Natasha Lobo

Well it’s been more than 2 weeks since we’ve got back from Mongolia. And since then, I can easily say that I’ve been treading water to catch up with my life. It’s bizarre how fast the two weeks in Mongolia seemed to go by, and now that we’re back so much has changed. With the irregular sleep patterns, congested chest at night and non-stop headaches it makes it difficult to get back into the routine of school and my daily life. But from the many things I’ve learned on the trip, one of them is that “when life gets tough, suck it up and don’t be a princess!” With that in mind, my head is finally above water and I’m surviving :)   

Hey! How was your trip?! How was Mongolia?! Was it cold, didn’t you freeze?! Why’d you go there? Was it worth it? 

These were just some of the questions I was bombarded with when we got back from Mongolia. I’m sure everyone in the class has heard them since they’ve got back too, but everyone’s response is different. My response was repetitive and sometimes hard to formulate on the spot. The thing is, when you’ve had the experience of a lifetime, how do you share it with someone who wasn’t there? How do you even being to explain that one special moment that stood out when you were miles away? Well, it’s unfortunate, but you can’t explain it. You can try, but it’s all in the experience and if you miss that, you won’t be able to fully understand what was going on. The good thing is that even though it’s hard to put into words when you’re asked these questions, you’re facial expression says it all for you.

Whenever I think about our time in Mongolia, I can’t help but smile.

Today marks the last day on the work site, the school is almost complete and the closing ceremony will be held later on today. After that, we’re packing up and spending a night on the train! I can’t believe only a week has passed by and we still have a week to go. Then again, this was the hard week and I know the next week will be more exciting, with all the tours and new places to see. Yesterday I got a chance to work with the dental crew and I was a dental assistant for the day. Now that was cool. The experience was enjoyable but at the same time it was sad. Never in my life have I seen a seven year old boy with so many rotten teeth. The pain he must of felt. I can’t imagine how he got any sleep at night. He was brave though, we pulled out three of his teeth, gave him some fillings and a new toothbrush too! After my job as a dental assistant, a couple of us headed to the market to buy some water. That was the first time I got to see where Mongolians bought their food, clothing and necessities. I miss everyone back at home and I have so many stories to share, but for now since I’m in Mongolia I’d rather be outside sawing wood for the roof of the school! Bayartai!HAPPY BIRTHDAY MIGEH!

Hammering nails into frozen wood planks, making pit fires to soften the icy soil and sawing wood at 45 degree angles pretty much sums up day three on the worksite. It’s hard work during the day rewarded with, well no showers. Instead we party with Mongolians at cultural nights and dance till we sweat. Tomorrow’s another day on the worksite and the day after will be the final ceremony, the pressure is on but knowing us the school will be finished in no time! We are currently living in dorms where the living conditions are squishy and slightly uncomfortable with other students starting to get sick and coughing right, left and center. Oh and how can I forget the washrooms?! Ninety people sharing one washroom, that’s even worse than how we squish twenty-six students in one seven passenger car here in Mongolia. Situations are tough at times, well most of the time but what I’ve learned is that you can’t escape it so you might as well toughen up and get through it! I miss everyone back home more and more every day. I continue to document my trip through pictures and can’t wait to share them with my family and friends back home! Matheny just yelled “times-up!” Bye!

You never know how much you’ll miss something until it’s gone. Everything I don’t have right now I miss; my family, friends and home cooked meals. But so far it has been quite an experience for me. From Vancouver, to Korea, to Mongolia so much has happened in these past few days. Finally I get a chance to blog and communicate with my family. It’s cold here in Mongolia, you wouldn’t believe it. Our first night in yurts and we slept with multiple pairs of socks and all the clothes we owned and it was still freezing. Although we have to pee between two wooden planks and keep from falling in, I’m enjoying the Mongolian food, culture and most of all people. Nicole and Narada, you guys wouldn’t believe how many stray dogs there are here, I myself am surprised how I’m surviving! Mom and dad I miss you both too much. Anyways, I should get back on the worksite now, it’s day two and there’s lots to do, plus my hands are numb without my gloves on. Take care!

