Ice Festival 2011

Ice Fest!  It was so much fun but so cold!  My bus ride was fine and took 17 hours but most was during the night so I was sleeping.  I stayed with Crystal (a CYD volunteer) who lives in a ger.  It was quite interesting to watch her make fires!  At one point, her hand was in the flames and she didn’t even flinch.  I’m not even sure she noticed!  She is pretty hardcore after surviving the winter in a ger!  Cliff, Cody and Brian (other volunteers) gave me a tour of Murun while Crystal was at work.  It was a pretty nice town!  They had really good restaurants too!  We took a van to Khatgal (the town on Lake Khuvsgul) the next day and stayed with a 3^rd year volunteer who is working at the Health Dept. there.  It is so pretty up there because there are so many trees and they are houses, stores, businesses, etc. look like log cabins!  I loved it!  The lake is huge (I think the 2^nd largest in Asia) and the festival was on the tip of it.  There were boats frozen into the ice and ice sculptures everywhere.  A lot of the sculptures were of dinosaurs which I didn’t understand but I went with it.  There was also a giant slide!  It was scary though because the steps and everything are made of ice and the kids were just pushing people out of the way!  Also, don’t wear jeans on an ice slide – you don’t get very far.  The reindeer people didn’t come but that is who I really wanted to see.  I heard afterwards that it is bad for the reindeer’s health for some reason.  I got back to UB on Saturday morning and met some friends for an early lunch and they said I looked dirty!  I said, “Well, I just showered on Tuesday.”  I didn’t even realize it had been 5 days!  That’s sad!

The boys in their deels - so cute!

The town of Khatgal on Lake Khuvsgul

The enormous rack of ribs Crystal's dog was eating

Mongolian Wedding, Tsaagan Sar and my trip to Khovd

In February, Julia and I went to a Mongolian wedding.  It was very nice!  It was my student’s wedding -he is (I think) 21 and his wife is 4 months pregnant.  Their names are Gantulga and Agiimaa.  It was at a hotel and there were tables set up that looked like a normal wedding reception but there was no ceremony.  They announced the couple and they walked in and she was wearing a normal wedding dress.  Then they sat at their table and people sang, played Mongolian instruments and throat sang.  Then they stood in the middle and people had to go greet them and give them their presents.  Which I thought was strange because it took so long.  After that, different guests started singing and they kept passing the microphone from table to table and people had to sing songs to the couple.  I was at a table with Julia and my students and they asked me to sing a song in English but I didn’t.  I had no idea what to sing!  We don’t have traditional songs like that…what would you guys have done?!  Julia sang a short Swiss song about a couple and it was nice.  I felt bad that I didn’t but I didn’t know what to do.  Then there was a lot of dancing and we had a great time.  A bunch of his friends studied English in London so they were talking to us.  It was weird to hear their British accents!  We weren’t sure what to get them and there are no registries here so people just buy whatever.  The Kempinski Hotel where the wedding was held is right by our school/home.  On the last Sunday of each month, they have a huge brunch - it is about $30.  So we got them gift certificates to go to that. 

Me with my students - Moogi, Gantulga, his wife (not my student), Nandia and Anand

Tsagaan Sar is a Mongolian holiday that means “White month” or “white moon”.  It is celebration of the Lunar New Year.  Julia and I were invited to a student’s house.  Her name was Anuka.  She was really sweet.  We went over to her house and had to greet her grandmother who I think was 98 years old!  She was so cute!  We gave her some candy.  On the table they had a huge spread of mutton, candies, salads, buuz (Mongolian dumplings) and traditional cookies.  It was beautiful.  You have to eat white food first and then you can eat buuz.  She also gave us presents and most Mongolians get presents when they visit different houses during Tsagaan Sar. 

