And In This Week's News...

Hey guys!

So before I get to the promised pictures, let me give you a quick run down on this week.  Last Sunday, we had a registration day to prepare for practice teaching.  We had to recruit the students that we were to teach (and will be teaching until the beginning of August).  We ended up only getting 10...when we needed at least 20 (it's okay though, because on Tuesday when we actually had to start teaching, we ended up with over 40 students and each of the 2 classes had at least 20 students).  Later on that day, my family came back with 3 buckets full of strawberries (Mongolian strawberries are the size of blueberries...but they were soooo yumdelicious!).  I had so many strawberries that day (the next day they cooked them all to make jam and juice....so I'm glad I got my dose of fresh fruit!)

On Monday, we had our cross culture session where we listened to different genres of Mongolian music, learned the Mongolian waltz, and learned various toasts.  It was so awesome!!  The next events of my week were pretty much lumped into things that happened in the week....I can't actually remember what days there were....So I figure I will just list them.  Here goes:

1. We went to the market as a class one day, and a drunk guy grabbed me by the shoulders and started reaching in for a kiss!  I was so petrified that I didn't know what to do.  Thank goodness my LCF stepped in to save the day!  And as if that wasn't enough, later on in the week, another drunk guy pulled the same stunt and a friend had to save me....I have to figure out why that happened!  And twice in one week!
2. The girls in my group decided to get matching copper bangles to remember our time together in Sukhbaatar.  They are gorgeous (different designs, same width...it's great....and it will come in handy on those sad days when we can't see each other when we get to site...just look down at our wrists and remember the good times)!
3. We started practice teaching....enough said.  So many good and so much nervousness for me to handle!
4. My family got a puppy!  She is gorgeous!  Stay tuned in for a picture in the pic section of this post!

And lastly, and the hardest part of the week

    5.  One of my friend's in her group went through some emotional turmoil (family related things back home)  and was really torn up.  We ended up going to UB because she needed to go back to the states to handle it.  It was hard to see her struggle and know there wasn't much I can do, but I'm glad she got to go home and spend some time with family to deal with it with people who may be able to help her better so that she can come back and do her best!

So now that you've gotten the rundown on my week, here are the promised photos!  Enjoy and much love until next week!

The day we made buuz with our LCFs.  This is one of the guys making the meat buuz.

Me, my grandma, my cousin, and my youngest sister posing at a statue at Naadam.  Isn't my Emee (Mongolian for grandma) adorable!

My other cousin and I with the horse he was riding for Naadam.

Mongolian wrestling for Naadam.  Check them out!  And the winner of the country was from our aimag (Mongolian word which is similar to the concept of a province).

The lovely airag I talked about (yumm fermented mare's milk...although I wasn't a fan).

Sister 1 and sister 2 on our camping trip in Darkhan.  The older one is the one jumping into the water.

Me helping to make the fire and put on the pot for the night's food.

Me by the water with my huge bottle of OJ...and no shoes.

Me helping to stir the Suuteitsai (Mongolian milk tea).

My dad and my uncle wrestling....my dad won.

My dad on the guitar indulging in some musical entertainment that's safe for the whole family!

The horhog begins! (Click link for details...the recipe doesn't do the process justice, but look at the my picture and the definition and you can get a pretty solid idea of what it is).

My aunt and I doing a slow waltz...before I knew it was the waltz.

And last, but certainly not least,  here goes my puppy!!  Isn't she cute!!

Naadam and Some

Naadam (as defined by Wikipedia...check it out for more info) is "A traditional festival in Mongolia.  The festival is also locally termed "eriin gurvan naadam" "the three games of men".  The games are Mongolian wrestling, horse racing and archery and are held throughout the country during midsummer"

So now that I've defined Naadam for you guys, I can now tell you guys about my past week and my Naadam experiences.  But first, let me give you a rundown on my days before Naadam (which began on Wednesday).

I had a short week of school (only Monday and Tuesday) and of those days, only one comprised of a lot of work.  On Monday we had our regular language class followed in the afternoon by our last technical session of this half (which basically means we get new trainers for the next half).  On Tuesday, we has a brief language session (mainly to learn Naadam terminology) then our families came in with food for an appreciation "brunch" for us.  That was pretty cool.  After that, we (our whole class and our Language and Culture Facilitators...or LCFs) went to the market to buy components for a cooking class.  Instead of a technical sector in the afternoon, we made buuz (a typical mongolian dish which is almost like a Chinese dumpling) together.  It was great!  We didn't make the best buuz (some fell apart) but they were yummy (well....I can only speak for the veggie ones since i couldn't have the meat).

Now Wednesday...the big day.  I can't quite say it was all I thought it would be.  My family went super late (We didn't get there til 2..and it started at about 9 am) and the bulk of my experience was spent at a family khuushur (another big mongolian dish...very similar to empanadas) stand.  I had some khuushur without the meat and walked for a little while.  I took some pictures of horses, modeled a Mongolian deel (not really modeled...just wore it there.  Oh, and a deel is the Mongolian traditional dress), got some pictures of wrestling, tried some airag (fermented mare's milk) and then went home.  Later on that night, we went to the square for a concert.  It was cool.  This 1 singer sang Listen by Beyonce and it was AMAZING!  After that, I went home.

The next day,  I went to Darkhan with my family.   We met up with other family members and had a day by the stream.  It was awesome!  Outdoor cooking, drinking (and later very drunk) uncles, splashing in water, dancing, and music.  I can say with confidence that it is the most fun I've had here thus far.  We left there at night time while the residents of Darkhan were still enjoying their Naadam.  I give major props to the random guy wearing the Nicki Minaj shirt and the DJ playing What's Love by Ja'Rule and Ashanti.  We then drove to an aunt's house and slept there until we left at around 2 the next day.  I even got to stop and take a picture with a camel on the way home.

Well guys, that's been my Naadam so far.  I will put up pictures of the adventures later on.  Til then, you gotta take my word for it!

Much Love!

Picture Post!

Hey Guys!

So I'm sorry I'm late with the post this week!  This week has been pretty slow.  I went to Darkhan for mid-center days (soooo many sessions) and now I'm back home.  It was great to see the whole group again, but it did get old pretty quickly.  I now see what the older volunteers mean when they say it's cool to visit the city but even better when you get back to your small city.  

In random news:  

1.  I got a big ol bottle of EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil) for Zelda and 2 big bottles of conditioner....Zelda WILL submit.

2.  My youngest sister had a breakdown last night (woke up crying in the middle of the night) because she missed our mom.  It was sad for me because it reminded me of something my brother (actual brother back home) would do.  I spent about an hour calming her down and rubbing her back...all while thinking about my bro.

Since this week has been so slow, I decided to share some pics of you guys from my first month.

Love Ya'll and Enjoy!!

The Airport on the night we arrived.

Our ger camp from the mountain behind it

Ulaanbaatar....Right in the square.  Check me out!

My host family and some of the other volunteers with their families (my mom is the one to the right of me...guess which one I am!)

Me cutting the girl next door's hair during a hair cutting ceremony....i was kind of nervous cutting a random person's hair.  That's my youngest sister next to me.

Me with my older (but still younger than me) sister.  There goes Sukhbaatar in the back.

The mountain right behind my host community.  I hiked up it...in Toms.  Boss life!

I Can't Believe It!

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!!

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!!!

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!!!

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.