So last you all heard I was having a bit of a pity party for myself. I guess everyone is a party pooper once in a while. But things are looking up and I am back or at least 50% to what I normally feel like.

            So many of you wonderful people reached out to me and I have to say it feels good. To know that some are actually reading my blog, or maybe even looking forward to it (sometimes I tend to exaggerate), but in these circumstance why not. Some friends from years past even got in touch with me and I feel honored to still even be on their minds, aka thanks facebook. But anyway here’s the scoop:

So a week ago was Thanksgiving. While down in the dumps I decided to go up to my aimag and visit some fellow volunteers to have a true Thanksgiving, stuffing and all (turkeys are a bit scarce in these parts…). I took the post office car back on Thursday and actually made it in time for a Thanksgiving dinner. My friends and their coworkers all met up for a dinner and we all gave thanks, even the Mongolians! It was a sight to see. Because I am fairly isolated we hit the town. We went to the “club” and danced the night away! Granted it is a little different from American clubs, but you still had the token handsy guy and drunk in the corner. It was so much fun we decided to go back the next day. There were a bunch of young people, probably close to my age which was a bit unusual. At least for me because in my soum I am really the only 22 year old who is single and not in school. I was teaching my friend how to Mongolian waltz and sadly to say she was struggling a bit. When suddenly a fellow Mongolian grabbed my hand and started waltzing with me. It was really fun. He was the perfect height for me, just a bit taller than me, not skyscraper tall or anything. And he smelled amazing. Now I don’t know if it is because I have been alone for so long or if it was the beer talking but to me he smelled of soap and it was wonderful. Unfortunately that is where our story ended. I will forever remember my thanksgiving soap smelling waltzing partner, whose name I was too shy to ask.

            Tangent, but this is what I realized a few days ago when I was sitting in my ger contemplating the phenomenons of life.  I am a shy person. But I am also an extrovert. I think it is a unique thing to be both. When people first meet me, especially if it is at a party, they might say what are you talking about? But my close friends know. Maybe even some of my family members, but I cannot say for sure. I realized it when I was reading a book or an article or something that was actually in English for once. But I do get shy or timid if I don’t have a bit of friendly encouragement. But this is what I have come to, some might think otherwise but for me in some aspects of life I believe I am bashful so to speak. 

            While my friends went off to work on Friday I milled about, went shopping for some canned goods (which are also absent in my soum), and giddily wandered over to the shower house. It was incredible. I felt like a new woman after that shower. It has been 3 ½ months since I have been in the presence of running water and it was fantabulous. Yes, it was so great it needs a fictitious word to describe it. Of course because it is significantly colder in the aimag compared to my soum I wore a hat most of the time and my hair was greasy yet again within 2 days. You win some, you lose some I suppose.

            That morning I was able to speak to some of my extended family because of the gloriousness of what technology is today. For only 22 cents per minute! (Feel free to call me anytime! But seriously if you are bored why not right? 94411072). Who wouldn’t want to be able to say to the question what did you do yesterday? Oh you know I talked to my friend in Mongolia for only 22 cents per minute! Anyway, it’s weird how you never forget people’s voices. Especially your family who you have been around your whole life. It seems odd that my life, or at least my day to day activities, doesn’t revolve around my family anymore. But I suppose that happens when you grow up and then eventually start a new family if you so desire.

            Anyway that evening we made chicken, stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, and even pudding pie. It’s amazing what resources you can find if you are truly determined. Granted one of the other volunteers was in UB, the capital city, the previous week to get stuff so it was mostly good timing but still. It was a lovely thanksgiving feast followed by a round of kings cup to keep the American spirit running. By the time we were all sufficiently stuffed and content we bundled up into the below freezing weather to head to “da club”. Although there were not as many young people as the night before it was still fun! I even sat and talked with a Mongolian who was a friend of a friend for quite some time. It was refreshing to talk to someone who wasn’t a student too. I even got an invitation to a New Years party from the gentleman. I’m not saying I’ll except but at least I have options now ;). Don’t worry mom I wont marry him and stay in Mongolia forever. He doesn’t speak a lick of English, so that might be a bit of an obstacle. We wandered back home around 11:30 or so, which was something. They kept the club open an extra 30 minutes for us Americans. Funny how here I am referred to as the Russian instead of the blonde.

            I wandered back to my soum after the wonderful long weekend and hit the grind. Why do they say that anyway, I know it’s probably an idiom of some kind but I never understood the meaning behind it. Where did it start? Also if you haven’t noticed I stopped taking my ADHD medication so I tend to wander off topic sometimes, but Mongolians don’t seem to mind and I am more creative off it anyway.

