I spend anywhere from 1-5 hours per week with my coworkers working on English, business English, everyday English, and just practicing pronounciation and spelling. They are all so interested in learning new expressions, and learning more English so they can communicate and most especially, use the internet!
Here's a small glimpse into what one of my counterparts did for homework. I find the answers really telling about how committed they are to the work we do and how it helps Mongolia. Some are just really great to read and make you smile.
"Expressions About Me"
I worry about for my country's development
I dreamt about my country is rich country
I am proud of my country's big land
I am interested in sport
I am afraid of China annexation Mongolia.
I don't believe in China
I am good at Basketball
I am poor at machine
I have to develop my country.
---
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Post Office + Peanuts + Packers = Perfection
What's a dedicated Packers fan do in Mongolia? It's 10:58 a.m. I'm in the Darkhan Post Office computer lab tuned into nfl.com, eating trail mix and listening to my iPod. I got here at 7:00 a. m. The post office has the fastest Internet in the city.
Green Bay at Dallas. It's halftime. Dallas 27 Green Bay 17. Favre is out after hurting his elbow. I'm nervous.
For someone like me who hangs on every play, this is pretty difficult. The time delay and the fact that I can only see lines of movement and descriptions of each play make not being able to "watch" the game nerve-racking, especially when we are down and not playing well like today. But beggars can't be choosers. I love my Packers and I don't have to work today. Where else would I be?
So, now I nervoulsy await the second half. I am hopeful that Favre will come back into the game, that we will overcome the deficit and win the game.
Many people think that American football is too slow, has too many pauses. I've always said that it is a game of execution and anticipation. As fans, we are not waiting but anticipating. Well, this pretty much defines that. It's almost too much anticipation. Ahhhhhhhh!
GO PACKERS!
Green Bay at Dallas. It's halftime. Dallas 27 Green Bay 17. Favre is out after hurting his elbow. I'm nervous.
For someone like me who hangs on every play, this is pretty difficult. The time delay and the fact that I can only see lines of movement and descriptions of each play make not being able to "watch" the game nerve-racking, especially when we are down and not playing well like today. But beggars can't be choosers. I love my Packers and I don't have to work today. Where else would I be?
So, now I nervoulsy await the second half. I am hopeful that Favre will come back into the game, that we will overcome the deficit and win the game.
Many people think that American football is too slow, has too many pauses. I've always said that it is a game of execution and anticipation. As fans, we are not waiting but anticipating. Well, this pretty much defines that. It's almost too much anticipation. Ahhhhhhhh!
GO PACKERS!
Saturday, November 24, 2007
Happy Thanksgiving
Yesterday we had our big Thanksgiving celebration in UB. Lots of PCVs came in from around the country. We drank lots of wine and beer, ate good food (turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, corn bread, etc.) and caught up on our lives these last few months. It was a great time.
So, following in Cady's footsteps:
I am thankful for:
- The Green Bay Packers 10-1 start!
- Making pizza at least once a week.
- Having a great host site that only seems to be getting better and better.
- A great first, and a little bit more, year of marriage.
- Packages from America.
- The best family and amazing friends (thank you all for being so good about communicating!)
- Students who answer test questions like this:
Q: What do you do at the end of a sentence when speaking English? (Correct answer (and we went over this many, many times): Pause.
Student Answer: I eat apple.
So, following in Cady's footsteps:
I am thankful for:
- The Green Bay Packers 10-1 start!
- Making pizza at least once a week.
- Having a great host site that only seems to be getting better and better.
- A great first, and a little bit more, year of marriage.
- Packages from America.
- The best family and amazing friends (thank you all for being so good about communicating!)
- Students who answer test questions like this:
Q: What do you do at the end of a sentence when speaking English? (Correct answer (and we went over this many, many times): Pause.
Student Answer: I eat apple.
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Happy Thanksgiving!
Small joys and things to be thankful for this year:
- My counterparts discovering a bag of holiday decorations and letting me decorate the whole office with tinsel!
- Family. No matter how far we go, they keep us close and are never more than a call away.
- Montou: The best steamed bread ever!
- Care packages!
- Learning new words and reading in Mongolian. I feel like a kid reading for the first time! It's a whole new world.
- Winter Silks long underwear. Wheeee! I feel slippery soft!
- Good friends, in Mongolia and halfway 'round the world.
- My counterparts discovering a bag of holiday decorations and letting me decorate the whole office with tinsel!
- Family. No matter how far we go, they keep us close and are never more than a call away.
- Montou: The best steamed bread ever!
- Care packages!
- Learning new words and reading in Mongolian. I feel like a kid reading for the first time! It's a whole new world.
- Winter Silks long underwear. Wheeee! I feel slippery soft!
- Good friends, in Mongolia and halfway 'round the world.
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Өвөл муухай хүн байдаггүй!
Өвөл муухай хүн байдаггүй! Or in English, "Winter Ugly Person Is Not There" -- or as it was interpreted for me, "In Winter, Everyone is Beautiful" is the new Mongolian phrase I've learned this past week. Since returning from my Pork Production Value Chain Adventure, or "Fall Break 2007 -- Pigs Gone Wild" as I've started calling it, my coworkers have decided that I am in fact a crazy person.
This started about a month ago, when the winter really began to settle in. I got a cold-- and to the shock and dismay of my counterparts, continued to drink my average 3 liters of "cold" (room temperature) water per day-- and even drank more than that during my worst days! Everyday I heard, "You will not get better if you drink that water! You need to drink hot tea, hot milk tea, and garlic soup!" Well, I did get better-- thanks to Mucinex and lots of water and rest. And if you ask them, that bowl of garlic soup I ate for lunch.
For IST (In-Service-Training) coming up in December, my counterparts were asked to fill out a questionnaire so that Peace Corps can tailor the training to our needs. One question asked was, "List 2-3 things your American counterpart has done that is confusing to you." Their answers were really interesting-- one of course, related to my avid water drinking habit, and the second was "Our American doesn't wear enough warm clothes! Doesn't she know that when she doesn't wear a hat and layers of long underwear her eggs will freeze?!"
The second was the most interesting to me, and we had a really good conversation about it. I explained that I am feeling pretty warm with the layers I have been wearing, and that in fact, I am more worried about the 30 and 40 below temperatures ahead, so I am adding layers as it gets colder, so I can actually feel warm when it's REALLY needed, especially the pants long underwear. I'm only wearing one layer right now (it's about 17 below, and I'm feeling pretty comfortable and thankful for smart wool!). During our conversation they explained that if I don't start wearing more layers even when I feel warm, my өндөг (or "eggs") will shrivel up and my kidneys will hurt. So, I brought that back to the first point, and said if I don't drink my 3 liters of water, THEN my kidneys will hurt! :) But, to appease them, and my ovaries, today I wore the full long underwear, my warmest hat, gloves, and scarf. I will just have to triple layer when it gets to be 30 below. Because like the Mongolians say-- it's not about fashion in the winter... It's about being warm, because in winter, everyone is beautiful.
This started about a month ago, when the winter really began to settle in. I got a cold-- and to the shock and dismay of my counterparts, continued to drink my average 3 liters of "cold" (room temperature) water per day-- and even drank more than that during my worst days! Everyday I heard, "You will not get better if you drink that water! You need to drink hot tea, hot milk tea, and garlic soup!" Well, I did get better-- thanks to Mucinex and lots of water and rest. And if you ask them, that bowl of garlic soup I ate for lunch.
For IST (In-Service-Training) coming up in December, my counterparts were asked to fill out a questionnaire so that Peace Corps can tailor the training to our needs. One question asked was, "List 2-3 things your American counterpart has done that is confusing to you." Their answers were really interesting-- one of course, related to my avid water drinking habit, and the second was "Our American doesn't wear enough warm clothes! Doesn't she know that when she doesn't wear a hat and layers of long underwear her eggs will freeze?!"
The second was the most interesting to me, and we had a really good conversation about it. I explained that I am feeling pretty warm with the layers I have been wearing, and that in fact, I am more worried about the 30 and 40 below temperatures ahead, so I am adding layers as it gets colder, so I can actually feel warm when it's REALLY needed, especially the pants long underwear. I'm only wearing one layer right now (it's about 17 below, and I'm feeling pretty comfortable and thankful for smart wool!). During our conversation they explained that if I don't start wearing more layers even when I feel warm, my өндөг (or "eggs") will shrivel up and my kidneys will hurt. So, I brought that back to the first point, and said if I don't drink my 3 liters of water, THEN my kidneys will hurt! :) But, to appease them, and my ovaries, today I wore the full long underwear, my warmest hat, gloves, and scarf. I will just have to triple layer when it gets to be 30 below. Because like the Mongolians say-- it's not about fashion in the winter... It's about being warm, because in winter, everyone is beautiful.
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Fall Break 2007: Pigs Gone Wild
I'm back to site now, getting settled back in, and continuing to finish up a little work on our Pork Production Value Chain Analysis. I've learned a lot about pork farming in Mongolia the last few weeks-- and I've learned a lot about the difference between "provider" and "facilitator" of development services. My placement agency has a lot of work to do in the next few years in terms of transitioning into a sustainable NGO, and this Value Chain analysis was a good first introduction into these ideas.
But back to the good stuff! Pigs! I met some of the most interesting people in the last few weeks! My favorite is one of the small scale pork farmers I met in our first round of interviews. We visited her farm, and after we got over the initial "oh my gosh, your hair is blonde!" discussions, she taught me about how she makes her pigs "smarter" buy playing them classical music. They love it she says, and they are much smarter than other farmer's pigs. I felt bad that those smarties ended up the same place as the "less than average IQ" pigs from down the road, but it was interesting none the less. We also uncovered what seemed to be something that resembled a pork mafia -- one wholesaler seemed to have a monopoly of sales channels between the farmers and processors, and kept it that way (or so we heard).
Pork production is a growing industry in Mongolia-- and hopefully will continue to grow, especially with some of the market solutions we've begun to help facilitate. I'll keep you posted, but in the mean time, please continue to only eat pork that has the "This Pig Listened to Mozart" stamp of approval.
But back to the good stuff! Pigs! I met some of the most interesting people in the last few weeks! My favorite is one of the small scale pork farmers I met in our first round of interviews. We visited her farm, and after we got over the initial "oh my gosh, your hair is blonde!" discussions, she taught me about how she makes her pigs "smarter" buy playing them classical music. They love it she says, and they are much smarter than other farmer's pigs. I felt bad that those smarties ended up the same place as the "less than average IQ" pigs from down the road, but it was interesting none the less. We also uncovered what seemed to be something that resembled a pork mafia -- one wholesaler seemed to have a monopoly of sales channels between the farmers and processors, and kept it that way (or so we heard).
Pork production is a growing industry in Mongolia-- and hopefully will continue to grow, especially with some of the market solutions we've begun to help facilitate. I'll keep you posted, but in the mean time, please continue to only eat pork that has the "This Pig Listened to Mozart" stamp of approval.
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
On the Road Again...
I'm still out traveling-- and have been since late October! I just learned that I will finally be back to site by November 12 or 13th. I feel very lucky to be seeing so much while we're here in Mongolia, and as a CED volunteer, I've gotten to travel a fair amount!
This trip has been a little different than my past hudoo adventures-- I have an international NGO as a Host Country Agency (HCA as Peace Corps calls them), and they've been so generous. I've been in a very nice hotel-- with a fuzzy wonderful robe, and EVEN American TV shows! The seasons are one behind American seasons-- but beggars can't be choosers, and I'll watch it! It's a very traditional Peace Corps experience, you know-- sitting in my terry cloth robe, eating bon bons, and watching The Office. I'm not sure what bon bons even are though. The other two are true!
Completely aside from working -- I have had so many "small world" experiences lately. I found a laundromat in UB this weekend (WITH DRYERS!!!) and the machines they used were none other than Speed Queen out of Ripon, Wisconsin. After a little nostalgia for Ripon which lead to nostalgia for home, I realized how clean and wonderful smelling my clothes were! It has been at least 6 months since my clothes have been this clean and fresh.
I've been working with the GER Initiative country-wide team to develop a Value Chain Analysis. The team of business advisors working on the analysis are top notch in their field, and I feel lucky to be learning so much from them! Recently, after learning about how to conduct the selection and analysis process, we've begun our analysis on the Pork value chain in Mongolia. If I never eat processed pork ever again, it may be too soon.
Cady at the Darkhan Crossroads
I put up a picture that my counterparts took of me at the Darkhan-Uul Aimag border crossroads. This is the border you cross to go anywhere outside of the Darkhan aimag-- our CHF drivers drop me off there, pick me up, shuffle me into other vehicles, and I feel like I've seen those crossroads these past few months than I have my bed! Whenever I see that billboard, I strangely feel more relaxed and I can finally breathe deeply. It's starting to feel like home!
I'm holding up well though, enjoying the adventures as they come, and learning a lot about Mongolian businesses and how important they are for the development of Mongolia. When I return to site, it'll be time to get ready to head back to UB for Thanksgiving, a short return back to site, and then back again for our In-Service Training. Maybe next year I'll get all those ideas turned into secondary projects. . . the two years are just flying by too quickly!
This trip has been a little different than my past hudoo adventures-- I have an international NGO as a Host Country Agency (HCA as Peace Corps calls them), and they've been so generous. I've been in a very nice hotel-- with a fuzzy wonderful robe, and EVEN American TV shows! The seasons are one behind American seasons-- but beggars can't be choosers, and I'll watch it! It's a very traditional Peace Corps experience, you know-- sitting in my terry cloth robe, eating bon bons, and watching The Office. I'm not sure what bon bons even are though. The other two are true!
Completely aside from working -- I have had so many "small world" experiences lately. I found a laundromat in UB this weekend (WITH DRYERS!!!) and the machines they used were none other than Speed Queen out of Ripon, Wisconsin. After a little nostalgia for Ripon which lead to nostalgia for home, I realized how clean and wonderful smelling my clothes were! It has been at least 6 months since my clothes have been this clean and fresh.
I've been working with the GER Initiative country-wide team to develop a Value Chain Analysis. The team of business advisors working on the analysis are top notch in their field, and I feel lucky to be learning so much from them! Recently, after learning about how to conduct the selection and analysis process, we've begun our analysis on the Pork value chain in Mongolia. If I never eat processed pork ever again, it may be too soon.
Cady at the Darkhan Crossroads
I put up a picture that my counterparts took of me at the Darkhan-Uul Aimag border crossroads. This is the border you cross to go anywhere outside of the Darkhan aimag-- our CHF drivers drop me off there, pick me up, shuffle me into other vehicles, and I feel like I've seen those crossroads these past few months than I have my bed! Whenever I see that billboard, I strangely feel more relaxed and I can finally breathe deeply. It's starting to feel like home!
I'm holding up well though, enjoying the adventures as they come, and learning a lot about Mongolian businesses and how important they are for the development of Mongolia. When I return to site, it'll be time to get ready to head back to UB for Thanksgiving, a short return back to site, and then back again for our In-Service Training. Maybe next year I'll get all those ideas turned into secondary projects. . . the two years are just flying by too quickly!
баяртай, Lucy!
17 days after little Lucy came into our lives she is gone. Last night, I took Lucy to her new owners, the parents of the boyfriend of one my counterparts. She will live in a ger haasha very near the Haara River. There she will have two older male dogs to protect her and to show her the way. The parents seem very nice, especially the mother. I was told today by my counterpart that Lucy is a welcomed addition to the ger, that they are happy to have new entertainment in their home. Also, the family has decided to keep calling her Lucy.
A text message (a very popular mode of communication here, much cheaper than making calls) last night from Lucy’s new mom: “Hi. Lucy is good. I will feed her in the mornings and at night. I have a pretty dog. Thank you for your present.” The best part about this message is that she didn’t have to send it. I think we can confidently say that we have found Lucy a good home.
Over the last two and a half weeks the three of us had our ups and our downs, but Cady and I are better people having known her. She leaves us a happy puppy and we know she will live a happy life and grow to be a happy dog in the countryside. So as they say goodbye in Mongolia-- Bayartai! (or more like баяртай!).
Her last photo!
A text message (a very popular mode of communication here, much cheaper than making calls) last night from Lucy’s new mom: “Hi. Lucy is good. I will feed her in the mornings and at night. I have a pretty dog. Thank you for your present.” The best part about this message is that she didn’t have to send it. I think we can confidently say that we have found Lucy a good home.
Over the last two and a half weeks the three of us had our ups and our downs, but Cady and I are better people having known her. She leaves us a happy puppy and we know she will live a happy life and grow to be a happy dog in the countryside. So as they say goodbye in Mongolia-- Bayartai! (or more like баяртай!).
Her last photo!
Monday, November 5, 2007
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Zza-licious Indeed!
The days of eating only sandwiches are over. Tonight’s dinner: pepperoni and diced onion pizza topped with oregano and other Italian seasonings.
Never fear, pizza is here!
Never fear, pizza is here!
Friday, November 2, 2007
Let's speak English
My 3rd course students are my best students. As a class, they have a lot of potential. They are active. They are interested. They are quick learners. They continually surprise me.
Yesterday, as I was prepping the blackboard for class, a few students entered the room. One of them, Holly (her English name, of course), held a rolled up blue sheet of paper, held rolled by purple ribbon. When she saw that I noticed what was in her hand, she quickly hid it beneath her jacket, saying: “Teacher, will you stand outside for a minute?” As the rest of the class came in behind her, I, confused and chuckling, asked: “You want me to go outside?” Excitedly she replied: “Yes! Yes!” So, I exited the room. I stood outside for a good 2 minutes wondering what it was they were up to.
“Okay, come in!” said Holly grinning from ear to ear opening the door. As I looked ahead I saw a rolled up blue sheet of paper tied closed with a piece of purple ribbon, held to a strand of black string hanging from the ceiling. Hmmm.
