We are into the last couple of days of the Asia trip, back in Beijing. I (Eric) feel like it is a time for relfecting, and savoring the last sweet moments of the culture - you know, the early morning sounds of people hoarking on the streets, and deep breaths of particulate matter in the Beijing air. Really though it has been a great trip. We have been lucky to meet some really interesting people who are following their dreams - a student in his 20's who got funding from his university to come to Mongolia with another student, where they bought 5 horses (not knowing how to ride them), and travelled across the landscape for 2 months with a translator, filming the story; a 60-ish year old environmental lawyer who is volunteering in Mongolia to improve the lageal system so that court cases have a better chance of having a fair ruling and appropriate implementation; and an Indian/Scottish kilt-wearing senior consultant who is helping the Mongioan Ministry of Health create a well-supported master health plan, and implement it over the next 10 years. We have been so lucky, by the kindness of Betsy's family hosting 2 boys from China at their homes for several months, and the kindness of those boys and their families to host us in Beijing and Xi'an, and helping us better understand life in China. And lots of other people too.
We are really looking forward to going back to Canada, and spending time with family and friends in B.C. for a month. If we had more time though and didn't have job and other commitments, I feel like I could have easily travelled for longer. There are many opportunities to improve public health in Mongolia that I could be exited about helping with. Amazingly, they still use leaded gas there; mercury is used by many Mongolians to bind to gold during the mining process, and then they frequently evaporate the mercury in their homes - throat cancer is the 3rd leading cause of cancer in Mongolia. I should still be able to be involved hopefully - we are considering writing a grant to provide epidemiology and biostatistical training to researchers, and people who interpret the research, at the Ministry of Health - so that determinants of health can be better assessed... maybe a McGill-Mongolian Government collaboration if possible.
Tomorrow we are off to hike a 9 km section of the Great Wall. Spring has arrived in Beijing - cherry blossoms, leaves on the trees and warm air. Aaah. The day after tomorrow, we fly to Vancouver, to visit Aaron, and then the next to see my family in Victoria! We are already thinking about the pear-apple sauce my family makes from their orchard, jogging in Mount Doug park behind our house, and playing tag or other games with our niece and nephew Mairi and Logan.
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