Hello!
I am back in the U.S. and I have been for almost two weeks which is crazy to me. It’s already the end of July! This whole summer is just flying by. I still don’t feel completely back to normal from flying back home. I get hungry at weird times and I’m always falling asleep during the day and feeling wide awake at night.
So manholes were super dangerous to walk on in Mongolia and we all looked out for them and avoided them very diligently. Now that I’m home I am doing exactly the same thing even though I know I can walk on them here. I have been going out of my way to avoid them, it’s the weirdest thing. I have also been pointing with an open hand instead of one finger, something they do in Mongolia. It’s funny to me how being there for three weeks has caused me to be a little different back home when I’ve been in my own culture much longer.
I’ve been thinking about it and I don’t really think I experienced culture shock. Before I left, people kept telling me to prepare myself for culture shock- either for when I first got to Mongolia or when I flew back to the United States. I learned a lot of things in Mongolia and the culture was very different, but it wasn’t shocking. A lot of the time I didn’t even feel like I was in another country, it was just so modern. The only thing most of the time that really made me feel like I was in another country was the language barrier, but many people spoke English. It was surprising the amount of people that knew at least some English. And I think all of the restaurants had English menus. I don’t think the U.S. is as accommodating.
Coming back didn’t shock me either. Of course it is different from Mongolia, but it felt just as it always had, except I thought I kept hearing people speak in Mongolian but it was just English. I enjoyed my time in Mongolia but I am happy to be home. I am enjoying sharing my experience and pictures with friends and family. Everyone has been surprised with how modern Mongolia is. A lot of people were very skeptical of me going to Mongolia and I was really happy to share with them what an incredible country it is and I think I changed a lot of people’s opinions on Mongolia. And if they never had an opinion, I am glad I was able to provide them with some knowledge of the country.
Now that I have had time to relax and rest up a bit after the trip, I am reflecting about all of the things I learned. Not just about the country, but a lot about myself and what this means for me as a leader. This is my last blog post and I want to thank anyone who has been reading and keeping up with the blog. We were all so happy to share our experiences with you.
I hope you have been inspired to go have your own adventure because now it's your turn! Trust me, it’s worth it :)