“What is this? Is this for me?” I asked them, all sitting, giggling, anticipating. “Yes. Yes. Read, Teacher!” So I pulled the paper from the ribbon, the ribbon now dangling at my shoulder, and I read:
Thursday,
November01,
2007
Dear Teacher
Well, we are happy to write this letter to you. We always admire you. So we are very lucky students. We have known a lot since you began to teach us. We really aim to speak English fluently. So we are organizing the curriculum named “Let’s speak English” after lesson. We would like to learn more. We want to cooperate with you closely. We are expecting that you will promote this new, important outdoor activity and it would become efficiently to study English.
* This activity has the following goals:
- To improve speaking ability. To express own opinion precisely.
- To cooperate with you closely. To strengthen cooperation between teach and students.
- To exchange bilateral culture of two cultures.
- To improve listening ability. To pronounce right and to learn from civilized cultural communication.
* There are organizing procedure and operation:
- By the rule of questions and answers.
- To use pictures, photos and books.
- To collect and prepare interesting news…
- Unexpected surprising from a teacher and from a students every week
- To ask any information what everyone wants to know.
This activity will be held for out class. So please promote this activity. We are expecting we can cooperate with you and we hope you will devote us your leisure time. Can you write your reply in three days? We are looking forward to hearing you as possible as.
Sincerely, Your students
“Who wrote this? Did you all write this together?” I asked. “Yes, Teacher, we did. You will tell us what you think?” Today I was told by one of their Mongolian teachers, one of my counterparts whose English is quite good, that the only instruction she knows they were given was her own, a few words of advice in Mongolian, nothing in English.
What can I say? I’ve never once mentioned the idea of an English club.
What can I say? They continually impress me.
What can I say? Yes, let’s speak English…
Yesterday, as I was prepping the blackboard for class, a few students entered the room. One of them, Holly (her English name, of course), held a rolled up blue sheet of paper, held rolled by purple ribbon. When she saw that I noticed what was in her hand, she quickly hid it beneath her jacket, saying: “Teacher, will you stand outside for a minute?” As the rest of the class came in behind her, I, confused and chuckling, asked: “You want me to go outside?” Excitedly she replied: “Yes! Yes!” So, I exited the room. I stood outside for a good 2 minutes wondering what it was they were up to.
“Okay, come in!” said Holly grinning from ear to ear opening the door. As I looked ahead I saw a rolled up blue sheet of paper tied closed with a piece of purple ribbon, held to a strand of black string hanging from the ceiling. Hmmm.
“What is this? Is this for me?” I asked them, all sitting, giggling, anticipating. “Yes. Yes. Read, Teacher!” So I pulled the paper from the ribbon, the ribbon now dangling at my shoulder, and I read:
Thursday,
November01,
2007
Dear Teacher
Well, we are happy to write this letter to you. We always admire you. So we are very lucky students. We have known a lot since you began to teach us. We really aim to speak English fluently. So we are organizing the curriculum named “Let’s speak English” after lesson. We would like to learn more. We want to cooperate with you closely. We are expecting that you will promote this new, important outdoor activity and it would become efficiently to study English.
* This activity has the following goals:
- To improve speaking ability. To express own opinion precisely.
- To cooperate with you closely. To strengthen cooperation between teach and students.
- To exchange bilateral culture of two cultures.
- To improve listening ability. To pronounce right and to learn from civilized cultural communication.
* There are organizing procedure and operation:
- By the rule of questions and answers.
- To use pictures, photos and books.
- To collect and prepare interesting news…
- Unexpected surprising from a teacher and from a students every week
- To ask any information what everyone wants to know.
This activity will be held for out class. So please promote this activity. We are expecting we can cooperate with you and we hope you will devote us your leisure time. Can you write your reply in three days? We are looking forward to hearing you as possible as.
Sincerely, Your students
“Who wrote this? Did you all write this together?” I asked. “Yes, Teacher, we did. You will tell us what you think?” Today I was told by one of their Mongolian teachers, one of my counterparts whose English is quite good, that the only instruction she knows they were given was her own, a few words of advice in Mongolian, nothing in English.
What can I say? I’ve never once mentioned the idea of an English club.
What can I say? They continually impress me.
What can I say? Yes, let’s speak English…
Teacher and Now "Administrator"
I recently wrote an entry about my duties here at the university. Well, as of today I can add something along the lines of "administration advisor."
I had a meeting today with the director of the school. I met with her to discuss several issues, personal and professional. The bulk of our time was spent discussing two very serious school issues: early semester attendance problems and student fees problems. The last 15 minutes we discussed the terms of my involvement with such larger institutional issues. I asked if I could attend weekly director/department head meetings. My weekly department meetings just aren’t enough. I would like to be in the room with the people that make the decisions and hopefully take part in some of the decision-making. She (the director) was very willing to extend an invitation.
After an hour and a half of discussing various topics, I began to realize that I want to do more. I want to be more active. In addition to wanting to improve the quality of English instruction at my school I also want to join in on discussions of how the school is run, to talk about what the real needs are. After all, if certain administrative problems are not addressed and/or corrected, it makes teaching English, teaching in general, extremely difficult.
I really feel that being a good Peace Corps volunteer is more than just teaching English classes. Being a good TEFL UT PCV is improving the quality of education at my school, in and out of the classroom. If I did any less I’d leave here after two years thinking I did less than my best. The experience of working with the administration is mutually beneficial. These new challenges are both overwhelming and invigorating.
From my meeting, then, with the director today, we have begun problem-solving steps to correct current issues. I have already written one proposal: "A Proposal to Remedy Early Semester Attendance Problems." Because the director had already approved the document, we've moved to the next step. A committee has been formed, people selected by myself and the director. Leaders from the administration, of the teachers and the student organization, myself and a translator will all meet as many times as is necessary to have a draft ready for the start of next semester. Our first meeting will be next week. We will prepare a proposal that is ready for discussion during the director/department head meeting on the 14th. Many of the same people, including myself and my translator, will be at that meeting as well. From there we will discuss the attendance committee’s proposal for a document that will be ready for the beginning of the spring semester. A copy of this document (as well as other new school policies and general university information (all projects I will be a part of) will then be sent home to the students' families. A second copy (along with information regarding new student fees regulations (for which I must now write a proposal) will be given to every student at the beginning of the spring semester during a mandatory all-school meeting.
It appears as though all of the initiatives I have begun are in full swing. Partnership, change and progress after only 2 months is a pretty good start.
A commitment like this means more of everything. More hours at school. More work outside of school. More work in general. The thought is exhausting as I already feel I am working a lot of hours and investing a lot of myself in this school. On the other hand, I know that I am only here for two short years and this is an opportunity I can’t pass up. It’s why I am here. It’s why I love my job. It’s yet another reason to love the ivory tower, Mongolian or otherwise.
Proposals. Committees. Meetings. All in a day’s work for an English teacher.
I had a meeting today with the director of the school. I met with her to discuss several issues, personal and professional. The bulk of our time was spent discussing two very serious school issues: early semester attendance problems and student fees problems. The last 15 minutes we discussed the terms of my involvement with such larger institutional issues. I asked if I could attend weekly director/department head meetings. My weekly department meetings just aren’t enough. I would like to be in the room with the people that make the decisions and hopefully take part in some of the decision-making. She (the director) was very willing to extend an invitation.
After an hour and a half of discussing various topics, I began to realize that I want to do more. I want to be more active. In addition to wanting to improve the quality of English instruction at my school I also want to join in on discussions of how the school is run, to talk about what the real needs are. After all, if certain administrative problems are not addressed and/or corrected, it makes teaching English, teaching in general, extremely difficult.
I really feel that being a good Peace Corps volunteer is more than just teaching English classes. Being a good TEFL UT PCV is improving the quality of education at my school, in and out of the classroom. If I did any less I’d leave here after two years thinking I did less than my best. The experience of working with the administration is mutually beneficial. These new challenges are both overwhelming and invigorating.
From my meeting, then, with the director today, we have begun problem-solving steps to correct current issues. I have already written one proposal: "A Proposal to Remedy Early Semester Attendance Problems." Because the director had already approved the document, we've moved to the next step. A committee has been formed, people selected by myself and the director. Leaders from the administration, of the teachers and the student organization, myself and a translator will all meet as many times as is necessary to have a draft ready for the start of next semester. Our first meeting will be next week. We will prepare a proposal that is ready for discussion during the director/department head meeting on the 14th. Many of the same people, including myself and my translator, will be at that meeting as well. From there we will discuss the attendance committee’s proposal for a document that will be ready for the beginning of the spring semester. A copy of this document (as well as other new school policies and general university information (all projects I will be a part of) will then be sent home to the students' families. A second copy (along with information regarding new student fees regulations (for which I must now write a proposal) will be given to every student at the beginning of the spring semester during a mandatory all-school meeting.
It appears as though all of the initiatives I have begun are in full swing. Partnership, change and progress after only 2 months is a pretty good start.
A commitment like this means more of everything. More hours at school. More work outside of school. More work in general. The thought is exhausting as I already feel I am working a lot of hours and investing a lot of myself in this school. On the other hand, I know that I am only here for two short years and this is an opportunity I can’t pass up. It’s why I am here. It’s why I love my job. It’s yet another reason to love the ivory tower, Mongolian or otherwise.
Proposals. Committees. Meetings. All in a day’s work for an English teacher.
Sunday, October 28, 2007
She is a Mongolian Puppy
After some long and difficult conversations, Cady and I have come to a decision. Because Lucy is a Mongolian puppy we feel it is best to make sure that she stays a Mongolian puppy. By that, I mean we have decided to begin looking for a good, new, Mongolian home for Lucy.
When we brought her into our home we agreed that we didn't know how long she would be with us. Our only goal that night was to give her a warm place to sleep and a little bit of love she probably had never had. Each day Cady and I have talked about what we will do. Do we keep her for our 2 years here? Do we keep her through the winter? Do we keep her until her strength returns and until we can find a good, Mongolian home? We have finally made a final decision. We have decided to post signs and begin looking for a family that needs a haasha puppy.
Lucy is, after all, a Mongolian dog. The longer we keep her the less prepared she will be to live like Mongolian haasha dogs do. We cannot soften her up. We cannot domesticate her.
Thank you to those of you who have gotten Lucy gifts. I'm sure she feels your love and appreciates it. As to whether or not you should send them? Well, I can't tell you how long she will be with us. She may be with us another couples days. She may live with us for weeks or months. We just do not know. We hope that we can find her a new home as soon as possible. Therefore, we leave it up to you what to do with your gifts for her.
Cady and I both love Lucy and have found this to be a very difficult decision. We believe that Lucy has come into our lives for a reason. She has given us much as we have given her much. It will be hard for us to say goodbye, but we believe that it is necessary, that it is best for all of us.
When we brought her into our home we agreed that we didn't know how long she would be with us. Our only goal that night was to give her a warm place to sleep and a little bit of love she probably had never had. Each day Cady and I have talked about what we will do. Do we keep her for our 2 years here? Do we keep her through the winter? Do we keep her until her strength returns and until we can find a good, Mongolian home? We have finally made a final decision. We have decided to post signs and begin looking for a family that needs a haasha puppy.
Lucy is, after all, a Mongolian dog. The longer we keep her the less prepared she will be to live like Mongolian haasha dogs do. We cannot soften her up. We cannot domesticate her.
Thank you to those of you who have gotten Lucy gifts. I'm sure she feels your love and appreciates it. As to whether or not you should send them? Well, I can't tell you how long she will be with us. She may be with us another couples days. She may live with us for weeks or months. We just do not know. We hope that we can find her a new home as soon as possible. Therefore, we leave it up to you what to do with your gifts for her.
Cady and I both love Lucy and have found this to be a very difficult decision. We believe that Lucy has come into our lives for a reason. She has given us much as we have given her much. It will be hard for us to say goodbye, but we believe that it is necessary, that it is best for all of us.
Friday, October 26, 2007
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Sandwiches again?
When Cady is out of town on business, there’s only one person to feed. I don’t need to make big meals. And it’s not that I can’t cook, it’s that I’m so good at making sandwiches. Besides, this way I’m saving the good food, the good meals for when we can both enjoy them. I don’t want to be selfish. And, it’s only four days. Mmm, sandwiches….
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Traveling a lot!
I've been in and out of site for business travel for the past couple of weeks since my birthday-- lots of interesting trips, including an all staff meeting in the beautiful Terelj National Park, and a trip to a cooperative development informational meeting in Bulgan aimag. The Bulgan trip was my first adventure out -- and I learned a LOT about cultural communication and being patient and prepared for everything! This next week or so, I'll head to UB, the capital for a two-three week training with our advisors on Value Chains.
The Terelj all staff meeting was a great experience. I got to run a couple of sessions, including, "How to Utilize Your PCV" where we discussed some possible work plan ideas and expectations we had of each other, and for fun, a team building exercise called "Touch the Can" -- You can see from the photo below how much fun our advisors had doing the team building activities... however none of them are touching the can! We had 4 team building exercises that were "cooperative" games-- and in true competitive Mongolian fashion, we turned them into competitive games with scoring and a champion team at the end. We had fun though-- the 3 other CHF placed PCVs had a good time catching up, and it was nice to do some capacity building training with our advisors.
.JPG)
The Terelj all staff meeting was a great experience. I got to run a couple of sessions, including, "How to Utilize Your PCV" where we discussed some possible work plan ideas and expectations we had of each other, and for fun, a team building exercise called "Touch the Can" -- You can see from the photo below how much fun our advisors had doing the team building activities... however none of them are touching the can! We had 4 team building exercises that were "cooperative" games-- and in true competitive Mongolian fashion, we turned them into competitive games with scoring and a champion team at the end. We had fun though-- the 3 other CHF placed PCVs had a good time catching up, and it was nice to do some capacity building training with our advisors.
.JPG)
Monday, October 22, 2007
Homemade Zza!
The other night we had incredible pizza. Thanks to the spices we’ve received, namely Italian seasonings, and Cady’s creativity, we had what tasted like restaurant-style pizza. So, so good. It put store-bought, restaurant, and delivery pizza to shame. It’s a true slice of Americana. It’s the best pizza I have had in Mongolia. And believe me, I’ve searched for it here. Mongolians just can’t make pizza like Americans can.
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Indecisive No Longer: “Maybe”
When I was in AmeriCorps, one of my teammates, Jessica, and I were paired for a team-building activity. We were to come up with up with a name for our team. We couldn’t decide on one. When it came time for us to say our name all we could think of was “in” and “decisive.” I’m still not sure who was which.
I think I have always felt a little indecisive.
Since coming to Mongolia, and particularly now after being at site, however, I can firmly say that I am more direct now than I have ever been. I attribute that in large part to the word “maybe.”
Maybe, it seems to me, is as much a part of Mongolian culture as anything else: Are we going to have a meeting today? Maybe. Why did students not come to class today? Maybe it’s because they think classes are boring. When will the heating problem be fixed? Maybe tomorrow.
Sometimes I just want to know if it will or if it will not, if the answer is yes or no, if we can or cannot. Sometimes, then, I just need to say, because no one else will, that it won’t, that the answer is yes or that we can.
I knew before I came here that Mongolian people are lax, that being on time, for example, does not meant the same thing here as it does in America. Being hours “late” is the same thing sometimes as being on time. Waiting is customary. Waiting is expected.
Sometimes I just can’t wait. Sometimes it is important to do. Sometimes someone just needs to get the ball rolling. At work, that person is usually me. It’s not a role with which I am very accustom or necessarily comfortable, but it’s feeling more natural each time I do it.
Other times it is okay to wait. Maybe it’s not always necessary to have an answer to know what’s going on.
I think I have always felt a little indecisive.
Since coming to Mongolia, and particularly now after being at site, however, I can firmly say that I am more direct now than I have ever been. I attribute that in large part to the word “maybe.”
Maybe, it seems to me, is as much a part of Mongolian culture as anything else: Are we going to have a meeting today? Maybe. Why did students not come to class today? Maybe it’s because they think classes are boring. When will the heating problem be fixed? Maybe tomorrow.
Sometimes I just want to know if it will or if it will not, if the answer is yes or no, if we can or cannot. Sometimes, then, I just need to say, because no one else will, that it won’t, that the answer is yes or that we can.
I knew before I came here that Mongolian people are lax, that being on time, for example, does not meant the same thing here as it does in America. Being hours “late” is the same thing sometimes as being on time. Waiting is customary. Waiting is expected.
Sometimes I just can’t wait. Sometimes it is important to do. Sometimes someone just needs to get the ball rolling. At work, that person is usually me. It’s not a role with which I am very accustom or necessarily comfortable, but it’s feeling more natural each time I do it.
Other times it is okay to wait. Maybe it’s not always necessary to have an answer to know what’s going on.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Site: My job at MUST of Darkhan
My job at the Mongolian University of Science and Technology (MUST) of Darkhan has many parts. First, I teach English to students. All of my students are studying to become English and Russian translators. Their focus, then, is language studies. I have recently learned that this translation studies major at MUST schools across Mongolia was 2 years ago discontinued by the Minister of Education. Therefore, the two grades of students I have are some of the last of their kind. I have 3 classes. 2 of those classes are with 3rd course students, a.k.a. juniors (the same group of juniors) and the other is with 4th course students, a.k.a. seniors. With the 3rd course students, I teach Spoken English and Grammar/Vocabulary. With the 4th course students, I teach Spoken English. Oddly enough, the 3rd course students have stronger English language skills and are all around better students. As a result, I have been told that most of my time here in Darkhan will be spent instructing the 3rd course students, those who are most willing to work with a native teacher and those with the most potential to capitalize on their instruction. From my end, I am thankful for this. The 3rd course students have thus far been a pleasure to teach.
Second, I observe the other English teachers. These teachers have a range of language skills capabilities, methodological styles, and teaching abilities. Their desire, as with all teachers, is to become better at what they do. There are 5 other English teachers. They are all women. In fact, all of my 11 counterparts are women. The longest tenured English teacher has 10 years experience at my school. Each of these women has a Master’s degree. So, in Mongolia they are all qualified to teach college English. In my observations, I note their strengths and weaknesses, how they can improve and what new teaching styles would be of benefit to them. I work with 1 teacher each week. I observe 3 classes each week. After I have worked with each teacher, I begin again the rotation. My general assessment thus far is that each teacher needs improvement, but more than that, the curriculum is in need of changing. The greatest problems I observe is that students 1) regardless of level or ability are being too quickly moved along by their teachers and are not given adequate time to learn what they have been taught and 2) the content is not optimal for beginning learners or for long-term learning. Both of these are problems not particular to Mongolia; they exist everywhere.
