Wrapping Up the School Year

All the schools in Mongolia start September 1st and end on June 1st. There are 2 and a half weeks of school left. But Justin and I are a little lucky and get to venture into UB tomorrow. It seems like this trip crept up on us-- yet couldn't get here fast enough!

It seems that we're leaving when we're just getting started. I feel like I have so many things that I am going to leave undone and waiting for me when we return. We'll come back to Mandalgovi on June 20th for a short couple weeks. Then the next time we come back won't be until the new school year starts (and we'll have some lucky new Volunteers at our site!). Wrapping up everything is difficult. Yesterday my 7th grade students (whom I LOVE) wanted so badly to talk to me (in English!) the whole class period because they knew they wouldn't see me for a while. I told them about all the traveling I was going to be doing (our lesson was about traveling) and tried to fit in as much of a lesson as I could-- but at the end they gathered around me and wanted a picture to be taken. I almost started tearing up after the picture when they, one by one, came up to me to say 'goodbye, see you next year!' Man, what will it be like a year from now when we are saying goodbye forever?

I have a meeting with Peace Corps and the Ministry of Education (the head honchos of Education in Mongolia) on Friday morning in UB. Then on Monday Justin and I will be buying our ticket to Beijing and going to the Chinese Embassy for our visa application. It takes a total of 4 days to get our Chinese Visa. Then we have a few days before our Training of Trainers (since Justin and I will both be trainers for the new Peace Corps Volunteers this summer), we will visit our friend, Nadra, in Selenge. Selenge is straight north of us, and very close to the Russian border. I hear it's a drastic change of scenery from the Gobi. They have trees, I hear. :)

Finishing with TOT (Training of Trainers) Justin and I will be waiting at Chinggis Airport on June 4th for those new M22's coming in fresh from America! It's really weird to think I was in their shoes one year ago.

Straight from the Airport Justin and I will head to the train station and be on our great Asian Adventure!

So, here's to one more night using a jorlon (outhouse), washing my hair in a bucket, cleaning sand out of my ears (literally) and sleeping in a sleeping bag! We'll be in a real bed, with toilets, showers(...I don't even know which I am more excited about anymore. It used to be the good food in UB, but now I think the toilet is trumping over it all.).

And just one more snapshot of our weather for today... It's just geting worse and worse, man. It feels like 8 outside on May 11th! We've been getting hit by sandstorm after sandstorm. It's not fun. They don't have sandstorms up north! Goodbye Gobi Desert weather! Khongor Guesthouse here we come!

***Edited: Khongor Guesthouse once again has let us down. They're full and don't have beds available...so we're off to our second Guesthouse choice! UB Guesthouse!***

Ger, Sweet Ger

We're home! It was a great 5 days of not making fires and smelling of smoke. Also a great 4 nights of sleeping in t-shirts and no socks (because the rooms stay heated all night long!) It was great not having to layer up before going to bed.

Speaking of great...It was great to see all my friends. We didn't do much more than eat at amazing restaurants, go to American food stores and lounge around, taking showers-- not bagging coal, preparing lessons, adding dung to the fire, etc.

This was my frist bowl of cold cereal in 9 months! It was really amazingly awesome. I also ate the cup of noodles (pictured) with my breakfast. Gotta eat good while you're on vacay!

We didn't end up staying at Khongor Guesthouse because it is apparently being renovated. So we stayed at UB Guesthouse. It was nice, but I am partial to Khongor. Khongor's beds are magical! But, UB Guesthouses bathrooms are cleaner and nicer...

One of my friends went to America a couple of weeks ago and brought back a bottle of Dr. Pepper for me and Justin. Can you believe it?! Every where they sell Coke we look for Dr. Pepper. No luck. This was our frist sip of the Dr.'s orders in 9 months. It was delicious.

Another one of our friends, Erin, invited us to dinner with her Mongolian friend. It was a great meal and the Mongolian couple actually had a lot in common with me and Justin...same age, same graduation year, started dating the same year, have been married for the same amount of years. It was interesting to compare lifestyles that are so similar yet different to ours.