Silver bowl to drink fermented mare's milk out of

Our trip to Khovd in the western part of Mongolia was a lot of fun! Julia, her Swiss friend Jemima and I went on the trip. The bus ride there was not as bad as I thought. I had two seats to myself. My knees were bruised though from hitting the seat in front of me - it was a tight squeeze! We stopped regularly for bathroom breaks and twice to eat and actually got there in 41 hours instead of 50! One time we stopped to go the bathroom (which is just outside…) and I saw these tall rocks in the distance. I did my business and then turned around and Julia said, “Someone is watching us go to the bathroom!” I turned around and the rocks were actually camels and now they were standing up and staring at all of us. They were maybe 300 feet away. So cool! We arrived at 5:30 in the morning and Julia’s friend Lucian picked us up at the bus stop. We ate breakfast and then went to sleep until about 2 in the afternoon. Then we got ready and went to eat lunch and then to Lucian’s dance class. We learned a hip-hop routine and some bachata. It was a lot of fun. Later we went to Monglish - a meeting/dinner where Mongolians and Americans can talk and speak Mongolian or English and afterwards went to a discotech where we performed out hip-hop routine!

The next day, we went to Lucian’s class (he teaches German) and then to lunch. We went to buy our bus tickets but the bus we came in on was full and we had to take a meeker back. A meeker is like a small van - it is supposed to hold only 12 people but Mongolians pile in like it is a clown car! Later that night we went to karaoke but we were kicked out after only an hour! So the next day we went to the meeker at 2 and they were loading it up. We crammed 21 people in it and went on our way about 2 hours after we were supposed to leave. Just as we got to the outskirts of town, we were stopped by the police and they made us go back, where they put us in a lot and shut the gate so the meeker couldn’t leave. We then sat there for 3 hours while our driver was dealing with the police. I kept asking what was going on and the other driver said it was because we had too many things packages on top of our car. No, it was because we had too many people in the meeker. I may not speak Mongolian but I am not an idiot! The driver then came to get us and told us to go eat dinner and we would leave in 2 hours. 2 hours later, he told us to go home and we would leave in the morning at 9. So at 9, we got ready and waited for him to call us and he picked us up in another car at 11. We then went to the meeker (which was in a different spot) and let 2 hours later with the same amount of people - 21! I think that he left the police lot with 12 people and then picked everyone else up at another spot and stuffed us all in there again. Halfway through the trip, he let the 3 of us (me, Julia, and her friend Jemima) sit up front and the Mongolians sat in the back and played cards. I think they wanted us up front because we take up more space and can’t talk to them very well. But I’m sorry, I’m not going to let someone keep pushing me over and putting their arm in my side just so they will be comfortable and I will be miserable. You have to hold your spot (or your ground)! When we were getting closer to UB, we three would have to go in the back and hide from the police. None of the policemen even checked the meeker to see how many people we really had in the back until we got to UB. He opened it up and asked how many people there were and the driver said 16 which was a lie! He then said ok and shut the door. What an idiot! We got in at five o’clock in the morning and I still had to lesson plan and needed to make copies for my class. I was exhausted! I really wish we could have flown there but flying is so expensive here sometimes. When we were all in the back of the meeker, I had to close my eyes sometimes and take deep breaths because I felt claustrophobic. And then what if we got in a wreck?! It was definitely an experience!

LET ME OUT!!!

Those two guys next to me are sitting on a duffle bag with three people to the right of them and five people behind us!



I can't wait to ride a camel!



The theatre in Khovd - I thought it was pretty!

Christmas/ New Year's/ Teachers' Party/ My Birthday/ Buddhist Center

I have not posted in a long time! I’m sorry for that but hopefully I can get you guys up to speed!

For Christmas, I organized a party for the volunteers on Christmas Eve at an Indian restaurant. The owner is actually Indian and speaks English. We paid a set price and he brought out tons of food. It was delicious! I have never had Indian food in the states, but it is one of my favorites here. It was a lot of fun! We had trivia and everyone hung out which we don’t normally do. We also did a white elephant gift exchange. I got an ornament and some phone units!

On New Year’s Eve, I went out to dinner with some friends and then we went to a party. Around midnight, people were leaving to go to the Sukhbaatar square (the main square in UB). So we went there and were running to make it by midnight. I think we were a few minutes late but oh well. We were drinking champagne and taking pictures. One guy’s bottle of champagne froze! He turned it upside down and nothing would come out! I was freezing bc I wore a sweater dress and only one pair of tights! Inside it is so hot so my legs were only numb for a little while!

