Good noises

Nobody likes noise, but there are some good kinds of noise, too. I notice it whenever kids are around, probably because I don’t have children. I don’t have to deal with their screaming and constant demands for attention 24/7. But as an objective observer, I think I know what I am saying—kids’ noise is good noise.

The aura in a room changes immediately when a child or two enters. They are so full of curiosity and energy. They are always on the move, playing with all sorts of things. They talk to you constantly and ask questions; they yell, and they scream. It is so much more fun when they are around. Their presence adds to the meaning of all that we do. I just love them.

Kids at camp house.

Kids playing Twister.

Little girls playing at Little Gobi in Mongolia

Yours Truly with Team 2 on Sports Day.

I fear for children if they are too quiet. I wonder whether their lives are miserable. Once, I was waiting in line with a young couple and their daughter. The 4- or 5-year-old was simply too quiet. I watch children whenever they are around, and I watched this child while I waited for the bus. She hardly moved at all. During the 20 minutes I waited for transportation, the girl changed her posture only slightly. She was standing too still, and talking with her parents too little. (I believe they were the parents). They, on the other hand, were talking nonstop. Finally, when she did move, walking a couple of steps toward their luggage to touch it and perhaps play with it, she was stopped by the two adults. It was only when they got onto the bus and the woman seemed to show that she cared about that little girl that my heart could rest. Otherwise, I would have carried on thinking of her.

Whenever kids are around, there are sounds of laughter. The world will lose its luster if, in our aging society, there are fewer children.

For Reflections on Nursing Leadership (RNL), published by the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International.

Gender roles and ger building

From what I have observed, Mongolian culture has pretty much prescribed roles for men and women. Males show off their muscles, even when they are small. A few days ago, I saw some kids unloading firewood from a truck. As they did so, they jokingly showed off their “six-packs” and biceps. Their biceps were hard when they flexed and tightened their muscles. Of course, they don’t really have the six-packs, but they were still muscular enough. They are quite strong boys. I don’t think Hong Kong boys would be so muscular. Girls were not involved in this job.

Sara, a staff member, informed me that Mongolian families do not have particular preferences for boys or girls; that boys and girls are treated as equal and females do a lot of the work that men do. I believe this, as Sara did a lot of hard work, too. But as I see it, jobs that require considerable physical strength are always performed by men (such as building a ger), whereas cleaning, mopping, and cooking are done by women. At any rate, this is what I have observed around the camp, in walking around the area and based on my limited interactions with neighbors in the work camp house.

The building of a ger:

For Reflections on Nursing Leadership (RNL), published by the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International.