All in all it was a success! I only got thrown up on once on the bus to Ulaanbataar. Our bus seats 28, yet on the trips to and from UB there were over 40 people on the bus, so we were packed. On the way back we even had a live rabbit sitting on a man's lap waiting to be taken to his ger for supper. This is my last visit to the big city for a long while. Now I'm back at school, smelling like smoke and just not as squeaky clean. But it's okay because summer is on its way, right? :)

Mutton tacos...you oughta try it!

This is the last full week in February! Where has the time gone? Next month is supposedly a very busy one for Mongolian English Teachers and their PCVs. At the end of March is the nationwide English test for students and teachers called "English Olympics". The students and teachers study for this test all year long and have a chance to win money and credentials. It's a big deal. And PVCs play a BIG role in not only preparing them, but sometimes creating the test, grading the test, giving the test, proctoring the test... I have been teaching an English Olympic prep course on Friday nights for those interested in coming. For this week's English Olympic prep course, however, I will not be here. I'll be resting it up in UB!

But before I get into that, this is a little peak of what I've been doing for the last couple of weeks (post Tsagaan Sar):

Made Mutton tacos! It doesn't sound very good, and I'm not a mutton eater-- but these were darn good. Closest thing to Mexican in Mandalgovi. Our hashaa family's daughter came over and helped us mince the meet, made pico de gallo, and tortillas. We even found some cheese to shred and put on top. They seemed to really like it! Especially because it was mutton.

I went to a children's modeling show. It was really interesting and fun for the girls! I even got a picture with the models :)

I taught Justin how to sew. It was a big thing in our ger because he has the HOLIEST clothes...but he got them sewed up pretty good!

Justin and I both applied for training jobs this summer for the new PCVs that will get here in early June. This is a big thing to me. I'd love to help these new volunteers transition into Mongolian life and help them succeed once they are released to their own sites. I loved my training last summer and my trainers were awesome. I hope I can do the same for some of them! It's a big deal because if we get this 'job' (still volunteering) we'd be moving into a big city (in an APARTMENT) for half of the summer. Big stuff...having a toilet is a BIG deal! So, cross your fingers for us!

Now about UB this weekend. I am so excited because this is my first break from school (taking personal days off) and I am just so excited to escape the ger life for 5 days.

No more hard plywood bed made for 1 1/2 people with blankets as a mattress! And no more sleeping in a sleeping bag-- heavenly Khongor Guesthouse bed here I come!

No more handling camel poo to make fires and sweeping up its messes!

No more fighting coal and having coal stained hands!

No more fake sinks or water bucket!

No more handwashing or tumpin bathing!

For 5 days anyway :)

Tsagaan Sar Day 5

Last night after coming home from my Tsagaan Sar visits to mine and Justin's school teachers' homes I went to our hashaa family's house. It was about 9pm and hashaa mom was piling pound after pound of meat into a large box. She explained to me that her children are going back to UB tomorrow (this morning) and they are starving college students. The meat wasn't wrapped up in anything--just large slices of randam parts of a sheep piled up high. At the top she put a bag of about 100 frozen buuz leftover from Tsagaan Sar. I really watched in awe. I was watching her put her love into that box as well as frozen raw meat. I let her know that my mom would do the same, that our worlds are similar but different at the same time. It was nice to be there for that family moment.

Well, today is day 5 of Tsagaan Sar. Wait, what? Did I tell you that Tsagaan Sar was only 3 days? HAHAHAHA....silly readers and silly me for thinking that. Today I went to school and was welcomed to different teachers' rooms/offices as if they were their homes for Tsagaan Sar. I got to greet them all! I sat with them, ate and drank cup after cup of airag (fermented camel or horse milk) in each room. This holiday has many beautiful traditions. I love how welcoming and hospitable they all are--but the food and drinks alone have scarred me. I have taken and eaten out of respect for 6 days (Don't forget Tsagaan Sar Eve, so really this is day 6) of eating sour dried milk curds, camel, goat, horse and cow milk fat, boiled sour yogurt, fermented milk from all 4 animals in sour, clumpy, stringy, thick, chewy forms with floaties, hair, chunks and froth. I can see why Mongolia is one of the more difficult countries for PCVs to live. Not because of safety because it is VERY safe and friendly here--but for their food and drink. I don't think they know that fresh milk is okay to drink. It has to be set out to sour, then boiled, aired out for days and days before it is noteworthy to them. Wait....did I mention that I am an American who didn't like fresh store bought pasteurized milk in the states? The day of the milk's expiration date was one day too spoiled for me. I have only gagged twice in the passed 6 days and I don't think anyone saw me. But Mongolian food really takes some decades of getting used to. I'm still not convinced that all Mongolians like their own food--just that they feel obligated to like it because it is their culture to and tradition. I don't know, that's just my thought.

