Jessica Ramsey

Good luck guys! I am so pumped for you guys and your new adventures. Live it up and soak it all in. Its an amazing experience and it happens very fast. It comes up and you get on that plane and then you realize you have to head back and go home. Thats probably the worst part of it all. Fiji sounds so exciting and Im so happy for you all. Live the name of the program and do it up 2011 style though no one can do it like us. Just kidding
Congrats and I hope to see you in Fiji because one of you is getting me in your luggage. Lucky you:)

It’s an amazing ride and the time of your life. Buckle up your seat belts and get ready for the ride of your life. Remember though that its not all about the change your going to make in peoples lives but the changes that are going to occur in yours. As a wise person said, who got quote on the board by Matheny herself, ” you don’t go out and find change, change finds you”. That was by me by the way if you didn’t get it. It doesnt come in a little box with a ribbon addressed to you, you have to wait and see what comes up. It’s your time to shine. It’s your trip. Your adventure. And your job to hold of the name of Global Perspectives. It isn’t easy but it’s do-able. See you in class because you know we will all be attending. Good luck everyone and congrats.

My sleeping patterns have not gone back to normal yet that is why i can safely say I’m wide awake writing this but yet i still feel drowsy. I believe i feeling drowsy for one reason. I miss Mongolia. I miss waking up early and going upstairs to eat the same tiype of breakfast every morning. I miss going to the worksite and digging with my classmates. I miss the people there who smiled no matter what they were doing or waht time fo day it was. I miss the global crew and all the smiles and laughs we shared together. I miss us. I miss it.

The Sweet Escape is a place where you can see the mountains without any pollution in the air. The Sweet Escape is a place where you can walk down the street and say hello to whom ever crosses your path and receive a huge smile from both everyone you see. The Sweet Escape is living with people who care about you and everything you do even though they hardly know anything about you. The Sweet Escape is Mongolia. It’s day three of the work site and we already have one wall up and everything else is going to be up today. You guys should really see this, it’s completely amazing knowing that we did this ourselves and that we have the will power to do it ourselves. We unload the wood, we hammer the nails, and we transfer everything to build up this school in which WE built. So far we’ve met tons of new people and made friends who are the sweetest people ever. They want to know your life story as soon as you meet them and they remind me of my friends back home who I miss. The workers here treat you like family which is great to see to help us with missing our own familes. The teachers have been great they are so dedicated to us and they’ve been also like family. Don’t worry mom Kippan’s got me covered with everything I need and she’s given me mom hugs that she says are from you. I miss you and I’m really excited to tell you all my stories. The people here are just wonderful they care so much and they are so welcoming. Here you can go up to anyone and just sit down and talk to them. They are proud of who they are and what they have and they know how to make due of what they have. It’s really mind-boggling to think that we go to the mall every lunch and buy food in which we probably can get at home but we buy it anyways. We went to a total of three cultural nights so far and we’ve had  complete blast. They know how to get down here, we’ve had a total of two dances and all of them have been completely amazing. The Mongolian kids help but with our new Mongolian words and their customs and everything else we do. I love them all and it’s going to be so sad when we leave. I’m having a ton of fun and I love living with this group. They are totally amazing. RJ hold down the fort until I get home, and I kinda miss your annoyingness! We built our own fire today,just us girls and we feel so proud. We’ve all gotten closer and we’ve all become a lot more appreciative about what we have and what Mongolians have. I’m soaking in every minute of this experience and as everyday goes by a new thought pops in my head about how change is for the better. See you soon guys ! Love you and miss you:) Happy Belated St. Patricks Day Dad and Best Friends ! Hope you guys had fun for me:) I got to get back to my fire and accomplish this huge school. The People here have taught us that it’s not what you have it’s who you have with you and what you make of it. I’m learning mom, it’s a change in the making. Love you.

Obstacles are challenges in life in which we all face and they can hurt you or make you stronger. For us they’ve made us completely stronger and closer as a group. I love Mongolia. It’s beautiful, there’s no other way to describe the feeling when you step off that train and see tons of smiling faces peering at you with eyes as wide as the sea. Being here has made me realize that life isn’t perfect and things happen. Being cold and moving locations, delayed flights, and more have made us realize that we need to embrace the problems and attack them at full force. It’s been an amazing journey and I’m trying to soak up every little thing all at once. It’s purely amazing and I’m excited for what else is too come.
p.s they have mj in mongolia
love you all and miss you.

“every new beginning starts with a new beginning of an end”
- google (it doesnt tell me who)
This reminds me of us. Our end of fundraising which was a new beginning almost a year ago. But now Mongolia is our new beginning. I’m excited.

