Expectations vs. Reality

Not everything in life can go as smoothly as we plan it. Sometimes we expect more of ourselves and our plans than we can actually do.

This is the case for Mongolia. I wanted to come to Mongolia to learn from the locals and help the people around me. I believed that I could conquer this trip and was prepared to be there. I did not realize how difficult that truly would be.

After some time in the country, I realized that I had made a mistake by going. I was not prepared for the difficulties I faced and I felt abandoned and isolated. The hospital was not what I expected and there was little regard for the feelings of the mother. For people who know me, I am very passionate about mothers and babies as well as the birth process. I believe it should be celebrated and treated with respect not violence and disdain. 

I am not a person who gives up easily and I fought hard to be able to stay. After much contemplation and weighing of all of the options, I decided it was best to return home. I was honestly concerned for my safety because of incidents that occurred on the streets and I was not willing to compromise my safety. 

Now all of this is not to say that everything was bad in Mongolia. I had an incredible host family. They welcomed me into their home with open arms and I became very close to them. I learned from them and laughed with them. 

Mom and sister

Great homemade food. 

I know many of you were looking forward to hearing about this trip and I am sorry to disappoint. I believe very strongly in self preservation and making sound decisions. The decision to leave Mongolia was made in a sound state of mind with no reservations or regrets. I believe that visiting Mongolia could be an amazing experience but integrating yourself in the life and work as an alone American woman is a different story. 

I have returned home with a greater appreciation for America. I believe our healthcare system is backwards in many ways but has also evolved by leaps and bounds to benefit our patients. I am greatful for the many blessings I have and even the chance to go to Mongolia and experience things for myself no matter how it worked out. 

Thank you so much for following my blog these last few weeks. I have enjoyed sharing my experiences with you.

Orientation Day

Today was my first full day in Mongolia. I slept in a little and my host sister made me a huge breakfast. Way more than I could ever eat but it wasn't bad. I'm not sure what alot of it was though. Sometimes it's better not to ask questions. 

My host family is very kind and the apartment is nice as well. The best part is they have wifi so I don't have to leave to communicate with people. 

My bedroom

The hallway 

Living room

My sweet sisters

My orientation day started at 1130. A projects abroad worker picked me up and we took the public transportation to the office. I had a small orientation there about the medical placement and the dos and donts of being in Mongolia. We had Korean food for lunch...still not a fan...and from there she took me to the center city. She pointed out all the shops and important places to know while I'm here. It was a great way to see the city for sure. Here's a few pictures of what I saw today. 

Games in the park

Blue sky building

The central square

Gorgeous mountains creeping up behind the city

I learned that Mongolians don't drink water. It's for sale bottled everywhere but they just don't drink it so I got myself a huge water! Also, I'm probably going I die on public transportation or get but by a car before I leave here. Apparently you're just supposed to cross the street when you feel like it and hope the cars stop...not reassuring...

And when they say developing country, they mean it. Most of the buildings are stopped mid construction and the ones that are built have been around since the 40s and 60s. But the little glimpses I caught of the countryside are incredible. I can't wait to go out there. 

Now I'm resting because I'm still exhausted from traveling and Israel. I'm not sure when my host parents come home but I'm sure dinner will be an adventure as well. I promise to post about it if it is. 

Mongolia!!

Today has been another very interesting day of travel!

I took a taxi to the airport and the driver was Palestinian so we got to hear all about that for a second time since arriving in Jerusalem. It's interesting to get the other side of the story but it can be exhausting!

The airport was slightly chaotic and I had no idea what to expect. Security and customs were all wrapped up into one area so I was questioned and then my bags went through xray only to be hand searched on the other side. They didn't take my pottery though!

Then there was a passport check, another round of security and passport control where they questioned me again about why I was here and why I was traveling alone to Mongolia. 

Waiting to leave!

Once on the other side, everything was much like American airports. I boarded with no problem and even had a window seat. The Korean air flight attendants have the best uniforms and were so kind. I had dinner which was a Korean rice and veggie dish that I definitely wouldn't recommend and breakfast was an omelette because I was too scared to try the Korean porridge.

I watched Les Mis because we spent the last week singing the songs and there were no screaming children on the plane. I can handle the rest of what comes with a 10 hour plane flight. 

Seoul, South Korea

There was another round of security checks when I arrived in Korea and by now I'm a dang expert! The airport is very nice which is great because I had a 4 hour layover to hang out in it. 

The flight the rest of the way to Mongolia was uneventful other than some crazy turbulence and more strange Korean food.

I am officially in Mongolia. My host family is beyond kind and has a very nice apartment with wifi which already makes me feel more secure. Silly I know. Tomorrow I have my orientation of the city and ProjectsAbroad office.

I will admit though...I now know the meaning of culture shock.

Saying Goodbye

It's that time. I have to leave Israel today. I love this place so it makes me sad that I have to go even though I know the next leg of my adventure will be just as incredible if not more.

When I take time to reflect on this trip, I realize that I am more than blessed to have the opportunity to come here and to be here with people that I care so dearly about. 

And then a few more things come to mind...

