The last day in Mongolia has arrived and it is bittersweet. I have had an amazing time learning about a culture so different but also so similar to my own. I am excited to go home to my own place and see my family but I will also really miss Mongolia. There is no doubt that I will be returning to Mongolia in the near future.
The last few days of our trip was spent with new friends, shopping, and playing cards. We attended a dinner at the director for ACMS, American Canadian Mongolian Studies. We met a few people who spent there last year teaching English. We got to hear from young people who were around our age who had graduated and then went off to live in a new place for a year. This really inspired me to consider traveling after graduation next year and see more of the world.
For our last full day in Mongolia we ate brunch at our favorite restaurant from our trip. This restaurant has the most amazing fresh gingerale. We ordered them out of gingerale at least once on this trip. We spend most of the day shopping for last minute souvenirs. We went to a cashmere shop. I did not get anything but it is really fun to look at all the cashmere. They have scarves with amazing designs on them such as floral designs, gers and camels, and some that are just colorful. We also went to this store Mary and Martha’s which has amazing things but also an amazing story (I believe someone else wrote a blog post about this check that out). I was able to get my name written in Mongolian script. I also got some other fun gifts for my family and friends.
We had a final goodbye dinner with the people we met. As we were getting ready for bed we saw fireworks outside our window. It was hard to say goodbye to the amazing people and country that I spent the last three and a half weeks in. It was a great way to say goodbye to this country. The city was beautiful, the people were inspiring, and the country made a huge impact on me. I learned a lot about myself, about women leaders, and about how special Mongolia is as a country.