We had a Christmas/New Year’s party for our school too - one with teachers and one with the students. They were both fun but people dress up as if they are going to prom! Santa Claus came to the teacher’s party and gave all the foreign teachers a present. He said my name as “Mindy Nicole” so I don’t think my school knows my name. Oh well… Every other teacher they said the first and last name correctly but they said my middle name! He gave us a bottle of champagne, a thing of chocolates, and a little planner looking thing that you can write notes in. It was nice. He was definitely a Mongolian Santa.

 I had a great birthday. We went to a place called The Bull - it is a hot pot restaurant. Everybody has like their own little fondue pot in front of them. You pick your broth and then order meat, vegetables and noodles for the table. It was delicious! I really want to go their again. Plus, if you have a big group, it is very cheap. I also had a special ger-shaped cake made. I thought it was adorable. My friends bought me a birthday hat and candles. It was really sweet. Afterwards some of us went out for drinks at an Irish Pub. It was a good night but I miss my friends in Georgia!!!

At the end of January, we had our teachers’ party. Yes, Mongolians actually celebrate teachers! I think America should pick up on this. We had a huge party with lots of food, vodka and dancing. At the end of the party, my department went back to our office and we were drinking and talking. My department head had sat in the office most of the party taking shots of vodka and she was passed out by the time we got up there. It was so funny! Then when the director of the school was leaving, she wanted to take my dept. head with her. They put her hat, scarf and coat on and told her, “Let’s go!” She proceeded to pass back out only to wake up a minute later and throw her hat off! I was cracking up! They finally got her to leave and then one of the teachers started cleaning up because we were getting ready to go. She went to my dept. head’s desk and picked up some trash on the floor beneath it and then she found……..my dept. head’s false teeth!!!!!!!!!!! She grabbed them with her bare hands! They wrapped them in paper and then ran out to catch them before they left! There was also a Karaoke competition between the departments for Teachers' day.  My department got 1st place!!!  And no...they didn't let me sing!

In January, I was going to the Buddhist Center in UB. There is a monk named Glenda who is from Australia and she had talks once a week that explained Buddhism and how to fit it in your everyday life. She is so great to listen to and what she says really makes sense. Not that I am becoming a Buddhist but I do believe in Karma. One thing I thought was interesting was that she said the things you do in this life affect you in the next. Not in your present life. Then she went through lying, murder, etc. and said that if you do these things certain things will happen in your next life. For example, you might be born where there is a shortage of water or in a place where there is war. It kind of makes sense to me; what do you guys think?

Christmas Decorations

I painted my Christmas decorations this year!  Hope you like it!

Thanksgiving

Two things I am tired of in Mongolia - people spitting and hawking lugies on the street and frozen vomit! No, I am not kidding.




I fell the other day and my knees are bruised and sore and I have scratches on my hand. No…I wasn’t drunk nor did I slip on the ice. I just tripped over the sidewalk I guess.



It has started to get cold here. This morning it was -11. It doesn’t feel too bad but then again I am wearing so many layers - tights, long underwear, jeans, wool socks, long underwear shirt, sweater, down coat, scarf and hat. I try to wear my gloves but usually I get too hot so I have to take them off. I’ll take the cold over heat any day though. I like being bundled up, but it does take so much longer when you arrive or leave a place.



Thanksgiving was so much fun! The Peace Corps rented out a hall and also bought turkeys for the volunteers. We all had to bring side dishes - I brought mash potatoes. It was good and I was craving leftovers the next morning but I didn’t have any. A lot of people came in town for the holiday and for a training we had the week after. After dinner, we had a skate party thrown by Rob the owner of AB&F. He is really nice and you will see a volunteer almost any time you go into his restaurant. Best burgers in UB.



The training was actually pretty good I thought. It was just the English teachers and we went to Nukht Resort - a hotel about 10 km outside of UB. We also took one of our counterparts with us. The hotel was very nice and the food was good too. Salad, chicken, even fried fish one afternoon! I roomed with my friend Joyce. We wanted to room with each other but didn’t want to hurt our counterparts’ feelings but telling them that. Then Joyce’s counterpart was checking in and she told Joyce she wanted to room with another Mongolian. It was funny how they didn’t want to room with us either! Our counterparts got along really well and they were so nice. One night they invited us to their room and my counterpart, Suvda, had her friend bring us ice cream, cherries, and yogurt from UB. We talked and watched tv. The OC was one (dubbed in Mongolian) and a Mongolian version of America’s Best Dance Crew. One of my students was on it! In class the week before, the other students said he was absent because he was dancing. They didn’t tell me he was on tv! He is so good and it was so cool to see someone I know on tv.