.jpg)
Peter with some of his counterparts at Opening Ceremonies
Third, I am preparing my colleges for the TOEFL IBT or Teaching of English as a Foreign Language Institutional-Based Test. It is a modified, more basic version of the international-recognized TOEFL exam. I am preparing 7 women (5 of which are the aforementioned English teachers) for the exam I am told they will take in the next couple weeks. For the most part, I teach strategies for question-answering. I assign them homework, sample tests, and then twice a week, Tuesdays and Thursdays, we work through them together. After two weeks of preparation, it is apparent to me that language skills of even the better teachers require a lot of work. They all do, however, have the desire to improve. It was their idea to receive homework daily. We talk about answering such things as detail questions, main idea questions, inference questions, etc. And what we’re really talking about, as much as it TOEFL preparation is just as much about critical thinking.
Finally, the last big part of my job is to act as an advocate or an advisor for all things university-related. When I am asked or when a situation requires it, I give feedback on a variety of issues. Some of my recent interjections as an advisor have been about the format and content of student presentations. The 4th course students are required to present on a three-week language practice they conducted over the summer as well as a recent two-week teaching practice which pulled them from all classes earlier this semester. I sit in on these presentations and share my impressions with the department chair and the other English teachers. I find that I am more openly honest and constructively critical than I think I have ever been. I realize the absolute importance of my candor and therefore don’t hold back. I genuinely want these activities to be of the most benefit for the department and for the students. That requires, in my professional opinion (I’ve always wanted to write that), changes in procedures and attitudes. These same things are sometimes required university-wide, as is with the case of a proposal I have been working on that I will turn in to the school director on Monday. This proposal discusses the very serious early semester attendance problem, in which many students do not arrive until the 2nd, 3rd and even sometimes 4th weeks of classes. I have taken it upon myself to interview teachers and student representatives, compose a document for change and to bring it before the administration in an effort to improve an existing university problem.
+(Small).jpg)
The University Building
So far, I have really enjoyed this job. I spend a lot of hours lesson planning, developing relationships with co-workers, giving advice on any number of topics (sometimes this comes in the form of seminar presentations), assessing my work environment and thinking about what it all means. It is challenging. It is rewarding. It is the kind of Peace Corps assignment best suited for me.
Second, I observe the other English teachers. These teachers have a range of language skills capabilities, methodological styles, and teaching abilities. Their desire, as with all teachers, is to become better at what they do. There are 5 other English teachers. They are all women. In fact, all of my 11 counterparts are women. The longest tenured English teacher has 10 years experience at my school. Each of these women has a Master’s degree. So, in Mongolia they are all qualified to teach college English. In my observations, I note their strengths and weaknesses, how they can improve and what new teaching styles would be of benefit to them. I work with 1 teacher each week. I observe 3 classes each week. After I have worked with each teacher, I begin again the rotation. My general assessment thus far is that each teacher needs improvement, but more than that, the curriculum is in need of changing. The greatest problems I observe is that students 1) regardless of level or ability are being too quickly moved along by their teachers and are not given adequate time to learn what they have been taught and 2) the content is not optimal for beginning learners or for long-term learning. Both of these are problems not particular to Mongolia; they exist everywhere.
.jpg)
Peter with some of his counterparts at Opening Ceremonies
Third, I am preparing my colleges for the TOEFL IBT or Teaching of English as a Foreign Language Institutional-Based Test. It is a modified, more basic version of the international-recognized TOEFL exam. I am preparing 7 women (5 of which are the aforementioned English teachers) for the exam I am told they will take in the next couple weeks. For the most part, I teach strategies for question-answering. I assign them homework, sample tests, and then twice a week, Tuesdays and Thursdays, we work through them together. After two weeks of preparation, it is apparent to me that language skills of even the better teachers require a lot of work. They all do, however, have the desire to improve. It was their idea to receive homework daily. We talk about answering such things as detail questions, main idea questions, inference questions, etc. And what we’re really talking about, as much as it TOEFL preparation is just as much about critical thinking.
Finally, the last big part of my job is to act as an advocate or an advisor for all things university-related. When I am asked or when a situation requires it, I give feedback on a variety of issues. Some of my recent interjections as an advisor have been about the format and content of student presentations. The 4th course students are required to present on a three-week language practice they conducted over the summer as well as a recent two-week teaching practice which pulled them from all classes earlier this semester. I sit in on these presentations and share my impressions with the department chair and the other English teachers. I find that I am more openly honest and constructively critical than I think I have ever been. I realize the absolute importance of my candor and therefore don’t hold back. I genuinely want these activities to be of the most benefit for the department and for the students. That requires, in my professional opinion (I’ve always wanted to write that), changes in procedures and attitudes. These same things are sometimes required university-wide, as is with the case of a proposal I have been working on that I will turn in to the school director on Monday. This proposal discusses the very serious early semester attendance problem, in which many students do not arrive until the 2nd, 3rd and even sometimes 4th weeks of classes. I have taken it upon myself to interview teachers and student representatives, compose a document for change and to bring it before the administration in an effort to improve an existing university problem.
+(Small).jpg)
The University Building
So far, I have really enjoyed this job. I spend a lot of hours lesson planning, developing relationships with co-workers, giving advice on any number of topics (sometimes this comes in the form of seminar presentations), assessing my work environment and thinking about what it all means. It is challenging. It is rewarding. It is the kind of Peace Corps assignment best suited for me.
Friday, October 12, 2007
Following the Packers
I’ve done this one before. While in AmeriCorps there was a time or two when I had to check the games via the web. At times I would even “watch” the whole game on nfl.com. Thankfully, there is a feature which allows a person to follow the game play by play with the use of a self-updating feature, updating itself every few seconds. This way I could anxiously, nervously rock back and forth in my chair, wondering: ‘but what did that play look like?’ It has its pros and its cons. Worse yet, when living in London in 2000, I had to go the better part of the season tracking the Packers exclusively from the Internet. I was now 7 hours ahead of Packer time, a.k.a. Central Standard Time. In my flat we had a TV that had maybe 4 channels. Somehow I was, however, able to watch Monday Night Football on Tuesday mornings. I guess it had something to do with the fact that I was in London and not, say a developing country half way around the globe.
I realize now that all of that was just practice. Now I am 13 hours ahead, twice as long in time as I’ve ever been from Brett Favre, Lambeau Field, the heartbeat of Packer Nation. These days I go bed Sunday nights anxious, nervous and wake up the same. I hurry to work, praying to God that the Internet is working that day. I wait a full far too many minutes for nfl.com to upload. Then, I let out a jubilant yelp that the whole school can probably hear or a “Shit!” that only the people in the room can hear. As I see it, this is exactly what Peace Corps is talking about with their second goal: bringing American culture to my host nation.
You might be asking yourself, what is Peter doing from Mongolia to ensure victory? After all, I’m a superstitious about this as I always have been. I know that being a shareholder just isn’t enough. So…when doing laundry, for example, I use the appropriate number of green and yellow-colored clothes hanging clips. This past week we played Chicago. We were 4-0 going into the game. And as logic would have it, I placed 5 clips on my Packers t-shirt, making sure to lay the shirt upright so that the gods would see what I have done. Another example? Sure. Well, let’s see. My superstitiousness also carries through when I go running. I run in the hills behind our apartment. On top of the higher hill tops are owoos, traditional rock piles placed by passers-by asking for safe journey (see photos). A person passing by must walk 3 times clockwise around the rocks. So, when doing so, I lay the appropriate number of rocks. A couple of weeks ago, we played the Vikings (a game in which, I might add, Brett Favre broke the all-time TD record). We were 3-0 at the time. I laid…that’s right, 4 rocks. We won. So, sometimes it works and others it doesn’t. My game plan now, however, is different. I have come to realize that I can’t do the same thing every week. What sense would that make? After all, the Packers don’t prepare for each team exactly the same way. They still prepare, though. And as long as the Packers prepare, Peter too prepares.
GO PACKERS!
I realize now that all of that was just practice. Now I am 13 hours ahead, twice as long in time as I’ve ever been from Brett Favre, Lambeau Field, the heartbeat of Packer Nation. These days I go bed Sunday nights anxious, nervous and wake up the same. I hurry to work, praying to God that the Internet is working that day. I wait a full far too many minutes for nfl.com to upload. Then, I let out a jubilant yelp that the whole school can probably hear or a “Shit!” that only the people in the room can hear. As I see it, this is exactly what Peace Corps is talking about with their second goal: bringing American culture to my host nation.
You might be asking yourself, what is Peter doing from Mongolia to ensure victory? After all, I’m a superstitious about this as I always have been. I know that being a shareholder just isn’t enough. So…when doing laundry, for example, I use the appropriate number of green and yellow-colored clothes hanging clips. This past week we played Chicago. We were 4-0 going into the game. And as logic would have it, I placed 5 clips on my Packers t-shirt, making sure to lay the shirt upright so that the gods would see what I have done. Another example? Sure. Well, let’s see. My superstitiousness also carries through when I go running. I run in the hills behind our apartment. On top of the higher hill tops are owoos, traditional rock piles placed by passers-by asking for safe journey (see photos). A person passing by must walk 3 times clockwise around the rocks. So, when doing so, I lay the appropriate number of rocks. A couple of weeks ago, we played the Vikings (a game in which, I might add, Brett Favre broke the all-time TD record). We were 3-0 at the time. I laid…that’s right, 4 rocks. We won. So, sometimes it works and others it doesn’t. My game plan now, however, is different. I have come to realize that I can’t do the same thing every week. What sense would that make? After all, the Packers don’t prepare for each team exactly the same way. They still prepare, though. And as long as the Packers prepare, Peter too prepares.
GO PACKERS!
Monday, October 8, 2007
PhD Party
First, a little background…
In America (here I go beginning a comparison…exactly what I shouldn’t be doing) getting an advanced degree is usually a lot of work. To get my Master’s degree it took me two somewhat grueling (and at times, very grueling) years. I would not, however, say that the completion of my degree was necessarily an American cultural event.
Now, on to the party…
Last week Thursday I was told: “Tomorrow night you’re going to be busy.” Seeing as how I didn’t have any plans I was wondering how they knew something that I didn’t. They told me that I was going to go to a celebration for a teacher at my school who just received his PhD. In Mongolia, I was told, when people get their PhD they usually get a big party that is a lot like a wedding. The party is held in a reception hall, or in this case, a hotel (ironically, this is the same hotel where we always came as trainees when would have sessions in Darkhan. It was trippy to say the least.). There is cake, dinner, people give speeches of congratulations, singing and dancing, and, of course, plenty of drinking.
I arrived at the hotel a little before 7:00 p.m. We (every teacher from my school was invited) waited, as is customary, in the lobby about a half an hour before we went into the large banquet room. Then, word came that were should enter. What I saw was the most elegant presentation of tables I have seen in Mongolia. The room was a rectangle. There were two very long tables along the sides. There was another long table along the back (furthest from and facing the door as is customary in Mongolia) where the honored guest and his wife sat. Also at this table was the director of the school and other honored teachers. Down the center of the room were four round tables. The table at which I sat was closest to the stage.
Each table was beautifully decorated with plates of appetizers, glasses, bottles of vodka and juice, cans of beer, a bowl of fruit, and a cake. My counterparts told me that such a party costs a lot of money. I could see why. In fact, we each gave 6,000 Tugricks.
First, we sat down. We waited. More people came. We waited. Then, the lights went down low, music that could have been from Rocky came blaring through the speakers, and the man of honor and his wife entered the room to the voice of an announcer who you would have thought was calling a heavyweight boxing match. We all clapped and cheered. When everyone took their seats the first bottle, the best bottle, at each table was opened and each person’s shot glass was filled.
For the first time, I was a table with all of my counterparts. It was me and 11 Mongolian women. Ladies, all the ladies…. To take the first shot there is a traditional order: honored guest first, then the oldest man, then the other men by age, and then the women by age. As the only man, I was to begin. In order for the next person to begin drinking the person before them must finish their drink entirely. What was I to do? I took the shot in one swig.
I guess you could say that it was all downhill from there…
While my harem drank one-by-one, the first performance came to the stage. Somehow, lucky for this social commentator and general Mongolia enthusiast, our table was directly in front of the stage and my seat was closest to it. In Mongolia, most celebrations begin with the playing of the traditional musical instrument, the horse fiddle, a beautiful sounding two-string instrument. They played two songs, both of which everyone in the room knew and sang along to except myself. And so there you have it, the perfect Mongolian celebration recipe – drinking and singing. Interestingly enough, it almost always seems like everyone Mongolian in the room can sing. People in this country are very talented.
Next, dinner was served. Soup. Mongolians have this thing about soup. It has to be scalding hot. And no matter the temperature outside, soup is the meal of choice. It takes me back to the summer during my training when temperatures peaked into the low 100’s and still they would serve shuul, soup. Can you imagine that? In fact, the host family of one of my closest friends, Jacob, served him schuul for 90% (not an exaggeration) of every meal, breakfast, lunch and dinner. Really rather amazing when you think about it. It almost drives a PCV to madness. I doubt highly that Jacob will ever look at a bowl of soup the same again. So, what did I do? I shook my head, smirked, and thought to myself: “Of course, schuul.” To make matters worse, I was wearing a white dress shirt and the soup was colored red from beets. A few shots in me, I slurped and splattered. I knew I shouldn’t have worn that shirt. Unfortunately for me, it was the only clean, this-event-presentable-ish one still hanging in the closest.
As we ate, a cute little girl, the niece of the announcer came to the stage and sang a song in Japanese. Random? Maybe anywhere but in Mongolia.
Following that, the lights were brought down low again, the Rocky music and the announcer’s booming voice returned. “It’s time to cut the cake!” He calls to the front Erdenbat, one of the school’s most well-respected and longest-tenured professors. He is also our department advisor. Erdenbat is far and away my favorite counterpart. He and I became good friends at the department picnic a month before. Erdenbat may as well be a comedian because 1 out of every 4 things the man says gets a laugh from everyone within earshot. Edenbat is asked by the announcer to cut the cake. Regrettably, he says, he is too old and not experienced in the ways of pastry dissection. He calls to the front, to the cake, the head of the Food Science department (yes, that is correct). I’d like to tell you that he did a masterful job, that the first slice was cut like something out of a movie. I’d like to tell you that. The piece was put onto a plate and brought to the rear of the room where the guest of honor received it, said a few words of thanks and took the first bite.
Mongolian cake…. Hmm…. It’s not American cake. It looks the same, but the taste is a little different. I’d like to note here that the small cake in the center of my table stayed untouched the duration of the night. Maybe the ladies know what I know.
Anyway, Erdenbat. Erdenbat, with microphone in hand (I think they knew what they were doing with this move) continued his act. He calls my table to join him in a song. The first name filling the room – Peter. Erdenbat has this way of making you do anything that he wants you to do. You simply cannot say “no.” I don’t know how he does it. So, my table and I stand and join him. They sing. If I knew the words, I would have too. I did, however, stand with my arm around Erdenbat, his arm around my back. When our 13-part harmony stuttered to a close, we took to our table. Erdenbat and I exchanged a hearty handshake and broad smiles. One of the ladies gave up her seat for “the man,” who sat next to, you guessed it, yours truly. And what would you guess we did know? If you’re thinking: “Fill up those glasses!” then you are correct. We all raised our glasses, Erdenbat began, we all followed. I took it in a full swig.
And then it happened.
Erdenbat did this thing he seems to always do when he drinks (always meaning, the one other time I have drunk with him, the picnic). When he drained the clear sneaky punch in his glass, he turned it upside down and put it on the top of his head. He looked at me with perhaps the biggest smile I’ve ever seen a person wear. We all started laughing. The ladies asked for my camera. We took a picture. We laughed heartily. We drank more. Indeed, it was the highlight of the night. You see, Erdenbat does not speak English. Well, that’s not true. His vocabulary includes: “Yes,” “No,” “Thank you,” “Good bye,” and “Peter.” It doesn’t ever matter though. I always have a translator. And even if I didn’t, the man says everything he thinking with his face, his body. I almost never wonder. Besides, he’s always happy.
Peter and Erdenbat at the party!
One by one, each department made its way to the stage, gave some words of congratulations, sang a song, laughed at the end and took their seats again.
Then, the tables were pushed back and the dancing began. We (yes, I include myself, the non-dancer) danced traditional Mongolian dances. I had two dance partners. Both of them led. Both of them were thoroughly amused. I couldn’t stop laughing.
After somewhere around 10 Mongolian-sized vodka shots, two bad Mongolian beers and a night packed full of true Mongolian culture, I decided to call it a night.
Happy PhD!
In America (here I go beginning a comparison…exactly what I shouldn’t be doing) getting an advanced degree is usually a lot of work. To get my Master’s degree it took me two somewhat grueling (and at times, very grueling) years. I would not, however, say that the completion of my degree was necessarily an American cultural event.
Now, on to the party…
Last week Thursday I was told: “Tomorrow night you’re going to be busy.” Seeing as how I didn’t have any plans I was wondering how they knew something that I didn’t. They told me that I was going to go to a celebration for a teacher at my school who just received his PhD. In Mongolia, I was told, when people get their PhD they usually get a big party that is a lot like a wedding. The party is held in a reception hall, or in this case, a hotel (ironically, this is the same hotel where we always came as trainees when would have sessions in Darkhan. It was trippy to say the least.). There is cake, dinner, people give speeches of congratulations, singing and dancing, and, of course, plenty of drinking.
