I suppose that this is the time of year when people start reflecting on the past 12 months. We start measuring how far our lives have come, and plotting a course for the next 12 months. Well, I have come pretty far if I do say so myself. Starting the year at an AIESEC conference, learning about this far off, magical place called Mongolia. Spending a week in India on a mission trip, of all things. Seeing my family in Michigan. Road tripping across the country with my best friend. Moving to Utah to move to Mongolia. Getting kicked out of my apartment. Taking "black" taxis, trains, sleeper buses, and other fun things to get in and out of China. Moving into a new apartment. And so,so many other things.
In 5 days I will have been in Mongolia for six whole months. That's crazy. It certainly does not feel like 6 months has passed. At least, not at a normal rate. In school, time always felt like it was dragging. Not this time, no sir. 5 days until I've been here for six months, one month the first ever conference for AIESEC Mongolia will be closing, in one month and four days I will be going to Italy, and then shortly after that we will have elected and selected the next MC team for Mongolia 2011-2012. And, my team will start passing on the legacy we have been working our butts off to create. Then we will move on and dive headlong into another year of craziness.
In the spirit of reflecting on the last year, I think it would be fun to do a "things I've learned this year" list:
-Road trips are best done with good friends and loud music
-Never eat unwashed street vegetables
-Traveling on a poor man's salary can result in interesting adventures
-Supposedly you can get chlamydia from koalas
-Teammates make tough, awkward situations so much easier
-Skype is truly a gift from the gods
-Downloading is fun for everyone!
-Camping in the cold without a sleeping bag is probably a stupid idea, but will result in great stories and hours of enjoyment, well, for your friends
-Poker is an internationally appreciated way of buying friendship
- -20C really isn't that cold (-4F)
-Getting dragged into teaching English is not at all related to your ability to teach
-Coats can be magic
-If the electricity, the hot water, and the internet are out it's probably time to go out for a beer
-Drinking and working don't have to be mutually exclusive activities
-Sometimes strippers show up at the most unexpected places
-Labels on food should always have pictures, languages are unreliable
-Walking on ice in boots without treads is fun! Or dangerous...
-Sometimes the smallest ideas can lead to the biggest adventures
"It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to."
