An Anniversary and What's Next...

Three years ago I boarded a plane, tears streaming down my face, saying the hardest goodbyes I've ever had to say. Within that sadness was also a twinge of excitement: I was boarding a plane for San Francisco where I would meet 67 fellow Americans bound for the adventure of a lifetime in Mongolia. Three years. THREE YEARS! Countless triumphs and failures later, I'm now facing my departure from this place. I'm starting to feel that same mixture of emotions: sadness for leaving, excitement for whatever may come next. And whatever comes next starts in 56 days...

In the mean time, I'll be spending the next two weeks near the Russian border with the Tsaatan People doing "Reindeer Camp."  About 20 of us are going up and we'll split into two teams.  I'll be at the West Taiga camp, though both camps will be working on the same projects: life skills (critical thinking, decision making, etc), behavior change initiatives (hand washing, tooth brushing, etc) and English (basic for the kiddos, business/tourist/tour guide English for the adults).  I had to miss out on this amazing opportunity last year as I was serving as the DTM for PST 2013, an amazing opportunity in its own right.  So grateful to be going up to camp this year!

For some info on the area and the people, check out:

Tsaatan Community & Visitors' Center

Before They Pass Away Photos

And, of course, Wikipedia