            This week has been crazy. I haven’t even washed my hair I’ve been so busy and that’s saying something. Before thanksgiving I started going to the dormitory to teach sexual education. I gave a condom demonstration and thankfully there were plenty of volunteers to show other students. The previous volunteer apparently had given many lessons on sexual safety and relationships, which to be quite frank I am very relieved. Now I go to the dorms to play games and teach songs. I love it. I go every Tuesday and Thursday when I can. I eat dinner with them and they all call over “Bagsha, Bagsha, Nasheer!” Which means, teacher, teacher, come here. It is nice to see I am wanted or at least for the celebrity status. We played human knot, uno, and I taught them the Christmas song “Up on the housetop.” They loved it. It’s funny to me because they are very similar to me in the fact that they catch on to the base rhythm of songs but words are troublesome. I am the same with Mongolian songs.

            To add on to that this week has been English week. We have the students 2 weeks to prepare. Everyday was a different English activity after school. Monday we watched the original version of The Grinch. Tuesday we had a poem competition where students memorized a poem from a given list. 7 students participated which was amazing! Wednesday we had a song competition. They were wonderful and cute! Thursday we had a trivia competition, aka jeopardy. And Friday we will have a dance! It was a lot of work because I did it all, sometimes my coworkers are less inclined to participate in extra-curricular activities. But I am fairly satisfied with the results.

Next week I am off to Ulaanbaatar for our In-Service-Training, or rather IST as we volunteers like to say. I am extremely excited to put it lightly. We will have training sessions mainly all day for a week covering tips on teaching large classes, multi-level classes, games, and more. My counterpart Gerelee is coming with me and I am so happy! She is by far the one that works the hardest and is always willing to plan no matter how late it is. So here I am trying to go day by day as they slowly continue on.

I try to trick my mind into thinking it isn’t really that long. First IST, then New Years, then Tsagar Sar (or lunar new year, kind of a big deal here), then summer. Then the whole process all over again.

Video coming soon of my students from English week! Attempting to become tech savvy with iMovie…says the art major….

Hope you are trudging along as I am.

Xoxo,

           

            Rojo

I have been struggling.

These past two weeks have been a bit difficult for me. I live in a soum, 5 hours away from the closest American, or rather fluent English speaking person and to say I am lonely is an understatement. If any of you know me, laughing is apart of my daily routine, or rather hourly. But it seems as though I have nothing to laugh about anymore. I can’t recall the last time I laughed so hard I lost my breath. I remember in college it happened at least once ever couple of days if not more.

            Now please don’t get me wrong. I love my job and my coworkers, students, and many other acquaintances. But that is just it. They are acquaintances. My coworkers are my friends, but I think friends are a little different here. We work together, talk, and do chores, but just hanging out, having a drink, or even talking about deep concepts are out of the question. The first reason because of Mongolian culture and the second because of the language barrier.

            The hard thing is that because I am not fluent in the language I don’t understand most things. When I speak English it is to teach or plan lessons. I don’t speak for fun anymore. I can’t make inside jokes with people, or jokes at all for that matter. I feel like I am going stir crazy, yet there is nowhere to go to get rid of it.

I know the purpose of me being here isn’t so that I can laugh and have a good time, but to make a difference in people’s lives and help in any way that I can. But shouldn’t those go hand in hand? Should I be unhappy in a foreign country, just to say that I was in the Peace Corps?

            When I first got to site I wrote letters to over 30 people and I have received 4 responses. I know everyone has busy schedules, and I understand completely. But for me, I go to the post office on Thursday, the day when all the mail comes with a sliver of hope for a letter or a faint hope of my lost package but I always leave empty handed.

My workday is busy and I always have something to do, but when 5 o’clock rolls around everyone goes home, does their chores, hangs out with their families, and more. Even volunteers who live in cities get to see each other many times during the week. While here I am having a pity party all by myself. Now I know this is a downer and who wants to read that, but you have to realize, way out here there is no one to vent to, so writing is my venting. After work I read or watch movies, which makes me think of what my life would be like somewhere else.

            Every day I think about what I will do after my service is over, but shouldn’t I be in the moment? Shouldn’t I be all here. I feel like I shouldn’t be planning my future while I am here, but the whole time I just keep thinking when is my life going to start. Should I be thinking this is my life or plan the future.

            The thing that gets me the most is that it’s not like I miss material things. I’m not craving specific food or anything like that. I miss people. I miss my friends, I miss meeting new people, I miss being able to strike up a conversation with someone and not have to worry if they understand you or not.

