Pictures of my bday, our new home & a random drunk man.

A man passed out in the middle of a crowded market in Ulaanbaatar. people were just stepping over him--hardly noticed the drunk man.


my ger!! this is our home for two years!

our 'kitchen'. but a ger is all one room...

My new home! Our bed is too tiny for the both of us, so Justin sleeps on the floor. but he is pictured in the bed here. it was about 45 degrees this morning.

My bathroom. nice huh?

mongolian horses are so tiny!

Justin's first bite of cheese all summer long! he was so happy!

new shoes! my host family gave me and justin warm leather & camel wool slippers as a goodbye gift.

My host family at my 2nd surprise party.

Davajargle at my birthday feast (my 2nd surprise party put on by my host family!)

A hand painted set of chopsticks my two mongolian teachers gave me as a gift.

Eggplant Parmesan! my favorite dish, for my birthday!

A nice bday card that was signed by all of my friends. notice the cat, the cake and nailpolish-- they know me so well! :)

My very own Russian cake!

nice decorations for my birthday surprise party!

Hello Mandolgov!

So, (this is Justin btw) we arrived in Mandolgov last Saturday about 1:30 in the morning. I guess we got soft living next to the paved highway in Erdene, because that was the single bumpiest ride of my life. If anyone ever informs the "mikr" (Russian mini-buses) drivers of the money to be made in off-road racing, Mongolians will DOMINATE that sport. It was rather impressive the way he navigated the potholes and washouts every 50 feet for 300 km.

Anyway, we have been in Mandolgov for a week now and I really enjoy it. We are where the Gobi Desert begins and I think I may be the one person who got assigned to the desert that actually wanted to go there. My school seems pretty nice and I like all of the people I've met in town (except for one smart ass kid who always says something under his breath when he sees me, I'm going to snatch him up and spank his butt one day). We are currently debating on whether we should get internet for our ger (which is huge!) or not. It's kind of expensive (about $15/ month). Until next time...

Video of our arrival at Chinngis Khan Internation Airport--more to come...

And we're doosan! (finished!)

Justin and I had our huge final language test today. We have two and a half days left here in our little soum/ village. We were so nervous about taking this spoken test. I was practicing with my little sister, Davasoren, last night. She is sooo cute! I will miss her so much. I talked about myself to her in mongolian and after I was finished she said with such excitement " Very good, Ashlie! you are a very good Mongolian speaker!" It was so cute to see her being my teacher. She is great. After I finished talking about myself she said with a serious face 'Again.' So I repeated my 'speech' about myself about 4 times last night and practiced conversing with her. Then this morning at 8am, she came into my ger and said 'Again. Again. Again.'

The test went well. Justin and I feel like we did alright. We will get our results on Sunday (great b-day present, huh?). Not only that, but.....on Sunday we find out where we are going to be placed for the next two years! We are so excited to find out.

So now our training/ schooling is all finished. We have some playtime to actually rest and hang out with each other (other Americans). I don't know what to do with myself (well I have some mounds of clothes that need handwashing and packing, probably throw a couple pounds of mutton in my mouth, etc. )

Less than 2 weeks!

Me being lead by my sister on one of their horses. YEE HAW


Justin and his family.


Justin and his crazy family! :) outisde of their home.

My family all outisde of my ger! *My Ger!!*

These are our beautiful Mongolian Language teachers! We would not survive Mongolia without them! They are great friends of ours!

me and Justin in Mongolian Lang. Class

My sister, Davasoren & my baby brother Davajargel--we took sooo many pictures and he NEVER opened his eyes (we ARE related!)

Justin and I right outside the school. He was walking me home.

My grandma (emee) and my brothers Davanem & Davajargel.


I've really enjoyed living in this little village & will miss it once our last 2 weeks are up, however Justin and I are very excited to begin our journey as teachers and move to our new home! We will be assigned new sites on August 15th (my b-day!!) and will have our "swearing -in" ceremony (graduation from being trainees, to actual Peace Corps Volunteers) on August 20th. Then we're off to start our next 2 years! We are both scared and excited at the same time. Up until now Peace Corps has been holding our hand thoughout our training. Once we are at our site, we will need to find new Mongolian friends and try to fit in as much as possible (to make our lives as foreigners easier). Finding Mongolians friends is very hard with our slow and limited knowledge of their langauge--but our language is definitely getting better!

