So it's been a month since I left home (not since I've been in Mongolia...that's tomorrow)! I can't believe how quickly it went. I guess this foreshadows how quickly these 2 years will go. When I pointed out that it's been a month, a friend told me that someone told her "the days are long, but the weeks are short". You wouldn't believe how true those words are! But I'm glad I'm on this adventure.
Since we last spoke, I've had 3 more micro-teaching sessions. Each time I think I got a little better. Once we figured out the levels of our students, it was much easier to prepare lessons for them. Each time I left the class, I felt renewed as my students left with big smiles and their notebooks in hand. Despite the fact that I'm absolutely terrified of evaluations, I can't imagine a more fulfilling way to spend 2 years.
Now for language? Stilll struggling. But I know so much considering I've only been studying this language for 3 weeks. I just wish I was fluent enough to hold a solid conversation with my family members. When I get to that point, then I will feel much more accomplished.
My week has been pretty chill. That's all I have to tell you guys. I listen to music, hang with family, hang with my fellow PCTs and fight Zelda (this week I've been spending a couple hours each day to twist her...i started Monday and I'm still working on finishing it up). I'll be back next week (from Darkhan!) to update you guys!
Much Love!!
Thursday 27 June 2013
Wednesday 19 June 2013
America Night Week 3
Hey Ya'll!!
Reason for the title? Our small group decided that we will celebrate each Wednesday (our first day of staging was Wednesday the 29th) and call it America night. We all go out and use internet and eat together. It's quite nice actually. So I'm sitting here in a Mongolian restaurant casually eating fries and blogging (because I love you guys).
This week has been quite interesting. I got pretty frustrated with my progress this week. I think a lot of it was not being able to understand/communicate properly with my family. But I think now I'm getting past that hump and it's much better.
Fun events in this past week? So I decided to wash Zelda (my hair) last Thursday. I had to wash it in a tumpun (which is like a plastic wash basin)...which was close to impossible. My hair was just not having any of my foolishness. Between my twists falling out and not being able to reach certain parts with the water in the tumpun...it was just a struggle! To add to that, I had to do it in the kitchen. Water got everywhere, my family had to sit and watch, detangling was INSANELY hard, AND my family invited the family of another PCT (Peace Corps Trainee) over to watch the process. It's one thing I wish I didn't have to do again (and yet this week is here...time for take 2?). This is definitely something that will take some getting used to.
In more school-related news, we had our first micro-teaching session today. My co-teacher (another person in my group) and I had a group of 6th(?) graders who we taught how to say various aches. It went pretty well (my partner did a great job, I could've done better) and the students learned how to say "What's the matter?" and "I've got a _____ ache." I was proud that we were able to teach them that. It definitely had it's challenges though. I thought it would be a lot easier to give instructions, but it turned out that the language barrier was a lot stronger than I thought it would be. But as they say "If at first you don't succeed, try, try, try again." So I'm hoping that I will do much better in communication and speaking next time (*crosses fingers*).
Those are the highlights of my week. Language is definitely taking some time, but I love my group and I love Mongolia, so I'm motivated to push forward. Who knows? I may be mostly fluent by the time I leave here (in 2 years)!
Баяртай til next week!!!
Reason for the title? Our small group decided that we will celebrate each Wednesday (our first day of staging was Wednesday the 29th) and call it America night. We all go out and use internet and eat together. It's quite nice actually. So I'm sitting here in a Mongolian restaurant casually eating fries and blogging (because I love you guys).
This week has been quite interesting. I got pretty frustrated with my progress this week. I think a lot of it was not being able to understand/communicate properly with my family. But I think now I'm getting past that hump and it's much better.