I got some good tips at the training and I’m trying to convince the teachers to let me team-teach with them. Peace Corps is all about sustainability. I’m supposed to work with the teachers and we can learn from each other. That way when I leave, they continue our projects on their own. Right now, I am teaching six classes on my own. I don’t mind it because I am used to it but I don’t feel like I am doing enough. We also talked about starting projects. I want to do something for the community that might not be TEFL based but it is so hard to come up with ideas for UB. The city already has so much! I guess I have time to think of something.



We did get a raise! We had to fill out a living allowance survey about what we spend each month and then the totals get sent to the government. But…they only get sent is 75% of the volunteers fill them out. The previous volunteers have not been filling them out, so this year we rallied! I went to the store and got prices for the things on the survey and sent them out to all the volunteers in UB to make it easier for them. We finally got the results back and people outside of UB will be making 250,100 tugrogs and people in UB will be making 300,100tugrogs! I’m so excited. We were making 196,400 tugrogs. This will really help a lot! I might be able to afford meat! The raise starts in January.



I’m planning a Christmas party for the volunteers in UB. It is at an Indian restaurant downtown. We will have it on Christmas Eve at 6:00. The Indian place is going to put out a variety of dishes and we have to pay a set price. I’m pretty excited. I am also planning a Dirty Santa gift exchange. Hannah (another volunteer) is coming over tomorrow and we are going to make Christmas decorations for the party and I printed out some Christmas trivia. I hope everyone comes and they have fun!

There are three Christmas trees up in Ulaanbaatar right now and they are really pretty. Mongolian celebrate Shin Jil (New Year’s) which they say is like Christmas but it’s really not. They have parties but do not exchange gifts nor are they visited by Santa. They have another holiday in February called Tsagaan Sar (White Star) where they exchange gifts with each other and eat a lot of buuz - meat-filled dumplings. Families usually make about a 1,000 buuz for this holiday and every guest is expected to eat at least 3 when they visit a house. I hope they make beef, chicken (yeah right) or vegetable buuz because I still do not like mutton!
These pictures are a little dark but you can still see the trees and decorations:

 That is my breath in the picture!  It was really cold that day...well...everyday it is cold now!

I made breakfast today with my neighbor Julia and it was delicious! French toast, hash browns, eggs, bacon, sautéed mushrooms and tomatoes! YUM!!!

Hope you enjoyed the blog and I hope you have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!  Miss you and love you! 
~M

12.9.2010

More pictures are posted and a blog is coming soon I promise!


http://www2.snapfish.com/snapfish/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=2225482021/a=151443402_151443402/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/

More Pictures

I have posted more pictures on Facebook and Spapfish: http://www2.snapfish.com/snapfish/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=2225482021/a=151443402_151443402/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/

Enjoy!

