#WhenInMongolia

I am so sorry this is so late but it has been crazy here! Mid-Center days were a blast! It was great seeing everyone, but I am very happy to get back to teaching. We went over a lot of safety and security information, which was helpful, but I am glad to be back in the real world and away from our peace corps bubble.

Naadam was amazing! My family had their own ger where we sold hoosher, a fried meat hot pocket type food, and soda. And man did they make bank! On the second day they even let me inside to help a bit when it was really busy! Naadam flew by too. We were able to see the ending of the horse races, wrestling, and archery. Not going to lie though it was a bit anticlimactic. Don’t get me wrong it was a blast, but I should have known that it would have been more Mongolian time zone than the fair-like atmosphere I was expecting. We even had a concert in the square where I sang my heart out without knowing any of the words. It was interesting to see the aftermath of Naadam as well. Even though the holiday technically ended on Friday stores were closed for most of the next week. Naadam ended with a bang too! We went to a concert in the middle of the town square where I danced and sang with Khatnaa, making up the words as I went along of course. We even created a dance circle at the end of it made up of a mixture of Mongolians and Americans.

Over the weekend we decided to go on an adventurous hike with CYD as well as TEFL. It turned out to be less adventure and more swimming, but it was a blast. We found the perfect tanning spot, but two Mongolian government workers told us we could not be up there. At first we thought we were in trouble because they were leading us somewhere unknown, but it turned out they were taking us to an epic swimming spot! I even jumped in with them! They were very surprised that we could all swim too, which was amusing. The water was skeptical but extremely refreshing. After a full day of tanning, swimming, and socializing I was happy to be home with my family. Sunday turned into one of those stay at home and never get out of bed except to pee days. I was a little down in the dumps just because the past couple of days had been so eventful. I have noticed too that I get homesick whenever I watch American movies, so I am consciously trying to listen to music as an alternative.

Last week went crazy fast as well. We began team teaching and not going to lie it turned out to be a lot more difficult than I imagined. For micro-teaching I had the more advanced students and it was fun, easy, and successful. This time around I have the lowest level students, ages 8-11. They are adorable and eager, but I never imagined it would be this hard to teach young students. I have been having trouble thinking of new and creative activities that they would understand how to do. The first week we focused on family. I found that the most successful lessons were the ones centered around vocabulary, which is great because it is the best to teach in my opinion because there are so many different things you can do. Overall it went fairly well and one of my students even gave me a lollipop! Friday came just in time. We even learned the Mongolian waltz, and I cannot wait to actually use it when I go to site.

It seems as though it is just a waiting game now for our site placement. Everything we are working on goes toward what we will be doing for the next two years, but the ironic part is that we have no idea what our circumstances will be. Everyday I get more and more excited, and more and more anxious. It is strange to know your future but nothing about what it will entail.

This weekend flew by as well. Everyday keeps going faster and faster. But I will never get tired of the beauty of this country. On Saturday I was able to go across the river with my sister and mom to visit my aunts ger. It was amazing. I don’t think I have seen anything so open and beautiful. There is simply no other way to explain it. Vastness is not the right word, but it is the first one that comes to mind. My sister and I wander the grounds and she even goes swimming for a bit. After we head back so I have enough time to shower before my interview with Darlene, the country director. The interview goes great! She is so relaxed and it was like I was speaking to a friend. This alone just brightens my day. Darlene is the type of person who could inspire anyone with two sentences. She is the type of person I aspire to be. If I could have just one quality of Darlene I would be happy. She has such a good outlook, a mix of positivity with realism and so much more.

Sunday was rough because my family’s grandfather passed away. It was hard to understand the way they deal with loss here, especially because I do not have the language to communicate that kind of sympathy yet. I ended up going into town for most of the day just to not be a burden on their family in such a difficult time. This definitely made me think of my grandfather and thankful that he is with my everyday in spirit. I know that I am blessed to have had such an influential grandfather and I hope that he is looking down on me with joy and pride. I miss him everyday, but know that he is smiling and waiting for me with a big bowl of ice cream he used to sneak me as a child. Love you Pop-pop.

The next couple of days have been interesting. Teaching has still been rough, harder actually because I have been more ambitious than usual. The ironic thing is that my lesson plans will probably be great for site, but are just too complex for my current younger students. A ger and tent popped up in my grandparents haasha, or yard, and my whole family is there cooking, crying, and reminiscing. Many people come and go throughout the day paying their respects to my grandmother and eating. I have definitely noticed that most events here revolve around food, and brings people together like nothing I have ever seen. I have tried to be as helpful as possible, but there is only so much I can do. It is amazing how strong my host mom is. She still goes about all of her daily activities as well as cooking for hundreds of people.

But the adventure continues on. I am now called RoJo in class, even my teachers have started to call me that too. I guess I will never outgrow nicknames, even in Mongolia. Life is good and beautiful and precious. I know I sound corny but when I am living simply, I tend to think simply as well. I could not be happier with my choices and my place in life. I wish you all the same.