Jacob and Peter
A herder overlooking the valley below, the mountains in the distance
Just before our descent, a picture-perfect sunset
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
High Above IST
Taking advantage of the great hiking and climbing, Jacob and I took it upon ourselves to explore the mountains around our IST (Peace Corps conference in mid-December) site. It was one of my favorite days since coming to Mongolia.
A herder overlooking the valley below, the mountains in the distance
A herder overlooking the valley below, the mountains in the distance
Going Home Again (Visit to Sukhbaatar)
Just after IST, a Peace Corps conference held just outside of UB, Jacob, Dwan, Cassandra and I visited our host site. We went by each home and even saw our Mongolian teachers. Below are a few pictures from the trip:
Peter at sunset
Peter's Eej, Aav, and Doo
Dwan, Peter, Cassandra, Tsetsgee (Our LCF), and Jacob
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
English Homework
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.
---
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.
---
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.
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