I arrived at the hotel a little before 7:00 p.m. We (every teacher from my school was invited) waited, as is customary, in the lobby about a half an hour before we went into the large banquet room. Then, word came that were should enter. What I saw was the most elegant presentation of tables I have seen in Mongolia. The room was a rectangle. There were two very long tables along the sides. There was another long table along the back (furthest from and facing the door as is customary in Mongolia) where the honored guest and his wife sat. Also at this table was the director of the school and other honored teachers. Down the center of the room were four round tables. The table at which I sat was closest to the stage.
Each table was beautifully decorated with plates of appetizers, glasses, bottles of vodka and juice, cans of beer, a bowl of fruit, and a cake. My counterparts told me that such a party costs a lot of money. I could see why. In fact, we each gave 6,000 Tugricks.
First, we sat down. We waited. More people came. We waited. Then, the lights went down low, music that could have been from Rocky came blaring through the speakers, and the man of honor and his wife entered the room to the voice of an announcer who you would have thought was calling a heavyweight boxing match. We all clapped and cheered. When everyone took their seats the first bottle, the best bottle, at each table was opened and each person’s shot glass was filled.
For the first time, I was a table with all of my counterparts. It was me and 11 Mongolian women. Ladies, all the ladies…. To take the first shot there is a traditional order: honored guest first, then the oldest man, then the other men by age, and then the women by age. As the only man, I was to begin. In order for the next person to begin drinking the person before them must finish their drink entirely. What was I to do? I took the shot in one swig.
I guess you could say that it was all downhill from there…
While my harem drank one-by-one, the first performance came to the stage. Somehow, lucky for this social commentator and general Mongolia enthusiast, our table was directly in front of the stage and my seat was closest to it. In Mongolia, most celebrations begin with the playing of the traditional musical instrument, the horse fiddle, a beautiful sounding two-string instrument. They played two songs, both of which everyone in the room knew and sang along to except myself. And so there you have it, the perfect Mongolian celebration recipe – drinking and singing. Interestingly enough, it almost always seems like everyone Mongolian in the room can sing. People in this country are very talented.
Next, dinner was served. Soup. Mongolians have this thing about soup. It has to be scalding hot. And no matter the temperature outside, soup is the meal of choice. It takes me back to the summer during my training when temperatures peaked into the low 100’s and still they would serve shuul, soup. Can you imagine that? In fact, the host family of one of my closest friends, Jacob, served him schuul for 90% (not an exaggeration) of every meal, breakfast, lunch and dinner. Really rather amazing when you think about it. It almost drives a PCV to madness. I doubt highly that Jacob will ever look at a bowl of soup the same again. So, what did I do? I shook my head, smirked, and thought to myself: “Of course, schuul.” To make matters worse, I was wearing a white dress shirt and the soup was colored red from beets. A few shots in me, I slurped and splattered. I knew I shouldn’t have worn that shirt. Unfortunately for me, it was the only clean, this-event-presentable-ish one still hanging in the closest.
As we ate, a cute little girl, the niece of the announcer came to the stage and sang a song in Japanese. Random? Maybe anywhere but in Mongolia.
Following that, the lights were brought down low again, the Rocky music and the announcer’s booming voice returned. “It’s time to cut the cake!” He calls to the front Erdenbat, one of the school’s most well-respected and longest-tenured professors. He is also our department advisor. Erdenbat is far and away my favorite counterpart. He and I became good friends at the department picnic a month before. Erdenbat may as well be a comedian because 1 out of every 4 things the man says gets a laugh from everyone within earshot. Edenbat is asked by the announcer to cut the cake. Regrettably, he says, he is too old and not experienced in the ways of pastry dissection. He calls to the front, to the cake, the head of the Food Science department (yes, that is correct). I’d like to tell you that he did a masterful job, that the first slice was cut like something out of a movie. I’d like to tell you that. The piece was put onto a plate and brought to the rear of the room where the guest of honor received it, said a few words of thanks and took the first bite.
Mongolian cake…. Hmm…. It’s not American cake. It looks the same, but the taste is a little different. I’d like to note here that the small cake in the center of my table stayed untouched the duration of the night. Maybe the ladies know what I know.
Anyway, Erdenbat. Erdenbat, with microphone in hand (I think they knew what they were doing with this move) continued his act. He calls my table to join him in a song. The first name filling the room – Peter. Erdenbat has this way of making you do anything that he wants you to do. You simply cannot say “no.” I don’t know how he does it. So, my table and I stand and join him. They sing. If I knew the words, I would have too. I did, however, stand with my arm around Erdenbat, his arm around my back. When our 13-part harmony stuttered to a close, we took to our table. Erdenbat and I exchanged a hearty handshake and broad smiles. One of the ladies gave up her seat for “the man,” who sat next to, you guessed it, yours truly. And what would you guess we did know? If you’re thinking: “Fill up those glasses!” then you are correct. We all raised our glasses, Erdenbat began, we all followed. I took it in a full swig.
And then it happened.
Erdenbat did this thing he seems to always do when he drinks (always meaning, the one other time I have drunk with him, the picnic). When he drained the clear sneaky punch in his glass, he turned it upside down and put it on the top of his head. He looked at me with perhaps the biggest smile I’ve ever seen a person wear. We all started laughing. The ladies asked for my camera. We took a picture. We laughed heartily. We drank more. Indeed, it was the highlight of the night. You see, Erdenbat does not speak English. Well, that’s not true. His vocabulary includes: “Yes,” “No,” “Thank you,” “Good bye,” and “Peter.” It doesn’t ever matter though. I always have a translator. And even if I didn’t, the man says everything he thinking with his face, his body. I almost never wonder. Besides, he’s always happy.
Peter and Erdenbat at the party!
One by one, each department made its way to the stage, gave some words of congratulations, sang a song, laughed at the end and took their seats again.
Then, the tables were pushed back and the dancing began. We (yes, I include myself, the non-dancer) danced traditional Mongolian dances. I had two dance partners. Both of them led. Both of them were thoroughly amused. I couldn’t stop laughing.
After somewhere around 10 Mongolian-sized vodka shots, two bad Mongolian beers and a night packed full of true Mongolian culture, I decided to call it a night.
Happy PhD!
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Peace Corps: The Toughest Job You’ll Ever Love
We all know the Peace Corps slogan. I’d read it, heard it many times. But how tough could it actually be? Before I first applied to Peace Corps over 5 years ago I had this idea that I’d be living on a tiny island in the middle of the South Pacific. In point of fact, that’s exactly where I was supposed to go. I thought to myself: “Now this is going to be the real Peace Corps experience. There’s going to be no Internet. There probably won’t be TV. Sending letters, not knowing when they’d arrive or when I’d receive them, will be the mode of communication. It will undoubtedly be hot as hell. The weather will be unpredictable. One day it will be sunny. Another day, torrential downpours. Then, for months straight it will be sunny, almost too much sun. Teaching English will be the primary job assignment. It’s likely that there won’t be a blackboard, and if there is, there probably will only be a very limited supply of chalk. It’ll be lonely. Most days there won’t be many, if any, native English speakers. The housing will be minimal. Will there be running water? Will there be plumbing? It’s definitely going to be remote. It will certainly be man versus nature. It will be community-building at its best. It will be a real Peace Corps experience.”
Wherever they send you, Peace Corps is going to be tough. It’s going to be physically demanding. It’s going to be mentally exhausting. It’s going to require every inch of your being to survive. And every so often you’re going to ask yourself: “How can I do this? Maybe it would just be easier if….”
This is not my reality. Well, the whole Pacific island thing isn’t and it wasn’t then either. I declined the Invitation, deciding to do AmeriCorps instead. Over 5 years later, I reapplied, was again accepted and myself accepted the Invitation. I’m in Mongolia. I don’t live alone; I’m married. It’s not the heat that supposedly lasts for endless months. I have the Internet, a TV, reliable mail (regular packages even), a blackboard and plenty of chalk, running water, plumbing, and yes, a significant and already rewarding host-national community. I’ve only been at site a month and a half and I know now that what I used to think of the Peace Corps is both still true and not. The difference is that I am no longer assuming.
.jpg)
The view from our apartment
Staying healthy, being sound in body are the physical demands. It’s not as easy you might think. Medical care is different, to say the least. Being your own doctor, and by that I mean being cognizant of your own health, is paramount. Should you fail yourself or should your body fail you, your Peace Corps service may likely end early, like it or not.
The mental exhaustion is the daily cultural and language differences. This, I have found, is the most difficult part of being a Peace Corps volunteer in 2007. Often times, I find myself wanting to compare life in Mongolia with life in America. Sometimes that works, but usually it doesn’t. This just isn’t America. Not being able to understand or be understand can be exhausting, especially in the beginning. It’s as if you’re speaking a foreign language and acting like you’ve come from a distant land.
As I was told by numerous Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs), the key to survival is not to have expectations. Disappointment does not make for a healthy or productive two years. The highs will be high and the lows will be low. Really, though, where isn’t this true? The same can be said for life in America. I know I’ve asked myself many times, especially in grad school: “How can I do this? Maybe it would be just easier if….”
I can only imagine what life as a PCV would be like on a Pacific island. I can, however, tell you exactly what life is like as a PCV in Darkhan, Mongolia. Expectations aside, I’m beginning to think that this job is one of the toughest I’ve ever had. And, yes, I do love it.
Wherever they send you, Peace Corps is going to be tough. It’s going to be physically demanding. It’s going to be mentally exhausting. It’s going to require every inch of your being to survive. And every so often you’re going to ask yourself: “How can I do this? Maybe it would just be easier if….”
This is not my reality. Well, the whole Pacific island thing isn’t and it wasn’t then either. I declined the Invitation, deciding to do AmeriCorps instead. Over 5 years later, I reapplied, was again accepted and myself accepted the Invitation. I’m in Mongolia. I don’t live alone; I’m married. It’s not the heat that supposedly lasts for endless months. I have the Internet, a TV, reliable mail (regular packages even), a blackboard and plenty of chalk, running water, plumbing, and yes, a significant and already rewarding host-national community. I’ve only been at site a month and a half and I know now that what I used to think of the Peace Corps is both still true and not. The difference is that I am no longer assuming.
.jpg)
The view from our apartment
Staying healthy, being sound in body are the physical demands. It’s not as easy you might think. Medical care is different, to say the least. Being your own doctor, and by that I mean being cognizant of your own health, is paramount. Should you fail yourself or should your body fail you, your Peace Corps service may likely end early, like it or not.
The mental exhaustion is the daily cultural and language differences. This, I have found, is the most difficult part of being a Peace Corps volunteer in 2007. Often times, I find myself wanting to compare life in Mongolia with life in America. Sometimes that works, but usually it doesn’t. This just isn’t America. Not being able to understand or be understand can be exhausting, especially in the beginning. It’s as if you’re speaking a foreign language and acting like you’ve come from a distant land.
As I was told by numerous Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs), the key to survival is not to have expectations. Disappointment does not make for a healthy or productive two years. The highs will be high and the lows will be low. Really, though, where isn’t this true? The same can be said for life in America. I know I’ve asked myself many times, especially in grad school: “How can I do this? Maybe it would be just easier if….”
I can only imagine what life as a PCV would be like on a Pacific island. I can, however, tell you exactly what life is like as a PCV in Darkhan, Mongolia. Expectations aside, I’m beginning to think that this job is one of the toughest I’ve ever had. And, yes, I do love it.
Sunday, September 30, 2007
My First 25 Year Old Adventure
Well, I am 25 now! The birthday went well, I think! My office shared a bottle of Jonnie Walker Whiskey (which was nice, because usually in Mongolia celebrations include vodka!) and Peter met us at the local nightclub, Queen. We had lots of fun, dancing and laughing.
The next morning, I think I was a little exhausted still, and my office offered to send me on a trip to go to Bulgan and Erdenet (a neighboring aimag and city-aimag) for cooperative development training meetings. Come to find out later-- the trip was already started, and the car was on it's way from UB (the capital city) to pick me up in less than an hour! Also confusing the matter was the length of the trip. I was told it could be anywhere from 1-3 days! Packing NIGHTMARE! So I run home, pack enough underwear to carry me through a week and the car takes me to the Darkhan city crossroads where the UB car is waiting to pick me up.
Of course, the group that invited me has a full car, and there is no seat for me in their already packed car that is waiting at the crossroads. They ask me to go on this trip, and then there is no seat!! So we cram in the CHF suv. Halfway to Erdenet, the driver realizes that there is a seat in the trunk he can pull up, so we pull over, rearrange, and we're on our way again, much more comfortably. We stop for lunch in Erdenet, and then we continue on to Bulgan, where we meet the local governor, and get settled in.
We end up staying in the nicest hotel in Bulgan. Which means when you are that removed from the city, that it's part of someone's house with three bedrooms. Of course, they have no heat yet in Bulgan, and it's beginning to snow. So luckily I packed a scarf hat and gloves-- put them on and hunkered down for the night. I have never been so cold in my life!! Lesson learned. I am bringing long underwear and wool EVERY trip from now on. I just assumed heat was turned on across the country!
The next day we go to this cooperatives meeting, where there was very little I understood-- I'm still learning so much about the way the Mongolian government develops and supports cooperatives, and how my agency assists in the process. Afterwards, we get in a russian jeep-- and someone says, "we're going to Erdenet" -- Do we go to Erdenet? Nope! We go to a soum, a small village, in the opposite direction off a dirt road 35 km to visit a cooperative. When we get there, they offer us a bucket of airag each (fermented mare's milk, um yeah-- we can talk about that later) and then eat buuz (mutton dumplings). This isn't the crazy part. After we're done eating, we end up having to pay money airag and buuz I didn't want to eat in the first place!!
And THEN we're on the way to Erdenet finally-- where I find I have no hotel room, and end up staying with Salomon, another volunteer that lives there. After that debacle in Bulgan, I was just happy to sleep in a room that had heat!
The next day, the counterparts from UB office that were on the trip said that maybe I should take a BUS back because they were too crowded in the car on the way here. I'd like to point out this is probably going to be even MORE crowded on the way home, especially since they bought 40 Liters of airag to take back to UB! I was a little surprised, but after some breaking down of communication barriers, we finally agreed I would ride in the SUV, even if it meant I carried the airag on my lap. :)
I get home later that week after continuing my trip to UB for a PC meeting, and find Peter had only eaten SANDWICHES while I was gone! I kid you not. Only sandwiches with salami we found in the market, tomatoes, and onions. We usually cook together, but maybe the idea of eating sandwiches for a week appealed to him.
Lessons I learned: Pack warm, watch out for airag, and make sure Peter has enough bread for his sandwiches before you leave!
The next morning, I think I was a little exhausted still, and my office offered to send me on a trip to go to Bulgan and Erdenet (a neighboring aimag and city-aimag) for cooperative development training meetings. Come to find out later-- the trip was already started, and the car was on it's way from UB (the capital city) to pick me up in less than an hour! Also confusing the matter was the length of the trip. I was told it could be anywhere from 1-3 days! Packing NIGHTMARE! So I run home, pack enough underwear to carry me through a week and the car takes me to the Darkhan city crossroads where the UB car is waiting to pick me up.
Of course, the group that invited me has a full car, and there is no seat for me in their already packed car that is waiting at the crossroads. They ask me to go on this trip, and then there is no seat!! So we cram in the CHF suv. Halfway to Erdenet, the driver realizes that there is a seat in the trunk he can pull up, so we pull over, rearrange, and we're on our way again, much more comfortably. We stop for lunch in Erdenet, and then we continue on to Bulgan, where we meet the local governor, and get settled in.
We end up staying in the nicest hotel in Bulgan. Which means when you are that removed from the city, that it's part of someone's house with three bedrooms. Of course, they have no heat yet in Bulgan, and it's beginning to snow. So luckily I packed a scarf hat and gloves-- put them on and hunkered down for the night. I have never been so cold in my life!! Lesson learned. I am bringing long underwear and wool EVERY trip from now on. I just assumed heat was turned on across the country!
The next day we go to this cooperatives meeting, where there was very little I understood-- I'm still learning so much about the way the Mongolian government develops and supports cooperatives, and how my agency assists in the process. Afterwards, we get in a russian jeep-- and someone says, "we're going to Erdenet" -- Do we go to Erdenet? Nope! We go to a soum, a small village, in the opposite direction off a dirt road 35 km to visit a cooperative. When we get there, they offer us a bucket of airag each (fermented mare's milk, um yeah-- we can talk about that later) and then eat buuz (mutton dumplings). This isn't the crazy part. After we're done eating, we end up having to pay money airag and buuz I didn't want to eat in the first place!!
And THEN we're on the way to Erdenet finally-- where I find I have no hotel room, and end up staying with Salomon, another volunteer that lives there. After that debacle in Bulgan, I was just happy to sleep in a room that had heat!
The next day, the counterparts from UB office that were on the trip said that maybe I should take a BUS back because they were too crowded in the car on the way here. I'd like to point out this is probably going to be even MORE crowded on the way home, especially since they bought 40 Liters of airag to take back to UB! I was a little surprised, but after some breaking down of communication barriers, we finally agreed I would ride in the SUV, even if it meant I carried the airag on my lap. :)
I get home later that week after continuing my trip to UB for a PC meeting, and find Peter had only eaten SANDWICHES while I was gone! I kid you not. Only sandwiches with salami we found in the market, tomatoes, and onions. We usually cook together, but maybe the idea of eating sandwiches for a week appealed to him.
Lessons I learned: Pack warm, watch out for airag, and make sure Peter has enough bread for his sandwiches before you leave!
Friday, September 28, 2007
Expectations: Mongolia
When we first found out that we were going to be going to Mongolia, Cady and I were excited. We opened our Welcome Packet in the lobby of the International Peace Corps Headquarters in Washington, DC. It helped, of course, they we lived in the city. We gave each other a high five and then fervently read the enclosed information, sparse as it was, about our host country and our jobs. We were to leave in a month and a half. Needless to say, not much time.
For the next 40 or so days I read about Mongolia. I read what I could about the people, the culture, the landscape, the history, the language. I practiced, I realize now, more so than I would need to have, the Mongolian language.
I was almost always never nervous, only excited. I’d done the nervous, apprehensive thing 5 years prior. It was a different time and I was a different person. It didn’t work out then, but this time, this time it was going to work out.