I am really close to the other 10 americans that were placed in this village with me--so it will be very hard to separate from them. We've made some really good friendships.

Here's a funny story to cure this sappy mood I'm in...

So I received a pacakge from my lovely sister, Nita, last week. I got the package right before class and opened it up...it was soo exciting! However, opening it in class was kinda funny. It was stuffed with tampons-- no big deal, I just grabbed them all and stuffed them in my backpack so none would fall out of my opened package. (that wasn't the only great thing I received in that package, but we must move on with the story.) Class began and I sat at the back. I was observing a American teach an English Class...so I was taking notes. Well the teacher starts leading the class outside for an activity, so I get up and follow (leaving my backpack in class). When we get back inside from the activity, I notice that my backpack is open, my jacket is on the floor and my wallet is on top (I NEVER leave it on top). So I quickly checked my cash and nothing was missing. I calmed down and figured Justin came in and needed something from my bag.... Well at the end of class I was helping the teacher clean up the classroom when I find a tampon wrapper on the classroom floor (mongolians don't have tampons...at least not in my village), so I was very curious& embarrassed as to why one was on the floor. I check my backpack again and noticed that the candy I had in my backpack was missing and a tampon wraper was on the floor--- the conclusion was some kid was searching my backpack for candy, found the candy then saw all those colorful wrapped items and took one to try it out (probably has NO idea what it is--but it ISN'T candy!). It made me laugh-- even though pick pocketing is a serious thing here.

One Step at a Time

Beware! This post could be a little graphic. The past couple of days have been extra rainy. It's not too fun living in a ger when it rains, but that is another post all in itself. Well, when it's 2am and your bladder is full you usually get out of your warm bed, walk the few steps to your royal porcelain throne and relieve yourself. Well, here in Mongolia it is a little bit different. Your bed is not comfortable, nor is it always warm and there is no such thing as walking 'a few' steps to the flushable toilet. Here we walk several feet/yards outside to a hole in the ground (in the dark, let me remind you).

Okay, so on with the story. The past couple of nights have been really stormy. I did not want to go outside & use the bathroom and get soaked, just to come back into bed and shiver all night. So, I did what normal Mongolians/people here do when going outside is not an option...I found a bucket in my ger and sqautted over that. Not a big deal. Well, last night it was finally not storming and, yes, I had a wake up call. I put my kitty-cat house shoes on, opened my ger door (and had a cow staring me in the face...also not a weird thing here), walked around the cow and felt a freezing, mushy, sensation cover my foot all the way to the ankle. What did I step in? I didn't even have to ask my self, I knew-- cow crap. So for the next half hour (at 2 am) I stayed up washing my slippers, my feet & my hands. After it was all finished, I crawled back into my fluffy sleeping bag and turned off the light when a pungent odor lifted my eyelids to a max. I quickely turned the light back on to realize I had crap on my shirt that now spread all over my sleeping bag. I couldn't believe this was happening!

So, I took down a mental note. Watch your every step & take one step at a time. One wrong step could cause you a lot of crap.

Sex and the City...in Mongolia

So last night I hosted a 'girl's night' in my ger. It was amazing and helped all of us girls feel more at home. We did our nails, talked about what girls talk about and watched Sex and the City (doesn't sound like we're in Mongolia--does it?). We were all taken away into the fictional fairy-tale living of the movie and forgetting we were in some strange thrid world country for just a second...until someone says 'look how many bugs are flying around the computer screen!' We used my computer to watch the movie and had turned off the lights, so yes it was moth city...and it was storming pretty badly and my ger leaks and we all had swatted several spiders off of us without much thought. It is crazy how laid back we are with bugs in our hair, spiders normally crawling on us--not really Sex and the City style at all--*sigh*. But thank you Hollywood for the second we were taken to a lovely fairy-tale place! Every second counts!