Like the dirt. There was so much dirt. All the time. The picture above is from day 1 of the dig and we're all so clean! I think everyone wore the same clothes all this week because we were already so disgusting that we didn't want to dirty up more clothes... It's been two days without digging and multiple showers and I still don't feel like I've gotten all the dirt off of me. You dig all day, take a shower and watch so much dirt come off, but when you run the towel over yourself, the towel is covered in dirt! I've never been so dirty in my whole life and I have no desire to be that dirty ever again.

Then there's the manual labor that makes you so dirty. This trip has taught me I am definitely not cut out for manual labor like hauling dirt and moving stones. No thank you!

The definition of walking distance here is silly. Their definition of walking distance is far beyond what mine is! I definitely got my exercise.

And finally I've eaten more pita here than I ever thought I would. I don't think I'm ever going to eat pita ever again. It's delicious but I've had more than my fair share.

On the flip side...

Jerusalem is a magical city. It's hard to describe the feeling of walking on the ground where Jesus walked. The old city at 5am is silent and peaceful, but so active on the way home. The sun rises over the Mount of Olives in the morning and although it is hot, the breeze keeps the temperature comfortable.  The people are incredibly kind and make the experience even better. It is a city that everyone should experience once in their life. You can feel the spirit of the city and the holiness as you walk.

Plus, as I said before, I got to come experience this city with some of the people who are the most important in my life. The other Levine's are like my second family and I got to share this trip with them.

Along with the Levines, I got to meet people at the dig from all over the world. All of these people came together to work on the dig and learn about archeology in one of the most historically significant cities in the world. When you spend 5 days a week digging at 5am for two weeks together, you really get to know the people around you. It's a special kind of friendship when you can ignore the fact that everyone's been wearing the same clothes every day and you don't notice the dirt anymore.

Sweet Larry. 78 years young and worked harder than anyone else.

All of that above basically means that I had an indescribable trip to Israel. I loved every moment of it and wouldn't change a thing. Even the 430am alarms. I am so glad this was my first trip abroad because it has been truly life changing.

I board the plane tonight at 11pm in Tel Aviv to head to Mongolia. I know that Mongolia is going to be incredible but I am slightly nervous right now. I have a 10 hour plane flight to Seoul, South Korea...yippee... 24 hours from when I leave Israel, I will be arriving in Mongolia. The next time you hear from me, I will be in Mongolia!!

Last Fun Day in Jerusalem

Welp today was my last full day in Jerusalem. Well technically I have tomorrow but that's a packing and travel day so it doesn't count. 

I had to take someone else to the hospital this morning again so I missed the trip to the Israeli museum but I still had a good day. 

The hospital is full of all of this interesting artwork that I wanted to share!

What's better than a chandelier made of saline syringes?

Belly casts!! My fav!

I had fun looking at all of the art while we were there. Especially the belly casts. They had ultrasound photos on them! Too cool!

Dr. Z and I went back to Mamilla mall again today to fill prescriptions and decided to stop and have a fabulous lunch. I had a croissant with scrambled eggs and cream cheese and tomatoes and onions. I think it was the most protein I've had in a week and I got an ice chocolate and pastry to go. I think I've had a food high since then!!

Crazy balloon animals at the mall

Half of the pastry counter

On the way home, I stopped to see my favorite person in Jerusalem. The Armenian potter. He was as kind as always and we had a wonderful conversation. It was so sad to have to say goodbye because we really came to love and appreciate him over these two weeks!

When I was trying to leave the old city, I got caught in this mass exodus of people trying to get home before Shabbat started. I've never seen that many people in one place at once and there were too many smelly old men running into me! It was overwhelmingly crazy trying to get home. There was even a guy doing a live infomercial for power tools outside the Damascus Gate. 

This is my dinner tonight. 

Don't judge. I know you're just jealous. And yes it's beyond delicious. It's Shabbat so most places are closed. That's my excuse for eating a giant pastry for dinner. 

Tomorrow I leave for Mongolia! Ahhhh!!!!

Shabbat Shalom

Farewell Party

Can you hear the people sing? Singing the songs of angry men. It is the music of the people who will not be slaves again!

ONE DAY MORE!

Today was the last day of the dig and Les Mis songs were playing in my head all day because I thought they were more than appropriate for the situation.

I was in charge of first aid again today. There wasn't much drama but someone did hurt their back very badly right at the end and I had to take her back to the hotel.

We really accomplished alot on the dig and it does give you a great sense of satisfaction to see the progress. Everyone worked so hard with much more energy because it was the last day!!

 Willie's area went down almost 6 feet in 2 weeks!

Willie's area

Dug as deep as Kevin is tall

Joel's area and the cistern

 To be honest, I didn't really think I was going to like this dig as much as I do. If you know me, you know I'm not really and outdoors person let alone a manual labor in the dirt person...But it was so much more. I learned so much and appreciate what these people do more than I ever did. I mean, I basically became a coin expert!

