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