Hi Carrie,

Glad to hear you're doing well, except for having to bum rides off people. Reminds me of high school. ;)

Keep having fun. We miss you at the N&A.

Gad, Carrie ... the things some people do for a simple day off. Free room? Spending allowance? A HOT shower?! ALL AT TAXPAYER EXPENSE?!!? This is one Republican who wants to be reimbursed, dude.

Seriously, am glad to hear you're OK, if a bit pained. I'll bet that your mom went ape when she heard you'd hurt yourself. But it's time to come clean ... you'd really been imbibing too much fermented yak milk, right? You ... chopping wood ... sure.

Talk to you later.

Logan

Carrie:

Had problems with this blog posting until Jennifer helped me out ... that's what it's like when you get old and grey. It was really GREAT getting that call from you at the office the other night, even if there was that 5 second delay between my saying something and your answering! I just read your new post ... hope everything's OK with you! Since you've got no Prozac over there, I recommend the next best medicine of choice -- reference your "Ode to Scotch" post. And hey, don't feel so bad ... it's frozen over here, too: 27 degrees right now. Oh, ... sorry, that's like a heat wave over in Mongolia, right? And we don't have snow piled up to our chins. Well, winter's over Feb. 9! TAKE CARE!! And how 'bout that weekend story ... I'll extend the deadline for you a couple of days.

Love ya.

Logan

I'm sorry to hear you had some rough moments. I hope you're feeling better and I'm glad you have a good support system abroad. Things are going well here. We all miss you. The guys have started poker nights and the girls have been discussing having their own as well. You started a trend here. :)

You should be very proud of yourself for having the courage to move across the globe and immersing yourself in a culture so foreign from what you grew up with. I know we're proud of you. And don't forget, in just 6 months you'll be about halfway through your assignment. Just look at how much you've accomplished. You rock chica. ( I don't know how to say or write girl in Mongolian. I only know the English and Spanish words.)

:)

Jennifer

Hi Carrie,

Sorry it's taken me so long to contact you. I'm going through some personal growth myself. But I can send you a personal e-mail telling you about that. I'm glad to hear you're adjusting well in Mongolia. I'm sure all the locals there love you. You might not want to leave after your two-year mission. All of us at the News & Advance miss you and think of you often. Things are getting better here. We have an entirely new staff. The only people on the news side you'd remember are me, Dionne, Kevin, Victor, the Hyltons, Christie and the lifers. Leon and Jason are leaving, so we'll have a bunch of new people on board. We're also looking for two reporters. It's crazy now, but it will be great once our newsroom is restored. Take care and keep warm. I'll have to resume knitting for you. ;)

Jennifer

P.S. -- I have a new e-mail address: jennifer.berghom@gmail.com. If you'd like a gmail address, let me know, I have nine invites left.

Carrie's Peace Corps Forum

Carrie: Tell Christina to keep me in line? TELL CHRISTINA TO KEEP ME IN LINE! Oh, if you were across the aisle from the cubicle, I'd tell you it was time for TWO weekend stories. We loved reading your letter today in the office, Banger, it was almost as if you were here! Glad to hear you're not freezing too much in your ger. Speaking of dust in your hair and coal on your hands, aren't showers great ... I guess you appreciate things more when you don't have them. Talk to you later ... Logan

Carrie's Peace Corps Forum

Carrie: Tell Christina to keep me in line? TELL CHRISTINA TO KEEP ME IN LINE! Oh, if you were across the aisle from the cubicle, I'd tell you it was time for TWO weekend stories. We loved reading your letter today in the office, Banger, it was almost as if you were here! Glad to hear you're not freezing too much in your ger. Speaking of dust in your hair and coal on your hands, aren't showers great ... I guess you appreciate things more when you don't have them. Talk to you later ... Logan

"Last week I asked two students to come saw my wood so I could chop it."

Watch out, Carrie, isn't that how that teacher on Dawson's Creek got in trouble? I am responding to your desparate plea for Web postings (even though I just emailed you) because it's Thanksgiving night and I am relaxing to the sound of the police scanner in the comfort of my N&A cubicle. But I guess I can be thankful that I don't have any below-zero-degree weather to contend with. Glad you got to share a Thanksgiving meal over there. What is the Mongolian commercial-Christmas culture like? Will people be rushing to Ger-Mart at 5am on Black Friday? Have Christmas-tree sales posts cropped up along the frozen countryside? Well, at least you can skip out on the retail-holiday B.S. and just celebrate not being frozen. (Just think, if you were still our biz reporter you'd be preparing to write the perennial day-after-Thanksgiving piece.) I am proud of what you're doing, keep on with the "bring it" attitude and keep sending us your adventure stories.