What I discovered was that Mongolia, of all places that I could be sent, was, for all intents and purposed, a “perfect” (note the quotes) location for me. It is much like Colorado in that it is at a higher elevation. Therefore, the skies are almost always blue and sunny. The air is thinner. The landscape is covered with hills and mountains. Also, Mongolia is infamous for its cold winters. Unlike Thailand and Cambodia (other potential Eastern Asian Peace Corps locations), Mongolia would not have the heat and humidity, the bugs. And after growing up in Wisconsin, the cold is no big deal.
.gif)
Mongolia
The national religion in Mongolia is Buddhism, a religion which I already interested in learning more about. Beyond that, though, and more interestingly, most Mongolians, I read, believe that nature is as true a religion, as true a spiritual being as any that exists. How perfect. For as I believe, I am no closer to God than I am when I am at the summit of a mountain.
The people of Mongolia, I read, are welcoming, respectful, peaceful and genuinely interested in cultures beyond their own. Because Mongolians are so, they also do not pose a likely disruptive political instability for which PCVs would have to evacuate. Who wouldn’t like this?
Mongolia, as I read, has a formal culture. People like to look their best. They may not have as many outfit options as Americans, but when the occasion calls for it their personal presentation is second to none. I can relate. I generally prefer to go to work in a dress shirt. I like to throw on the ole suit and dress to impress.
The best thing about Mongolia, I knew, was my attitude about it. I was going to have no real expectations. I wasn’t going to decide how things were going to be. I wasn’t even going to guess. I was just going to take things as they came. My excitement alone was enough to keep me going. Well, that and the fact that we only had a month and a half until our entire lives were going to completely change.
I expected only that this experience would make me a better, smarter, more capable person. To be so I would be challenged in ways I could not think of at the time. I would meet new people, see new places and learn new things.
One of my closest friends once told me something that I will never forget. In fact, it has become one of the philosophies by which I live my life. I had only recently arrived in Colorado and would soon begin my graduate work. We were driving to Rocky Mountain National Park. As we wound our way up higher and higher we talked about what we thought was most important in life. On one point we were in complete agreement. Justin said to me: “Just think of all those things that you are most proud of in your life. I’d bet that they were things that you took a chance on, things that you had to take a risk for, things that weren’t easy, things that might have been scary, things that you knew weren’t going to be easy and things that took a lot of work to get through. The things that we are most proud of in our lives are the things that challenged us the most.”
For the next 40 or so days I read about Mongolia. I read what I could about the people, the culture, the landscape, the history, the language. I practiced, I realize now, more so than I would need to have, the Mongolian language.
I was almost always never nervous, only excited. I’d done the nervous, apprehensive thing 5 years prior. It was a different time and I was a different person. It didn’t work out then, but this time, this time it was going to work out.
What I discovered was that Mongolia, of all places that I could be sent, was, for all intents and purposed, a “perfect” (note the quotes) location for me. It is much like Colorado in that it is at a higher elevation. Therefore, the skies are almost always blue and sunny. The air is thinner. The landscape is covered with hills and mountains. Also, Mongolia is infamous for its cold winters. Unlike Thailand and Cambodia (other potential Eastern Asian Peace Corps locations), Mongolia would not have the heat and humidity, the bugs. And after growing up in Wisconsin, the cold is no big deal.
.gif)
Mongolia
The national religion in Mongolia is Buddhism, a religion which I already interested in learning more about. Beyond that, though, and more interestingly, most Mongolians, I read, believe that nature is as true a religion, as true a spiritual being as any that exists. How perfect. For as I believe, I am no closer to God than I am when I am at the summit of a mountain.
The people of Mongolia, I read, are welcoming, respectful, peaceful and genuinely interested in cultures beyond their own. Because Mongolians are so, they also do not pose a likely disruptive political instability for which PCVs would have to evacuate. Who wouldn’t like this?
Mongolia, as I read, has a formal culture. People like to look their best. They may not have as many outfit options as Americans, but when the occasion calls for it their personal presentation is second to none. I can relate. I generally prefer to go to work in a dress shirt. I like to throw on the ole suit and dress to impress.
The best thing about Mongolia, I knew, was my attitude about it. I was going to have no real expectations. I wasn’t going to decide how things were going to be. I wasn’t even going to guess. I was just going to take things as they came. My excitement alone was enough to keep me going. Well, that and the fact that we only had a month and a half until our entire lives were going to completely change.
I expected only that this experience would make me a better, smarter, more capable person. To be so I would be challenged in ways I could not think of at the time. I would meet new people, see new places and learn new things.
One of my closest friends once told me something that I will never forget. In fact, it has become one of the philosophies by which I live my life. I had only recently arrived in Colorado and would soon begin my graduate work. We were driving to Rocky Mountain National Park. As we wound our way up higher and higher we talked about what we thought was most important in life. On one point we were in complete agreement. Justin said to me: “Just think of all those things that you are most proud of in your life. I’d bet that they were things that you took a chance on, things that you had to take a risk for, things that weren’t easy, things that might have been scary, things that you knew weren’t going to be easy and things that took a lot of work to get through. The things that we are most proud of in our lives are the things that challenged us the most.”
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Writer’s Block
In a course I am teaching, Spoken English, for my 3rd course students (a.k.a. Juniors), I am using the American movie Stranger Than Fiction to teach all sorts of things. I am using it for speaking practice, for reading, writing and listening practice. I am using it to teach critical thinking skills, something greatly lacking in my students. It has been a great teaching tool and it’s great entertainment. Will Farrell is great and Dustin Hoffman is brilliant. Anyway, if you haven’t already seen this film, you should.
One of the characters, Karen Eiffel, is an author struggling to finish a book she has been working on for the last 10 years because she suffers from writer’s block. But this is beside the point, too much pretext. Like Karen, I too have suffered from writer’s block.
Since arriving in Darkhan, I have found it extremely difficult to make time for myself to think, to write. I was good about this at my training site, Sukhbaatar Bagh 5. Needless to say, the differences between training and site have been vast. Here in Darkhan I have been mentally swamped. I have many times wanted to just sit down and write, a practice I have always found comforting, freeing and even therapeutic. My university life, the new scenery, the transition to yet another culturally significant location has, until now, created quite a sizable mental block. Just trying to live here has been so much work. It has been exhausting.
There are simply too many things getting in the way. How could I stop to write, to catch up on the recent events when I am still trying to catch up on life itself? I told myself many times before I came that I would be good about journaling. That worked for a little while. What changed was my reality. Training was fun. In many ways it was like camp or a vacation. The stressors, though real, didn’t feel a real kind of real. Now things are real. What I am doing now is why I came here. The work I am doing now is the work I am most passionate about in this world – university life. Sure, it’s different than it is in the states. It’s what I was expecting completely and yet not at all. It still is, though, a university. Whether in America or Mongolia, I see a career, a life in this world very clearly. I am fascinated, I am challenged, I am confused, I am confident, I am lost, I am happy, I am overwhelmed, I am completely invested.
Like Karen, but for different reasons, of course, I am freed from the trap that is writer’s block. I have been here long enough to get lost in my thoughts for too long but also long enough to know when I need to just stop, drop and write.
One of the characters, Karen Eiffel, is an author struggling to finish a book she has been working on for the last 10 years because she suffers from writer’s block. But this is beside the point, too much pretext. Like Karen, I too have suffered from writer’s block.
Since arriving in Darkhan, I have found it extremely difficult to make time for myself to think, to write. I was good about this at my training site, Sukhbaatar Bagh 5. Needless to say, the differences between training and site have been vast. Here in Darkhan I have been mentally swamped. I have many times wanted to just sit down and write, a practice I have always found comforting, freeing and even therapeutic. My university life, the new scenery, the transition to yet another culturally significant location has, until now, created quite a sizable mental block. Just trying to live here has been so much work. It has been exhausting.
There are simply too many things getting in the way. How could I stop to write, to catch up on the recent events when I am still trying to catch up on life itself? I told myself many times before I came that I would be good about journaling. That worked for a little while. What changed was my reality. Training was fun. In many ways it was like camp or a vacation. The stressors, though real, didn’t feel a real kind of real. Now things are real. What I am doing now is why I came here. The work I am doing now is the work I am most passionate about in this world – university life. Sure, it’s different than it is in the states. It’s what I was expecting completely and yet not at all. It still is, though, a university. Whether in America or Mongolia, I see a career, a life in this world very clearly. I am fascinated, I am challenged, I am confused, I am confident, I am lost, I am happy, I am overwhelmed, I am completely invested.
Like Karen, but for different reasons, of course, I am freed from the trap that is writer’s block. I have been here long enough to get lost in my thoughts for too long but also long enough to know when I need to just stop, drop and write.
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Training: Sukhbaatar Bagh 5
This past summer was an amazing one. It was like a cross between summer camp and Spanish class, throw in a little bit of AmeriCorps and a lotta bit of something I have never experienced before. It was radically different from how life is now. It was perfect.
What follows is the most authentic voice from those days, some journal excerpts:
6 June 2007, 7:15 a.m., Wednesday (my very first entry)
I do not know how often I will make entries to this journal, perhaps only when it feels right will I do so. This morning marks such a time, the first time. Much has happened, too much to fully recount. In brief, however, we’ve thus far been on a constant move. From Denver to Atlanta to Seoul to Ulaanbaatar to a ger camp (“ger”) to where we are now, Darkhan. To say that I am tired of hauling luggage around is somewhat of an understatement. Our accommodations, with each new location, have grown less comfortable (though none bad – far from it actually) – the Atlanta Hilton = American comfort at its finest and the Darkhan Hotel = Mongolian comfort. There is quite a difference.
Mongolia. This is such a beautiful country. It is also a country very much in need. The current PCVs see this place through an already time-colored lens. They see Mongolia, its people, its good and its bad for what it is – Mongolia. The ger camp, as pictures show, had all the comforts of the good life. We arrived there late in the night, a night as dark as dark can be. The stars were stunning and the excitement from all of us, my class of 48, readily apparent. We are finally here. We’ve seen these people we’ve waited so long to meet.
A morning hike. Deodorant. No enough sleep. Hite beer. Water. Blue sky. Mountains. Poverty. Change. Formal Clothing. Ambassador Minton. Sunlight at 4:30. Heat. Sweat. Sain bain uu. Mutton. Uncertainty. Relaxation. Hope. Inspiration. Questions. Fewer real answers. Planes. Buses. Walking. Exploration. Beginning. Sadness. Happiness. One day at a time.
10 June 2007, 6:20 p.m., Sunday
Today has been one of those momentous days – today I moved in with my host family.
The day began like several before it. I woke up in my single bed across the room from Cady. I took a shower and got ready. After breakfast we all packed our things, loaded them into Meekers (mini buses) and headed North to Sukhbaatar (10 mi. from the Russian border). Again, the sites were breath-taking. The mountains were beautiful in the morning rain and mist. Including our driver, the 8 of us (Julie, James, Cassandra, Allie, Chris and I) passed gers, horses (wild and otherwise), sheep, goats. What a magnificent morning drive.
When we arrived in Sukhbaatar Bagh 5, our host families were awaiting us. At the school where we will attend daily language, culture and job technical classes, in a small classroom, we aw for the first time the family members with whom we are to live for the summer. A sign above our heads read, “welcome to our school” in English. Now joined with the other half of our group, we all sat along a bench looking excitedly at a group of parents, siblings and grandparents.
First, one by one, we stood and took, from a young girl, a sip of milk tea (tsai) in a traditional metallic cup. We each sat after we sipped. When done, one of our language teachers called our names one by one to stand and meet our “family.” Now, with our families, we went back outside, unloaded the meekers, gathered our own things, said goodbye to one another for now and droves off to our “homes.”
.jpg)
Peter and his host mom
12 June 2007, 10:12 p.m., Tuesday
I’ve been told not to climb the highest peak in Sukhbaatar. Jacob and I will make our assent Saturday! Supposedly there are bears and wolves. How this is possible from looking out at it is beyond me. On the other side is Russia. I’ve also been instructed not to take photos of Russia as there may be soldiers there. Now that I believe. Bears and wolves? Not so much. Saturday!
14 June 2007, 9:45 p.m., Thursday
CADY STOPPED BY LAST NIGHT!!!
15 June 2007, 8:01 p.m., Friday
I think I am really fortunate to have gotten the group that I have here in SB5. Today after class a bunch of us (Dwan, Jacob, James, Rachel, Philip, Cassandra and Allie) went to a del guur (store) and got some liquor and beer and sat out on some stone slabs in a field behind a haasha (fence/family property) and talked. It was great to hang out. We certainly didn’t have much to drink and not everyone drank, but it was cool to hang out and celebrate the completion of our first week at our training site. …
3 July 2007, 6:42 p.m., Tuesday
Well, here we are, going back to Darkhan again. That hotel used to seem run down and a bit disgusting. Now all I think about is SHOWER, SLEEPING WITHOUT FLIES (p.s. just killed 2 in one swat!!), NO FAMILY RULES. Ahh, the little things.
Things to legitimately piss and moan about just because: 1) the holes in the screen in my window letting in countless dive-bombing flies (particularly irksome during the wee morning hours. 2) the inability to power (or charge) my beard trimmer and hair clippers. 3) Forgetting the rechargeable batteries and re-charger in the winter baggage.
30 July 2007, 1:50 p.m., Monday
The heat has been oppressive and debilitating. It’s been two weeks of this. There just hasn’t been much to say. The heat and humidity cloud all else. I’m told this is a hotter than usual summer. Lucky us.
29 August 2007, 10:16 a.m., Wednesday
This is truly the end of the magical mystery training tour. Time with friends is now limited. For that reason the tours [of UB] are more fun than might ordinarily be. In a matter of days we will part ways, spreading across the vastness of Monglia. Jacob and Dwan both to the Govi, different areas, of course. This ride has been a great one.
People begin to leave. We stay. More leave. We remain. Cady works. I hang out. I read. I eat. I walk. I eat. I watch movies. Internet. Cady works. I don’t.
Home. Wow. … This place is great. And compared to the other, really nice, too. We meet our landlords. … We get the tour, some family background. The father, living in the huudo (where the mother will live as the 17-year old daughter moves to UB for college) is a wolf hunter. They say we are welcome to visit them, that I can join in on a hunt. Ooh, buddie! This just gets better and better!
What follows is the most authentic voice from those days, some journal excerpts:
6 June 2007, 7:15 a.m., Wednesday (my very first entry)
I do not know how often I will make entries to this journal, perhaps only when it feels right will I do so. This morning marks such a time, the first time. Much has happened, too much to fully recount. In brief, however, we’ve thus far been on a constant move. From Denver to Atlanta to Seoul to Ulaanbaatar to a ger camp (“ger”) to where we are now, Darkhan. To say that I am tired of hauling luggage around is somewhat of an understatement. Our accommodations, with each new location, have grown less comfortable (though none bad – far from it actually) – the Atlanta Hilton = American comfort at its finest and the Darkhan Hotel = Mongolian comfort. There is quite a difference.
Mongolia. This is such a beautiful country. It is also a country very much in need. The current PCVs see this place through an already time-colored lens. They see Mongolia, its people, its good and its bad for what it is – Mongolia. The ger camp, as pictures show, had all the comforts of the good life. We arrived there late in the night, a night as dark as dark can be. The stars were stunning and the excitement from all of us, my class of 48, readily apparent. We are finally here. We’ve seen these people we’ve waited so long to meet.
A morning hike. Deodorant. No enough sleep. Hite beer. Water. Blue sky. Mountains. Poverty. Change. Formal Clothing. Ambassador Minton. Sunlight at 4:30. Heat. Sweat. Sain bain uu. Mutton. Uncertainty. Relaxation. Hope. Inspiration. Questions. Fewer real answers. Planes. Buses. Walking. Exploration. Beginning. Sadness. Happiness. One day at a time.
10 June 2007, 6:20 p.m., Sunday
Today has been one of those momentous days – today I moved in with my host family.
The day began like several before it. I woke up in my single bed across the room from Cady. I took a shower and got ready. After breakfast we all packed our things, loaded them into Meekers (mini buses) and headed North to Sukhbaatar (10 mi. from the Russian border). Again, the sites were breath-taking. The mountains were beautiful in the morning rain and mist. Including our driver, the 8 of us (Julie, James, Cassandra, Allie, Chris and I) passed gers, horses (wild and otherwise), sheep, goats. What a magnificent morning drive.
When we arrived in Sukhbaatar Bagh 5, our host families were awaiting us. At the school where we will attend daily language, culture and job technical classes, in a small classroom, we aw for the first time the family members with whom we are to live for the summer. A sign above our heads read, “welcome to our school” in English. Now joined with the other half of our group, we all sat along a bench looking excitedly at a group of parents, siblings and grandparents.
First, one by one, we stood and took, from a young girl, a sip of milk tea (tsai) in a traditional metallic cup. We each sat after we sipped. When done, one of our language teachers called our names one by one to stand and meet our “family.” Now, with our families, we went back outside, unloaded the meekers, gathered our own things, said goodbye to one another for now and droves off to our “homes.”
.jpg)
Peter and his host mom
12 June 2007, 10:12 p.m., Tuesday
I’ve been told not to climb the highest peak in Sukhbaatar. Jacob and I will make our assent Saturday! Supposedly there are bears and wolves. How this is possible from looking out at it is beyond me. On the other side is Russia. I’ve also been instructed not to take photos of Russia as there may be soldiers there. Now that I believe. Bears and wolves? Not so much. Saturday!
14 June 2007, 9:45 p.m., Thursday
CADY STOPPED BY LAST NIGHT!!!
