The end.

This is it. This is the end of our Mongolian life. We've been back in the states for almost 2 months and time has flown.  People have said that when they return home the Mongolian adventure seems like a dream-- well for weeks and weeks after our return it was still very real. In fact, it still is very much real to me. It happened. It wasn't a dream.

So what have I been doing since I've been back? Well, I've gone to a few doctor's appointments: for the baby and for my lingering eye problems. The baby is doing well at 14 weeks and 5 days. It's the size of an orange! My baby belly is starting to show itself. More on Baby later. We've eaten everything we could get our hands on going to restaurant to restaurant, and having home cooked meals with friends and family. We've put oh, about 4,000 miles on my car going from South Dakota to Texas, to Virginia, back to Texas, then up and down and all around Texas. It's great to have this independence! We've applied for jobs as teachers all around the area. It's tough trying to find an open position in the middle of a semester. We hope our luck will grow starting in the second semester. And finally, I won't say this is the best part, but it's a part that made me feel most complete: Annie.

This is the abandoned kitty we found in the negative degree cold living under people's warm cars in the parking lot of our apartment in Idaho over 5 years ago. We nursed her back to health and she's been a part of the Newberry family since (in fact, she's sleeping in my lap as I type this). I was scared she wouldn't remember me when we returned home. But she was ecstatic and we fell right back into our old routines and friendship.

Okay, okay-- onto the baby. As I said, I'm 14 weeks and just started my 2nd trimester. We're both healthy and doing fine-- though the first trimester kept me grumpy, sick, nauseated and achy. Not fun. Sadly it started while we were in Mongolia, so I feel like I left Mongolia on a bad note. The smells were making me nauseous, the food was intolerable, and I just desperately wanted a warm bath. I had the munchies, but  munchies and Mongolia do not go together. Living in a village where only the essentials are available, you need to make all your meals from scratch-- there is no instant snack. And I was hurting for some pickles! So being on an empty stomach made my nausea worse (little did I know then). Also getting up to pee about 5 times a night is not ideal in the colder months, when you don't have a toilet to go to, or any plumbing/running water. I am in utter amazement when I think of the Mongolian women and them going through their pregnancies without modern conveniences.

Now that my nausea has subsided a little, I can now freely think of Mongolia and not get sick (I know that sounds horrible, but that was my last association with it). I look at the pictures and see all that we did while we there, the friends that we made and the memories that we will never forget. It was a time of our lives. And we left it to begin yet another adventure.

So, I say goodbye to Life as a Newberry: Mongolia.

And hello to Life as a Newberry: Parenthood!

Flat Stanley

I had another visitor come to my ger yesterday. Flat Stanley! For those of you who aren't familiar with the book or the project check it out here. It's pretty cool. I wish I would have done something like this with my students back in the states.

Basically, Stanley is a character from a book. The 'project' is to find all the benefits of being completely flat (he was flattened by a board in the book). So one of the major and most popular benefits is that it is a lot cheaper for him to travel. And now the project turns into something similar as the traveling gnome. So, a friend of my sister's sent Flat Stanley to Mongolia to visit me.

Here are some pictures of his visit:
This was Stanley when he got to my ger last night.

Here's Stanley standing next to Chingis Khan and other Traditional Mongolian art. He had to change his clothing, because it's a bit colder here in Mongolia-- also the clothing is to show the students back in America a little bit more about the Mongolian culture. He is wearing a dell (Mongolian traditional clothing).

Stanley got a little bored and wanted to take advantage of this ridiculously warm spring weather we're having right now and made some friends at the play ground by my school.
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Finally, we made it to school. I think these girls had a crush on him.

This was a really cute project. I hope Stanley makes it back to his class in America soon.

сайхан шинэлээрэй! (sahan shinleray!)

This is Tsagaan Sar as I (Ashlie) know it.

Tsagaan Sar Day 1:

Today (it is now 5pm) we finished our 1st day of Tsagaan Sar. It all began last night. We were invited to our hashaa family's home to help them decorated their 'boow'. It is made with layers of fried bread, then topped with white food, or dairy products such as airal (dried milk curds), oodum (top cream of the milk), and sugar.



Okay, nevermind-- it all REALLY started weeks ago when they made 1,000 buuz, pronounced like 'boadz'(meat filled dumplings)--we blogged about that last month. Then this weekend they boiled the 'fattest' sheep in our ger (our stove is bigger than theirs). There is a lot of preparation that goes on for this 1st day of Tsagaan Sar....



