Kimran Johal

Those two weeks showed me more than I ever could have hoped for. When people ask me how the trip was, I find myself at a loss of words. How can I describe the journey so that people who mean the world to me will understand? I have showed pictures, videos, shared stories and I think I have done as much as I can. Anyways, I was prepared thanks to Mr. Matheny, who told us it won’t be the same experiencing something yourself and telling others.  I think the most important part is that though they weren’t there to experience everything with me, they still understand how much it meant to me, which is all I can hope for.

Being back in Richmond after such an incredible adventure feels very strange. For the most part everything is the same here. I feel like I have experienced and discovered so much more, and going back to the same place with this new knowledge is very eye opening. I am seeing my old life with different eyes, like the clarity after wiping away a dirty window. I have started prioritizing everything again because things that seemed meaningful are not anymore. Things I was stressing about seem easier to handle because I see the importance behind them now. I don’t know where I am going with this, but I guess I am still trying to sort it out. I know for sure that though those 2 weeks in Mongolia are over, the learning and processing is still going on. I know others have been blogging about how they miss Mongolia, but I guess I knew it was coming to an end and I know we have all learned so much already from those 2 weeks. Now looking back, we should think about everything we did, what it meant and most importantly how we can use that knowledge to make ourselves and people around us better people.

I am overjoyed that I got to meet so many amazing people, in the village and in my own class. I don’t have enough words to describe how thankful I am to the incredible teachers, our role models who took such good care of us. When you knock those walls and barriers down, you meet the most spectacular people ever. What I am trying to understand is  how can we get to know people so well half way across the world, where you can’t even communicate properly with most of them. While here we are with so many people everywhere, united by a language, yet there are only a few who you trust enough to completely let them in, to get to know them.  I came into this program looking for something, and I have discovered so much more than I ever thought I would.

p.s After reading other people’s blogs I wanted to say that yes I am having issues with the time difference, I have gotten up to find that, surprise, its 2am and I am the only one up. Also I still have the ever so popular cough. But I can’t wait to see everyone tomorrow! It feels strange not seeing everyone, bright and early every morning=)

We just got back from the site, and the school looks amazing. The door and window frames are in; I can’t believe how far we have come! I have become an expert with the saw. It snowed today for a bit as well as yesterday, which made everything look even more beautiful. Yesterday we got a chance to see the local grocery store and also walked in the more rural area. I enjoyed the walk because I got a chance to see where most people live. Everything was more run down, there were cows and animals roaming around and the one picture I couldn’t get out of head was the two little girls, dressed in pink with backpacks skipping in the midst of everything. I guess what I realized at that moment, is that most of the stuff I have at home are not necessary and are meaningless. We have so many extra things, that we think will make us happy, but those little girls were so happy with just the minimum. Another thing I have realized is that people here don’t have barriers like we do back home. They are open to people and don’t hesitate to help each other or get to know each other. I am really going to miss this little town and all the amazing friendly people. I will never forget them.

So right now, I am sitting on a mound of rocks on the construction site and blogging. I can see our school, its very neat how every things coming together, it now actually resembles a school rather than just rocks and dirt. I love how everyone is connecting with each other and the local people. I really feel like I have another family here, though I do miss my family back home, especially today. But what a way to celebrate my 18 birthday, I am so glad to be here. I am learning so much everyday, today I nailed parts of the back wall of the school!  I have experienced and done so much these past few days! t I don’t even get a chance to process or think about something because we are constantly in motion. We are always on the go, either building the school, going to incredible cultural events or talking to the local people. I love how immersed we are in the Mongolian culture, the other day I even went up on the stage and learned the Mongolian traditional dance! I also helped the dentist yesterday and learned the procedures to pull out teeth. I enjoyed holding the patients hands, I could tell from their grip, they really appreciated me there for comfort. We saw a vodka factory, played soccer with a little Mongolia girl and danced with Mongolian teens; (who are as crazy about techno as my brother, which is a lot by the way). Also, I have talked to many local people but we usually just end up laughing because we all don’t understand each other. I am impressed by how much of a western influence there is here, for example today I woke up in the dorm and heard Forever, by Chris Brown blasting from the Mongolian students dorm. The food is amazing, today we had traditional Mongolian food and it was delicious. Also, I am really starting to appreciate everything we have back home like the little things that we take for granted. I love how the people are willing to give us so much when we were here with the purpose to give them something. Yesterday I got a beaded key chain that this guy made, it was really sweet. The little kids are so sweet, all they say is hi than run away. They put a lot of effort in their cultural nights and its amazing how wonderful they are, and they LOVE Micheal Jackson by the way.  I feel so special here, the people always want to take pictures, and I have received so many compliments. Seriously, they people are super sweet and caring, they are ready for anything and are welcoming us with open arms. Words can not express how incredible this experience it is, all I can say is that I really, truly am in love with Mongolia and I can’t believe that just a year ago I didn’t even know where Mongolia was located. To end it off, I have become somuch more closer to other people in my class, its funny how we have to go half way across the world for the chance to get to know each other  well. Okay, I guess I will get back to work now, my time limit is up. I will blog more later!

