Having our кекс and eating it

These last few entries always seem to have me apologizing for how rarely I post nowadays. I'm gonna take this opportunity to stop saying sorry and instead admit that I don't have as much time for this blog as I used to. Which makes me kinda sad, cause I like marking all this stuff down and letting the interested parties back home keep up to date. I'll try to post more often, but we'll see.

The other thing I've been tending to do is give the excuse that we've been so super busy, and I'm gonna keep right on doing that one, as the last month has been no exception. Of course there's been all the craziness of work and secondary activities (there we are with our ACCESS students above) and what-have-you, but then, starting a couple weeks ago, it went to a new level when we realized there was a family medical situation back home that needed our immediate attention. We'd known about it for a while and had always viewed it quite seriously, but we were sticking it out until the last minute, since we thought we would have to quit Peace Corps in order to be there for the people we love. So we called PC and told them we were going to have to head home, but Ellen, our country director, recommended that we apply for emergency leave instead. If granted, this would allow us two to four weeks to be home with family in this time of need, as well as give us the option to return to our service if we felt comfortable doing so, and all on PC's bill! We decided to go for it. Unfortunately we were denied, so we started packing up and transferring our projects and saying goodbyes (see our aimagmates rocking out at our going-away karaoke sing-off below). Then, the day before we were to leave Choibalsan, Ellen called us back. At the behest of our ill family member, PC had reconsidered the case and changed their minds! We're not 100% sure that we'll return, but we're incredibly happy to be able to have the chance to do so, and so is everyone else, both here and at home.


So now we're in Ulaanbaatar. We got here yesterday. It's the middle of the night, but, in an attempt to get a head start on the jet lag, I'm not sleeping. In five hours, we fly out. It's crazy to be headed back to the states so soon, especially without having to fork out any dough for the trip, but we feel very blessed. We're lucky to be part of an organization that values its volunteers so highly. Sure, we've had our issues with Peace Corps, but I think this experience has once and for all affirmed that they do indeed care about us. Quite a lot. We were in the office today signing paperwork and tying up other loose ends, and everyone we saw was overwhelmingly supportive. Our friends, Mongolian and American alike, have been wonderful as well. Back when we thought we were leaving for good, many volunteers went out of their way to let us know how sad they were we were going and how much they would miss us. The people we work with, while very upset to be losing us, were completely understanding and wished us the best of luck, even going so far as to take up collections for our family back stateside. If there's one thing that can be said for these people, it's that they care an enormous amount for their loved ones, and they understand that nothing under the Great Blue Sky is more important.

I'll try to keep posting from America, but hopefully we'll be back in Choibalsan before long to finish our service (barely half a year left!). If not, well that's how it goes, and we won't regret that decision for a minute. You gotta admit, the Mongolians are right about this one.