Natasha Lobo

I think it’s safe to say that we’ve all taken something positive out of these past two weeks. Although we ran into a few speed bumps, we’ve changed gears and managed to ride on, only stronger this time. I myself wasn’t there for the big class discussion but from what I’ve heard, it went pretty well and apparently many people opened up and said how they really felt.

So I guess now it’s my turn.

When it comes to the topic of asking for or offering help, which one do I lean towards? Well, none. We should simply just act. If a classmate’s struggling, whether they’re carrying boxes or moving a pile of rocks, don’t wait for them to ask for help or don’t ask to help, instead go and help. I know it’s easier when parents or teachers just tell us what they need us to do, but I guess at the same time we’re old enough to do things without being told. We should be living up to our responsibilities and commitments. It’s as simple as that, well for me at least.

Another speed bump that we rode past this week was the issue of segregation amongst our class. I’m sure many would agree that there are times where we separate in groups. A group of people that we get along better with: close friends. Personally, I know that we’re not all best friends, and we don’t have to be. It’s just not normal to be friends with every single person in the class. There might be this one person that you just cannott stand or whom you always disagree with, but the least you can do is hear them out. It’s evident that at first people in class held back what we want to say because they were afraid of their idea being shot down. These past few days however, even though we still have our groups, and even though we’re not all best friends, we still show respect for each other which has made it easier for each one of us to open up just a little bit more.

So I think it’s safe to say that the upcoming week is going to be hectic, for everyone! Starting off with Tuesday, a day that I’m sure most people are absolutely dreading. It’s when everything is due. Our completed videos, maps and deposits. Then on Thursday we have another assignment due. And yesterday I just realized that the Tickle Me Pickle Show is THIS Friday. The show is just around the corner! And finally following that we have the bottle drive the very next day and a parent meeting to along with it. I’m actually excited that we have another bottle drive coming up. It’s one of those events that come with many opportunities to bond and get to know classmates, while getting sticky and getting juice all over your clothes. With so many things going on I have to admit that I’m barely treading water. But for me, it’s easier to get through rough times when there is something waiting on the other that I can look forward too. So even though it’s going to be a busy, nerve-racking, and long week, I have Saturday to look forward to. Bottle drive #2!

Curious to gain more insight about Mongolia I sat down with my laptop and started to skim through articles, statistics and of course YouTube videos. At first glance Mongolia seems quite boring. To me it just looked like a vast land with no culture or life. But looks can be deceiving. After digging deeper, i found that there are some interesting traditions in the Mongolian culture. Everything that I was reading was new and interesting to me, but nothing actually caught my eye. Nothing made me think deeper, until I came across this video. “Mongolia’s street children fight for survival.” It was posted on YouTube and it dates back to August 2007. Although it’s two years old, you can’t be so sure that the conditions in Mongolia have changed. As soon as I hit play, I knew this video would have an impact on me. Seeing a boy younger than me wandering the streets is not something you see here in Canada. “Street children” is the term they are referred to as in Mongolia. As mentioned in the video, almost one third of Mongolia’s population are considered “urban poor.” In Ulan Bator the capital of Mongolia, there are many slums where urban poor people families live. In the video they focus on one of the slums and just from the looks of it, you can see that the people have virtually nothing. With practically nothing, what would you do during winter when temperatures drop to -40? Sadly there isn’t a huge amount a person living in Mongolia could do, especially being a child. There are street children in Mongolia who do work. The little boy in the beginning of the video only got paid around forty cents a day which was just enough for his food and necessities. Although this video ends with an optimistic view, the beginning content really made me open my blind eye. I finally see and realize the hardships that children and families in third world countries have to face. It was hard to watch this video, but it is good to know that you can make a change.

Well, it’s been one of those weeks for me. I’m sure we have all experienced something like it before. Where things are just not turning out the way we would like them to.

As our lives gradually get more jam-packed with things to do, a little bug by the name of stress, starts to take over. Like a virus, stress can easily control how you act, how you think and how you feel. The bug thrives when you don’t eat proper meals or get enough sleep. These are the two common conditions it lives off of. Other conditions include an overload of studies, work and drama. Any tension you have in these areas and you will most likely end up catching that ugly bug.  

