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

I don’t think I will ever outlive the nickname Rojo. Whether it was destiny or not I will never know, but one thing is for sure Rojo is here to stay. It all began when my fellow volunteers at my summer site miraculously thought of the name. I decided not to tell them it had already been in place for many years. Once the ball got rolling my Mongolian language teachers began to use it as well. At first it took me aback, mainly because of their accent and the fact that it was adorable when they said it over and over again. The moment I knew it would never vanish was when the volunteer trainers got a hold of it. I decided to accept my fate and in the words of our country director, roll with it. So when my new school supervisor and counterparts, or English teachers, could not fully grasp my name I succumbed to defeat and enlightened them to Rojo. Now wherever I go I hear whispers of Rojo here and there. I know they are just practicing and trying to remember but a little part of me is always pleased to here it lurking in the halls.

As for my first week it has been a whirlwind. I flew to Bayankhongor on our 6 AM flight. Thankfully I was still exhausted from the night before I slept the whole way. We loaded my bags onto the meeker, got some snacks, and then were off on our 5-hour drive to our soum, or town. I never thought I would be able to sleep on a road as bumpy and wild as that one, but by golly I slept most of the way. I settled into my new room and met my new family only to take a 5-hour nap right after. When I awoke I unpacked and had a mental battle with myself. I have been living with a family for the past 3 months but I wasn’t sure if I could do it again. Realistically I am the only volunteer living with a host family inside their house, sharing their common areas and cooking areas too. Most other volunteers lived in apartments or at least their own gers where they could escape and have their space, figuratively and literally. I quarreled with myself for about 20 minutes as to whether I had to go out and mingle with my new family or not. I finally decided I shouldn’t be a hermit and emerged from my dwelling. I hung out with my host mom and siblings for quite some time and she even took me down to the river. It was beautiful. I could not have imagined a more beautiful place. Granted the natural side of things is not that pretty, it is all brown and dead brush, but there are animals everywhere, 2 rivers (one for water and one for bathing, which I should probably figure out which is which), a giant mountain a few miles away, and amazingly generous people. My mom said she takes her daughter to the river every night and I almost teared up just thinking that I will be apart of this tradition for the next two years.

The next morning we went to school and I was introduced to all 38 of my teachers. I had to give a speech in Mongolian on the spot and not to toot my own horn or anything but I could hold my own. Many teachers complemented me on my Mongolian as well. After a short time we headed back onto the meeker and were off to our Aimag, or capital city, for another 5-hour drive for a seminar for teachers.

Just before leaving my host mom asked me where I was going to stay. I was a little confused seeing as my supervisor was the one who wanted me to go in the first place. She then repeated, “I will stay at my brothers, where will you stay?” I frantically called my friend Joanna who lived in the aimag and was thankful when she assured me that I would always have a place to crash. On the ride over I got to know a few of my teachers, but mainly just looked out the window at the countless herds of camels.

The seminar was surprisingly helpful. Even though most of it was in Mongolian I could still understand tidbits here and there. It was also rather exciting because it was the first seminar Bayankhongor has ever put on. There were over 1,000 teachers and I was able to make a lot of connections with the English teaching community for our state. The second day was more my cup of tea. The seminar leader asked for our help and we basically planned the whole day for her using the materials she had already picked out. We focused on the four teaching topics of reading, writing, listening, and speaking. It was actually really fun and most of the teachers got into it too! This was probably the first day where I felt like I was contributing to something. I really enjoyed this time because it allowed me to get to know two of my CP’s (counterparts, or English teachers) in a less formal manner. We joked and laughed and I like to think bonded in a way. After a long three days we headed back to Bogd soum on our 5-hour meeker ride. This time we left around 8 so we didn’t get back until around 1 AM or so. Oh I almost forgot to mention that every time we venture on the traitorous path to and from Bogd soum the meeker breaks down at least 2-3 times along with the fact that babies are literally being passed around from lap to lap. This time we got a flat tire and simultaneously couldn’t get the jack to keep the car up for more than 1 minute. But we finally made it safely and I crawled straight into bed.  

