Thursday, May 24, 2007

Smooth Sailing


Jim here. We are really going to Mongolia.

The last couple of month's have moved along smoothly. We've been able to save the money we want, get our legal documents (POAs, wills, etc.) in order, locate and train successors for my dozen or so bookkeeping clients, and pay many visits to many dear friends. We had a fantastic 10 days in Vieques in April, and in May we moved from Weston, VT to Spofford (Chesterfield), NH. With a beautiful day and the help and company of Mace, Kelly and Dave Wicker, Tom Spiro, Julie's brother Matt, Diane Goodman, Ron Mack, Betty (Marm) Zinn and Stu Carswell, how could anyone go wrong? Thanks to you all, kind friends.

We leave for a 2-day orientation in Atlanta May 31st, and then on June 2nd, fly 15 hours to Seoul, So. Korea. From there it's a couple of hours to Ulaanbataar, Mongolia's capital. Julie and I may be in the same training group, though that's not likely. We do know we'll be living with separate host families. While living apart will be a real test of our resilience as individuals, we appreciate the policy to fully immerse us into the culture. We understand that removing the avenues to English-speaking will speed our learning of the Mongolian language. It will be more than a little daunting, too.

Our going away party on the 27th will be a major highlight for us -- so many wonderful people. We will deeply miss our family and friends. I trust that the Mongolian experience will be an intense ride and I look forward to hearing from folks to bring me smiles from home.

We tell ourselves that we're handing our fates over to the universe and we'll see what positive comes of it. Knock on wood; so far, so good.