Roland Russoli in Mongolia

December 25, 2006

Midnight on Christmas Eve and the orphans are all sleepy but prayerful and Jesus is laying on a sheepskin, as about sixty Mongolians, two French nuns, one priest and two Americans celebrate the birth.
The ger was decorated with gold and white garland all around the edge of the ger roof with white lights twinkling. Babies were crying, some being breast fed, dozens of people were coughing, and a the incense was so thick you could cut it with a knife and the Christmas tree kept falling over. This would probably be the last time Sarah and I would be celebrating Christmas in this place so we listened and absorbed everything we could in the Mongolian and Latin church service, as an old Johnny Mathis record played " O Holy Night " ....... there is always at least one surprise in Mongolia.

It has been quite a year for donations from all of you. The orphanage has received over $6,000. in contributions, thousands of dollars in clothing, school supplies, and toys, as well as supplies of vitamins and medical supplies. So at 1:00 AM in the morning after the Christmas Eve service, needless to say I was surprised when the Sisters told us that the Bishop who runs the operation from Chicago decided that there were to be no "outsiders" invited for Christmas dinner ( even though we had been invited 2 months prior and had turned down at least two dinner invitations for Christmas day). But the Sisters then told us that we would be able to take part in the distribution of gifts at 3:00 PM. Roland Jr. told me I should pray for the Bishop and I am still taking that suggestion under consideration. So at 3:00 PM after downing some Russian caviar ( cheap here), Hickory Farms summer sausage and mustard ( care package) and some French Brie and Triscuits and of course some Gilbeys ( for anger management) we plowed through the traffic to the Orphanage of Notre Dame.
The Sisters had all the bags of toys all labeled and in the Santa room when we arrived.
One by one the children peeked around the door and entered with big smiles on their faces. As the Sisters called each name they came forward and received a peppermint candy cane ( my 96 year old mother Corrine"s idea and purchase) and a bag of goodies. The bag contained a truck or motorcycle or football for the boys, and mostly dolls for the girls plus games ,puzzles, Legos and coloring books and crayons for all.

It was funny to watch for several just sat on the floor and ate the candy cane first before even looking at the toys in the bags. There was also an apple and sour ball candies and chocolates, so that in no time at all there was paper, ribbons, sticky fingers, and chocolate smiles all over the place. Those babies, are just full of hugs and kisses and so much joy, it was a pleasure to watch them celebrate their Christmas. It took them a little while, for the young ones especially, to realize that these things were actually being given to them. They have had so very little given to them in there young lives. So for the next two hours Sarah and I sat in the middle of them all, helping to take the paper off of chocolates or putting straws in drink packs and ooooing and aaaaing as each one came over to us, showing off their new treasures.
The pleasure was completely ours.
They all assembled together, before we left and sang "
We wish you a Merry Christmas" in English, the Sister's gift to us. What a day!

On the way home we stopped at a friends house for some Christmas cheer to find that they had made dinner for us, including champagne, ham, and pumpkin pie. It was a great way to end the day. So my friends, I wish for all of you the best of Christmas and the New Year. May we all continue on this journey and try to find some peace in our hearts and opportunities to bring a little joy to others when we can. "And so he exclaimed as he drove out of sight, Merry Christmas to all and to all a goodnight."

December 2, 2006
I was pondering which taxi service was going to take me to the airport at 5:30AM on Thursday when the phone rings.

caller: "Teacher Roland"

me: "Yes"

caller: "You go US tomorrow?"

me: "Yes"

caller: "You have taxi?"

me: "I need a taxi."

caller: "I am Augie I take me."

me: "What????"

caller: " I take airport you, remember me I am Augie?"

me: "Ohhhhhhhh yes the Jalosh" ( driver)

caller: "YES YES hahahahahaha"

True to his word Augie picked me up at 5:30AM and drove me to the airport in a brand new Russian SUV with a digital compass ( very cool). When we got there I pulled out my wallet to pay the customary 10,000 tugregs and he shook his head. "No no you Roland Teacher, you have nice trip" shaking my hand and grinning from ear to ear. I was too thankful and surprised to insert " you have A nice trip".