            So needless to say I have been struggling. I know I have made a difference at school and when I am there I feel needed and wanted, but afterwards when I come home I feel like I am in a cold empty dark shell, aka my ger. Is this what selflessness is supposed to feel like? Like you are wasting your prime youthful years to help others? Maybe I am being cynical, but I just keep seeing people my age living it up. Should I be doing the same?

            Maybe I have just been a bit off lately. Maybe it is because my monthly visitor has come into town. Or maybe I can’t do this. But all I know is I committed to two years of service and I will be damned if I quit on another thing in my life. But then again the thought comes to mind, can I handle or cope with being melancholic and  isolated for another 2 years?

            So yes, I have been struggling……………….and it’s not even winter yet.

           

                        Xoxo,

                                    Rojo

            Last I left off it was right before Halloween. And I know what your thinking. How can you celebrate a holiday where people scare the shit out of people or dress as slutty as can possibly be? (Reminder I took part in both of these tasks only a year ago…) But if you can put your thinking caps on maybe you’ll remember tick-or-treating, the whole “boo” phenomenon, and of course those cherished children’s Halloween parties where you played PG rated games. To my surprise as much as yours I organized a Halloween party for my students. They were all really excited about it too. I dressed up as snow, putting as minimal effort in it as I could, only wearing white while some of my student went all out with makeup and costumes. We played musical chairs, mummy wrap, the candy jar guessing game, and pin the face on the jack-o-lantern. We had awards and everything. It was legit.

            I had a little squabble with my director because the weekly teacher’s meeting just so happened to unexpectedly be planned at the same time when it is usually on Mondays. My teachers, as well as other teachers who wanted to stop by for a bit couldn’t come. I was rather upset because we had been planning this party for over a week. Then again I thought next time I’ll make a bigger deal before hand. No sense in getting upset when nothing can be done.

            The next week was finally break! The end of the first quarter was upon us and man was I excited to go to the aimag to see some Americans! Although being Mongolia I waited two days for a car up there. Embarrassing for me to admit, but those two days I never left my ger. Only watched movies and ate bread and jam. I was even too lazy to make a fire so I just shuffled around in my sleeping bag. That was the tell-tale sign I needed to get out.

            I finally made it out of town bright and early on Monday. And by bright and early I technically mean dark and cold at 4 in the morning. The meeker even dropped me off at April’s school so I wouldn’t have to walk in the cold. And man was it cold. It was at least 15 to 20 degrees colder than my town. There was even a bit of snow on the ground. I was not prepared for that. All week we hung out milled around town, planned a seminar, and did crossword puzzles like our lives depended on it. It was great. Being able to relax and not worry about your teaching schedule, rushing to get people to things on time, or any time referenced activity was amazing.

            We went to the black market and I was able to find camel socks, yak socks, and camel pants! They are so soft and cozy it is like my feet are living in… well I can’t think of anything better than ugg boots… April’s teacher, Orgil had us over for pizza too! It was scrumptious! I ate as many vegetables and cheese as I could get my hands on that week.

We taught a seminar on Thursday for Essay writing, multi-level classes, and more. It was a nice change teaching different teachers. The best part was that there were 38 teachers instead of my usual 4, so the teaching style was a tad bit different than my usual one on one. Afterwards we took a little detour to a school supply shop where I bought magnets, chalk, and stamps that said, “Great Job” “Good” and “Terrific.” It is amazing the little things that I know will bring my students joy. I used one of the stamps today on an exercise and all the other students tried to hurry to finish so they could get one as well. It was adorable.

When we got back, my sitemate Joanna had organized a Halloween event for all the teachers. They made cheeseburgers with jack-o-lantern faces and had Halloween trivia. The teachers got really into it too. The next day we milled around, shopped for more food for me to take home, and then I was off around 8 pm. The meeker was filled to the max per usual with 17+ people. If Mongolians were worried about personal space I would probably hate meeker rides, but because personal space doesn’t exist I love them, especially when it is starting to frost outside. The meeker ride and tight and cozy and I fell asleep right as we left town. That is the one thing I love about car rides, no matter how bumpy or where we are going I always manage to fall asleep. Way back in the day my mom said she would pop us in the car to fall asleep when we were little, so that probably had something to do with it.

The next day we went to the club to practice for another concert yet again. It feels like we have one every other week. And I kind of love it! I have always loved singing and now I get to do it all the time. Instead of people telling me to be quiet or giving a snide comment they actually join in! I can get the melody of most songs after the first try but learning the words is a whole other feat. But my teachers are all incredible and if I ask they write down the words like its as simple as pie. Also that phrase makes no sense. Pie is not simple. It is actually really hard to make, especially when ovens are mia… Anyway, I learned two new songs and of course sang mini ardin, the song I sang at swearing in. On Sunday we practiced in the afternoon and at night until late. Almost all the teachers are involved and it is pretty cool. Just being a part of something like this is incredible to me. My teachers don’t even think twice about me not being involved and that’s the way I want it to be.