The trip is in two weeks and I’m starting to feel the nerves and excitement coming my way. I’m so excited and stoked for what’s yet to come and reading through my old entries I’m a super excited kid! I’m also honestly a bit nervous because it’s something we’ve all never done before and it’s kind of crazy going to such a cold new environment. But then again that’s also the exciting part. It’s a crazy thing to think that in a few weeks we’re going to be finally be on the plane that we talked about going on for almost a year now, and we’re going to finally be working our bums off to complete a project that we’ve talked about for yet again, almost a year.
My mom has been really antsy and worried lately about me being “ready” for the trip. She’s been nagging me saying that I need to get this and I need to get that and to call this person and that person. I’ve been prolonging it and saying that I’m going to get to it and that I’m not that worried about it that everything will get done but the truth is I’m really worried. There is so much to do before we leave and honestly, I need to start pretty soon. Getting everything together is going to drive me crazy and make me over think because I’m a “full-load-packer” so this is going to be a real test for me! It’s and exciting test though. I just wanted to put that nagging mom thing out there just incase anyone is feeling the same way. She’s actually talking to me about Mongolia right now, that’s ironic. Got to love her for it though!
I’m stoked to leave and excited for everything new. Excited for the change in culture, scenery and yes even weather! It’s time for new experiences and new connections with everything and yes everybody that will start to happen now and in the next month because in two weeks we are off!

Tears fled my eyes as I peered at Daniel in front of the whole class talking about his life story. In my opinion it’s been the most eye opening experience of this whole trip yet because I felt as if I could connect with him. It was weird because I didn’t know him before all I knew, all we knew, that he was M’s brother and he was an Olympic Athlete. But now I see him as Daniel the person who’s made it through tons of struggles and became a top notch world Athlete but made the time to come and talk to us. I loved how he said I just wanted to be surrounded by people like you. That really hit me and made me think hard about the people whom which we all are today.
As he talked about our education and how we have to strive hard in school because it’s our background I felt myself seep lower and lower in my chair. I’ve slacked really badly in school this year and I think it too me all this time to realize it. I’ve always done well in school and I honestly believe I can do a whole lot better than how I’m doing right now. It scares me to think that I may have sunk so low that it will be hard to dig myself out again but Daniel for some reason opened my eyes and made me believe that I could do it. I would be that girl who does well in school again. It’s taken me this long to realize I’ve messed up and I’m believe that it wont take me this long to learn how to fix it. It’s crazy to believe that things can change over years and that change is in the air. I’m not good with change. I never have been and I hope that will take a drastic toll and change for the better for me, if that makes sense because in my head it does.
Daniel brought tears to my eyes and I really wish he was coming on our trip with us because I think he would be an asset to our group. He and Matheny are really alike both great at telling stories that intrigue us and make us want to stay in our hideous princess suits while we stroll into the classroom late, no big deal.
It was a real eye opener and I’m grateful and honored to share this experience with him, and all of you. Thanks for being you, everyone.

As I entered class today nothing gave me the idea that the Big H would let his guard down and tell us what’s up with him and how everything changes in a matter of seconds. Hammer’s one of those guys who is rough on the outside but a kind one on the inside and most people don’t get to see that side of him unless you deal with him a lot, which happened in my case. Hammer’s been my teacher throughout high school, one in PE, another in peer tutoring, and now in this class. He’s been my soccer coach from the way beginning and hopefully be returning for my last year as well. I don’t consider him as a teacher, more as jokester with a lot of heart and hidden passion for what he does.
When I found out the Big H would not be able to embark on our Mongolian journey with us tears filled up my eyes and honestly it had me asking the question why? Why did this have to happen? But then I realized that unfortunate things happen to the people who can handle it the most and you Hammer are one of the strongest guys I know. Not many could do what you’ve done and be out there giving 150% in everything they do, but you’re different.
Looking at the trip now gives me the same excitement and urgency but a different vibe. I know that this decision is the best for us and for Hammer but its still upsetting to hear that one of the coolest teachers isn’t coming on the trip with us. We all know it’s for the best and we are all excited about letting you know our stories and telling you the funny insiders which may not make sense but after a while I think you will be in the loop!
I’m looking forward to letting you know the insights of Mongolia and hopefully it will feel like you came and embarked on the journey with us! I support your decision one hundred percent and am hoping you make a fast and healthy recovery. We’ll miss you Hammer but don’t worry with our stories you won’t miss a thing !

Winter break. Oh boy, where do I even start! Well first off I hope everyone had a fantastic Christmas and I hope Santa was good to everyone! This break has already gone by so fast and though it’s not over yet it feels like it will be over tomorrow and school will start up again! It just makes me think, three months were half way across the world heading to Mongolia on a journey in which is so soon. I don’t think we realize how soon the trip is. It’s really only a short time away and it’s getting more and more exciting each time I write a blog entry! It’s almost like this is it, let’s do it! So here’s to the months in the past of hard work and teamwork and to the months counting down to our trip with more hard work and family bonding! 2010, it’s our year.