JUNE 8, 2009 MONDAY

note: When I wrote these journal entries, I didn't plan on making them "public", they were a requirement for the course and they were a way for me to reflect on my experiences. So, some may seem odd...but...here they are anyway!

HOW DID I GET HERE?

I often wonder how I manage to get myself involved in the things I do. Last summer I ended up in Greenland and spent 6 weeks at the "Summit" of the ice sheet, helping a team do atmospheric research. This summer I am off to Mongolia!

To reflect on how this (Mongolian) adventure came to be, I have to go back to the training I went through for the Expedition to Greenland.

Cameo Slaybaugh, another teacher who was a part of PolarTREC (the organization that sent me to Greenland) had talked about this opportunity she had fallen into that takes teachers to far off places to experience the wonders of the world. The organization was Earth Expeditions. Fast forward to one year later and I recieved an email from Cameo telling me all about her Earth Expeditions trip to Africa. I looked up the website and found that EE was offering a Masters Degree program.

I applied. I waited...anxiously. I doubted...and...I waited.

When I got the acceptance letter I nearly collapsed! I had doubted myself into accepting denial from the program, but, alas, I was in! AND, THEY WERE SENDING ME TO MONGOLIA!!!

баяртай, сайн сууж байгаарай
(Mongolian: "Goodbye" pronounced: bayartai)