So a much needed vacation is in order! In less than 2 weeks Justin and I will be meeting some friends up in UB for a weekend of R&R&F (food). I can't wait to sink into that comfy heavenly bed in the Khongor Guesthouse and just lounge around with friends.

So, for the 5th/6th/or whatever day Happy Tsagaan Sar!

What a Wonderful Life

Let's start way back. On November 25th, I was told to wear my Mongolian Dell (Mongolian traditional clothing)to school. This day was 'National Wear Your Dell Day', so I was told. I went to school and saw that everyone had participated! It was wonderful to see all the young students, older students, and even teachers flaunting their winter dells. I've only had the opportunity to wear my dell 3 times now. But I hear as the new years comes I will have many, many more chances.



Justin and I got back yesterday from a 10 day trip to Ulaanbaatar. It was amazing! We left Friday (Novemeber 26). Some friends and us splurged and booked a fancy hotel for 3 nights. I was so excited to see all of them! Justin and I got to the hotel first, so it was awesome hugging them all one by one when they traveled in. One of my friends trains didn't get to UB until 6am Saturday morning. I felt like a mother staying up until all of her little ones are safe under one roof. I was so happy to be there with all of them. We stayed on the 11th floor of the Narantuul Hotel. Here are some pics from the 11th floor view.



While we were in UB we did a lot of shopping. UB has almost (*almost*) anything you want. We were sure to buy some real Heinz 57 ketchup in a glass bottle (Justin's favorite), some brown sugar, some tinsel to decorate our ger with, some green beans-- GREEN BEANS!!, and we found Justin an awesome winter hat and coat. I loved Justin's hat so much that I went and bought one later. Both fur hats and Justin's coat cost a total of 55,000 Tugriks. That's only about $50. But it all actuality is a lot for our small earnings.



On Saturday we had a huge Thanksgiving dinner put on by Peace Corps. Everyone brought their favorite dished. They cooked 10 turkeys! I baked two banana chocolate cakes. I had to decorate it for Thanksgiving!



Also, we received a gift from our first blog fan! It was such a great surprise! Some of our PCV friends that live north of us passed on a present for me and Justin. The present was from a co-worker of theirs and a fan of our blog. Thank you very much for your gifts! We appreciate it very much!




Then Monday-Friday all Peace Corps teachers traveled to a resort in the mountains just outside of UB. We had a week long training there. The view was amazing. Here are some pictures of our resort and the view.



Then finally, we spent last weekend in UB again with our friends. We stayed in a Guesthouse (Narantuul Hotel drained us of money, but this guesthouse was homey and the bed was so comfortable.) I never wanted to get out of bed. It was the first time I had slept on a mattress since we got to Mongolia (Narantuul had mattresses, but they were as hard as rock!). It felt like I was sleeping on a cloud. Oh, I miss it already! Here's a pic of our tiny Guesthouse room. This guesthouse also had a laundry service. So Justin and I washed all of the clothes we brought with us. It was washed by a real washing machine!!! There wasn't a dryer, so we had to hang dry all of our clothes. But we were just thankful that there was a washing machine!!! We haven't had washing machine washed clothes in over half year. Oh, the little luxuries!



These last several days have been so great. I had forgotten what it was like to be around friends/americans. It will be a while until Justin and I make it back to Ulaanbaatar though. The winter makes traveling tough. There aren't any roads, so we're riding buses on dirt and sand. We're thinking it won't be until this next summer when we will be able to go back. Gives us something to look forward to!