The day of the concert flew by. We practiced and I went home to get ready. Before I read a bit of my new book I borrowed from April’s school. And it is kind of scary. I’ve had to put it in the freezer a few times. #Friendsreference (if this needs explaining you are obviously not a die hard Friends fan. Either that or you aren’t stuck in a foreign country with Friends being the only tv show you have on your hard drive) We wore our school uniform and Mongolian del’s for different performances. I sang 4 songs and played musical rocks. It was awesome. Of course before we sang we took celebratory vodka shots to calm our nerves. They say it makes you brave, and it did exactly that for me. We ended around 8 and I was ready to boogie. Unfortunately we didn’t boogie to boogie town. We went home and planned our lessons for the next day…

So here I am 5 months in. Crazy right? Doesn’t feel like 5 months at all. I still can’t believe this is my first real job. I still feel like I am in those awkward days of middle school where I broke up with my boyfriend because he held my hand. I thought it was too much of a commitment. And look at me now! Committed to 27 months in Mongolia, with 5 already done. Check! If you would have told me I would be in one of the coldest places in the world, or at least in my mind it is, I would have never believed you. My friends, family, and especially my roommates would have never believed you. (Shout out to Aldo and Izzy! Miss you both! #butnotyoda)

Hope your as proud of your job as me!

            XOXO,

                        Rojo

 Halloween Costumes 

Musical Chairs

Winners of the costume contest

Bayankhongor aimag

my new pet

Camel races

my students casually riding camels in the town courtyard

WHITE CAMEL!

my student looking so content

My CP, Gerelee, and I before the concert

The adventure continues… This past week I decided to invite all my teachers over to my ger as somewhat of a welcoming party. We have 38 teachers so it was a bit of a feat to make food and drinks for all of them. I decided that I would make my famous deviled eggs, because they went over so well last time, and kimbab, also known as sushi with balogni and pickles instead of fish and cucumbers. It is quite a delicacy here. As the week continued on I became more and more nervous. I just kept thinking what if nobody comes, and then what if everyone comes and I don’t have enough food? What then? But the day of judgment finally arrived. Thursday.

After lessons I went to the store and bought 30 eggs. It was quite a sight to see because who buys 30 eggs when living alone. The storekeeper was so pleased she said that I would come back to her store from now on, right?  Being the polite and non-confrontational person that I am, of course I agreed. Once home I boiled my eggs and started preparing my ingredients. I had 11^th grade English club so I came back home with my CP Ichka who helped me peel all the eggs. After that I made the rice and started to make my eggs and kimbab. Ichka left to teach 5^th grade and as time passed I realized I would not be done in time. I became frantic and nervous sweating like everyone does but is too afraid to admit. I was finished with the eggs and halfway through the kimbab when my friend Tegshe, an elementary school teacher, came in to help. I was so thankful and relieved. Ichka came too when she was finished with her lesson. Being so nervous I wasn’t really thinking and had the electric stove, my phone, and my laptop plugged in. Just as the rice was finishing cooking the power goes out. At this point I am frantic. I just sent my CP Gerlee on a run to the store to get vodka and candy and she was the one person who knew about my ger. Thankfully after some time, aka 5 minutes of me anxiously pacing back and forth mumbling, “I broke my ger, I broke my ger,” we switched the power and it worked! Gerlee was even kind enough to make milk tea in her ger and bring it over because I was in such a frenzy.

When the teachers arrived, surprisingly on time, they all staggered in. Around 20 of them came and I was ecstatic! They loved my eggs and said my ger was beautiful. They all even pitched in to buy a winter del for me! My first real del! I gave a short speech saying that my door is always open and feel free to stop by anytime. I really try to encourage that type of atmosphere, even though I know they probably wont. The party lasted a whole 45 minutes! It was fabulous. The fact that they took time out of their busy days to come for a quick bite was really touching. After everyone left, my director stayed behind to say that she was really proud of me for living like a true Mongolian by living in a ger, keeping it clean, and now looking like a Mongolian too with my new del.

But every party needs a pooper…. When another one of my CP’s, Erdee and I were planning for our next lesson the boys showed up. They were wasted. I have seen people drunk before, but usually I am there right along with them. It was weird to be on the other side of the looking glass for once. So three of my male teachers showed up, two who most definitely would not remember being in my ger the next day. One even had his kid with him. They kept on repeating I’m sorry in English, which I was kind of impressed by. We awkwardly sat waiting for them to leave while they both fell asleep sitting up. We convinced one of them to leave but unfortunately I had no idea that he was driving his motorcycle home with child en tow. As he swerved off with his emergencies on my CP said well maybe the police will stop him before he crashes. Yes, they have a different outlook on things here indeed. Drunk #2 we had to help to his feet and out the door, only after he knocked over everything in his path. We piled him behind the driver of motorbike #2 and were rid of them. I was relieved but also worried. This is one thing I will either have to get used to or pretend it doesn’t happen.