Friday was amazing. I slept in late, went to the river with my siblings, and met my first student! She is already very good at English too. I suspect that I will be working more with my teachers, which is fine by me because they are all incredible. The rest of the afternoon I spent with my CP Gerlee. She is most likely in her 30’s, unmarried, lives with her mom, and the sweetest thing you could ever imagine. She took me up the little hill to a statue or sculpture or some sorts and we spoke for quite some time. We wandered around the soum and she showed me where all the important people lived. She is my neighbor, which makes it even better. Afterwards I fetched water from the river for the first time! I was finally able to wash my hair and man did it feel nice. Even though I don’t shower here, just the feeling of clean hair is probably one of my favorite feelings ever. It even beats out food cravings.

The weekend was a boring blur. I holed myself in my room, watched movies, and wrote in my journal. I know I should have been more social but I was exhausted, mostly mentally. Also scared that I will get fat because there is nowhere for me to hike here, so add stress to my list as well. On Sunday I finally ventured out of my cave and went down to the river with my brother. He is 6 and well a 6 year old. I know it is just the beginning but I can already tell I am going to like my 1-year-old sister better. He may grow on me, I don’t know, but for now I am going to try and set some boundaries so that he is not barging into my room every 5 minutes yelling at me in Mongolian to do something I am not responsible for. Let’s just say I cannot have my lock put in soon enough.

This Monday was my second favorite day so far. I was finally able to go to school and meet all of my teachers. Ichka is so advanced with her English skills it is unreal. We chatted for some time and then met with the schools supervisor. We talked about my time here and if living with my host family was ok. There was talk about moving me into a ger, which I was ecstatic about. I always wanted to live in one ever since I arrived in Mongolia. I received more kitchen supplies for my tiny room, which is smaller than a Holiday Inn Restroom in the states. I was able to meet the Mayor and found out that next year will be the 90^th anniversary of Bogd soum! I can’t believe I will be here for this and am extremely excited. Once we got back to my house my teachers and supervisor inspected my room and decided to rearrange everything. They got rid of a chair so now I actually have a kitchen area, aka a table to put my water boiler and electric stovetop on. Although it doesn’t seem like much it is starting to feel like home. I spoke to Gerlee about the ger situation and she said maybe I will live with my host family for one year and then in a ger for the second. I was a little bummed at first because the ger talk just seemed like a tease but all in all I think I will do better here. Yes I know it will be awkward like it always is, and I will probably be perceived as antisocial. But when school starts I don’t plan on leaving all day. I hope to only use my room as a space for storage and sleep. I want to try and experience everything that I can and if that means holing myself up in here for the first couple of days to get myself situated and comfortable so be it. Also here is my address:

Robbi Jo Robyn, PCV

12 Year School “Ikh Bogd”

Bogd Soum, Bayankhongor Aimag, Mongolia

Mongolia (via China)

Robbi Jo Robyn, PCV

12 жилийн сургууль “Их Богд” сургууль

Богд сумын, Бауанхонгор аймаг, монгол улс

Mongolia (via China)

*Please include both English and Mongolian!


 Anything is welcome! But pictures and granola are encouraged.

Much love from the Gobi,

            Rojo

I cannot even begin to describe how incredibly happy I am. Granted the highs and lows here are inevitably crazy and unpredictable but I have definitely been having some great moments.

            Most of these moments had to do with practice teaching. Because my students were so young I decided to take the song approach to most of my lessons. We decided to focus on westernized holidays for the last week and one of the first was Valentine’s Day. I solo taught this lesson and killed it! We made Valentine’s Day cards and learned the Barney I Love You song. I told all of my students that we were going to sing it the next day. And when they did they knew all the words! It was adorable and made me feel like they were actually enjoying what they were learning.

