School Begins!

This week has been big...but not big at all.  I know it makes no sense, so let me jump right in...

Since we last spoke, I basically hung out with my site mates...until Sunday, that is.  On Sunday at 8 am, I had to go to school for the opening ceremony.  In Mongolia, schools have an opening ceremony on Sept. 1, no matter what day of the week it is.  This year it happened to be on a Sunday, so I trekked my way to school on Sunday morning.  I dressed up in my suit then went to see what this ceremony was about.  I got there are saw all the students and teachers dressed up and walking around the school.  After a while, I was told to go outside where all the teachers lined up in the yard while the students were in a cluster facing the teachers.  There were various speeches and performances, followed by everyone going inside.  Once inside, the teachers taught a short lesson and after that, the students watched the president's lecture on TV in their classrooms.  It was quite the day (sorry...I have no pictures...forgot the camera)!

The next day was the first day of actual classes.  I spent the day visiting my counterparts' classes.  Since it was just a "hello" day, I spent the class times introducing myself and answering questions about myself.  It was good to get to know the students though.  I did have a minor break down on that day, though, because I was a little scared that I may not be able to be the best volunteer.  But then one of my counterparts comforted me and told me I would do fine.  After that, she invited me to her home (and treated me soooo well).  I met her family and ate with them.  It was AWESOME getting to know her family.

The rest of the week (in terms of classes) went the same as the first day.  I got more comfortable with the students and the other teachers.  I actually had conversations in the teacher's room!!!  And when I walked in the street, there were so many students who would say hi to me before I even had the chance to recognize them.

One funny thing that happened this week is that while I was sitting at my cubicle, a teacher came to me, told me to get up, took my chair to put elsewhere, then left the room...and left me standing.  I was so confused at first (actually...I think I still am) but now I just laughed it off.  I will just take it as one of those random Mongolian moments where there is no harm meant, although at the time it may have seemed rude by my American viewpoint.  Besides, there are other gestures I don't understand that couldn't be perceived as rude...like the bag everyone got from one teacher that had a pack of tissues, a candle (which I was told was like a candle, but not a candle), a box of milk, a box of tea, and matches.  I was so confused (and couldn't get an explanation)!  What I understood from broken English and the little Mongolian I know (and this could be COMPLETELY wrong) is that when someone dies, the family gives out certain things.  When I asked my hashaa mom, she threw the candle in the fire and told me to put everything else away.  I chalk both of those up to things I don't understand now and I may or may not understand within the next 2 years.

Next on the list are my 2 days of volleyball playing!  I played yesterday with one of my site mates' coworkers.  It was so much fun, but I was soooo rusty!  Today I played with my coworkers (and my site mates joined me) and I was a little better, but still in need of work.  It's so exciting that I'm in a country where people love volleyball as much as I do.   Besides, I need to start on a fitness movement.  Yesterday my hashaa family had a weighing session (everyone weighed themselves) and I was NOT exempt from it.  My weight may be nothing to some people, but I was so upset to see that I had gained back the weight I had worked hard to lose before I came to Mongolia!!!  So volleyball twice per week sounds GREAT!

Also, other exciting things today include a mini hike and learning to make another Mongolian dish.

 Today I had lunch at my school (they made бууз [buuz] the size of my hand and I could just eat the flour from them) then my counterpart took me home with her to feed me again.  When we were walking back to school, we ran into her daughter who then asked if I could come back with her to help her with her English/hang out.  Since I had no classes, I agreed.  I went to school to get my stuff then home to change for volleyball and fetch water.  Then I went to my counterpart's home to hang out with her daughter.  Her English was actually great!  And she was eager to learn new things (at 15)!  It was pretty refreshing to see that (there are many students older than her who just have no interest and are still being forced...that gets complicated when you have to teach them something they have no interest in).  She asked me about myself and told me about herself.  She then taught me how to make байнш (bainsh -which are like mini бууз that are usually put in soup).  I was pretty pathetic for the first few ones, but she was patient and broke it down until I got it.  It was pretty cool.

Then there was the mini hike after volleyball.  I went with my site mates to watch the sunset (although we didn't quite see it).  We hiked up a hill behind town.  I was pretty pathetic (kept having to stop...I thought my chest was going to explode!), but eventually made it.  It was a great view of the city.  We sat there and talked for a while and admired the beauty of our city.

That's basically been my week.  I wrote a lot considering I said not a lot happened.

Talk to you next week!

P.S.--My cat ran away (got out of the holes in my ger)...part of me is still expecting her to pop back up...but it's been a few days...we'll see.