The next day I had been looking forward to all week! My aimag mates were coming in to visit! They arrived late Friday and we chatted into the wee hours of the night. The next day we ventured off to the infamous white caves. Apparently these caves were one of the first places they found evidence of man or something of the sorts. We stopped a few times to take pictures of camels, visit gers, and pee. We saw a woman riding a camel and she let us hop on! It was amazing! Did you know that camels make sounds? Well, they do and they kind of sound like a mix between a donkey and a bear, also like they are in extreme pain. I was the last of us to ride him and I hopped right on. I knew camels were tall but never really connected the dots that I would be so high up. You could see for miles. No wonder they use them to herd other animals. It was breathtaking. They stick a sharp stick through their nose and tie a rope, which they lead them with and we walked around in a few circles. Once it was time to finish she led him in a small circle and the camel gets on its knees first to come fully to the ground. And man they hit the ground hard with their knees. I flew forward and pretty sure I bruised my pelvic bone. Was not expecting such a rough landing for one of the world’s most majestic creatures.

After that I didn’t really care what the rest of the day had in store for me. We finally made it to the caves and they were awesome! It was high up in a mountain and went pretty deep too. Nothing like Carlsbad Caverns, but just as surreal. The way back took an hour and a half, compared to the four-hour drive there. We sang songs to pass the time, English ones now that I had some backup. Once home we relaxed, napped, and filled our time with Sudoku and crosswords. After we decided to venture to the club. Unfortunately it was closed so we all decided to teach our CP’s how to play kings cup. It was a great learning experience for them, as well as entertaining. The beer helped too. We hung out for some time after that but I fell asleep on the bed, per usual. April and Joanna left bright and early to get back to the aimag. I fell asleep right after they left and hadn’t slept that well in a while.

Before they left we talked about how our outlook has changed quite a bit. There are no more thoughts of, “wow I can’t believe I am in Mongolia.” It just is now, almost like a fact you would read in the dictionary. Rarely any new surprises and a routine tends to do that to you. Although the occasional spider still scares me every time. I used the rest of my day to bag coal and do laundry because now I have a washing machine! And by washing machine I mean an Asian washing machine where you still have to wring out and rinse your clothes with clean water after the wash, put them in the spinner, and then hang them up outside to dry. But it is way faster than by hand, trust me! After fetching water from the river 3 times I was exhausted. I know I finally feel at home because I am lazy and never want to leave the comfort of my ger, especially now that I can make a fire by myself, granted it takes me 30 minutes but still.

Hope you still have adventures that fill you with glee

XOXO

            Rojo

                        Rojo

My ger is fabulous. There is no other way to describe it. My curtains are a beautiful pink with roses decorated around them. I finally have a kitchen area and am able to make food for guests! It was a whirlwind moving in because my dresser was too big to fit through the door so they had to take it apart and put it back together inside. It was nice to be able to see it all happen. I felt like I was really apart of it, even though I basically just stood there watching them move everything. I spent all Sunday trying to clean and do things around the ger but of course the children from my host family just came over and ate all my candy, which to be honest is better than me eating it.

            Tuesday was the big day. Site visit time. Peace Corps came to see how I was settling in and not gonna lie I was a bit nervous. I had just moved into a new ger and wasn’t sure if they would approve. I don’t know if I could handle having to move yet again. But Munkniam came and loved my ger! She said it was beautiful and that my school must love me. She was very impressed with all the activities and things I have done in just 2 months. I was a little surprised because I feel like I should be doing a lot more. I mean I still have so much free time on my hands. We met with my teachers, teacher manager, and director to talk about the progress at school. We definitely showed her too! I was so relieved that it went well! My director even had buuz for us afterwards.

            But just as I got home that’s when it hit me. Almost every 2 months I get sick for no apparent reason. I usual hurl a few times, writhe in pain, and sleep it off. This time was no different, except I was supposed to go to another soum, Bayantsagan, the next day for a seminar. I didn’t teach in the morning just to sleep and a few teachers peaked their heads in to see if I was alright. Unfortunately they saw something that looked half dead in the morning. But as the afternoon approached I felt better, packed, and even washed my hair. As 2 o’clock rolled around I was starting to feel nauseous again, but I just thought to myself mind over matter, mind over matter. The ride was long, including songs, beers, and many Mongolians who got carsick. It was like a clown car gone bad. There were 17 of us in one meeker, which is the size of a large van. I thought I was the one who was sick, but man was I wrong. They were throwing up left and right. We finally arrived around 9:30 and I was exhausted. We were staying at the cultural center, which was just built last year. We went upstairs for dinner and I barely touched mine. I still felt awful. I though maybe if I just sleep I will feel better. Man was I wrong.

