Two weeks to go!!
on Sarah in Mongolia (Mongolia), 30/Sep/2009 20:12, 34 days ago
This time in two weeks I will be sitting on my Korean Air plan ready to take off hopefully with all my worldly goods on the plane as well!Thankfully I have managed to negotiate with my two airlines and they have increased my luggage to 30kg which gives me a bit more to play with. There is just so much winter stuff that I have from my time in Chicago that it seems silly to leave behind and buy new stuff out there. Also I am not sure they will have my clothes or shoe size so I figure I had better go prepared!!I have also started the slog of learning Mongolian. It is very tough and although I now can (or think I can) pronounce around 10 words/phrases in mangled Mongolian I am not sure I will understand anything that is said to me and I certainly cannot read or write any of the Cyrillic alphabet. I am working on it though and I hope when I have no choice and am in full immersion I will pick it up a little. I do have a translator for work so that is a huge relief!I have one week left in work and everyone has suddenly realised I am leaving so it is a little strange to be handing over tasks and projects that I have been working on for weeks/months. I am imagine this will be one of my big challenges in Mongolia. The whole point of me being there is to share my skills and this involves training my colleague and letting her do as much as possible. This is something I do not find easy but hopefully I can work on it when I am away.I am having my massive fundraiser this weekend which has spiralled out of control a bit. From 1 pot of curry for all to a hot curry, mild curry, veggie curry and a non-curry (without onions or garlic for all the difficult people ;)) There are going to be between 50 and 80 people at my house, we are hoping for about 60 and we are cooking up a storm. Of course Mum and I have been practicing our recipes for the last week so I am completely sick of curry, literally and figuratively as it doesnt agree with me! My goal target is 900 quid for VSO and I have already raised over 250 so I am hoping to get 650 from my curry night, fingers crossed!Between my fundraiser on Saturday night and Harvest services in church all day Sunday I am going to be shattered! Just ready for the leaving do's the following week - drinks with the work girls on Wednesday, Mongolian movie with school friends on Thursday, Dublin on Friday, Mums birthday on Saturday I am going to be ready to leave!!