So much has happened these past couple of days that I just don’t know where to begin. We have gone to 2 cultural nights so far, both of them showed a different side to Mongolia but they were both absolutely incredible. The people are extremely patriotic and love showing us their culture and customs. Watching the shows, it was clear that they put a lot of time and effort in making the shows spectacular for us, and that felt amazing. They are showing us their culture while taking the time to learn about ours. It was so nice connecting with the Mongolian teens. Last night, they just kept coming up to say hi, than giggle and leave. The school is getting there, we have some posts up, cant wait to see the end product!

These past days have been incredible and unforgettable. I have experienced so much already, and its only day 4! The scenery is breathtaking and I can not express how glad I am to have this opportunity to come to Mongolia! These past few days I have learned a lot about Mongolian culture, our group and me. I discovered that I can survive temperatures of negative thirty,that Mongolian people are super nice and are amazing dancers, that even though nothing goes as planned, its okay because it will work out eventually. Maybe things don’t always happen as planned in this case, its never has yet, but that’s why its important to go with the flow, and to not waste time complaining about something you have no control over. Its important to have a positive attitude because everything works out for the better at the end. I am in love with Mongolia right now, I enjoy participating in their customs and traditions and overall they are a bunch of friendly, nice individuals who are winning little pieces of my heart everyday.

                Today’s class refreshed my memory. I recalled those moments and emotions I felt after Daniel Igali’s talk with us. For those who don’t know, Daniel Igali is a gold Olympic medalist champion and has an inspirational story about his road to the Olympics. From a little boy from a small village in Nigeria, going to school in a mud hut to becoming the first Canadian to win a Gold Medal in wrestling his story stirred emotions deep inside. Sitting just 1 metre away as he described his life as a little boy running across the barren fields, dreaming of going to the Olympics to his thoughts flooding his mind as he stood on that Olympic podium was just unforgetable. As he went through his life story, seeing his expressions and the twinkle in his eyes as he laughed about asking people if he could live with them, just made everything seem more real. Yes you hear amazing stories of people’s accomplishments everyday on the news, or in the paper but I couldn’t connect to them. Hearing the story directly from the person is a million times better as it feels more real. As he relived those moments I got a chance to see his life through his eyes which was really special.  I love hearing other people’s stories, and I am so glad he came, I couldn’t even eat my sandwich for fear of missing something! His faith and confidence in his abilities, determination to accomplish his goals and lots of hard work is the path that took him to the Olympics and I applaud him for never giving up. You don’t really get a chance to hear the story of the journey to that gold medal so I am so thankful that he came that day, it was truly inspirational.

                There were many moments when Daniel spoke that made me stop and think, such as how he use to treat education as something he must do in order to reach the next step instead of regarding education as a number one priority. I treat school as something in the way of more important things, but I realize now how important it is. Many people can not receive an education and its sad how much we take for granted everyday. I could be putting a lot more effort into my school work yet I am laid back about everything. Others would kill to be in my spot, for my opportunities while I limit myself by not putting my 100%.  My current attitude is “it’s good enough” even though deep down I know I am capable of so much more,  my parents are right when they nag me to do better, though at the time I just want them to leave me alone. I need to find that drive to accomplish, which I used to have because life is just going to get harder, so I need to figure it out now.  Anyways, things that were prized are now meaningless as they are overlooked. TV’s, washing machines, even clean water have become part of our definition of “normal” .While others struggle to survive we are thriving yet still unhappy or unsatisfied. I am sad to acknowledge that it seems like unless you lose or fight for something you don’t understand the value or importance of it.

                I am glad that Matheny discussed Daniel’s visit today because it reminded me of all those moments in class. I guess in a way I got to reflect over everything, make sense of my thoughts and learn from the experience.  After the class ended, and we thanked Igali,I wanted to share my experience with others yet whomever I spoke to, (who didn’t hear his story) didn’t understand how I felt because they didn’t experience it themselves. I dislike how those moments where you feel a little differently about things, everyone else still remains the same. I mean come on, if I have a Ah-Ha moment everyone else should to! However, unfortunately life is just not like that and everyone has their moment of realization at different times. The same routines, feel different to just you and whoever else experienced the same thing. Not being able to explain why meeting Daniel was so important was unbelievably frustrating!  I soon realized how pointless it was to describe what happened as experience is the connection between people, and my words couldn’t do justice to the story or even begin to describe my emotions. It’s  strange how at one moment you feel strongly and different about something and the next you find yourself caught up again on everyday things. Those moment that seemed AH-Ha at the time start fading, but all I needed was a little reminder, like today which brought me back to the moment when the bell rang, bringing Daniel Igali’s story to a halt.