Today Nadaam begins. Horses races, Deels, celebrations....We're loving it!

From Justin

So, I haven't posted anything yet (I being Justin) so I thought I would write a little. I don't really have a lot to say that Ashlie hasn't already written. Life is comfortable but fairly busy. I've pretty much acclimated to the food and hygenic situations (sheep intestine aside) and now I'm just trying to focus on my Mongolian and finish training. I am pretty excited about getting out on our own. I really enjoy my family, but when you live on your own for 7 years you kind of get used to it. I'm having some writers' blockage at the moment, so maybe I'll have more to say in a few days.

Finally Pictures!

Us at a dance. they have 'discos' every sunday night in our tiny village.


Justin dancing the Mongolian waltz with is host mom.


My little sister and I at an old socialist statue.

Squashed in a tiny bus...there were 15 of us in it all together for about an hour. we were going to get our 2nd round of shots--yay.

A cow wandering in my ger one morning.

Justin milking a cow...unsuccessfully. though he denies it.

This is the only yak I've seen in our village. He just goes to get water from the well.

Justin's ger (behind the awesome saab).

Justin and his host uncle (who is 17) sawing firewood.

Justin and his host uncle (Gangeesh) filling their water barrel.

This is a random cow in a nearby town...we think it is so funny that cows just roam wherever they want here.

Us at orientation our 1st real day in Mongolia!

Our comfy bunk beds we slept on for the first 5 nights in Mongolia before going to our training sites. Plywood...that's all it is.


Sorry the picture are out of order, but the weather here is crazy and the power here has already gone out...so I don't want to lose everything. Our lives are good-- we are having fun!

small town livin'

So Justin and I are in a very small town close to Ulaanbaatar. There isn't even a post office here. we're lucky there is an internet 'cafe'...So we may be able to get one about once a week. It is soooo beautiful here! we've hiked almost everyday. Everything is so green and hilly/mountainy. Justin and I both live in gers (with different host families). It is more rustic than I thought! Basically like camping out everyday. Justin and I have both milked cows, herded the cows, Justin's chopped some wood for our fires, we've taken a tumpin bath, handwashed all of our clothes--it's definitely a different life here. All of the kids are so excited that Americans live in their soum ("Soam"--small village). Anytime we're walking around they all come running to us to walk with us and talk to us. We are having a great time. It is hard at times, but we're enjoying every bit of it! I have taken a lot of pictures/videos but won't be able to post until I have a secure connection. I'll post more as soon as I can! I love you all!

Lone Star

This is our last day in Texas for 27 months. Definitely not our last day ever. So you are probably wondering how I have enough time to type on this blog thing. Well...Justin and I are in Amarillo right now visiting our families. We've done the big move from DFW to South Dakota to store our things, then back down to Amarillo for our last goodbyes. Everything is packed and ready to go. So, why am I not with my family right now? Well....they, too, are also moving. They are moving the day after tomorrow so everyone is busy packing and organzing--which leaves me here. Life as I know it is gone. My parent's home is no longer in Texas & Justin and I are off to Mongolia.

I have had a great last few days though! I had great people at school/work that surprised me with cake, gifts, cards, etc. It was sooo nice! Then my sister had a cake beautifully decorated with mine & Justin's names in Mongolian and the Mongolian flag. It was amazing. Then I went out today with my mom and Zia to get my last USA Pedi. It was nice to relax!! Life has been so stressful! Oh, and how can I forget the Hare Krishna Temple/restaurant with Zoe & friends? I will miss it all!

One more Friday in the USA! & Address

I don't know when I'm going to have time to write more on here before we leave in 12 days because everything is just happening so fast! I'm being made fun of daily because of all the lists I am creating for anything and everything. Packing lists, organization ideas list, things to send off lists, place to eat before we leave lists, things left to do at work lists, people we need to see lists (here I am again listing...). It's SO hard to just be excited and not stressed. Stress is the main emotion I am feeling and it's kicking excitement out the window for now. Sad, I know. I keep thinking when I get everything packed I'll feel better, or when I'm sitting on the plane past security and all my bags have passed the weight limit I'll feel better--but I know I'm just going to carry on this way and excitement will have to climb in anywhere it can! Don't get me wrong--I AM excited and my whole heart is in this but because it is such a big thing to us my emotions are very mixed up. Don't even get me started on the sadness I also feel because of all our goodbyes we'll be doing soon as well. What a crazy time this is!