But, now onto today...It should have started at about 6am for us because it is a tradition to watch the sun rise-- to watch the new year begin. However, Justin and I couldn't get ourselves up until 9am. We ironed our dells (Mongolian traditional clothing) and cleaned our home. Then we went to our hashaa family's ger to celebrate the morning with them. The first thing you do when you go to someone else's home for this holiday is to greet the eldest person(s). I was very nervous for this part. There are certain greetings you say and places where you put your hands, etc. Here is a video of Justin greeting our hashaa father and mother, and pics of me doing the same:



Then a snuff bottle is passed around...


After the greetings we had many buuz, salads, and meat. Also many drinks were passed around the room: airag (fermented mare's milk), milk tea, wine, wiskey and vodka. Remember how I told you that each family puts one coin in a random buuz and the person who eats that buuz is lucky? Well, I had the pleasure of biting down into that coin this morning! I thought it was a bone and couldn't decide if I wanted to say something or not...then I realized what it was, that it wasn't a bone at all, but the very coin that would bring me wealth this year. Picture me, a volunteer worker, being wealthy this year. It's hard to believe, but I can't wait!

Then after much eating and talking we all got on the floor and played with shagai (sheep's ankle bones). We played a horse racing game with the ankle bones. It was really fun. I love this family!




Now, because Justin and I were guests in their home (when you visit other people's homes for Tsagaan Sar it is tradition to give them small gifts for visiting), we were given gifts. I received a beautiful jewelry set: ring, earrings and necklace, and Justin received a traditional Mongolian framed golden engraving. These were very nice gifts.

That was house one. Now we were off to another family member's home (Day one of Tsagaan Sar is reserved for family). There were so many people in this little ger that it was a little awkward at first, but after a while we felt the love. We were served drink after drink and food after food... We stayed for about an hour and a half before we were onto the 3rd and last ger.


Much of the same repeated itself. We were served many, many drinks and buuz. We sat and talked for a while...mostly smiled. I liked being able to see all these different people and take a peak of their rich culture. At one point I really felt like a fly on the wall, just watching in amazment at these nice people taking these weird foreigners into their homes and treating them like family...then I realized someone was talking to me and felt lost and confused.


This day has made me realize (again) what a beautiful culture this is. It is so different from the one I know, but this holiday is a great holiday and a great chance for me to realize what a different place I am in right now. Sometimes I get caught up in school and not exposing myself too much to Mongolian traditional life that I forget I'm half way around the world from what I know. This holiday (re) opened my eyes.

Now, two more days to go...

What is American Traditional Clothing?

Tonight one of my students came over to my ger to talk. She wanted to practice her speaking skills because soon she will have a speaking exam. I asked her basic questions, 'What's your name, How old are you, What is your favorite subject', etc. Then we just got to talking about other things. She asked me if I owned Mongolian traditional clothing (a dell) and I said yes. Then she asked what American traditional clothing looked like. I was stumped. Then Justin (who was making dinner in the background) yelled 'blue jeans!'. It is true. We've been wearing those comfy second layer of skin for a long time. Then she asked about American traditional food. Hot dogs? Hamburgers? Meetgui (I don't know).

The countdown for Christmas is here. Mandalgovi will have a humble get together at the Newberry Ger. 2 out of 5 of us are missing (1 of our sitemates is in UB working--bummer-- and the other is in the States on Medical leave--also bummer). I am excited to roast some chicken, mash some potatoes and bake a pie!



Now, there are actually 2 countdowns going on. One is to the best Holiday ever (Christmas-- only 5 more days) and the other is for a day I am dreading. Shin Jil (6 more days). I know I probably offended a great deal of people but I am just not looking forward to this party. Shin Jil (meaning New Year) is just what you think it is, except in Mongolia they decorate New Year's with Christmas decorations-- even Santa has an appearance (but it's nothing at all like Christmas, so it's kinda just there to mock you). Each organization puts on a huge Shin Jil party and I've heard they can last up until 6am the next morning. It is drinking vodka, dancing, drinking more vodka and dancing some more. Now, to some this sounds like a dream come true, but there are two things you need to know about me: I don't drink AND I don't dance. I'm lame. I know. So why am I even going to this party? 1)I do want to go. I want to experience new things and live a little, I can't stay shut up in my ger all the time. 2) There are 3 major holidays in Mongolia and this is one of them. If I didn't participate it would be disrespectful-- and like #1 said, I do want to go. 3) This goes along with #1, but I can't say I've experienced Mongolia and lived like the locals if I don't celebrate Shin Jil with them. And 4) I am in total obligation.

This Shin Jil party that I am going to is put on by my school. Spouses/family aren't invited to organization parties like they are in the states. Therefore, Justin cannot go with me. If you know me, you know I'm a very shy person without my hubby. But I'll survive. This party is on December 26th. Expect an update by December 27th.

For now, I am keeping it out of my mind and focusing on Christmas! I will be watching A Muppet's Christmas Carol and wishing I was singing the songs along with my family at home (one of our crazy traditions).

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!