After a confusing transfer in Seoul, Korea ( the man at the terminal gave a speech about where we had to go and it was the Korean duplicate of the Charlie Brown teacher speech " wa wa wa wa wa wa wa wa wa wa wa wa ". I had no idea what he said . so I just followed the people with the blue transfer tickets to the same Mongolian plane, with a different crew, on the other side of the airport. I just settled into my tight economy seat when a pretty flight attendant comes over to me and says " hello where are you going today?"

me: "To the US, I will be gone for a couple of weeks"

attendant: " You remember me I am Tuvshin"

me surprised: "Your one of my students"

attendant : Yes, Teacher Roland you come with me I have a seat in Business Class for you."

I almost got teary, instead of being cramped into a little seat next to the same passenger from the first three hours ( who had been marinated in Vodka prior to boarding and who fell asleep on my arm for the last hour of the trip).

I sat in a double seat by myself in Business Class, sitting across from two "Yakuza" ( sumo wrestling champions) who I recognised from the billboards around Ulaanbaatar.( These guys have God status over here ). I sat, sipping a gin and tonic,eating fresh watermelon, and pineapple and an imported ham sandwich, with my feet resting in my blue terrycloth slippers, on my blue deluxe inflatable neck rest, and my blue personal eye mask, tranquillity ear plugs, blue plastic shoehorn and a plastic bag with 6 travel size Vodkas ready for my trip to Tokyo, Japan. Of course when I got to Tokyo, I got back in the economy cheap seats again for the 14 hour trip to the US and the Vodka and my water was taken had to be dumped because US doesn't allow liquids on the plane, but for those wonderful three hours it was regal. My students are wonderful and they take good care of me.

After three movies, two sports shorts, one stupid prank short and a four hour wait in Chicago for the snow or tornado warning or something that causes you to wait in airports, we were off, Two hours later I saw the Christmas candle lit on the Pennsylvania Power and Light building and I could see the Christmas lights on Hamilton Street, a sight I had not seen in thirty four years.

Some days in our lives are hard, and somedays it all comes together.

Strength and Honor my friends.

Roland

This morning it was 27 below 0 which is probably colder than most of your freezers. My sheepskin lined coat kept me very comfortable, sorry animal lovers, but my animal skin is warmer than my fleece from LL Bean.I really wanted to wear it when I come back to the US on friday, but when I checked the temperatures in Allentown and Greensboro ( 59 and 62 ), I figured the coat might be overkill and I would have to stay in t-shirt and shorts just to look like I came from Mongolia. Thanksgiving was interesting, we ate twice and yes it was turkey ( from Japan I think ) and not mutton.Both times at the apartment complex of the American Ambassador, first with the staff of the Embassy, which included two U S Marines doing a tour here . That was a little difficult for me, but they were both very mannerly and appreciative of an American Thanksgiving dinner, one from Texas and one from Mississippi. Sarah and I sat to eat with them and they asked if they could say grace, it was very touching. The second meal was Peace Corps volunteers, at least sixty of them all happy to eat turkey, potatoes, green beans and pumpkin pie. We carved four turkeys and Sarah made four pumpkin pies, everything was consumed, those volunteers are like the locust, a huge table full of food and it was gone in a heartbeat.
In the field, the volunteers eat much more mutton than we do. I want to thank the families of Huff, Garris, Barber, McDermott, Bogue, Terrie Smith, and the Sheckler Elementary School (where the bear is from and will return to eventually with travel note updates for the 3rd graders) for the boxes of toys, puzzles, clothes and a variety of other goodies for the children of Notre Dame. It will be a very special Christmas for them. It is always tough going over there to the Orphanage, so many long hugs and little butterfly kisses on the cheek and little people that call us Papa and Mama. I think knowing the lives they have already lead and what their futures might be always makes it difficult to leave them at the end of the day. Their are at least two little girls that I wish I could put in my pocket and take home.
On a sad note, Sarah's uncle, Dr. Walter Ray died yesterday in Greensboro, he was a really fine man, he will be missed by many and certainly by me.
See you on the 10th College Park,
Strength and Honor,
Roland

Life is so very, very precious.
One minute a handsome, young boy is crossing the street with his finger in his father's pocket and the next minute, the he lies in state, in a flag draped coffin, with a Marine Honor Guard at his side. It all took place in what now seems like the blink of an eye.
It all became a horrific dream that has no end and leaves one regretting every wasted day, every careless minute that has ever been squandered.
I want so much to give you who are my friends something on this day. I want so much to share some lesson from this pain, that I pray with all my heart you will never experience.
Andrew's own message to me on my birthday in May of 2003, shows us a path for our journey, " All the good stuff has not been found, don't do anything stupid, and never stop exploring, I love you."
The Roman poet Virgil reminds us of the reason to walk, " Death flicks at my ear and whispers ....live,...for...I...am...coming !
Thank you all for your encouragement my friends, your support, and love during this most difficult year.
I remain yours always with,
Strength and Honor
Roland

