A week ago, we flew from Seattle to Denver to start our training and orientation prior to the final move to Mongolia. Like the genius that I am, I decided to wear a Seahawks sweatshirt into Broncos country. (Fortunately, Eric remembered before we got off the plane so I could take it off and avoid getting burned at the stake.) Saying goodbye to the folks at the curb was really hard. There were tears all around and hugs that I didn’t want to end. Once inside the airport, a couple of the young men from our local fellowship came to see us off, so we got more hugs and well wishes there. It was nice to see everyone one last time before we made the super long trek to our gate.
Nothing too exciting happened on the plane ride from Seattle to Denver, although the guy sitting to Eric’s left was snoring. The flight was not too long, and we had minimal turbulence. I think the worst part of the flight was realizing once again that airplanes for domestic flights just aren’t made for anyone who isn’t a petite 5’4″. In general, I think we were just too excited to get to the next phase of this move that it didn’t really matter!
In Denver, we connected with the rest of our future team, which was great! It was fun to meet up with our new colleagues and get to know each other a bit. In total, there are seven of us heading to Mongolia–four young women, a young man from Australia, and the two of us. We are a diverse group, and I can already tell that we are going to get along well!
Currently, we are staying at the UNC campus in Greeley. We have a pleasant little suite in the dorms to ourselves with a nice view of the campus. Most of our days are full of classes and informational sessions. Completing the coursework for TEFL certification and learning all the ins and outs of moving to Asia takes a lot of time! The last week has been challenging, but a lot of fun. Being surrounded by so many like-minded people who want to teach overseas has been a blast!
Judds in Mongolia 