15 June 2007, 8:01 p.m., Friday
I think I am really fortunate to have gotten the group that I have here in SB5. Today after class a bunch of us (Dwan, Jacob, James, Rachel, Philip, Cassandra and Allie) went to a del guur (store) and got some liquor and beer and sat out on some stone slabs in a field behind a haasha (fence/family property) and talked. It was great to hang out. We certainly didn’t have much to drink and not everyone drank, but it was cool to hang out and celebrate the completion of our first week at our training site. …
3 July 2007, 6:42 p.m., Tuesday
Well, here we are, going back to Darkhan again. That hotel used to seem run down and a bit disgusting. Now all I think about is SHOWER, SLEEPING WITHOUT FLIES (p.s. just killed 2 in one swat!!), NO FAMILY RULES. Ahh, the little things.
Things to legitimately piss and moan about just because: 1) the holes in the screen in my window letting in countless dive-bombing flies (particularly irksome during the wee morning hours. 2) the inability to power (or charge) my beard trimmer and hair clippers. 3) Forgetting the rechargeable batteries and re-charger in the winter baggage.
30 July 2007, 1:50 p.m., Monday
The heat has been oppressive and debilitating. It’s been two weeks of this. There just hasn’t been much to say. The heat and humidity cloud all else. I’m told this is a hotter than usual summer. Lucky us.
29 August 2007, 10:16 a.m., Wednesday
This is truly the end of the magical mystery training tour. Time with friends is now limited. For that reason the tours [of UB] are more fun than might ordinarily be. In a matter of days we will part ways, spreading across the vastness of Monglia. Jacob and Dwan both to the Govi, different areas, of course. This ride has been a great one.
People begin to leave. We stay. More leave. We remain. Cady works. I hang out. I read. I eat. I walk. I eat. I watch movies. Internet. Cady works. I don’t.
Home. Wow. … This place is great. And compared to the other, really nice, too. We meet our landlords. … We get the tour, some family background. The father, living in the huudo (where the mother will live as the 17-year old daughter moves to UB for college) is a wolf hunter. They say we are welcome to visit them, that I can join in on a hunt. Ooh, buddie! This just gets better and better!
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Pictures and More...
Well we've uploaded a LOT to shutterfly and facebook... and I hope you can look at them! And just in case you've forgotten what we look like, here's a teaser:
Facebook Photos
.jpg)
Cady at Ambarbaisalant Monastery
.jpg)
Peter, the largest Mongolian!
Facebook Photos
.jpg)
Cady at Ambarbaisalant Monastery
.jpg)
Peter, the largest Mongolian!
Sunday, September 16, 2007
It's Cold!
Friday was 85 degrees Farenheit... 30 in Celsius (we're trying to get the conversions down). And now today, Monday it's 5 degrees Celsius, or 40 Farenheit. We're already on our way into winter, and I'm not really sure how it's going to be manageable. We'll get through it somehow, I suppose!
We've begun to upload lots of pictures on Shutterfly-- you can view our albums at cadyandpeter.shutterfly.com. And for those of you that haven't seen our wedding shots on there, they're fun to look at too!
We met the Hudoo (countryside) PCVs in town on Friday and Saturday and had fun catching up and hearing their adventures. We spent all summer living in places like they do, but now we have heat and running water-- they've got to build fires to keep warm and take sponge baths. We're pretty lucky in terms of services we have in Darkhan, I suppose. You never really think that heat and running water are luxuries, but they are in Mongolia, and we've got 'em! We went to the local "dance club" and had fun experiencing the cultural differences seen even there. Mostly, men are the big dancers in Mongolia, and the tend to dance in the American 1970s style -- this is probably mostly because they've listened to Abba their entire lives!
Our new address is posted below in a previous blog. We'll send out an email tomorrow with the new address and photo website once it's completely ready. We can't wait to show you all what we've been up to.
Here's some photos we have borrowed from other PCVs of one of the performers in our Welcoming Ceremony. He sang for us while the girl pictured below danced. The children performing were beautiful and we may be imagining things, but it seems like everyone is so talented in music and arts. We think it may have something to do with the fact that winter is so cold and you just stay inside and practice!
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
Hopefully it stays cool for awhile before it dips into freezing. We need time to adjust! We miss you all and can't wait to hear from you.
We've begun to upload lots of pictures on Shutterfly-- you can view our albums at cadyandpeter.shutterfly.com. And for those of you that haven't seen our wedding shots on there, they're fun to look at too!
We met the Hudoo (countryside) PCVs in town on Friday and Saturday and had fun catching up and hearing their adventures. We spent all summer living in places like they do, but now we have heat and running water-- they've got to build fires to keep warm and take sponge baths. We're pretty lucky in terms of services we have in Darkhan, I suppose. You never really think that heat and running water are luxuries, but they are in Mongolia, and we've got 'em! We went to the local "dance club" and had fun experiencing the cultural differences seen even there. Mostly, men are the big dancers in Mongolia, and the tend to dance in the American 1970s style -- this is probably mostly because they've listened to Abba their entire lives!
Our new address is posted below in a previous blog. We'll send out an email tomorrow with the new address and photo website once it's completely ready. We can't wait to show you all what we've been up to.
Here's some photos we have borrowed from other PCVs of one of the performers in our Welcoming Ceremony. He sang for us while the girl pictured below danced. The children performing were beautiful and we may be imagining things, but it seems like everyone is so talented in music and arts. We think it may have something to do with the fact that winter is so cold and you just stay inside and practice!
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
Hopefully it stays cool for awhile before it dips into freezing. We need time to adjust! We miss you all and can't wait to hear from you.
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Random Things!
Our "Harvest Days" Trade Fair was on Friday - Sunday and our clients made over 7 million tugriks (about $7,000) in total. It was a really successful fair, and our clients had learned a lot about marketing and promoting your products. One client even packaged her vegetables as "salad in a bag" with a recipe!
Sliced bread is a new thing here.
Star Wars has lots of Mongolian themes in it. The traditional dress is very similar, and the Ewoks even speak some Mongolian in the movie, so if you want to hear the language we are speaking/learning here-- think about how the Ewoks sounded! We're actually learning Ewokian!
I got to ride a camel on Friday! Also, in Mongolia, they play polo on camels.
Our apartment is the on the highest hill in town. When we look out of our window, we see mountains and a beautiful view of the Mongolian steppe.
Darkhan has hidden gems everywhere. I found a cheeseburger on a menu the other day! It turned out to be a mutton burger with ketchup. Not so good.
Peter's students are just beginning to arrive in Darkhan for University, even though classes started August 27th....
To say hello in Mongolian, it's "Sain Bain Uu?" If you accidentally say "Sain Bann Uu?" you've just asked someone how they are defecating. It's a very hard language.
That's all from here for now.
Sliced bread is a new thing here.
Star Wars has lots of Mongolian themes in it. The traditional dress is very similar, and the Ewoks even speak some Mongolian in the movie, so if you want to hear the language we are speaking/learning here-- think about how the Ewoks sounded! We're actually learning Ewokian!
I got to ride a camel on Friday! Also, in Mongolia, they play polo on camels.
Our apartment is the on the highest hill in town. When we look out of our window, we see mountains and a beautiful view of the Mongolian steppe.
Darkhan has hidden gems everywhere. I found a cheeseburger on a menu the other day! It turned out to be a mutton burger with ketchup. Not so good.
Peter's students are just beginning to arrive in Darkhan for University, even though classes started August 27th....
To say hello in Mongolian, it's "Sain Bain Uu?" If you accidentally say "Sain Bann Uu?" you've just asked someone how they are defecating. It's a very hard language.
That's all from here for now.
Friday, September 7, 2007
The SHIRT...
Somewhere, somehow, someone decided it would be the best idea ever to import these old Russian Navy shirts into Mongolia. And now, because we see them everywhere we go, we have a count. Since July 1, I have seen 43 different men wearing this same shirt. There are tank top versions too, 3/4 length sleeve ones, and black and green striped ones. I only count the blue long sleeve ones though. 43. I found the market stall where they sell them! It's all they sell. Apparently the demand is high enough to warrant only selling these shirts. Peter and I may get matching ones.
Saturday, September 1, 2007
Our New Home!
We are now in Darkhan, Mongolia, our new home for the coming 2 years, and we've both started work and have been spending the last two weeks getting oriented with our new digs.
Here's the view (thanks for the picture, Emily!) from the drive into our city- it's a relatively small city, and within 5 minutes walk you can be in the countryside again. Mongolia is absolutely breathtaking.
We have an address! Remember to use both Mongolian Cyrillic and English so it gets to us!
Peter Gerlach, PCV or Cady Sinnwell, PCV
P.O. Box 690
Darkhan
MONGOLIA
(via China)
Peter Gerlach (Петер Гэрлах) or Cady Sinnwell (Кэди Синбелл)
Энх Тайвны Корпусын сайн дурын ажилтан
Шуудангийн хайрцаг 690
Дархан-Уул аймаг, Дархан сум
Монгол улс
We also have cell phones now, so you can call! There are relatively cheap calling cards out there, and also skype is a great option if you have high speed internet. Unfortunately on our end, skype is pretty challenging due to the speed of our internet and computers.
Peter: 957 423 41
Cady: 957 423 73
The country code: 976
Looking forward to hearing from you! We were able to post our blogs and emails from this summer, so you can catch up on what we've been up to. Also, now that we're posted at our permanent site, we'd love to have visitors.
Keep in touch!
Here's the view (thanks for the picture, Emily!) from the drive into our city- it's a relatively small city, and within 5 minutes walk you can be in the countryside again. Mongolia is absolutely breathtaking. We have an address! Remember to use both Mongolian Cyrillic and English so it gets to us!
Peter Gerlach, PCV or Cady Sinnwell, PCV
P.O. Box 690
Darkhan
MONGOLIA
(via China)
Peter Gerlach (Петер Гэрлах) or Cady Sinnwell (Кэди Синбелл)
Энх Тайвны Корпусын сайн дурын ажилтан
Шуудангийн хайрцаг 690
Дархан-Уул аймаг, Дархан сум
Монгол улс
We also have cell phones now, so you can call! There are relatively cheap calling cards out there, and also skype is a great option if you have high speed internet. Unfortunately on our end, skype is pretty challenging due to the speed of our internet and computers.
Peter: 957 423 41
Cady: 957 423 73
The country code: 976
Looking forward to hearing from you! We were able to post our blogs and emails from this summer, so you can catch up on what we've been up to. Also, now that we're posted at our permanent site, we'd love to have visitors.
Keep in touch!
Thursday, August 30, 2007
August E-mails!
Here's a batch of our e-mails from August!
August 2, 2007
I have time for a bit of an email (and a little extra tugriks burning a whole in my pocket right now... yay!) so I thought i would sneak away before traditional mongolian dance class and shoot you an email.
We have exactly a week left before we leave our host sites, and then we'll be in Darkhan and UB, and then swear in on August 18 as official Peace Corps Volunteers. My schedule has been crazy. In true Mongolian and PC fashion, they waited until last minute to tell us about these "cultural" performances we have to do, and speeches to give, etc.etc. so now not only are we scrambling to study, we have insane volleyball practice, dance practice, etc. on top of our normal schedules. Peter's bagh was more organized I think and have been learning to sing and dance the whole time. I love playing volleyball with them, and my host family calls me MONDUCK (champion) when we play because i somehow can still serve the ball pretty well! (well, honestly the net sags a bit, so it's pretty easy to hit it over hard).
It finally cooled off and rained for 2 days straight. They say winter starts in a couple weeks to a month depending on where you live, so I imagine we are in for a shock!
We still have no idea about placement... I guess we'll find out next Thursday and then run to the internet and write an email! Also on August 18 or 20 we will get cell phones, so you will be able to call us!!
I'm terribly homesick today. Reading emails has been hard, because I just wish I could be sharing my experiences with you all. I feel very proud of what I have accomplished (I was chosen to give a speech in Mongolian at our Host Family Closing Appreciation Event next Sunday!!), and I think that I have learned quite a bit, but I am very ready to be in control of my own life again in terms of food, water, refrigeration, food processing, schedule, planning, etc. Honestly today I think what maybe set me off was I also searched all over town for a delgor that had cold coke to no avail. :(
I have been going to the seamstress with my family lately because they are giving me a fancy dell!!! I am so excited. I'll show pictures.
Love you guys--- more later!
Cady
August 3, 2007
Yeah! Free Internet at the PC PST HQ rocks! I am in Darkhan today preping for our seminar tomorrow. Seeing as how they have free Internet, I jumped at the chance!
Well, the BIG BIG news here is that our slice of Mongolia has cooled off. The rain cometh and so doth the cool air! I feel human again!
I am also done practice teaching now. Yesterday was my last day. It ended nicely.
Monday is our language test. No worries.
Wednesday we all go together with our families to the countryside.
Thursday we leave our families and head back here to Darkhan and then a few days later we're off to UB for a week. Then, off we go to who knows where!
So, there's the run down.
It sounds like everything is going well with everyone. I'm very happy to hear that. I'm sorry to hear that it is so hot in the states. I can relate. I don't know how long this coolocity (not a real word) will last here, but for now, I am really enjoying it. I hope it comes for all of you, too.
I've got to run for now!
Love,
Peter
August 13, 2007
We have a home!
Training is almost complete and we have some great news to share! We have been placed in Darkhan, Mongolia for the next two years! We also passed our language tests with Intermediate-Low level scores (you only need a Novice-High to pass!).
Cady was placed in the CHF International Office at the GER Initiative (Growing Entrepreneurship Rapidly) as a Business Advisor in Darkhan. She will work with local clients to improve local business practices as well as work with CHF on its larger mission within Mongolia. CHF's GER Initiative is funded as a joint project by the US Department of Agriculture and USAID. It's a great program, great location.
Peter has been placed as an English Instructor at the Mongolian University of Science and Technology in Darkhan. MUST is one of the largest universities systems within Mongolia. The Darkhan University has 1500 students, and is within walking distance of our new home.
Speaking of homes, we have been placed in an an old Soviet block style apartment on the 4th floor of a 5 floor building (No elevators!!). The apartment buildings on the outside are not much to look at, but have plenty of character on the inside. We move in after swearing in on the 18th, so we can send pictures or finally put something on our blog later.
We said goodbye to our very gracious and hospitable host families for the last time, and they are grateful we are so close (about 1 hour) so we can see them on holidays. We were so ecstatic about our placement, and we can't wait to come back to Darkhan and get settled in!
We're off to UB (UlaanBataar) for a week of PC events and swearing-in as official Peace Corps volunteers on August 18th. We will recieve a new mailing address (the old one won't work as of Aug 18) and cell phones on the 19th. We'll send out our new contact info as we have it! We'd love to hear from you, and miss you all dearly.
Love,
Cady and Peter
Here's a Photo of Swearing In -- Cady and Emily in Mongolian Dells.
August 14, 2007
Hello! We are safe and sound in UB after surviving a flat tire blowout in the bus and sitting in an extremely hot bus ride for 4 hours frmo Darkhan to UB. We've spent the day here with our sectors (business, tefl) and exploring the city. It is a little overwhelming at first, but I think it's slowly growing on me. Darkhan is just so much more relaxed and quieter than UB-- UB is very bustling and loud and over 1/3 to 1/2 of the population lives here, so it's insanely busy.
Things are happening fast-- we'll be officially at our sites in a week! Hopefully then, things will settle down-- we hear there is boredom that sets in then, so I can use the time to catch up on emails and study more Mongolian :)
Love,
Cady
August 20, 2007
HOLY QUESTIONS, BATMAN! AHHHHH!
Ready for the answers - follow along:
She got to be on TV.
It was awesome.
Pizza Pringles.
Everything new.
Yes.
There is so much time to do a little bit of everything.
I can do just about all the things you can do there.
No Internet.
Yes cell phone (inside and out).
The weather is perfect now.
Yes, we will get snow in Darkhan.
Yes, there are vehicles.
No, camel riding. People only really do that in the Gobi.
People are VERY interested in us.
Darkhan is known for being the little brother to UB (a better, safer, smaller version, most Mongolians agree.)
Generalization statements: Most Mongolians do not get to travel out of Mongolia.
I hear a lot of English in UB, not really anywhere else.
Russian is spoken a fair amount here.
There are very few exchange programs.
Yes, they think all of us are funny-looking to some degree. That is, we don't look Mongolian.
Yes, we will be busy.
Yes, weekends off from work, sort of.
Work hours vary, especially for me.
There are a few U's in Darkhan.
Schools are okay here/.
Most U students are women. Most men work at home, etc.
School days vary.
Cady should tell you about her job as I still know little about my own.
We have a TV.
There is American TV here.
There are international stations here (primarily Russia).
Health care here is horrendous for the most part. You wouldn't want to see the inside of a "hospital."
I love to eat Tsoivan (phonetically spelled, of course).
I love to drink Juice (different brands, same general concept.)
Not sure how to say, "We miss you."
Love,
Peter
August 28, 2007
We'll send out an email update to friends and family soon with the address once we go to the post office one more time and confirm!!!
Things have been really busy here this week so far—well, my 3 days of work :)
Friday I spent the day getting to know the office and business advisors. Most of them speak English, and my direct counterpart speaks PERFECT English. I have a translator who is also the information officer of the office, and so far, because they are all so good at English, my Mongolian has suffered a bit! Yesterday I worked on my first "training" I will give the office on "Critical Thinking". Should be interesting!! Today we visited clients all day with the HQ linkage coordinator (the person who matches our supplier clients up with the larger corporations) and wow. Some are so engaged and really excited to do everything that they can to improve their situations and their businesses—full of ideas, etc. Others are not quite as excited, and want others to solve their dilemmas—but fortunately CHF/GER Initiative is focused primarily on sustainable development and capacity building, helping the clients to come up with ideas to solve their own issues, basically their goal is to "work themselves out of a job" because the ultimate goal is to finish the program and allow a sustainable Mongolian business fill these needs or have the clients fill them themselves.