Sometimes the energy and vitality of Mongolia is difficult to express in words. Sometimes capturing it in photos is equally elusive. A long horned Ibex charging up a slope, a curved horned Argali sheep peeking over a cliff above and a herd of gazelles sprinting across the road in front of us, all before I could get the camera out of the bag. These were some of the moments that were captured in my minds eye during our five day trip to the Gobi Desert with Sarah, her daughter Mary Beth and her friend Lauren. It started and ended with a 1 1/2 hour flight with the infamous Miat Airlines with their outdated 1950 Russian airplanes ( with the toggle switch on the wall for the seat light and two small tanks of oxygen bolted to the wall in case of pressure loss in the cabin), There is no metal detector in the Dalanzadgad airport, the security guard simply squeezes your carry on and lets you through. Upon getting into my seat I saw a small Poodle walking up and down the aisle looking for its owner. When the owner spotted the dog he picked it up and put it in a canvas bag. We all received a piece of strawberry candy before take off given to us by a female flight attendant who I am sure was on the maiden voyage of this particular plane. Some of the highlights ( photos to follow) besides the endless hours of travel in a Russian mini-van along the usual dusty, bumpy roads were as follows. An 800 meter, straight up climb to the top of the sand dunes puffing all the way , a climb that sixty year olds really shouldn't do. A visit with a herders family, whose wife served us fermented camel milk and fried dough balls ( which would have been tasty with powdered sugar ), and her two children , a 8 month old little girl and the other a 3 year old boy with pigtails (it is tradition that boys do not get their hair cut until they are 4.) The herders wife ( Entuya) then took us on a 2 hour camel ride in the desert after which I could have sang soprano at the Met. The trip to the Red Cliffs at Bayanzag was interesting. In the 1920's an American, Roy Chapman Andrews sent by the Natural History Museum found an abundance of dinosaur fossils. The most interesting part of that all for me was the fact that Mr Andrews was the real person from which the character of Indiana Jones was fashioned, even down to the hat ( the whip may have been part of some personal hobby which was not discussed in the history books). He did have several shoot outs with bandits and near escapes from the local tribe leaders.
A two hour hike into Eagle Valley, looking for Ibex and Argali Sheep, (surrounded by high cliffs) as well as a trip to the Saxal Forest, which were a bunch of bushes out in the middle of no where that our guide didn't seem to understand the importance of either. Other than only being able to take one shower ( cold) in the five days( I was getting a little ripe), and eating an over abundance of bootz( mutton dumplings) it was a great trip. I used to say that when you go on a trip of any kind you need to leave your troubles at your front doorstep because they will be waiting for you when you get back. Now I know that there are troubles and woes that travel with you where ever you go , but there is always another day and a new dawn, may yours be one you remember always.
Strength and Honor, Roland

September 24, 2006
Several months ago one of my students ( Gundegmaa ) told me she was a Christian and invited us to her church. So Sunday morning we walked into the large auditorium that looked like a warehouse from the outside and Gundegmaa told us to sit in the seats with the earphones ( very high tech for Mongolia) so that we could hear the translation from Mongolian to English. The hall was quite large and there were at least 400 youth in the room from 14 to 24 years old, very few adults. Suddenly lights started to flash; blue, red, purple, yellow ,green and then on the stage four young girls with hand microphones ( maybe 16 years old) started to sing , then the drummer started, then two keyboards joined three electric guitars and then I realized the popularity this place had with the youth. The placed rocked, and reverberated and they sang praise songs for an hour. At one point in the hour, I looked at Sarah and tears were rolling down both our faces. It was very moving to see that sea of youth jumping up and down with hands raised singing in such a joyful, prayerful way. So much hope, so much future ahead of them. As hard a life, as they will more than likely have still, thanking God for giving them hope. The minister gave a sermon but I think he should have given the sermon first and ended with that Christian rock tribute to Jesus. When you listen to music like that you have to wonder if Jesus was alive today , if he would have played with the Stones......... imagine the Book of Mick.
Strength and Honor, Roland