            I was tossing and turning all night. I got up twice to puke and other unmentionables. But lets just say I now have no fear of the bathroom anywhere. I am like Jane of the jungle, or rather Rojo of the Gobi. The next morning my teachers were all worried about me it was adorable. I slept through the opening ceremony and most of the day. But around 4 I was able to see the school with my director and it is beautiful. It is two stories and has a fantastic music room and art room. All the students are very talented and I was wondering why there were no volunteers, until I remembered it is 8 hours away from the capitol of the state, which is a bit too far if there was ever an emergency.

            The time finally came to perform our song of musical rocks. I had my uniform and we all looked great! Everyone was staring at me and I’m pretty sure most had never seen a foreigner before. We were glorious. All on key and killed it. It was amazing. This was the moment I finally felt like one of the teachers. Afterwards we of course celebrated with more vodka. Thankfully many of my teachers understood when I only touched it to my lips to be polite. They nodded and continued on with their conversations. We got 4^th place, which was a little disappointing but my teachers said the judges were bias. That night I slept wonderfully. We all slept in the same room in sleeping bags piled in together like sardines. It was cozy and I loved every second of it.

            The next day was a bit more relaxed. No seminar, just competitions. The volleyball competition is where our soum shined. We took 2^nd place only because the team that took 1^st had a freakishly tall guy on their team. And I am not being mean, he was freakishly tall for American standards as well. Finally we loaded up the car and were on our way, or at least that is what I thought. We were all cozily squished, me in the back by the window of course, caravanning back home with a few other soums close by when we stopped. We all got out had some vodka and had a guitar sing along. It was beautiful. At first I was a little annoyed because it was freezing outside and all I wanted to do was sleep, but it ended up being pretty enjoyable.

            The ride was horrible though. Our driver got lost and it took us double the time to get home. Thankfully I can sleep anywhere so I just stuck my headphones in because eventually after 5 hours you would think they get tired of singing, but nope you’d be wrong. We got home around 1 am and I slept the most of the next day.

            Man, it feels good to be home.

            Hope your home is as cozy as mine

            XOXO,

                        Rojo

Let’s just say that the past few weeks have been a rollercoaster of some sorts. Although my morning running days seem to be over, not by choice but because it is pitch black in the morning so you can’t see a thing let along unleashed dogs who may or may not attack, our school gets together every Saturday at 8 o’clock to workout together. It is adorable. And by workout I mean run around the track 3 times and stretch. It is perfect for me.

The past few weeks have been nothing but filled with new experiences. I played in my first volleyball tournament, sang in my first concert, and had my first teachers day!

It must have been three weeks ago when my teachers told me I would be singing a Mongolian song with them for teacher’s day. I was ecstatic! A little taken aback by the fact that my manager assumed I would do it, but a little proud as well. The whole week I practiced with my other teachers after school and got the first verse down pat, until they threw another song at me to learn in a day. Then my English teacher wanted to sing an English song too. And of course they wanted me to sing the song I already knew from the summer. So all in all I needed to know four songs by teacher’s day, which was a week away. I thought to myself yea I can do that no problem, that was until they said the concert wasn’t on teacher’s day but the week before… So I sucked up my pride and said why the hell not.

The day of we practiced for an hour or so and got all dressed up for the party. Once it finally started, two hours after it was supposed to, we danced and gathered while more people came in. Many people taught me how to Mongolian waltz and I was happy. In that moment I knew I had made the best choice of my life. I may have stepped on a few feet here and there, but I finally understand what it means to be apart of a community.

As the time approached for us to sing all the performers gathered backstage and of course took a few shots of vodka for a little encouragement. It was interesting how my teachers almost argued that taking vodka makes you brave. We sang a song and then had a waltz and this pattern continued for the remainder of the night. It was so fun! I had a blast and couldn’t have been happier with the night.

But my festivities didn’t end there. The next week for teacher’s day they split all the teachers into teams for the volleyball tournament. Now I am no sit on the sidelines type of player, but volleyball just isn’t my sport. Put me on the basketball court and I’ll elbow you out of my way, or on the soccer field I’ve got your back, but I’ve never really been good at hand-eye coordination… But I tried my best and they actually did a pretty good job of making all the teams equal levels. I had Paga on my team, a Mongolian language teacher and she is amazing! We ended up winning the tournament! Granted I think I touched the ball all of 3 times in the six games we played but still! I was apart of something and won!