Fun events in this past week? So I decided to wash Zelda (my hair) last Thursday. I had to wash it in a tumpun (which is like a plastic wash basin)...which was close to impossible. My hair was just not having any of my foolishness. Between my twists falling out and not being able to reach certain parts with the water in the tumpun...it was just a struggle! To add to that, I had to do it in the kitchen. Water got everywhere, my family had to sit and watch, detangling was INSANELY hard, AND my family invited the family of another PCT (Peace Corps Trainee) over to watch the process. It's one thing I wish I didn't have to do again (and yet this week is here...time for take 2?). This is definitely something that will take some getting used to.
In more school-related news, we had our first micro-teaching session today. My co-teacher (another person in my group) and I had a group of 6th(?) graders who we taught how to say various aches. It went pretty well (my partner did a great job, I could've done better) and the students learned how to say "What's the matter?" and "I've got a _____ ache." I was proud that we were able to teach them that. It definitely had it's challenges though. I thought it would be a lot easier to give instructions, but it turned out that the language barrier was a lot stronger than I thought it would be. But as they say "If at first you don't succeed, try, try, try again." So I'm hoping that I will do much better in communication and speaking next time (*crosses fingers*).
Those are the highlights of my week. Language is definitely taking some time, but I love my group and I love Mongolia, so I'm motivated to push forward. Who knows? I may be mostly fluent by the time I leave here (in 2 years)!
Баяртай til next week!!!
Wednesday 12 June 2013
Quickest Post Ever
Hey guys!
So I'm here in Sukhbaatar with my host family. My host family is soo awesome. I have 2 sisters (10 and 11) and my mom. I don't see my dad often (I think he works in the countryside?). I've been having lots of awesome vegetarian food (veggies, rice, eggs, kimbop...yumm). My group is also great. Our classes (Language, Technical, Cultural) are going pretty well (still learning the language very slowly). On the first day we went to see the statue of Chinggis Khaan's wife. It was towering and awesome. Anyway, I'm currently in the square using the internet (while a storm brews...literally). That's my life for now. Mongolia continues to prove its greatness with each day I spend. I can only imagine how much more beautiful it will be once I can understand what's going on!!!
So I'm here in Sukhbaatar with my host family. My host family is soo awesome. I have 2 sisters (10 and 11) and my mom. I don't see my dad often (I think he works in the countryside?). I've been having lots of awesome vegetarian food (veggies, rice, eggs, kimbop...yumm). My group is also great. Our classes (Language, Technical, Cultural) are going pretty well (still learning the language very slowly). On the first day we went to see the statue of Chinggis Khaan's wife. It was towering and awesome. Anyway, I'm currently in the square using the internet (while a storm brews...literally). That's my life for now. Mongolia continues to prove its greatness with each day I spend. I can only imagine how much more beautiful it will be once I can understand what's going on!!!
Wednesday 5 June 2013
Сайн байна уу? (Sain baina uu?)
I've been in Mongolia for almost 1 week now, and I love it. Of course I miss my family and friends, but I can definitely see myself spending 2 years (maybe more?) here. Although the weather is quite unpredictable (rotating between spring, summer, and winter...all in one day), I think an AWESOME country picked me.
First, we traveled for what seemed like FOREVER to get here. We left DC at about 4 am on Thursday morning and arrived in Ulaanbaatar (UB) at about 11 pm on Friday night (Keep in mind that we traveled across a 12 hour time difference). From DC we went to Detroit, then to Seoul, then finally to UB. When we got to UB, we were greeted by warm welcomes from current volunteers followed by a rather chilly spring night. We packed our luggage into the trucks and got into our bus and drove to our ger camp. We got settled into our gers (I had 4 AWESOME ger mates) and went to bed to wake up the next morning.
SN: Our gers were tourists gers, so we didn't get the full experience. Also, for those wondering what a ger is, see here:
Outside:
Inside:
For the next couple days, we woke up for breakfast followed by various intro sessions. We got to know the Peace Corps Mongolia staff (both American and Host Country staff) in the sessions. We learned about security, a little about the language, and some of our expectations. On one of the days, we went to the PC Office in the city to get shots and get a tour of the city. Our tour guide (who is finishing up his 3rd year as a volunteer) gave us some great insight into what to expect during our service along with taking us to some cool places around the city.
