Our farewell tour

My parents, 2004The day my dad diedThe day after my mom died I'm writing this from Palm Desert, California, which we're visiting for the weekend. It's probably my last time here, and it may be Emma's, though this town has been part of our family history since my parents moved here in 1994. I've spent … Continue reading Our farewell tour →

How it all began

I am writing a book based on our experience in Mongolia, and this morning I wrote out how it all got started. People still ask me how we ended up going to Mongolia. Here's how: The email subject line was “Teach in Mongolia?” It was from a professor in my department at UCSD, sent out … Continue reading How it all began →

What we miss about living in Mongolia

Our view of Misheel Expo and Bogd Khan Uul on our last day in Mongolia Now that we are back in the US, our experience of Mongolia has entered a new phase. We both miss it and talk about our life there a lot. Emma of course misses her friends. She had her first couple … Continue reading What we miss about living in Mongolia →

Reentry

Approaching San Diego As usual, I am not writing in chronological order. If I were, there are many posts in line ahead of this one. But this is what has prompted me to shake off the jet lag and get back to writing. Coming back to the US was hard. Very hard. We were only … Continue reading Reentry →

Wrapping up the school year at MIU

They threw us a party We only have two weeks left in Mongolia, but for those who have just discovered this blog, don’t worry – I have at least a year’s worth of posts left. There is so much I haven’t written about yet, and quite a lot I’ve started writing about but haven’t had … Continue reading Wrapping up the school year at MIU →

Random things I’ve found interesting about living in Mongolia, in no particular order

Random skullCar free day It’s the end of the semester here, and I have a lot of things to get done as a result. It’s going to be hard for me to write a blog post for the next week or so. But I know I have a number of regular readers now, so I’m … Continue reading Random things I’ve found interesting about living in Mongolia, in no particular order →

Some thoughts on being a foreigner in Mongolia

Today we were at a place called Zaisan Hill for Emma’s 13th birthday party. It’s an upscale entertainment center, with a movie theater, a trampoline park, a food court, a spa, coffee shops, and a wedding chapel. It’s just down hill from the Zaisan Memorial, which we haven’t visited yet. We’ll make it there before … Continue reading Some thoughts on being a foreigner in Mongolia →

The next four weeks, and beyond

I got up this morning (it’s 4:30 am) to work on my research project, but the Internet is down. This has happened a lot this week, after several months of pretty good service in the dorm where we live. The WiFi on campus has also started to be more erratic than usual. There are a … Continue reading The next four weeks, and beyond →

Nothing lasts forever…

The time we went out for my birthday It’s becoming official that we are not staying in Mongolia after this academic year. I had kind of hoped that we might both love it here, but only one of us does, and practically, staying for another year or two isn’t going to work. I have told … Continue reading Nothing lasts forever… →

Expat Kids: Living the Mobile Life

At the end of orientation day. She wants you to know she's not really that excited. Just photobombing. It’s been a while since I woke up with writing on my mind. There are many things I want to write about, but I’ve been in the midst of a period of exhaustion. I needed a little … Continue reading Expat Kids: Living the Mobile Life →