I am very happy about the time I've had (and will have) to spend with family and friends. Everything in that department is running smooth on its own-- no stress there (yet! :). I'm excited about the mother/daughter pedicure coming up, mom!!:)

Justin and I also got our TAKS Test results back today! We've been waiting on these scores for at least a month and our results prove that we are AMAZING awesome teachers!! :) We both had faith in our students and knew the results would be great-- but it's always nice to have a little confirmation that you're a good teacher.

Now to the best part of this blog: our Address! This will be our address while we are training this summer (until the end of August). I've looked into sending packages and the best price I can find is USPS Flat rate international boxes. It says it will take about 6-10 business days to get there (if you mail it the cheapest way), but it probably won't get to our hands for about 3 weeks. (*cough* my birthday *cough*)

Justin and Ashlie Newberry
PO Box 1036
Central Post Office
Ulaanbaatar 15160
Mongolia (Via China)

The sun is out and shining for the next 10 days (per weather.com's 10 day forecst) and it will be in the 90's here! Believe me when I say: If I'm not at home, I'm by the pool!!

Here it comes!

I had the best weekend ever. Nita & Madison made a long journey to visit her DF-Dub sisters! We all hung out at Zoe's and had a great time! We also visted David & Melanie's household. I'm so glad we made such great memories. I will miss my family and friends greatly.

But, good news! Justin and I received our flight information today! We are leaving June 3rd and flying to San Francisco. We will have a quick (5 hour) orientation with our other PCVs (peace corps volunteers) and then we're off to the airport at 5:35am on June 4th. We get to South Korea at about 1am Central time. Then leave later on the 5th for Mongolia. We get to Ulaanbataar, Mongolia at 9:05pm local time on June 5th. (That would be 8:05am June 5th for all you guys in Central time in the USA. Mongolia is 13 hours ahead of us.)

This weekend is going to be so busy! My head is spinning knowing that there are only 22 more days until we pack our car and I'm off to South Dakota to put our stuff in storage in Nita's *new* :) basement. It sounds like I have plenty of time, but add onto that a demanding job that I'm going to continue to work at until my very last day here in Dallas.

We have people to see, places to visit, boxes to pack, and restaurants that are beckoning for us to try them one...last...time!!

BTW, I am getting plently of Sun now! It's taken her a while to come out, but come out she has and I'm getting as much of her as I can!

A little info about the Peace Corps

Here is a link for Family & Friends of Peace Corps Volunteers:

http://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=resources.faf

We still have 68 days until we leave this great country for two years of volunteer service--but those days are going to go by so fast! Within the next two months we will be selling all of our furniture, say goodbye to our inner-city Dallas school/students/fellow co-workers and friends. Then May 28th we will be making our last trip to Amarillo to say our goodbyes to our families.

Here goes...

My journey begins here. I've been waiting, dreaming, and preparing for the past 18 months for something I know will change my life forever. Who am I? What I am destined to be? What are my limits? Peace Corps will know.

I didn't understand why more people weren't volunteering for such an honorable and legendary organization--but now I know. Waiting, paperwork, flexibility, more waiting and more paperwork isn't for everyone. And that's just how to sign up.

So, 17 months after my husband and I started this application process we finally got our invite February 23, 2010. I am assigned to be a Primary Teacher Trainer and Justin is assigned as a Secondary English Teacher in......MONGOLIA! We are so excited and are currently in the crazy, running around like a chicken with its head cut off mode. We need to organize, pack up our lives into two duffle bags and sell everything else. We began the countdown for our last day of our jobs as teachers in inner-city Dallas. Justin and I have 67 days left in this country. Let the fun begin! This is life as a Newberry! :)