The week after the tournament was awesome! I finally had something to talk about with all of my teachers and they complimented me on my skillz, even though I clearly had none. This was also the first week I ate at the dormitory. It was really nice to not have to make lunch for myself and be able to practice my Mongolian. Even though I am in a small soum, all of my English teachers are amazing at English so I have to really make an effort to keep the minimal Mongolian knowledge that I have. I decided that week that I would try to eat lunch at the dormitory as much as I could.

I also started my English club that week too! Because my school is larger than I expected I have had to have an English club for each grade, so I basically have English club everyday instead of once a week. But to be honest it is the best part of my day. In English club I encourage them to speak English but also allow Mongolian too so many of the students are much more relaxed than in school. It is really fun too. I have taught them different English songs (including Adele’s Someone Like You and Pharell’s Happy), American games, and introducing themselves. I also played a game I got from the wonderful Christie Gingras where they have to use English directions to help their blindfolded classmates get around the room. And needless to say they loved it. They even had me do it while they gave me directions in Mongolian!

And then teacher’s day arrived. On Thursday parents taught every class and on Friday the seniors taught the classes. So we basically had a four day weekend. On Thursday we prepared food for our party in the gym all morning and most of the afternoon. It was really nice to hang out and mingle with the language department. I have come to really enjoy my teachers company. I wore my fancy dress and headed out to teachers day. We feasted for about two hours. And then the awards began. I had no idea one school could have so many awards; it was insane. But of course my volleyball team got an award too! The art class made a bunch of clocks and even gave me one!

Then finally it was time for secret teacher. Now you may be wondering what is secret teacher. Well it is only the best thing ever. I’m sure you all remember secret santa when you were in school and how excited you would get about it. Well about a week ago all the teacher wrote down what they wanted and I got Paga! She said she wanted something exciting so I decided to get her a house decoration. Basically a sculpture of elephants because they are so in right now, well at least in Mongolia they are. So each person went up one by one describing their teacher and finally it was my turn. I was a little nervous because let’s be real, I had no idea if she would like it or not. But thankfully she loved it, or at least was really good at faking it! I received a beautiful Mongolian red leather wallet, a ceramic red starbucks cup, and bon-bons! I could not have asked for a better present! I use both of them everyday, and needless to say I enjoyed the bon-bons the following night. After we had endless dancing, where I showed off my incredible moves from middle-school. They had a few cobwebs on them but I spiced them up for the audience. Oh and did I mention we had been taking vodka shots throughout the whole party?

Afterwards we went party hoping all over the soum. Now it is a little different than in America. We went to one of my counterparts houses first and had milk tea, candy, and aaro (or what is basically cheese). And then the vodka came out. The way they drink here is very interesting. At most houses you have one shot glass or bowl. The host fills it up and gives it to the first contestant. They drink as much or as little as they please and hand it back to the host. The host then fills it up again and gives it to the next guest. This continues until the bottle is empty. So it is a little different when you are not suffering through a shot together but one at a time.

Once the bottle was finished, all 15 of us piled into one car, and a regular sized car at that, and went over to another teachers house, Erden-Chimig, another Mongolian language teacher. We had milk tea and went through two bottle of vodka there. Then we went over to the dormitory teachers house and thankfully it was really close to mine. I was starting to get an upset stomach from all the drinking, but strangely hadn’t felt the affects yet.  We stayed here for a while, mainly because she had fruit too. we went through three bottles here and I was pretty done for the night. Her husband opened another bottle and I refused. Unfortunately because of the culture it is considered rude to do this. He said this is the first time you are in my house, we are happy that you are here, I am the owner and you have to drink. So I sucked it up took a shot and got the hell out of there. One of my counterparts walked home with be because we are neighbors and I am so thankful we left. Apparently more men arrived with more beer and they stayed drinking until 5 in the morning.

But because I participated many of my teachers have been more friendly and talkative with me this past week. It had really opened some doors for me. It is interesting because drinking might be looked down upon in America, but here it is a bonding experience like no other. Because I was open to new customs I am going to be in a concert next week with a bunch of other teachers playing musical rock. And yes I do mean musical rocks. So get excited to see what is coming up.

Oh I almost forgot! I am moving into a ger today! I am so excited and will explain next time but I will finally be able to cook my own food, not hear crying babies all the time, be able to lock my door, and even be naked if I wanted to! Not that I would because it is starting to get cold, but at least I have the option to dance around naked if I please.

Hope all is well in the land of the free.