Some clients and their products are interesting—the first one I met today sells smoked pork products—and now she seems to think I am going to give her a great BBQ recipe so she can walk around town at lunch and sell pulled pork sandwiches. So, yeah, I better google that one. Another has the most amazing crops—she grows broccoli and she is so frustrated because she knows how healthy it is to eat, and no Mongolians will buy her products (only restaurants, generally) because they have no idea what to do with it! She even harvests her own seeds—including the broccoli. She was quite proud as she told me today, because all of the books and experts told her that broccoli seed harvesting wasn't possible—but she did it anyway, and ended up growing the best crop yet! I am going to start work on a Value Chain Survey for CHF Mongolia pretty soon. We're picking 6-8 industries/clients to survey, and from that, pick one industry to complete the survey on. Value Chains are apparently the "new" thing in development work, and I'm excited to get started. I'll get to travel a bit around central Mongolia, and back to UB for the training portion, so I am looking forward to getting to see more of the country!
Things are good here though—busy and new, and it's starting to get chilly already (at least at night). I need to get back on the emails and start writing people back now that I have regular access. That's my goal for the slow times! :)
Love you!!
Cady
August 2, 2007
I have time for a bit of an email (and a little extra tugriks burning a whole in my pocket right now... yay!) so I thought i would sneak away before traditional mongolian dance class and shoot you an email.
We have exactly a week left before we leave our host sites, and then we'll be in Darkhan and UB, and then swear in on August 18 as official Peace Corps Volunteers. My schedule has been crazy. In true Mongolian and PC fashion, they waited until last minute to tell us about these "cultural" performances we have to do, and speeches to give, etc.etc. so now not only are we scrambling to study, we have insane volleyball practice, dance practice, etc. on top of our normal schedules. Peter's bagh was more organized I think and have been learning to sing and dance the whole time. I love playing volleyball with them, and my host family calls me MONDUCK (champion) when we play because i somehow can still serve the ball pretty well! (well, honestly the net sags a bit, so it's pretty easy to hit it over hard).
It finally cooled off and rained for 2 days straight. They say winter starts in a couple weeks to a month depending on where you live, so I imagine we are in for a shock!
We still have no idea about placement... I guess we'll find out next Thursday and then run to the internet and write an email! Also on August 18 or 20 we will get cell phones, so you will be able to call us!!
I'm terribly homesick today. Reading emails has been hard, because I just wish I could be sharing my experiences with you all. I feel very proud of what I have accomplished (I was chosen to give a speech in Mongolian at our Host Family Closing Appreciation Event next Sunday!!), and I think that I have learned quite a bit, but I am very ready to be in control of my own life again in terms of food, water, refrigeration, food processing, schedule, planning, etc. Honestly today I think what maybe set me off was I also searched all over town for a delgor that had cold coke to no avail. :(
I have been going to the seamstress with my family lately because they are giving me a fancy dell!!! I am so excited. I'll show pictures.
Love you guys--- more later!
Cady
August 3, 2007
Yeah! Free Internet at the PC PST HQ rocks! I am in Darkhan today preping for our seminar tomorrow. Seeing as how they have free Internet, I jumped at the chance!
Well, the BIG BIG news here is that our slice of Mongolia has cooled off. The rain cometh and so doth the cool air! I feel human again!
I am also done practice teaching now. Yesterday was my last day. It ended nicely.
Monday is our language test. No worries.
Wednesday we all go together with our families to the countryside.
Thursday we leave our families and head back here to Darkhan and then a few days later we're off to UB for a week. Then, off we go to who knows where!
So, there's the run down.
It sounds like everything is going well with everyone. I'm very happy to hear that. I'm sorry to hear that it is so hot in the states. I can relate. I don't know how long this coolocity (not a real word) will last here, but for now, I am really enjoying it. I hope it comes for all of you, too.
I've got to run for now!
Love,
Peter
August 13, 2007
We have a home!
Training is almost complete and we have some great news to share! We have been placed in Darkhan, Mongolia for the next two years! We also passed our language tests with Intermediate-Low level scores (you only need a Novice-High to pass!).
Cady was placed in the CHF International Office at the GER Initiative (Growing Entrepreneurship Rapidly) as a Business Advisor in Darkhan. She will work with local clients to improve local business practices as well as work with CHF on its larger mission within Mongolia. CHF's GER Initiative is funded as a joint project by the US Department of Agriculture and USAID. It's a great program, great location.
Peter has been placed as an English Instructor at the Mongolian University of Science and Technology in Darkhan. MUST is one of the largest universities systems within Mongolia. The Darkhan University has 1500 students, and is within walking distance of our new home.
Speaking of homes, we have been placed in an an old Soviet block style apartment on the 4th floor of a 5 floor building (No elevators!!). The apartment buildings on the outside are not much to look at, but have plenty of character on the inside. We move in after swearing in on the 18th, so we can send pictures or finally put something on our blog later.
We said goodbye to our very gracious and hospitable host families for the last time, and they are grateful we are so close (about 1 hour) so we can see them on holidays. We were so ecstatic about our placement, and we can't wait to come back to Darkhan and get settled in!
We're off to UB (UlaanBataar) for a week of PC events and swearing-in as official Peace Corps volunteers on August 18th. We will recieve a new mailing address (the old one won't work as of Aug 18) and cell phones on the 19th. We'll send out our new contact info as we have it! We'd love to hear from you, and miss you all dearly.
Love,
Cady and Peter
Here's a Photo of Swearing In -- Cady and Emily in Mongolian Dells.
August 14, 2007
Hello! We are safe and sound in UB after surviving a flat tire blowout in the bus and sitting in an extremely hot bus ride for 4 hours frmo Darkhan to UB. We've spent the day here with our sectors (business, tefl) and exploring the city. It is a little overwhelming at first, but I think it's slowly growing on me. Darkhan is just so much more relaxed and quieter than UB-- UB is very bustling and loud and over 1/3 to 1/2 of the population lives here, so it's insanely busy.
Things are happening fast-- we'll be officially at our sites in a week! Hopefully then, things will settle down-- we hear there is boredom that sets in then, so I can use the time to catch up on emails and study more Mongolian :)
Love,
Cady
August 20, 2007
HOLY QUESTIONS, BATMAN! AHHHHH!
Ready for the answers - follow along:
She got to be on TV.
It was awesome.
Pizza Pringles.
Everything new.
Yes.
There is so much time to do a little bit of everything.
I can do just about all the things you can do there.
No Internet.
Yes cell phone (inside and out).
The weather is perfect now.
Yes, we will get snow in Darkhan.
Yes, there are vehicles.
No, camel riding. People only really do that in the Gobi.
People are VERY interested in us.
Darkhan is known for being the little brother to UB (a better, safer, smaller version, most Mongolians agree.)
Generalization statements: Most Mongolians do not get to travel out of Mongolia.
I hear a lot of English in UB, not really anywhere else.
Russian is spoken a fair amount here.
There are very few exchange programs.
Yes, they think all of us are funny-looking to some degree. That is, we don't look Mongolian.
Yes, we will be busy.
Yes, weekends off from work, sort of.
Work hours vary, especially for me.
There are a few U's in Darkhan.
Schools are okay here/.
Most U students are women. Most men work at home, etc.
School days vary.
Cady should tell you about her job as I still know little about my own.
We have a TV.
There is American TV here.
There are international stations here (primarily Russia).
Health care here is horrendous for the most part. You wouldn't want to see the inside of a "hospital."
I love to eat Tsoivan (phonetically spelled, of course).
I love to drink Juice (different brands, same general concept.)
Not sure how to say, "We miss you."
Love,
Peter
August 28, 2007
We'll send out an email update to friends and family soon with the address once we go to the post office one more time and confirm!!!
Things have been really busy here this week so far—well, my 3 days of work :)
Friday I spent the day getting to know the office and business advisors. Most of them speak English, and my direct counterpart speaks PERFECT English. I have a translator who is also the information officer of the office, and so far, because they are all so good at English, my Mongolian has suffered a bit! Yesterday I worked on my first "training" I will give the office on "Critical Thinking". Should be interesting!! Today we visited clients all day with the HQ linkage coordinator (the person who matches our supplier clients up with the larger corporations) and wow. Some are so engaged and really excited to do everything that they can to improve their situations and their businesses—full of ideas, etc. Others are not quite as excited, and want others to solve their dilemmas—but fortunately CHF/GER Initiative is focused primarily on sustainable development and capacity building, helping the clients to come up with ideas to solve their own issues, basically their goal is to "work themselves out of a job" because the ultimate goal is to finish the program and allow a sustainable Mongolian business fill these needs or have the clients fill them themselves.
Some clients and their products are interesting—the first one I met today sells smoked pork products—and now she seems to think I am going to give her a great BBQ recipe so she can walk around town at lunch and sell pulled pork sandwiches. So, yeah, I better google that one. Another has the most amazing crops—she grows broccoli and she is so frustrated because she knows how healthy it is to eat, and no Mongolians will buy her products (only restaurants, generally) because they have no idea what to do with it! She even harvests her own seeds—including the broccoli. She was quite proud as she told me today, because all of the books and experts told her that broccoli seed harvesting wasn't possible—but she did it anyway, and ended up growing the best crop yet! I am going to start work on a Value Chain Survey for CHF Mongolia pretty soon. We're picking 6-8 industries/clients to survey, and from that, pick one industry to complete the survey on. Value Chains are apparently the "new" thing in development work, and I'm excited to get started. I'll get to travel a bit around central Mongolia, and back to UB for the training portion, so I am looking forward to getting to see more of the country!
Things are good here though—busy and new, and it's starting to get chilly already (at least at night). I need to get back on the emails and start writing people back now that I have regular access. That's my goal for the slow times! :)
Love you!!
Cady
Monday, July 30, 2007
July E-mails
Here's our batch of emails from July -- so you can catch up on what's been happening!
July 3, 2007
Hello!
The first thing I miss, besides YOU guys of course, is ICE CUBES. You have no idea what life is like without ice cubes. I used to think I was living a hard life in DC when we actually had to use ice cube trays. I can't wait til we have our own place and I can use our distiller to make ice cubes in our freezer. The other things I miss include: Iced ANYTHING, COLD anything, and meat that is 99% lean. I want to just make ice cubes in my families freezer but the meat here is just kept open in the freezer, so it may not be the best setting for pure water! Our fridge looks like it is from the 1800s and whirrs like kitten, I mean, like a lion being nuetered.
We have had a "mongolian life skills" lesson on Saturday where we learned to saw wood from a log, split those logs into fire wood, build a fire in an old wood stove, and then cook traditional MOngolian foods on it! It was so nice to hack with that ax. I had no idea how good it was to hack wood with an axe! LOVED IT.
We just took our halfway point LPI (language exam) and so far so good! Tomorrow we meet up again in Darkhan for a couple of days and then it's back to Sukbaatar for Nadaam, the national festival.
I remember needing to tell you about the food and our houses a little more. Our families are required by Peace Corps to have electricity and a fridge and freezer to stop food spoilage. They are even required to have one outlet in our private rooms in order to plug in our Water Distillers in order for us to have safe drinking water. The food is very bland and somewhat greasy (lots of fried foods) but pretty decent! Basically each meal consists of the same 6-7 ingredients used in different ways. Cabbage, Carrots, Potatoes, Onions, Meat (with lots of fat), Flour (either used to make noodles, fried dough, or dumplings, and/or rice. If they add yeast to the flour it makes whatever we are eating more "bready" :) Sometimes there are cabbage salads with oil and vinegar, or Xiam (Heeyamm), which tastes like bologna or if we're lucky, some of the Xiam tastes like Summer Sausage.
Money here is very odd. Their money is called "tugriks" and the conversion is approx. 1000 Tugs to 1 US Dollar. Most heads of cabbage cost 700-800 tugs, or 80 cents. Milk isn't really bought in a store, it mostly comes from someone who knows someone who has a mare or cow! :) A box of cookies, for example, costs just over 1200 tugs, or 1.20 , which is very expensive! An apple is 300 tugs, or 30 cents. Once we get to our site, we will recieve 250,000 tugs (about 125K each) totalpermonth to live on, but our families right now recieve 38000 T per week to feed us and house us.
Milk products here are a little smelly and not very appetizing. They eat yogurt that is pretty watery and tastes more like sour cream, cheese that is like a brick, and then they drink airag, a clear fermented mare's milk. THAT tastes like Saki, and as long as you don't get any fat chunks floating in it, you're good to go. :)
Safety here hasn't been to much to worry about except for drunk dodging, and making sure you look oout for open manholes. SERIOUSLY. Our biggest safety concern besides dodging crazy drunks are these massive open sewer manholes that you could fall in with one misstep! (That and Rabid wild dogs)
So far, so good. I'm very happy in terms of my decision to join the PC... the timing has been right for me and Peter and our lives/careers, and I am just ready to get to our site and figure out what our lives will be like for the next 2 years!
If you guys are thinking (or you hear someone else is) of sending a package.... maybe rechargeable AA batteries with a recharger and more books? I can pretty much find everything here that we need in terms of toilet paper (aka crepe paper) and other necessities.
More later from Darkhan, and hopefully some pictures!!!
Love you both!
Cady
July 7, 2007
Sounds like everyone had a great 4th of July. We wish we were there. We had a bit of a celebration here. We went to Darkhan on the 4th. There was a basketball game, pretty competitive, that both Cady and I played in. She was one of 3 women to play for our team. I finally got to see The Enforcer in action. Lol. I told her that now that I have seen her skills that she and I will have to play more often. After the game, we had a mock barbeque. We had "pizza," "hot dogs," watermelon, juice and desserts. It was a good time. The food was suspect, but when isn't it?
Well, we are back from Darkhan, after a mid-training 2 day training session. It was great to see everyone, and I think that might be the reason they schedule those days. We did have fun though. Cady felt a little sick from the shots we were given yesterday, but is slowly starting to feel better.
You asked about cultural differences. Well, the short of it is that they are much like what I thought they would be like. They are very accepting and very open-minded (for the most part, that is). There are the bad seeds like there are everywhere. As you might imagine, we are very noticable and we recieve a lot of stares. I think, however, that they are largely curious more than anything thing else. We are different. We do have iPods, digital cameras, video cameras, nice clothing, etc., but we are also trying very hard (I think I can say that about most all of us) to really fit in and live like they do, speak their language, follow their customs.
As for food, there is a little bit of most things. If you are thinking American standards about anything, stop now! Lol. Things here are just different. Many PCTs have gotten sick. The most common reason is the change in what we intake. The preparation methods and taste are exceedlingly better than I thought, however, that does not mean that we aren't very susceptable to getting sick. So far (knock on wood) Cady and I have not been affected. They do refrigerate some things, but a lot of things sit out. They do have spices, but these are limited. I couldn't tell you exactly what they are and they really vary from location to location and by household. Food in the winter? I'll tell you about that in a few months.
Placement sites? Hmmm. The big question. THE biggest question. We all wonder and information is beginning to make its way to us from PCVs who know a little here and there about their own locations. The problem is that rumors are as common as "reliable" (notice the quotes) information, so what is actually true and what is not is hard to judge. We will find out on August 9th for sure. After that, about a week or two later we will leave for site. I hope that is somewhat helpful.
sign bine oooh is how you say hello, Sain Bain Uu.
Naadam begins tomorrow night. We are all looking forward to it and our academic schedule has been altered because of it. Wrestling and horse riding are on our horizon. We are told that we will not get archery here. I hope that's not true. Cady and I will have to let you know how it all shakes out.
Pictures. We've taken a few hundred so far. Video. We've taken some. We're thinking now that we will send those when we get to site. As you've noticed, I'm sure, we've done little in the way of blogging. There is just so little time and we haven't the motivation.
Well, that's enough talking about us.
I love you all,
Peter
P.S. We've recieved some mail. We've gotten letters from Mama and Papa, Bettina, Al and Joanna. If there is more coming, we are always on the lookout. We will get our new address to you as soon as we can! Letters get to UB after about 10-12 days.
P.P.S. We've seen a fair number of people recieving un-opened packages from home. So, that is good. I thought it would be harder than that. As for contents, rechargable batteries would be wonderful. I think Peanut Butter is always great. Or maybe Nutella. Lol. Really anything American tasting that you remember us liking will be highly coveted. So, if you can have a hot, fresh pizza delivered here, DON'T HESITATE!
July 18, 2007
Hello!
I am finally back at the internet after 5 unsuccessful attempts the last few days and I'm hopefully going to still have internet connection when the time comes to hit send on this message! Weather, schedules, and electricity permitting seem to be the major factors in determining my communication these days.
All is well here, Peter had a happy and celebrated 27th birthday here this Sunday! Since he isn't going to be back in town on the internet for awhile (i think?), he said I can go ahead and pass along the details. Friday night, Peter and his training site mates had an impromptu birthday party at a current volunteer's house, and from the pictures and stories, it sounded like fun! One trainee's host parents wouldn't let her leave for the party without a gift for Peter, so they gave her an XXL (american sized Medium!) Flannel Wrangler shirt. It's pretty funny, but actually a nice shirt! They had it in their closet, and I'm sure were just WAITING for a time when a "taller than average" birthday came along!
Saturday, my friend Emily and I walked the 3.5 miles from Sukbaatar city to Peter's bagh in the hudoo (country). On the way, we picked up my "supplies" for Peter's birthday and a cake and got some nice farmer tan lines along the way. While Peter finished working on his TEFL lesson with another University Teacher, Emily and I walked ANOTHER 3 miles to the river to go swimming. After we returned, Peter's mom of course fed us "tea" (where the 4 of us all share one teabag and basically drink brownish teaish tasting water. We could all have our own, they are just so darn expensive for them to buy, so we try and "do as the romans do" and share a teabag) and ate some hiam (close to sausage or bologna I guess?) sushi rolls she had made.
Emily and Julie left, and so Peter, Peter's host mother, and I shared dinner, where she asked us what we like to do, and then she proceeded to ask me if I like to cook, clean, etc. (like a good Mongolian woman!!) and if Peter liked to work with his hands. And from out of NOWHERE, she asks if I like to milk animals. (I suppose like a good Mongolian woman would!) I said yes, and she swooped us over to the other family's hashaa next door, where we played with farm animals for an hour, and yes, I milked a cow and played around with goats. Peter was our official "photographer" (I think he might be afraid of animals!!)
