Saturday

If you had told me last year that I'd find myself sitting in a ger, eating mutton off the bone, grease running down my arms, after a day of horseback riding, I would have had a hard time believing you. I'm a city girl. And by that I mean I love going to a shopping mall for the afternoon, relaxing in a coffee shop, and flushing my toilet paper down a western style toilet.

But there I sat. I sat in that ger. And I ate and ate. And it was a wonderful day.
Let me start at the beginning...

The bus left at 9:30am to take the North American teachers to the countryside for the day. On the way, just outside of the city, we stopped to ride some camels. Kim's camel, pictured above on the left, bit my elbow.

We also befriended some birds. I held a golden eagle, mostly to win cool points with my brother. The bird was actually pretty heavy.

We continued our bus ride for another hour or so.

We finally approached our campsite. To get there we had to cross a frozen river. In a bus. 

When we arrived, we had some snacks and then went for a ride on the horses. It was my first time on a horse, and I was absolutely terrified.

Later in the afternoon we gathered in a ger to celebrate Passover and Easter. We had a Seder meal and then ate a delicious traditional Mongolian meal of mutton, carrots, onions, and cabbage. This isn't how I ever imagined I'd spend an Easter weekend, but then again, most of this year isn't what I expected. And that makes me think. How much do we miss out on because we like routine? How many adventures do we pass up because we value normalcy so much?

The weirdest part is that this Saturday, full of new experiences and adventure, didn't seem so crazy. It was new and made for great photos, but it wasn't inconceivable. 

It's just how we roll here in Mongolia.