XOXO

            Rojo

P.S. sorry there are no pictures this time but I've been so busy! I will try to get them up soon!

            The past week has been insane. I have been to the countryside, started teaching classes, and it was confirmed that I will be getting a ger! This past weekend after a late night hanging out eating cheese and drinking beer with my teachers I went on my daily 6 am run with one of my counterparts, Gerlee, who is also conveniently my neighbor. And yes I go running now, be jealous. We are up to 7 ½ minutes. We run in between the two rivers in a beautiful flattish pasture. Afterwards I came home to fall asleep because I was so tired from the night before. Around 11 or so my host mom comes into my room, and yes I still don’t have a lock so needless to say I can’t sleep in the nude. She says we are leaving for the countryside in 5 minutes. I quickly pack a bag consisting on my camera, water, and a sweater and we were off. We drove the 30 minute drive in a meeker packed with supplies for her sisters store. Her sister has four children, 3 boys and one girl, all of which are under the age of 15. Once we got there I knew why she woke me up. It was beautiful. There were gers, tents, and cars all piled together right next to a small stream that lead into the lake. We had a perfect view of the snow topped mountains. Most of the day we hung out, cooked different meals here and there, and fetched water from the spring. This specific spring was supposed to be good for your stomach. Apparently each spring has a different health benefactor. I decided not to take my chances, due to the fact that I still haven’t shit my pants and am proud of that. I drank beer with the bank tellers from my soum and they were so kind. They were also really fashionable too. I am always amazed at how put together the women always look and how dirty the men are.

Later on in the day I was able to see something incredible. They basically flame torched a goat. They previously took out all of its organs, which we fried the liver and it was scrumptious, and stuffed it with vegetables. They torched it for about an hour, burning off all the hair and cooking the skin and fat. It was like a train wreck you couldn’t look away from. They would check to see if it was done by shaking it to see if they could hear any liquid. Once satisfied, they laid it on its back and sliced its belly open carefully. They started collecting the meat and vegetables and serving the liquid inside as soup. It was actually rather tasty. About an hour later they came back with the meat and vegetables, which they had boiled at someone’s ger. We ate it like classic Mongolians, from a huge bowl with our bare hands. It was probably the freshest tasting meat I have ever had. Everyone was so kind and always made sure I had enough to eat. Afterwards we played soccer and my team even won! Needless to say it was a great day, one for the books.

The past two weeks I have started teaching and it has been amazing. I teach 5^th through 12^th grade, 4 classes per grade, so it is anything but a simple schedule. I finally figured it out to where I teach with two teachers for one week then trade the next. I decided that I will teach 5^th grade every week because the foundation for learning a foreign language is incredibly important, that and they are adorable and we get to sing songs all the time. The days are starting to blur together, but I still hold the record for longest time without a shower. I am going on almost a month now. Ok before you gag let me just reassure you I wash my hair twice a week and baby wipe myself almost everyday. But yea I have kind of let my hygiene go.

As for the ger, they say I will get one as of October 1^st, but seeing as this is Mongolia, I’ll believe it when I see it. They have been super helpful and my director even gave me meat last week! It was so good, and goat of course, and I actually used my kitchen supplies! I do hope I will get a ger because then I can have private tutoring sessions that are not awkwardly interrupting my host families family time. I would also be able to shower without the fear of someone walking in on me, make food without any judgment, and be able to sleep without a crying baby in the next room. Now don’t get me wrong, I love my host family, but at the same time I am the only one in Peace Corps Mongolia who is currently physically living with a Mongolian family, not to mention that they have a 1 year old girl, a 6 year old boy, and no lock on my door.

October 5^th is Teacher’s Day so this week we picked our secret santa, or secret teacher. I am so excited to be apart of something at work. I know it seems lame because you probably all have done work parties and events over the years. But may I remind you this is my first real job! So I am excited!

The past two weeks I have received 2 packages and a few letters so keep them coming! Shout out to my amazing mother who sent me a package with sweets, amenities, and presents from both Greg and G-ma! Thank you all! Also my best friend Becca Swarm not only sent me a package with a birthday present, which is perfect by the way (you are amazing!), but also included updated news articles! I never thought I would say this but I miss hearing the news. I told her I have no idea what is going on in the world and the articles were great! It also worries me what is happening out there, maybe staying in the dark wasn’t such a bad idea.

I love and miss you all and keep the updates coming! Hope to hear from you soon!

Much love from the Ikh Bogd!

                        Rojo

In my aimag, or state capital

My English teachers on the 1st day of school.

The glorious spring

View from our day in the countryside

My host brother and sister in my room

The fence to our house/haasha/yard

What real men look like

View of Ikh Bogd Mountain

Delicious goat