Sister Marie Francois showed us the new kindergarden ger for the children which was build by the people of the "ger village" that Notre Dame supports (30 families). They have a good teacher for the kindergarden they started classes last week. Besides the supplies that I have told you about they also need puzzles, picture books, and shoes (sizes of 1 and 2 for the older boys and sizes below that for the others remember their are 25 of them (athletic or leather shoes that they can put on themselves). They still have the ger school room for the older children and the underprivileged of the neighborhood. Notre Dame also sponsors a soup kitchen and are still looking for a place for the medical clinic. This picture shows the kindergarden and the boys including Eubert who " ates his eye patches", him being better known as The Pirate Eubert

Not much happening this week , it snowed on Thursday and Friday, and there was an outbreak of " black plague" in Tsetserlag where we visited this summer. Everyone there is quarantined and won't be able to leave until it is contained. Other wise we delivered 2 boxes of sweaters from the ladies at Charles and Lee Huff's High Point church and several checks from this email list one of which will pay for Eubert's eye operation ( if they can ever keep the patch on his eye for a month). The french Sister said " he ates it" and I said " that kid will eat anything ", she corrected "he h a t e s it "" Oh". The girls are loving their new sweaters wait until they see all of the hand knitted blankets for their beds......very cool thanks ladies. Don't forget don't eat the marmots ( rodents) they didn't listen at Tstserlag and see what happened.

September 7, 2006
Today is September 7th and we are having our first snow of the season. If it has snowed a week ago it could have been my first " White Labor Day".
It is about 30 degrees, still warm for Mongolia but scarfs, hats and heavy coats are definitely replacing short sleeves of last week. I told you winter was only
15 minutes away.

September 5, 2006

This ovoo was on a mountaintop as many of them are Each scarf represents an offering, each stone represents a prayer . You walk around three times and then you place a stone on the pile. I prayed for a son who has gone on before me to a better place, and for a son who struggles in this one. I pray that all of our prayers be answered .............................for our children, for ourselves, and for each other.

We travelled 5 1/2 hours on the usual dusty roads into northern Mongolia to visit what is listed in Lonely Planet as an architectural gem. The Monastery of Amarbayasgalant lies between the mountains and owes its location to the site of the grave of Zanabazar who was the Mongolian Dalai Lama in the 1700's. He was appointed "saint" at the age of 2 and not only followed his vocation but became a great religious artist as well as a scholar, who worked on the Mongolian alphabet. The legend says that a Manchu emperor left money for Zanabazar's tomb and sent 3 teams to find the site. The first group found site and dropped a Chinese coin, the second group found a site and dropped a needle the third group found the coin with the needle through it. They also found 2 children playing and asked them what they were playing and they replied that they were building a monastery. After driving to this site in a taxi I can assure you that the 2nd group had a GPS with very sophisticated satellite imaging and the 2 children were probably dropped off by the Starship Enterprise. Did that sound skeptical?

I keep forgetting where I live. I packed 2 short sleeved shirts and one T-shirt and had on jeans and wool socks. I wore all of that to bed plus a nylon rain jacket and still shivered most of the night after the fire went out. Our cheerful non English speaking driver seemed happier than a pig in slop when the ger camp said they only had one ger available wieth 3 twin beds. He slept like a rock, snoring through the night while Sarah and I spent much of the night discussing the cold, how we should always wear fleece clothes, and that we would never forget dry matches and a camp stove again. The monks are great at chanting and praying but they don't know zip about running a ger camp.

Sarah and I went there to relax only to realize that on this particular weekend of the year, the place turns into a Buddhist Woodstock. Hundreds of Mongolians converged into the temples in anticipation of a blessing usually for long life and prosperity. " Live long and prosper" wasn't that Spock from Star Treck, I knew he was a Buddhist.

The Mongolian worshipers brought bowls of fruit, curds (my favorite), slabs of raw mutton, money, cakes, candies, and incense. The smell of incense was so strong you could cut it with a knife. Reminded me of the Lady of Mt Carmel Italian Church in Allentown at Christmas, without the monks of course.

We stood in a packed crowd for an hour, the long horns were blown, cymbals crashed, drums thumped, and the 25 monks chanted prayers in perfect harmony. When it was our turn, we made a money offering, then handed the old monk a picture of Andrew in his dress blues, which was wrapped in a blue hadag ( scarf ).The blue scarf that signifies honor and respect. I am not certain for what we were asking, maybe for Andrew, that he be in a place of peace and rest, so that his nightmares of war are over. And also for us who are left behind, for our memories, for our dreams, for our tears and for the peace that we will someday find in our hearts.

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