A Call From Afar...

As I have entered into my second week of writing both day and night for my Comps exam, it is getting harder to sit still. I find myself looking for distractions in whatever I can. And so I made the call to Mongolia. I had been planning to prepare myself, spending hours re-learning the language and words I am sure are just under the surface of my very bad memory. I had even crafted a script to follow so that way my Mongolian family would have a chance of understanding what I wanted to communicate with them. In the end I just winged it-- I know, out of character right?

I am so happy that I did! As soon as I heard Sergee (my mongolian mom) say Sain uu? a flood of happy emotions and memories swept over me. And once she realized it was me, I could tell it was the same for her on the other end of the line...she was shouting for Buuya (my mongolian dad) and sent someone to fetch my younger brother so they could all gather around her cellphone (still cant believe they have those now!) to listen in. Just got to love it.

Although there were definitely communication problems, (mostly because my brain seemed to want to speak Spanish)--we were able to share the most crucial elements of how we miss each other and love each other, despite the distance and time that separates us. I was also able to let them know a more critical piece of logistic information that Pearce and I would be coming to Mongolia this July to see them. Sergee then launched into a whole string of sentences that I can only imagine went something like: Oh my gosh you are coming to Mongolia! Are you coming to Uvs? Bouya will come get you in Ulaanbaatar, Tuya (her younger sister) lives there now. We will bring you to Turgen soum (my town) where we will have a big party and make you drink copious amounts of alcohol and eat lots of sheep butt. (okay so I am embellished the last part, but let's just say that it is intrinsic in throwing a party!)

So for me, it is now official: Pearce and I are going to Asia and I cannot wait to see my family again! I just hope that between now and then I can cram in enough Mongolian language studying that I don't totally embarrass myself!

Allyson

Tickets Bought! (At least for the long haul.)

2011 is here and what better way to start then to buy a plane ticket, or two, to Asia! After much deliberation and price comparison Pearce and I have taken the first step in our adventure- securing our tickets to Beijing, China via Seattle. This decision was made much easier when our wonderful friend, Nate Klein, donated enough airline miles for us to have one free ticket. Thanks Nate! We will be taking off on July 1, 2011 and returning via Beijing on September 28, 2011 (and not a second sooner.)

So the planning has officially commenced- over the next month we will be scouring our guide books and searching the internet for the countries, cities, activities we absolutely should not miss. From there we will start pulling together our rough schedule and will fill you in on all the details as they develop! The question is - how will we narrow it down!?!

Love, Peace and Increase (oh yeah, I just quoted the Apostle)

Pearce and Al

Books and Movies--two of our favorite things

We both love books and we both love movies. Alright, that is not exactly true-- Pearce really loves movies (he invests time into websites, blogs, podcasts) and I on the other hand, just watch them. Even so, we thought we would take our passions for reading and cinema and focus them on our trip to Asia so we can learn more about the countries and people we will be visiting. After all, since we are committing a considerable amount of time, energy and resources to this adventure, we should probably get more out of it then a bamboo chopsticks set and nice tan (me, not Pearce). We want to already have a foundational understanding of the culture, history and politics of the countries we are going to visit so that way our experiences there are that much deeper and meaningful. Or at least that is the goal!

With this in mind, we have begun putting together a list of books and movies we will try to tackle over the next year. The books include both fiction and nonfiction, while the movies mainly draw from documentaries--yay for free Netflix on Demand! If have any books that you feel we shouldn't miss, please let us know and we will add it to our list.

Mongolia:

1. Gobi: Tracking the Desert by John Man
2. Genghis Khan: Making of the Modern World by Jack Weatherford
3. Hearing Birds Fly by Louis Waugh
   
4. Dateline Mongolia by Michael Kohn
   
5. Wolf totem by Jiang Rong
   

China, etc:

1. Shogun, Tai Pai, Gai-jin, King Rat, Noble House
2. Chasing the Monk's Shadow
3. Fried Eggs with Chopsticks
4. Oracle Bones
5. Red China Blues
6. Riding the Iron Rooster
7. Shanghai: The Rise and Fall of a Decadent City

Thailand:

1. Siam Mapped - Winichakul
2. Forrest Recollections: Wandering Monks in 20th Century Thailand - Tiyavanich
3. A History of Thailand - Baker
   

Laos:

1. Stalking the Elephant King:In Search of Laos - Kremmer
2. Another Quiet American - Dakin
   
3. The Coroner's Lunch

Vietnam:

1. Patriots: The Vietnam War Remembered from All Sides - Appy
2. Vietnam Where East and West Meets - Do Van Minh
3. An Introduction to Buddhism - Peter Harvey

Movies:

1. Wild China
2. China: A Century of Revolution
3. Vietnam: a Television History
4. Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam
5. Globe Trekker: Thailand, Malaysia and Laos
   

Allyson and Pearce