On the day we left UB, we went to immigration to do our fingerprints and pictures for our official ID (Alien Registration Card). Then we took a 4 hour drive to Darkhan (which is where we are now). We arrived in Darkhan at around 4 in the afternoon then we went out to dinner with some of our PST trainers. After dinner, we all took a walk to see a Buddha statue in the city. It was beautiful! It was big and it felt like an honor to be able to witness it. Since that day we have mainly been going to training sessions in a school close to our hotel. The sessions have been very informative and just adds to my excitement to get started on my service.
I bet you're wondering about the food. So far I've been doing well! Most of the meat here is red meats (lots of mutton, beef, etc) and sometimes chicken. The vegetables I've had so far have ranged from salads to plates of potato, squash, and other heavier veggies. I have had something to eat everyday and that makes me so grateful (can't say I had the same luck in college!).
That is but a short synopsis of my first week in Mongolia. It's been SOO great and I can't wait to get to the rest. At the end of this week, we will move in with our host families (next BIG, exciting step!). I'm so ready to get started on more intensive language and cross cultural training and also ready for the experiences I'll have with my host family! Can't wait to tell you guys about the next step!
P.S.--We've received our water filters, sleeping bags, medical kits, and Mongolian/English dictionaries...I can't wait to get all our stuff and be able to use it when we finish training.
First, we traveled for what seemed like FOREVER to get here. We left DC at about 4 am on Thursday morning and arrived in Ulaanbaatar (UB) at about 11 pm on Friday night (Keep in mind that we traveled across a 12 hour time difference). From DC we went to Detroit, then to Seoul, then finally to UB. When we got to UB, we were greeted by warm welcomes from current volunteers followed by a rather chilly spring night. We packed our luggage into the trucks and got into our bus and drove to our ger camp. We got settled into our gers (I had 4 AWESOME ger mates) and went to bed to wake up the next morning.
SN: Our gers were tourists gers, so we didn't get the full experience. Also, for those wondering what a ger is, see here:
Outside:
Inside:
For the next couple days, we woke up for breakfast followed by various intro sessions. We got to know the Peace Corps Mongolia staff (both American and Host Country staff) in the sessions. We learned about security, a little about the language, and some of our expectations. On one of the days, we went to the PC Office in the city to get shots and get a tour of the city. Our tour guide (who is finishing up his 3rd year as a volunteer) gave us some great insight into what to expect during our service along with taking us to some cool places around the city.
On the day we left UB, we went to immigration to do our fingerprints and pictures for our official ID (Alien Registration Card). Then we took a 4 hour drive to Darkhan (which is where we are now). We arrived in Darkhan at around 4 in the afternoon then we went out to dinner with some of our PST trainers. After dinner, we all took a walk to see a Buddha statue in the city. It was beautiful! It was big and it felt like an honor to be able to witness it. Since that day we have mainly been going to training sessions in a school close to our hotel. The sessions have been very informative and just adds to my excitement to get started on my service.
I bet you're wondering about the food. So far I've been doing well! Most of the meat here is red meats (lots of mutton, beef, etc) and sometimes chicken. The vegetables I've had so far have ranged from salads to plates of potato, squash, and other heavier veggies. I have had something to eat everyday and that makes me so grateful (can't say I had the same luck in college!).
That is but a short synopsis of my first week in Mongolia. It's been SOO great and I can't wait to get to the rest. At the end of this week, we will move in with our host families (next BIG, exciting step!). I'm so ready to get started on more intensive language and cross cultural training and also ready for the experiences I'll have with my host family! Can't wait to tell you guys about the next step!
P.S.--We've received our water filters, sleeping bags, medical kits, and Mongolian/English dictionaries...I can't wait to get all our stuff and be able to use it when we finish training.
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