            My second favorite moment was definitely our Halloween lesson on the last day of class. We started out by introducing all the different kinds of costumes each person typically wears and then we all proceeded to make our Halloween masks. I had my kids line up single file and come knock on the imaginary door to play pretend trick-or-treat. Each student went up and knocked on the creaky door and said trick-or-treat and then described what they were. Only after did they get the candy and they surprisingly got really into it. I was surprised by almost all of my students. They had a willingness and want to learn, even the youngest and unfocused kids of the bunch.

            Our last week of the summer we had family appreciation day and I was able to sing a bit of the Mongolian song I learned from my host family. William and I also made homemade deviled eggs, which were scarfed down because of how delicious they were.

            The last week I was in SukhBaatar was a blur. We went hiking everyday, finished our language classes, and our host siblings even threw us a surprise going away party. It was adorable. They even made us a vegetable cake because one of my site-mates is allergic to gluten. I was extremely sad to leave my family but excited to continue on this amazing journey.

            We finally headed to Darkhan for final center days where I learned I will be living in Bayankhongor Aimag (State), Bogd Soum (town). I will be living with a host family too! I am one of two volunteer out of all 87 of us who is living with a host family. I even found out that they have a heard of camels and participate in the annual winter camel race! They have a 6 year old son and a 1 year old daughter so I will definitely have my hands full. And now I am extremely thankful I have had experience nannying for so many years! Needless to say I am excited. But truth be told I am dreading the first week or so of inevitable awkwardness. The last few days of final center days I was able to meet my supervisor who is also my school director. She is adorable and calls me jijik jenny (small jenny) because the previous volunteer was Jenny. My soum is 5 hours away from the closest other volunteer which makes me a bit nervous but I know I will love it. I cannot even portray my emotions because I don’t even know myself.

            Not only did I get the site placement of my dreams but my 22 birthday was the cherry on top of the best summer I have had in some time. It started when entering the breakfast room my new aimag-mate, April, and my old soum volunteer, Jenny, surprised me with a piece of cake! Now this may not seem like much, but here that means you’re love, a lot! The day continued and by the end I was exhausted. I was able to celebrate that evening at the hotel with many other volunteers and I was surprised to receive my favorite beverages, watermelon, Pringles, bread, and even a solar shower! To see that this many people cared about me after only 2.5 months of knowing who I was is amazing and warms my heart.

            The next day we were off to UB and it was a madhouse. We are all staying in a universities dorms and it seems like I will never escape college. We were able to walk around for a short period, but it was mostly all of us lugging our baggage, including our winter bag up 9 flights of stairs due to having only one working elevator.

            But it was all worth it for today we swore in. I can now say I am officially a Peace Corps Volunteer! The ceremony was beautiful at the American Ambassadors’ Fortress, and yes that is what it is called. I was expecting a mote, but alas there was none.  I sang a beautiful Mongolian song called Mini Ardin Setgen Tsagaan with another volunteer, Bud. It loosely means my peoples hearts are pure. I was crazy nervous but received endless complements afterwards. One of our Mongolian trainers even came up to me and said the song made her cry. It was amazing to see so much support. And of course my supervisor was surprised and amazed to see I had a singing voice and decided I will sing on the first day of school. By now I am not surprised by these little things Mongolians assume.

            I fly out early tomorrow morning, 3:30 am, and am off to my soum! Unfortunately I don’t believe I will have internet for the next three months but I will try my best. I am attaching my new address just in case you want to be old school and send me a letter. Also I hear my new counterparts love American candy so feel free to send anything you would like. Lastly, if you do send anything I would love a picture of whoever you are and me or just you, doesn’t really matter, to show my new friends and family who you are!

            Much love from Mongolia!

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. 

 

beautiful view from my haasha

 

Hike Dancing Adventures

 My city 

 

My hike dancing partner in crime

 

Tanning is a legitimate sport here

 Still can't get over this view

 

Carnivals Somewhat Exist here

 Naadam

 

Opening Ceremony

 My sister and I

 

My friends :)

 

Wrestling 

 

More dance hiking

 

I can row a boat. Be Jealous

 FROG!

 My sister, Khatnaa

 

Dead dog we found on our hike