I can’t believe how fast everything is going by now; instead of driving down a street, I suddenly find myself on the highway and the various exits leading towards different destinations are passing by or coming up quickly. It’s time to make decisions, it’s time to choose and ready or not, it’s time to face reality.  I feel sad to admit that I am still in denial about high school ending as I know what to expect from high school. Life after high school is all new, unknown, and a big, fat question mark.  Questions  echo in my head; what will I do, who will I be but they remain unanswered. I still remember the first day of high school, gazing up at the wondrous “huge” school and thinking to myself how much I will change and discover before I leave. Fast forward and five years later, here I am…taking grad photos, applying to post secondary schools and trying to figure out which exit down this long highway is calling my name.

Thinking back to the girl in grade eight, I have changed a lot and learned so much more, yet I still feel like I haven’t gotten everything out of high school. I feel like I was sleeping a little too long and missed some things. Don’t get me wrong, I am excited for the future, and life out of this high school bubble, especially recently as I have discovered how much there is for us, but I just don’t feel 100% ready. Now I wonder if I ever will be. I guess you are just supposed to take whatever you do know and use that knowledge to make the best decisions possible for yourself. Also I guess I have to stop being afraid of making mistakes, or doing the wrong thing.  From all the people I have talked to about how they picked their career, or how they ended up where they are, it sort of just happened. With tumbles and turns they ended up finding something they liked to do, or something they felt was worthwhile. Hopefully that’s how it will work for me, and I have to stop looking for answers where there are none. I mean you have to experience something in order to know if you really like it, by just thinking about it you don’t get that far.

Anyways on the topic of global perspectives; a couple of classes ago, Mr. Matheny showed us pictures and we had to write down the first words that came to our minds. I thought that was a great class as it showed how people judge each other every day, without even realizing. Our first judgements, based on appearance, can stop us from meeting some truly amazing people. Though I am sure we all make first judgements, keeping an open mind will allow us to be more accepting of different cultures and customs. We can discover so much more about a person when we take the time to get to know them instead of judging them based on their appearance. Our current assignment is called “pay it forward” where we have been divided in groups and given equal amounts of money. We are competing with each other to see which group can make the most money from the starting amount, and all the money will go to a worthwhile cause of our choice. This is going to be very interesting and I am curious to what all the other groups have come up with. My group has come up with many ideas but now we must take action to turn those ideas into a reality.

Today we had a class discussion, and I felt a lot better after the talk because I prefer when everything is out in the open; without secrets, when everyone on the same page. Though I didn’t participate much, I prefer listening to everyone’s opinions about things because that is how I can figure out how I truly feel about something. I need to absorb all the perspectives in order to get a better idea on what’s going on, which is how I make my mind on what’s I think is right or wrong. Usually, I can’t say how I feel about something right away because I need to hear both sides of the story. However even then, sometimes I can’t draw that line because there are always gray areas leaving me confused. I just wanted to mention that because even though I don’t open up and say what’s on my mind right away, I am still taking it all in and in this blog I will try to explain all those feelings/thoughts jumbled in my head.

I am starting to understand how “we are all in this together.” It never occurred to me that something going around in my head might be floating around in another’s and we may all be feeling the same way about certain things or issues. I am starting to appreciate that about this unique program, that our feelings may be mutual; perhaps we are not so different after all. We all have our separate lives, families, likes and dislikes but this program brings us all together.

I am also realizing what this program is about. When I went into this program, I thought that I was here to help others, those less fortunate. What I failed to realize was that this is helping us become better people, or  living up to our full potential. We can all achieve what we aspire to do, be whoever we want to be. We just need that drive, motivation and confidence in our abilities that we can do it; whatever we set our hearts to. I know that I definitely need a push to keep me on track. Mr. Matheny has certain expectations because he believes in us and what we are capable of doing and I GREATLY appreciate this. Thank you!  To all the other teachers as well who put so much time into this program, you are a big part of making global perspectives special and I appreciate all your efforts. THANK YOU:)

