Saving this entry for all of the “after”.  I highly recommend that anyone considering Gobi take time PRIOR to the race (must must must with the 12 hour time change for me) and AFTER, if possible.  UB is an amazing city and I was pleasantly surprised that my return post-race delivered a city that I had already found my way about and felt comfortable.  People are friendly and curious – welcoming with smiles, and if you need help, although English is not quite proficient, they will assist you in any way they can.  Food is tasty and inexpensive; and shopping, oh the shopping.  So many unique things, and again inexpensive.  I found myself wanting to capture all of the sights/tastes/smells/delight and bring it all home to my family.  I picked up the most beautiful clothes that I cannot wait to wear when home reminding me of this colorful place.

CARS/TRAFFIC:  yes yes – amazing traffic.  Snarled and slow but the “amazing” part is that honking is at a minimum, and I realized midway that cars are NOT bashed in!  In NYC you see dents, scratches, bumpers hanging and so on – not so in UB.  All the cars look in perfect condition, a testament to the patient and caring nature of its people, I guess?  BUT, I will say that as I crossed streets with cars going every which way whenever they want,  I likened myself to a stray dog, aligning myself with packs of people crossing to help me navigate and make sure I was safe.  And that’s from someone who walks wherever they hell SHE wants in NYC traffic (lights are just a suggestion in my book!).

My wandering, or “walk abouts” like I like to say with a nod to the aboriginal walk-abouts (look it up!), took me to monasteries, stores, coffee shops (the coffee is SO good here), statues and parks.  The street signs are mostly NOT in English, so a true sense of adventure and discovery does live freely here.  With my Verizon connection NOT working well, it was fun to embrace old discovery and map reading skills once again, and truly, any turn in any direction was not disappointing; UB quickly became familiar to me.  The main square a lovely space to reset to – with activities daily.  On my last day a youth club took over a portion and set up boxing and basketball (two very popular sports in Mongolia).

Sunday seems to be a well enjoyed family day (in fact it is obvious that family is a core to this culture) with people strolling and enjoying the city.  I took in a cultural show which included EXACTLY what I was hoping for (thank you Jana, Uuree and Eventour for setting this up for me) of THROAT SINGING.  AMAZING AMAZING AMAZING – all of it, from music, costumes, acrobatics….history.  And the flautist kick ass demonstrating some wild circular breathing that brought the house to unending applause.  RTP kindly arranged for a small concert for us at camp on Day 1, but I highly recommend anyone coming in take part and see one of these shows for the full experience.

And a final recommendation on the travel portion – when departing it is a huge help to get in to the Korean Air lounge (if you can) – not expensive, good treats, and a private security check in to the airport (if its crowded).  I started my journey home on Tuesday morning, with RTP volunteer Carmen as a trusty companion booked on the same flights through Minneapolis.  Long story short, despite Global entry and being the first person through customs, and probably my fastest pace running through the MSP airport, I did NOT make my NYC connection.  In fact, as I ran up to the desk, I could see the plane pulling away!  I asked the gate attendant nicely if they could come back to get me….but alas, that was a “No”, no matter how much chocolate and smiles I offered.  Oh well.  We go with the flow…….a quick hotel book for a few hours’ sleep and a shower has reset me to a new person for a full day (rather than an endless one from yesterday).  A good investment and all on time to whisk me home today – best part: WITH my luggage that magically stayed in MSP (I suppose I shouldn’t celebrate just yet).

It will take me awhile to process all, and my hope with this additional time “granted” to me on re-entry that the pouring of words here will support that journey.  In my earlier blogs I likened myself to an astronaut awaiting the one connection a day to “home” – to read emails, and share words.  Perhaps this was another stage of “re-entry” giving me the opportunity to capture more thoughts and put them in to words.  I always get frustrated with my writing because there is SO much I wish to convey and there never seems to be enough time or just the right words (and words DO matter).  But I try(!) and hope to capture as much as I can.

I have a talk at Columbia this Friday where I’ve been invited to share the story of me and our business with DCINY – and hopefully I can find the right words to inspire some of our future entrepreneurs who are attending the program.  I certainly have a lot I can pull from and add to my story with these past 2 weeks and hope that I can make some sense out a 45 minute outline with the hours I have left before touching down to my beautiful and welcoming family and reality.  I do find wonder on how life, family, work and experiences like these interweave to make us who we are – or rather better understand who we are now and who we want to be – and adventures like this, to be absorbed to make us better, deeper and more colorful.