The next day I suprised him with his birthday "trip" -- we hiked to a sacred Mongolian Owoo (I think after this weekend I hiked/walked 12 miles total!!!) and I gave him 5 or 6 sacred "offerings" to present at the Owoo. This owoo was the "mother tree" a GIANT owoo -- absolutely enormous and very special and a spiritual birthday I think for Peter! (He'll have to give all the details).
We returned home and made Pizza (yes pizza!! well, fried bread and then topped it with veggies and hiam!) and his family hosted a family birthday party for him where they served the cake I brought for them/him.
All in all things are going very well for us, we're happy, we're tired, we're busy as all get out, and we've been working our tushes off (literally our pants are starting to fall down).
Love to you all, and we'll catch up more this weekend once we get paid another $20 for the month and then we can use the internet more!!!
Love you!
Cady
PS-- MORE KISS KISS THE CAT DRAMA.... (well Hamar Har, the new black nose cat I brought to replace the one that was murdered!) The other morning, I woke up and he was yowling. He had stuck his whiskers in the electrical socket and was frying his face off (seriously!!) When he finally pulled it out, his face has been charred from side to side, and now his back legs don't work at all. Terrible! Hopefully this cat lives..... we'll see. I'lll keep you posted on the Mongolian Cat Drama as it develops.
July 27, 2007
Hope this finds you well! I have been having a terrible time finding any reliable internet and hopefully this reaches you without too much clicking and re-clicking...
It's miserably hot here. Just absolutely suffocating, and I'm not sure how Peace Corps countries along the equator do it. I assume come winter, Peter and I will be thankful, but until then, I will continue to complain, because we will have the cold to complain about! :)
Training is going well-- we're as busy as ever, gearing up to head out to site on August 20. We will have a new address at that point, so we can notify you then of what our address and location are. Our new site placement will have on August 9, and we'll have 9 days closing up pre-service training before then ship the two of us off into whatever sunset they have in mind...
Our family cat healed magically... i think it might be the raw mutton patty it ate every morning!!
We miss you all terribly. Getting a little homesick now and then, but coming into emails after a long absence is really helpful even if we have no time to write back. Once we get to site, we'll be more communicative, hopefully. Unless we're in the Gobi with a camel to send messages by. From our job indications however, I find that pretty unlikely. I have been told my job placement will probably have a computer WITH the internet for me to use ALL BY MYSELF! :) Not too bad as Peace Corps goes I suppose! Once we get to site we'll have more pictures, some blog postings, and actual information to give you. At this point, we're in the dark.
We'll also get cell phones come mid-August so I hope you'll be able to call us from time to time. There are some very good phone card rates to Mongolia.
Tomorrow we head to Amarbaysalant, a monastary, as part of our Culture training... 6 hour "meeker" ( micro bus that seats 8 but they shove in 24) ride... 90million degrees... not so fun!! Peter will be in Darkhan all weekend, so he may have better internet access....
This may be my last email access for awhile, but I will try my best, so please keep your letters and emails coming :) They have meant a lot to us! We'll make sure to email once we have our site!!
Love,
Cady
July 30, 2007
Okay, so I have a lot of emails today, and, as usual, not enough time. So, hello, I love you all!
As far as sending stuff here, I'd wait until we can figure out how to get things to our families. It's more complicated than you'd think. So, stand by for further information.
I'm sorry to hear that some of the contents of the package will not make it here. Those cheese crackers would have been awesome. I fantasize about eating Doritos about twice a week. Lol. I know, though, that we will LOVE to open up what you sent. I have been itching to get the package!
As Cady noted last weekend, it has been oppressively hot here...for about 2 weeks now. I really hope that it will let down soon. I think that I might be melting. It's been tough to get motivated to learn and teach. I will also be giving a presentation about writing a personal essay during a seminar for Mongolian teachers this Friday. Needless to say, it will probably still be hot. Darkhan, where the seminar is and where I was this past weekend was also very hot. It's sad that that is what is coloring this last part of our host stay. Right now it looks like it might rain and cool us off a little. about 20 degrees would be nice.
Other than that, there really isn't a whole lot to report. We are coming to the end of things here in SB. Our langauge test is on Monday next week. We leave here that next Thursday and find out where we will be going. We will go to UB for about a week and then we are off! Right now I am just trying to end PST strongly. I'm feel so so about it. My language study has suffered becuase of the heat and because I am spending the time I would be studying lesson planning. But, that is all coming to an end. It's really starting to get exciting.
Like Cady said, we will try to communicate more and better when we get to site!
Please keep sending us lots of emails. Even though we cannot respond to them all or even a lot of the details or questions, we really love hearing about everything that is going on with all of you. It's such a breath of fresh air. Thank you, thank you, thank you for keeping us so much in the loop! I spend almost all of my time at the computer reading. And I don't think that my organization of thought or grammar and sentence structure has been any worse. Lol. I love it!
Love,
Peter
July 3, 2007
Hello!
The first thing I miss, besides YOU guys of course, is ICE CUBES. You have no idea what life is like without ice cubes. I used to think I was living a hard life in DC when we actually had to use ice cube trays. I can't wait til we have our own place and I can use our distiller to make ice cubes in our freezer. The other things I miss include: Iced ANYTHING, COLD anything, and meat that is 99% lean. I want to just make ice cubes in my families freezer but the meat here is just kept open in the freezer, so it may not be the best setting for pure water! Our fridge looks like it is from the 1800s and whirrs like kitten, I mean, like a lion being nuetered.
We have had a "mongolian life skills" lesson on Saturday where we learned to saw wood from a log, split those logs into fire wood, build a fire in an old wood stove, and then cook traditional MOngolian foods on it! It was so nice to hack with that ax. I had no idea how good it was to hack wood with an axe! LOVED IT.
We just took our halfway point LPI (language exam) and so far so good! Tomorrow we meet up again in Darkhan for a couple of days and then it's back to Sukbaatar for Nadaam, the national festival.
I remember needing to tell you about the food and our houses a little more. Our families are required by Peace Corps to have electricity and a fridge and freezer to stop food spoilage. They are even required to have one outlet in our private rooms in order to plug in our Water Distillers in order for us to have safe drinking water. The food is very bland and somewhat greasy (lots of fried foods) but pretty decent! Basically each meal consists of the same 6-7 ingredients used in different ways. Cabbage, Carrots, Potatoes, Onions, Meat (with lots of fat), Flour (either used to make noodles, fried dough, or dumplings, and/or rice. If they add yeast to the flour it makes whatever we are eating more "bready" :) Sometimes there are cabbage salads with oil and vinegar, or Xiam (Heeyamm), which tastes like bologna or if we're lucky, some of the Xiam tastes like Summer Sausage.
Money here is very odd. Their money is called "tugriks" and the conversion is approx. 1000 Tugs to 1 US Dollar. Most heads of cabbage cost 700-800 tugs, or 80 cents. Milk isn't really bought in a store, it mostly comes from someone who knows someone who has a mare or cow! :) A box of cookies, for example, costs just over 1200 tugs, or 1.20 , which is very expensive! An apple is 300 tugs, or 30 cents. Once we get to our site, we will recieve 250,000 tugs (about 125K each) totalpermonth to live on, but our families right now recieve 38000 T per week to feed us and house us.
Milk products here are a little smelly and not very appetizing. They eat yogurt that is pretty watery and tastes more like sour cream, cheese that is like a brick, and then they drink airag, a clear fermented mare's milk. THAT tastes like Saki, and as long as you don't get any fat chunks floating in it, you're good to go. :)
Safety here hasn't been to much to worry about except for drunk dodging, and making sure you look oout for open manholes. SERIOUSLY. Our biggest safety concern besides dodging crazy drunks are these massive open sewer manholes that you could fall in with one misstep! (That and Rabid wild dogs)
So far, so good. I'm very happy in terms of my decision to join the PC... the timing has been right for me and Peter and our lives/careers, and I am just ready to get to our site and figure out what our lives will be like for the next 2 years!
If you guys are thinking (or you hear someone else is) of sending a package.... maybe rechargeable AA batteries with a recharger and more books? I can pretty much find everything here that we need in terms of toilet paper (aka crepe paper) and other necessities.
More later from Darkhan, and hopefully some pictures!!!
Love you both!
Cady
July 7, 2007
Sounds like everyone had a great 4th of July. We wish we were there. We had a bit of a celebration here. We went to Darkhan on the 4th. There was a basketball game, pretty competitive, that both Cady and I played in. She was one of 3 women to play for our team. I finally got to see The Enforcer in action. Lol. I told her that now that I have seen her skills that she and I will have to play more often. After the game, we had a mock barbeque. We had "pizza," "hot dogs," watermelon, juice and desserts. It was a good time. The food was suspect, but when isn't it?
Well, we are back from Darkhan, after a mid-training 2 day training session. It was great to see everyone, and I think that might be the reason they schedule those days. We did have fun though. Cady felt a little sick from the shots we were given yesterday, but is slowly starting to feel better.
You asked about cultural differences. Well, the short of it is that they are much like what I thought they would be like. They are very accepting and very open-minded (for the most part, that is). There are the bad seeds like there are everywhere. As you might imagine, we are very noticable and we recieve a lot of stares. I think, however, that they are largely curious more than anything thing else. We are different. We do have iPods, digital cameras, video cameras, nice clothing, etc., but we are also trying very hard (I think I can say that about most all of us) to really fit in and live like they do, speak their language, follow their customs.
As for food, there is a little bit of most things. If you are thinking American standards about anything, stop now! Lol. Things here are just different. Many PCTs have gotten sick. The most common reason is the change in what we intake. The preparation methods and taste are exceedlingly better than I thought, however, that does not mean that we aren't very susceptable to getting sick. So far (knock on wood) Cady and I have not been affected. They do refrigerate some things, but a lot of things sit out. They do have spices, but these are limited. I couldn't tell you exactly what they are and they really vary from location to location and by household. Food in the winter? I'll tell you about that in a few months.
Placement sites? Hmmm. The big question. THE biggest question. We all wonder and information is beginning to make its way to us from PCVs who know a little here and there about their own locations. The problem is that rumors are as common as "reliable" (notice the quotes) information, so what is actually true and what is not is hard to judge. We will find out on August 9th for sure. After that, about a week or two later we will leave for site. I hope that is somewhat helpful.
sign bine oooh is how you say hello, Sain Bain Uu.
Naadam begins tomorrow night. We are all looking forward to it and our academic schedule has been altered because of it. Wrestling and horse riding are on our horizon. We are told that we will not get archery here. I hope that's not true. Cady and I will have to let you know how it all shakes out.
Pictures. We've taken a few hundred so far. Video. We've taken some. We're thinking now that we will send those when we get to site. As you've noticed, I'm sure, we've done little in the way of blogging. There is just so little time and we haven't the motivation.
Well, that's enough talking about us.
I love you all,
Peter
P.S. We've recieved some mail. We've gotten letters from Mama and Papa, Bettina, Al and Joanna. If there is more coming, we are always on the lookout. We will get our new address to you as soon as we can! Letters get to UB after about 10-12 days.
P.P.S. We've seen a fair number of people recieving un-opened packages from home. So, that is good. I thought it would be harder than that. As for contents, rechargable batteries would be wonderful. I think Peanut Butter is always great. Or maybe Nutella. Lol. Really anything American tasting that you remember us liking will be highly coveted. So, if you can have a hot, fresh pizza delivered here, DON'T HESITATE!
July 18, 2007
Hello!
I am finally back at the internet after 5 unsuccessful attempts the last few days and I'm hopefully going to still have internet connection when the time comes to hit send on this message! Weather, schedules, and electricity permitting seem to be the major factors in determining my communication these days.
All is well here, Peter had a happy and celebrated 27th birthday here this Sunday! Since he isn't going to be back in town on the internet for awhile (i think?), he said I can go ahead and pass along the details. Friday night, Peter and his training site mates had an impromptu birthday party at a current volunteer's house, and from the pictures and stories, it sounded like fun! One trainee's host parents wouldn't let her leave for the party without a gift for Peter, so they gave her an XXL (american sized Medium!) Flannel Wrangler shirt. It's pretty funny, but actually a nice shirt! They had it in their closet, and I'm sure were just WAITING for a time when a "taller than average" birthday came along!
Saturday, my friend Emily and I walked the 3.5 miles from Sukbaatar city to Peter's bagh in the hudoo (country). On the way, we picked up my "supplies" for Peter's birthday and a cake and got some nice farmer tan lines along the way. While Peter finished working on his TEFL lesson with another University Teacher, Emily and I walked ANOTHER 3 miles to the river to go swimming. After we returned, Peter's mom of course fed us "tea" (where the 4 of us all share one teabag and basically drink brownish teaish tasting water. We could all have our own, they are just so darn expensive for them to buy, so we try and "do as the romans do" and share a teabag) and ate some hiam (close to sausage or bologna I guess?) sushi rolls she had made.
Emily and Julie left, and so Peter, Peter's host mother, and I shared dinner, where she asked us what we like to do, and then she proceeded to ask me if I like to cook, clean, etc. (like a good Mongolian woman!!) and if Peter liked to work with his hands. And from out of NOWHERE, she asks if I like to milk animals. (I suppose like a good Mongolian woman would!) I said yes, and she swooped us over to the other family's hashaa next door, where we played with farm animals for an hour, and yes, I milked a cow and played around with goats. Peter was our official "photographer" (I think he might be afraid of animals!!)
The next day I suprised him with his birthday "trip" -- we hiked to a sacred Mongolian Owoo (I think after this weekend I hiked/walked 12 miles total!!!) and I gave him 5 or 6 sacred "offerings" to present at the Owoo. This owoo was the "mother tree" a GIANT owoo -- absolutely enormous and very special and a spiritual birthday I think for Peter! (He'll have to give all the details).
We returned home and made Pizza (yes pizza!! well, fried bread and then topped it with veggies and hiam!) and his family hosted a family birthday party for him where they served the cake I brought for them/him.
All in all things are going very well for us, we're happy, we're tired, we're busy as all get out, and we've been working our tushes off (literally our pants are starting to fall down).
Love to you all, and we'll catch up more this weekend once we get paid another $20 for the month and then we can use the internet more!!!
Love you!
Cady
PS-- MORE KISS KISS THE CAT DRAMA.... (well Hamar Har, the new black nose cat I brought to replace the one that was murdered!) The other morning, I woke up and he was yowling. He had stuck his whiskers in the electrical socket and was frying his face off (seriously!!) When he finally pulled it out, his face has been charred from side to side, and now his back legs don't work at all. Terrible! Hopefully this cat lives..... we'll see. I'lll keep you posted on the Mongolian Cat Drama as it develops.
July 27, 2007
Hope this finds you well! I have been having a terrible time finding any reliable internet and hopefully this reaches you without too much clicking and re-clicking...
It's miserably hot here. Just absolutely suffocating, and I'm not sure how Peace Corps countries along the equator do it. I assume come winter, Peter and I will be thankful, but until then, I will continue to complain, because we will have the cold to complain about! :)
Training is going well-- we're as busy as ever, gearing up to head out to site on August 20. We will have a new address at that point, so we can notify you then of what our address and location are. Our new site placement will have on August 9, and we'll have 9 days closing up pre-service training before then ship the two of us off into whatever sunset they have in mind...
Our family cat healed magically... i think it might be the raw mutton patty it ate every morning!!
We miss you all terribly. Getting a little homesick now and then, but coming into emails after a long absence is really helpful even if we have no time to write back. Once we get to site, we'll be more communicative, hopefully. Unless we're in the Gobi with a camel to send messages by. From our job indications however, I find that pretty unlikely. I have been told my job placement will probably have a computer WITH the internet for me to use ALL BY MYSELF! :) Not too bad as Peace Corps goes I suppose! Once we get to site we'll have more pictures, some blog postings, and actual information to give you. At this point, we're in the dark.
We'll also get cell phones come mid-August so I hope you'll be able to call us from time to time. There are some very good phone card rates to Mongolia.
Tomorrow we head to Amarbaysalant, a monastary, as part of our Culture training... 6 hour "meeker" ( micro bus that seats 8 but they shove in 24) ride... 90million degrees... not so fun!! Peter will be in Darkhan all weekend, so he may have better internet access....
This may be my last email access for awhile, but I will try my best, so please keep your letters and emails coming :) They have meant a lot to us! We'll make sure to email once we have our site!!
Love,
Cady
July 30, 2007
Okay, so I have a lot of emails today, and, as usual, not enough time. So, hello, I love you all!
As far as sending stuff here, I'd wait until we can figure out how to get things to our families. It's more complicated than you'd think. So, stand by for further information.
I'm sorry to hear that some of the contents of the package will not make it here. Those cheese crackers would have been awesome. I fantasize about eating Doritos about twice a week. Lol. I know, though, that we will LOVE to open up what you sent. I have been itching to get the package!
As Cady noted last weekend, it has been oppressively hot here...for about 2 weeks now. I really hope that it will let down soon. I think that I might be melting. It's been tough to get motivated to learn and teach. I will also be giving a presentation about writing a personal essay during a seminar for Mongolian teachers this Friday. Needless to say, it will probably still be hot. Darkhan, where the seminar is and where I was this past weekend was also very hot. It's sad that that is what is coloring this last part of our host stay. Right now it looks like it might rain and cool us off a little. about 20 degrees would be nice.
Other than that, there really isn't a whole lot to report. We are coming to the end of things here in SB. Our langauge test is on Monday next week. We leave here that next Thursday and find out where we will be going. We will go to UB for about a week and then we are off! Right now I am just trying to end PST strongly. I'm feel so so about it. My language study has suffered becuase of the heat and because I am spending the time I would be studying lesson planning. But, that is all coming to an end. It's really starting to get exciting.
Like Cady said, we will try to communicate more and better when we get to site!
Please keep sending us lots of emails. Even though we cannot respond to them all or even a lot of the details or questions, we really love hearing about everything that is going on with all of you. It's such a breath of fresh air. Thank you, thank you, thank you for keeping us so much in the loop! I spend almost all of my time at the computer reading. And I don't think that my organization of thought or grammar and sentence structure has been any worse. Lol. I love it!
Love,
Peter
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
.jpg)