Plus, I made some wonderful friends on this trip. There were people of all ages and from all places around the world here. It was so interesting to spend time talking to them and becoming friends with them. It's so bittersweet to be leaving in a couple days. I really love some of the people here and do wish that I was spending more time with them. I also LOVE Jerusalem. I want to spend so much time in Israel exploring and getting to know the country. That's the bitter part.

The sweet part is that when I shower today, it doesn't feel so futile because I'm not going to be in the dirt all day tomorrow! And I may stand a chance of getting the dirt off my skin in the next week or so since I'm not getting covered in dirt everyday. I've never been so dirty in my entire life. Also, I certainly won't miss the manual labor! Or 430am. Especially 430am!

We had a party tonight to celebrate the two weeks being over and to celebrate the group as a whole. It was so much fun! Here's some of my new friends!

Carston (right) from Germany and Arna (left) from Norway

Yosef!! Our muscle man on the dig

My loves

LARRY! One of my favorite people on the dig

Jo the treasure hunter from London

Josh from Australia

I won't reminisce any more because the trip isn't quite over yet but I did confirm my flight for Mongolia tonight!! Getting really real now!

Tomorrow we get to sleep in until 8am! Best present ever. One more day of fun before the 24 hours of travelling begins!

Suldaka: friendship

Nursing in Israel

Today was quite an interesting day. 

The dig started as normal dig day but I was in charge of first aid. Basically that means putting alot of bandaids on and taking water to everyone throughout the day so they don't get dehydrated. People tend to forget to drink as the day goes on. 

Today started as an easy day. A couple of blisters to wrap up and a few bandaids for other people and lots of passing around water. As I was passing out water on one side of the camp, I heard someone yell my name followed by "she passed out!" So I took off running across the dig to find one of the participants passed out on the ground. She came to pretty quickly but as we tried to move her to the shade, she passed out again. By then we decided to take her back to the hotel. As we're walking to the car, she passed out a third time and wasn't recovering well. 

It was time to go to the hospital. 

After about 4 hours in the hospital, we were discharged. It turned out she was just super dehydrated. There is much more to the story but it would make this blog way too long but don't worry. I took good care of her before we got to the hospital. 

Now I hate when people are sick but this was definitely more in my comfort zone than digging. Plus I got to see the inside of an Israeli hospital. 

It is very much like our hospitals but the equipment is much older and they are not as concerned with sterility as we are. I didn't see nearly as much hand washing or sanitizing as we do at home and there were flies inside which was gross to me. 

The staff was great and I like learning about the way the hospital worked. It's socialized medicine so there was a set price just to come in and the basic tests such as an ECG and blood work. And the wait was crazy long. We practically had to beg to get out of there. 

Definitely more my thing but I'm glad she was ok and I'm hoping there won't be anymore drama tomorrow since it is the last day of our dig. 

We ended our day with a lecture on lamps. Ancient lamps...

I just wanted to do a quick plug for our senior project with the Levine Scholars program. We are holding a dance marathon on campus in November to benefit the Children's Miracle Network and the Levine Children's Hospital. I'm raising money to support both the marathon and the Levine Children's Hospital. If you feel like this is something you'd like to contribute to, I would greatly appreciate it. I set my initial goal to $100 but it is certainly not a limit and the more I raise, the more children we can help. The link below is for my fundraising page. 

http://www.helpmakemiracles.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=donorDrive.participant&participantID=199468

Shukran for your help!

 

Stomach Bug

Welllll, the food finally caught up with us...

First Dr. Z had a bug yesterday after the trip to the university and my turn was today. So instead of going to the dig, I spent the day in bed sleeping which would have been amazing if I wasn't sick!

Plus, apparently someone had a possible punctured lung on the dig site and I missed it! I got a call from the dig at 730 asking me if I had a stethoscope so it got to participate and not me! In something medical for once! I was so sick I thought I imagined the phone call...

I got up and rolling around lunch and ate the brat diet to make sure I was still good. That was amazingly easy to do! 

We had a walking lecture with Dr. Gibson at 5 today. The sites he took us to where actually places we had been on a previous tour but we were getting more of an archeological perspective and learning about his excavations. 

 Dr. Gibson speaking on the steps Jesus would've taken to see Pilate

How Marika felt about hearing and seeing the same lecture again...

We went back to the area where Jesus was judged by Pilate and heard about the excavations there. Dr. Tabor pointed out the fact that along the area where Jesus would have been beaten, there were thorn bushes that naturally flourished in the location. He said it would have been natural for the guards to reach over and grab some for the crown of thorns. 

Green thorn bushes

We also went to the tomb of King David today. This time we were able to go in and it was also separated into men's and women's sides for praying. 

The supposed tomb of King David.

After the tour we headed to Jaffa street which is a more western side of Jerusalem and had burgers for dinner. The meat always tastes just a little funny to me like it might not be beef but I try really hard not to think about that and just eat it because it is much needed protein. 

Jaffa street and the light rail here just like ours in Charlotte

And if course we stopped at our favorite

Place on the way home. The ice cream shop. I had chocolate coconut in a cone and it was fabulous. Yes I eat ice cream almost every day and no I don't feel bad. We walk alllllllllllll the time!

Mutaib: Arabic for how I feel after the dig...tired!