Our last day in Erdenet was coming to a close as we headed to the train that would take us to the capitol. The train is oddly patriotic being striped in red white and blue. I kind of expected an eagle to appear in the sky above us. As the boarding process started we realized that the doorway to get into the train was very narrow… narrow enough that a human with a big backpack and a daypack slung across their front like a baby would have a hard time squeezing through. I can’t imagine how hilarious we looked to the locals, a bunch of Americans with an absurd amount of luggage trying to fight our way through the door. A while later we found ourselves in a sleeper car with numerous bunks, sweating from our previous struggles. The bunks being very short and narrow made for an interesting night for my 5’7 frame. The Mongolians on the train had all stripped to their undies and were laying in the bunks already snoring. One window was open near the back of the train and night had fallen, the stars were out and they were beautiful. I stuck my head through the window as the cool breeze ruffled my hair and I soaked in the milky way and sound of the train cruising down the tracks. There’s something calming about the steady rhythmic clickety clack of the train.
We got to our hotel around 7 am the next morning and proceeded to find our hotel and settle in. Debrief is when our whole squad gathers together plus our coaches and mentors from the U.S to just chill and talk about what happened during our first month. I didn’t really know what to expect, August had been very busy but a good month all in all. Little did I know what God had planned.
Looking back now living in Alaska for a year prepared me for the race in so many ways from living in community, personality tests,digging through the Bible,working through forgiveness and healing. As debrief continued that week I realized there were things I had never forgiven and it was leading to bitterness and anger just sitting there without being aware of it.Thats for another time,another blog.
After debrief my team and I got a hostel and have been residing here for the last week trying to get our Chinese visas. The embassy is open three days a week for 3 hours each. Tuesdays are the only day you can “make appointments” for the following two days they are open. We got up at 2am on Monday morning and proceeded to take our happy butts to the embassy and park it outside the gate. The police officer didn’t like that and had us move across the street until 7 when a stampede of people booked it across the street to get a good spot in line. There is a Mongolian “line” and a foreigner “line”,people don’t do lines here though so you have to constantly make sure people aren’t cutting in front of you. We were first in line since we had gotten there early and got an appointment the very next day. We got our Chinese visas today and will be heading out of country soon!! I’ll keep you updated but will not be writing blogs or have internet while in China.
These pictures our from our early morning waits at the embassy.