The stress bug is contagious, or at least in my point of view. When you are “infected” or stressed out, it immediately affects your friends and close buddies. They are the ones who will notice how the stress bug is causing you to act. Whether it’s in your rude tone of voice, pessimistic attitude or lack of communication with others, your friends are the ones who will put up with it all.  

So how do you get rid of the bug? How do you avoid becoming stressed out?  Wait, is it even avoidable? It’s important to know that stress is a build-up of many small factors. Busy schedules, too much English homework, math tests, Global Perspectives projects, too many work shifts, researching universities, not getting enough sleep or not eating your proper meals per day, are just some of the factors that could cause a teenager to become stressed out. Having said that, I guess the answer is simple; eliminate some of the things listed above. In other words start projects and study for tests earlier. I know it’s hard to do, but do NOT procrastinate! Here’s another thing, don’t skip breakfast. It’s common and it’s something I have to work on myself. And most of all, get a decent amount of sleep each day. You might be proud of yourself that the previous night you pulled an “all-nighter” to finish up an assignment, when really, if you think about it’s not something to boast about. The fact is that you could have handled your time a lot better, finished the assignment and gotten those essential hours of sleep.

Wow. I feel much better now. By just expressing all that’s causing me stress, I feel more relieved. It’s looks as if the bug is finally leaving!

-tasha

Everyone you meet in the world has their own unique style, attitude and personality. For some, the term personality is viewed as the attitudes, interests, behavioral patterns, emotional responses, social roles, and other individual traits that one posesses. Personality simply sums up the true character of a person.

 
Ever since global class the other day I have been thinking about how every person has their own personality. We played a game in class where Matheny randomly handed out sheets of paper, each with a different personality. Everyone in the class received one and was told to move around the classroom and act out that personality. At first I have to admit that I didn’t see the point in this game, but after I started to make my way around the room as the person who was to ”sabotage” everything, things started to come into perspective. I walked around the room, with a cynical and negative personality claiming that the Global Perspectives Program was just a waste of time and it was essentially useless. I was strong with my argument and was really trying to get my point across. However, at the same time I ran into other classmates who had completely opposite personalities and who were also trying to make their own points. After a while of confusion, and stating our own cases and acting out our given personalities I took a minute and looked around the room. All I saw was chaotic nonsense.  With so many voices, all with different things to say, nobody agreed on anything. Hearing eachother is one thing, but listening to eachother is another. This is when we have to understand that although everyone has their personality and opinions to say, we have to take others thoughts into consideration as well. I’m not saying that we have to like and try to become best friends with everyone in the class, but it’s important that respect one and another’s ideas and personalities. I noticed in our class that there are some people with the “boss” role, who do like to step up and take leadership roles, where as there are classmates who simply go around with a positive attitude. Either way, as we discussed just today in class, we cannot compare others to our standards. We are all different people, with various personalities, attitudes and views. And, it’s amazing how we all manage to come and work together in this program. By the end of class I was surprised that one game left me with so many insightful thoughts.

tasha

My first blog!

Well Mongols, I have to say that in the past our fundraisers and events have been successful and fun, but the Steve Nash NBA game on Friday was unconditionally, just awesome. Although we were just there as volunteers raising awareness for the Steve Nash Children’s Welfare program and didn’t get the word out about our own program Global Perspectives, this event was the most worthwhile. By being split up and mixed into groups, I got a chance to work with different classmates. I think the bonding with each other on the night of the dinner carried on and we continued to inter-mingle and become more than just classmates as the night when on. Even though some people walked right past us, ignored us, and/or laughed at us, we didn’t give up and all through the night we persuaded people to make donations. At the end of the night, $1791.00 was raised. Impressive. Team work, determination and a positive attitude does pay off.

And the best part! STEVE NASH.
Whenever I go back and think of the night, all I see is all of us on the bleachers pushing each other and yelling for free t-shirts, totally ignorant of the fact that we were in the presence of Nash himself. The t-shirts went flying up in the air and there then there was silence. Nash spoke. It’s hard to believe, but we were actually speechless, for once. We listened intently and I just couldn’t believe that we were lucky enough to get a personal thank you from Steve himself   

All in all, it was a rewarding night, we didn’t raise money or promote our program but we grew and took one more step towards making our trip the best it could be. For me, it didn’t seem like a night out with just my class, but instead a night out with some amazing friends!