster. No mechanical dish washer so the dishes get washed by hand (yes, I have dishpan hands). Our dish soap is called Farie.
- Water: Its not recommended to drink the water here straight from the tap. We run our water through a Berkey filter (great filter but I have rust on the weld seam and Berkey insists its mineral deposits, arrgh, another story). It has about a 4.5 gallon capacity and takes time to refill it every few days. When you brush your teeth you have to have a bottle of water with you to rinse- a bit more time.
- Travel: We either take a taxi (about .34 a person per ride) 400 Tugreg or depend on friends to catch a ride or walk. Going to the market isn’t always a matter of finding everything in one spot but it takes a while to walk around and find what you need. Then again that’s not to different from Wal-Mart in Russellville.
- Bills: Either people come to you to get paid (cable, garbage) or you have to go to them (everything else). Every month it takes several hours to travel around and pay your bills, or eventually you get cut off. Nothing yet to pay by mail or via the Internet.
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September 24, 2008 at 10:57 pm
Amy
Life without Wal Mart? That’s the hub of small town life in the American South!
I know you guys have the patience to deal with life there, and if not, God will continue to work it out in you. We are proud of you all and the sacrifices you are making to take the gospel to the people of Mongolia. And I kinda envy the opportunity to have your kids see life from another perspective and to shape their attitudes accordingly.
September 25, 2008 at 8:03 pm
Donald K Wood
I have reflected much on the experiences we had in Zaire, Mark, when you had just turned 1 year old. You played in the pots and pans below the sink and on the counter was a large Royal Dalton water filter to do the same thing you water filter is doing. We all became very sensitive on this issue and it still kicks when we travel internationally. There was the matter of a new mattress for you bed that we pdurchased in the market and the next day you were covered with little red dots all over your body and had a high fever.
Was it meningitis and we were in the middle of “Darkest Africa” and what would the grandparents say to bringing you and Beth over there to die of a deadly disease. Where to find a doctor who knew what to do. You know the story. The doctor lived in the apartment two floors above us and was a pediatrician trained at Children’s Memorial in Chicago, and the petechia that mimicked fulminate meningitis were ant bites from the stuffing in the newly purchased mattress. Lessons learned: “I the Lord you God will go before you, I will be beside you, I will never, never leave you or forsake you, therefore, do not be afraid, do not be discouraged.”
Dad
September 25, 2008 at 11:21 pm
Terrill & Michelle
Mark,
I was born sort of slow… I remember things really well, but getting them in there to my rememberer is sometimes a tough thing, so I know what it’s like to be last…last in reading in Mrs Garginers room, Last in arithmatic in Mrs Decocks room last to finish lunch in the school cafeteria, last to get my fly undone when the boys got bathroom break. Last for my pants to dry sufficently for me to rejoin the class after bathroom break. Last has always been big with me. I have learned to honour it and prize it. Last is only attained and perfected in the halls of “taking a long time”. Embrace last and be one with it and it will serve you well.
Besides somewhere it says the last will be first and the first will be last.
Thats a better argument for slowing down and showing up late than any I could come up with.
Love youse guys.