Blogger tells me I have 1000 blog posts with this one. Guess that says something, not sure what. I sure everyone is still reading these.
Last Sunday was Woman’s Day here in Mongolia, held on the same day world-wide as International Woman’s Day. Here it is a very big deal, a national holiday even. Since it was on Sunday, a lot women either took Friday or Monday off. Just to give a comparison, Soldier’s Day is in two weeks (like Veteran’s Day, but also considered Man’s Day) and it is not a national holiday. Women Rule in Mongolia!
I have some of the greatest nieces and nephews in the world but I want to tell you about the coolest grand-niece a guy could ever have. Gabrielle is one of my brother Chris’s grandchildren. She’s 10 and for a school project they wrote letters. Gabby was so excited to be able to send a letter all the way to Mongolia. That was in November. I’m such a bad uncle that it took me till now to finally write a reply and got it in the mail sent to her school. I did ‘phess’ up and send her an apology and she sent back:
“You’re not a bad uncle at all. You’re the best uncle after Shaun (her uncle and my nephew). And don’t hesitate about the letter. And don’t worry. We don’t get out of school till May.”
I think Spring is finally getting here. Wednesday it was warm enough we even had a snow storm, snow just like at home. Not a common occurrence here in Mongolia since it is so cold and dry. And by Sunday, we’ll hit the ‘definitely spring’ ZERO C (36F). Yippie!
And if all that isn’t enough to shout about, the Ani’s have returned. Yes, last week Ani Tsultrum returned from Kopan Nunnery in Kathmandu Nepal. And with her, she brought a new nun, Ani Samten who has the energy and laughter of a teenager. I am so happy to have the Ani’s back, and not just because of their cooking. During the week, they will be at the Dolma Ling Nunnery but on weekends, we’ll see them here at the Center. We have decided to work on their English and since they speak Tibetan, I will teach them with Geshe Tenzin on Sundays. I was able to find an English book for Tibetans online and printed each one a copy. I’ll let ya’ know how it goes.
And with Tsagaan Sar and spring right around the corner, I’ve decided to do things a little different in this ‘new year’. But maybe I’ll save that for another post. [smile]
And here’s one final pic of, you guessed it, the Ani’s cooking for Jim yet again. How is a guy supposed to loose any weight around here!