Hey Carrie!

Sounds like everything is going great for you -- now that things have calmed down I have more time to keep up with your travels. I am writing to you now as Mrs. Hylton, and yes, things feel different when you're married! I can't believe it's been more than a month now... anyhow, good luck on your test, and keep posting! It's great to hear about your Mongolian adventures! Christina

Hi Carrie,



Sorry to hear about the goat, but I'm sure you'll find a way to enjoy future meals. Maybe we at the News & Advance should mail you some spices. I'm glad to hear you're picking up the language. You'll have to teach us some when you return to the United States.

Sounds like things are going well. Glad to hear it. Maybe you'll grow accustomed to eating goat guts (try putting some ice cream on top, that always helps). Not much new in Lynchburg (except Rachel's gone, and that's strange). Good luck with the language.

Hi Carrie,

I've been reading your adventures so far. I'm so proud of you for starting a new chapter of your life in a foreign country where you knew no one. By the time your 27-month assignment is up, you'll probably not want to leave. Are you getting any better at the language? How is the teaching thing going? I'm sure you're doing a great job of teaching. When you get back, you'll have to teach us how the kids there make noises for the animals. It's crazy how certain sounds are interpreted differently in languages. Like in Spanish, when we say "chop, chop, chop" they say "sas, sas, sas." Have fun and be careful on your journeys.

I have arrived in the world of blog.

Carrie, it is wonderful to hear you've arrived and seem to be embracing the adventure. i can't wait til you get internet access again so i can read more. it is way more exciting than what you would be up to here, although we will have to have a bash soon to send rachel and eric off in proper fashion. we will miss her dearly, as we miss you.

Carrie's Peace Corps Forum

Carrie -- good to hear you've arrived safely in the Orient!! We're all curious: How did you hear 'bout the turmoil back home?

Well, well, after several weeks of trying to keep me off this 'blog' train...I have persevered!! I am on! Carrie your attempts were futile.

Hi Everyone:

Just wanted to let you know...in addition to posting the regular way, you can now attach "comments" to any post on this site or http://carrieinmongolia.blogspot.com. This way, you don't have to be a registered blogger to write me or the other bloggers.

See ya!

Hi Carrie,

Sorry the tubing thing didn't work out this weekend, but let me know if you all are going this coming weekend. Instead, I spent the time off doing much needed cleaning. I wrote about it in my blog, http://jenniferlberghom.blogspot.com. Gotta go, Morrissey is on the radio.

Carrie's Peace Corps Forum

A previous post accused me of being a participant in using the Nickname "Banger" for Carrie. That post was incorrect. To paraphrase former Democratic Vice Presidential Candidate Lloyd Bentson. I knew a banger and Carrie, you're no banger.

Yo Sista!

This is just a test to see if this gets through

L-Dawg

Carrie,

1-Logan needs to die again for calling me that nickname I loathe

2-Happy freakin birthday! Now email me back!

3-Glad to see you're blogging more regularly now

4-Don't leave!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy belated birthday Carrie. How are things going in your preparation for Mongolia? Have you learned any new words yet? As for next week, what time are we supposed to meet up? You can e-mail me at work or home with the info. Hope you had a great birthday and I'll see you soon. :)

By the way, why do Ron and Logan call you Banger?

Banger: Ron just informed me it's your BIRTHDAY!!!!! Where's the cake? Where's the ice cream? Or is all that stuff off your diet after the saga of the dentist from hell? Aren't you gonna come to the office one last time before you head off to Mongolia? Please, Banger, please ... AWaugh and the rest of us miss you soooooooooooooo much!

I have broken through the technological barrier. I am blogging in the endless reaches of cyberspace. Carrie is one more year older today. Her friends thank God for her.

I suspect we should all get used to Carrie not posting. Somehow I don't think she's going to get an internet connection in her tent:-( Have you considered wireless for your laptop??