Everything we do, have done or will do in high school is all a test for real life. How we deal with situations here will reflect how we deal with problems in the future. I now think of high school as not just a place to learn about math, biology and socials, but as a practice space for us to learn about life. People are the ones who make the lasting impressions on you, they are the ones you will remember the most, not the value of a mole in chem(though I’m sure I will remember that). High school is a place where we can learn about people, the good and the bad. The decisions we make in the future have to be based upon something. Our past experiences are what will teach us the wrong from the right path and will guide us if we go astray. High school is just a huge learning process and every little trivial thing that might seem pointless now will help us some way in the future. Everything has a purpose, even if we don’t see it now. Everything is always a test, to see what we are capable of doing or becoming. Without tests, how do we know where we stand or where are limitations actually lie? Obviously in some tests we do not do as well as we would like, but that is why we learn from it. So we can do better the next time, and maybe even get the satisfaction of proving some people wrong along the way. It doesn’t matter who you were or what you did in the past, I think its who you are now that counts. The person who you come out of a situation/ program/ordeal, that’s who you really are. However even who you are is constantly changing as you go through something new everyday, but that’s how life is…constant motion, constant change.

Global Perspectives; the name is very fitting since it is what I am getting, perspectives of the world, well right now it is mostly the perspectives of others in my class, but in a way; that is my world. Wow, I am beginning to understand a lot and I can’t find words to really explain everything but I hope you get the picture! I am now really excited for what awaits us in Mongolia; there is still so much more to learn and understand. I think I’m ready, or as ready as I will ever be for whatever that is coming next.

(p.s I know I already blogged today, but whenever something comes to my head I am going to try to blog right away, otherwise I end up postponing it /forgetting it  =P)

          So, on Jan.15^th we volunteered at the UBC basketball game. That night was very memorable, and everything ran fairly smoothly. We sold many raffle tickets and made others aware of our cause. The end was not so sweet, however I am glad that everything worked out and everyone got home safely.  Seeing UBC was like a reality check for me because it made me realize how small Richmond High actually is and how much more there is out there for us. I felt very small in comparison and I realized how young I actually am compared to all the students at UBC; who I had to convince to purchase raffle tickets to.  I felt like I was in grade eight again but instead of going into a new pond, this was the ocean. In the middle of all the commotion, students crying their lungs out for their home team, and whistles blowing I realized how awesome it would be to actually go to UBC and say, “this is my school”. The funny thing was, the next day I had a tour booked for UBC and got the opportunity to see more than just the gym; which I’ve had enough of. So going around with my wonderful tour guide, whom I actually knew from the grade eight RHS soccer team (the world is actually very small), I explored the campus and fell in love with it. I have no idea where I will be going after high school but UBC is beautiful. I don’t know if it was just that miraculously, the sun was shining or if I was just in a good mood but I absolutely love UBC. It was my first tour of the whole campus and there are just so many things I want to do and see. I never realized how many options there are out for you. So though I am still dreading leaving high school and making my own way, I am extremely excited that there are so many activities you can participate in and so much available to students. I think I might need to get out more, but I was seriously amazed at all the options. I thought life after high school will just be work, work and more work but there are many things out there for to try, and to experience. All I had to do was look instead of assuming. All you have to do is look, to see it.

       We had our Christmas lunch in on Dec.10^th which went by smoothly as we are all expert servers now. I blew up to many balloons to count as well as organized the prizes and everyone worked well with each other. We used teamwork to get the helium balloon down from our multipurpose room’s ceiling, well most of us just shouted words of encouragement but hey it all counts. The decorations were beautifully set up and everything just went by really fast.

        Time has been ticking away, it is December now and we had to write yearbook comments last week. It is crazy how it has suddenly the time for us to write our final comments, the ones we will look back on the rest of our lives. I found it terribly difficult to write mine and I am sure it was the same for everyone else, as there is just so much to say and we are given only 100 words.  

        My comment did not do justice to my experiences and everything I have learned in high school. However I think that no matter what I wrote I would not be satisfied because firstly, there are so many things I want to say which I couldn’t because of our limit so I had to skip many important things, and most of them are indescribable as you have to experience it for yourself. How can I capture all the thoughts, feelings, emotions in one little box? Though we learn so much through school the real learning experience I believe comes from the people who you surround yourself with or have to deal with and how can I write about all the people who have made my high school experience worthwhile in 100 words? How can I truly show those who have inspired, motivated or helped me through everything how thankful I am that they are there? However I know that all of us grads will understand each other despite our corny, small grad comments because by experience do we understand things, and by our actions do we tell a story or show how much someone means to us.  I have a feeling that it will be the same for this trip, whenever anyone asks how it was we will be at a lost of words to explain what we did and learned as we won’t now where to start. However that is why it’s nice to have 30 other people alongside to experience everything with you, because with them you don’t have to explain anything as they get it and you can instead reminisce about the trip.