March 20, 2010 – What an experience!

The other day after I blogged, I was quite upset and angry, and was releasing that emotion by working 108345 times more efficient that I normally was.  What happened?  Well, while we were digging a big hole for the outhouse for the school, a technique some brilliant classmate discovered was that by making fire and burning it onto the clay-like soil, not only will it provide us with warmth from the cold, but it will also soften the soil.  And so that’s what we did.  However, while burning the fire and trying to keep the fire going, one of the local Mongolian workers threw a car tire in there.  And when I tried to talk to the Mongolian about how wrong it was and asked why he did that, his response was that “oh, it’s okay, we have so much fresh air around us so it’s okay.”  I was angry by that because just because the village is fortunate enough to be located in this beautiful land surrounded by mountains, and is not incredibly urbanized and filled with many cars and cement street roads, does not mean that they can do pollute the environment.  In fact, there is actually a big nasty factory that is producing a lot of black smoky carbon dioxide everyday, apparently to keep the city’s water warm.  I think that just because they are fortunate enough to have a lot of clean air around them, that does not justify their actions because the pollution will not be “balanced” out by the clean air.  By burning a tire there, yes, although it does keep the fire going, it was harmful to the environment and to our health.  So with that, instead of arguing with the villager, I was angry and expressed that through digging the whole aggressively.

I guess this is partly why I am doing what I am doing.  This is why we are building a school  Even though I was extremely upset and angered, I hope that by building a school, we can change the attitudes people have for the better, and change the future generations so they won’t repeat the same mistakes they may be doing right now.  By providing them education, we can pass on the knowledge and pass on the message.

Yesterday I was fortunate enough to work with the dental team.  Wow, what an experience! I loved it, absolutely loved it.  Guess what?  I got to pull someone’s teeth out (more than one person’s actually), and get to put that needle thing in to make the patients’ mouth numb.  It was SO cool!  I got to help people of all ages.  I learned so much from that short 3 hours or so.  I remember how I was really new and clumsy and did not think I was helpful at all.  In fact, I was really scared of the blood and the sight of the teeth being pulled out when watching the dentist.  I thought that I would not be able to do the same when the Peter asked me whether I want to give it a try or now.  Nonetheless, towards the end, I was starting to get the hand of it and began to become more comfortable with what I am doing and what I am supposed to do.  Yes, the injecting of the needle and the pulling teeth was really fun, but do you know what was the best?  It was seeing the smiles and the people’s face.  I remember one man who was extremely thankful afterward, and he thanked the dentist and I from the heart (he showed that by shaking our hands and then putting his hand on his left chest =D).  I almost cried because it was so touching.  And I remember how I was helping a few kids, and afterward, the kids remembered me when I left the room, and said good bye to me.  Oh, the kids are so adorable.  Mongolian children and babies are the cutest!  I remember how I was pulling this man’s teeth out, and he wanted to keep it in the end, and he was so thankful of me because he has been in pain for the longest time. His teeth were so decayed and rotten, I could not imagine how the man could have lived through the days with the kind of teeth he had.  I learned so much, and that experience definitely gave me the confidence I want and need to pursue what I want and dream of.  =)  Thank you!!!!!

Okay, I won’t drag on now.  It’s snowing right now =) So pretty!  Ahhh, I still miss the foods at home, the chicken wings and all the good food, but guess what?  We got Mongolian BBQ yesterday, the real deal~  Now that was yummy! ^^  Anyways, That’s really it for now.  Take care folks back home! =D