Weekend in the Countryside

I went to the hodoo last weekend with my counterpart Tamira, her husband Bayar, and a couple he works with - Batbold and Oyunaa.  We left at 9:00 p.m. on Friday and didn’t get to their friend’s ger until 3:00a.m.!  His name was Poinsic and his wife’s name was Nergui, which means “no name”.  It is a common name in Mongolia.  I was so tired and I know I was snoring in the car.  We walked in and the husband offered us fermented mare’s milk to drink and his tobacco to smell.  I like smelling the tobacco, you can sniff it or rub a little on your nostrils.  The mare’s milk tastes sour!  I just pretend to take a sip which you do even if you don’t like it, but I try to really act like I’m doing it.  I wonder if they know!?  I found out that you have to milk the horses every 2 hours!  How annoying!  Tamira and Bayar bought 60 liters of mare’s milk to take home!  So when we got there Friday night, I asked where the outhouse was and they told me to go just anywhere outside.  I was peeing in the middle of a snow-covered field!  It was just funny.  Then the dog was trying to come near me so I had to finish quickly!  They also had about 100 goats and sheep.  When I would walk out at night to go to the bathroom, all I saw were eyes in the darkness staring at me!  It was a little frightening at first!
    The next day, we went hiking after breakfast and the boys went to try and hunt some birds.  They didn’t catch any, so we didn’t eat lunch.  It was ok, I was reading a good book that Liz sent me (yes…it’s about vampires) and didn’t really care.  For dinner, we had goat.  Goat meat is actually pretty good!  But listen to how Poinsic cooked it…In our ger, we had a stove with a dung fire (because it was so cold!) and he put hot coals in there to heat them up.  Then on the top of the stove, he put on a pan with onions, garlic, and the goat meat.  He then took the coals out of the dung fire and pushed them into the pieces of goat meat to sear it!  I probably ate a little bit of poop!  We also peeled potatoes and put them in there and let it all steam with some water.  It was so good!!!!!!!!!  Goat = good, mutton = terrible.  After that, we played a Mongolian card game. I know the rules, but I am so slow and really have to think about the moves I’m making!  On Sunday, the family was having some tourists stay with them for a couple days but they were staying in their winter ger.  So we had to move everything from their summer ger to their winter ger!  It was 10:45 and I said, “When are the tourists coming?  When should we be ready?”  They were coming at 11!  Oh well, they were late and we were running behind also.  They were a nice family though from London.  They didn’t want us to go home because they didn’t speak any Mongolian! 

Poinsic making the goat on top of the stove

Me taking a picture with the grandparents

They made me put on the dung basket so my family would think I had picked up dung.  You guys know me better than that!  I tried to sling it in the basket but it went about 15 feet behind me.  I was afraid it would fall on my head!

They had the cutest children and they were so happy! 

Group picture!

Student Outing

We had a student outing on 2 weeks ago on Saturday. They told me that we were going to have competitions for the different classes and to meet at 9:30 a.m. downtown in front of the national theatre. I got there at 9:15 and there were a lot of students there which surprised me because Mongolians are always late! Anyway, the other teachers showed up at 10:00. My students yelled at them saying, “Don’t be late! Be on time!” I taught them that. It was really funny. Then we walked an hour and a half to this big field on the outside of town. The competitions were really fun! There was a dancing competition and a version of Simon Says. They also had to take things from nature and glue them on a piece of poster board to make a picture. Well since Mongolians litter, most of them had trash and cigarette butts on their posters! Things I or most Americans would never touch! It was definitely interesting. There was another game where they picked 5 people from every class and made them stand in a line. When they said go, the students had to take whatever items or clothing they had on them and make a line. Whoever made the longest line won. People were taking out and off everything - hair ties, phones, money, bra straps, pants, shirts… I saw 3 boys in just their underwear and one of my girl students without her shirt. I felt kind of strange but no one else seemed to mind. I guess it was normal. We would all be fired if that happened in the states.

Aren't they pretty?!



Me with girls from my 2C class





Me with boys from my 2C class.  They speak English really well!



They are my favorite class but don’t tell anyone!

Alcohol Awareness Week Update

Our alcohol awareness week went really well!  But a lot of the other volunteers didn’t do anything with it.  It was frustrating because I made all the handouts for everyone and Hannah (the other girl in charge) got food and prizes donated.  How easy was it for people to post some signs and bring some students?  Oh well.  But I think the students really enjoyed themselves!  Talk Talk English (an English school here) donated 60,000 tugrogs which is about $50 and 20 free hours of English tutoring for prizes!!!  All we had to do was show a small commercial of theirs.  I made a flyer for the week that says “Alcohol Awareness Week” at the top with the dates and then has each day listed.  We had a essay contest due on Monday, poster contest on Tuesday, students had to look at flyers and brochures hung around school on Wednesday, and Thursday was our party.  The bottom is a Mongolian saying about alcohol.  It says something like alcohol affects everything - you, your family and friends, job, school, etc except the bottle.  All in all for our first alcohol week, I’d say it was a success. 

Hannah and Tamira

Students watching the alcohol video

Group Picture

Alcohol Awareness Week

The Peace Corps wants us to start an alcohol awareness week so I am one of the lucky ones that gets to head it up in UB. Yay me!  I’m a sub-warden.  Hannah, who I love, is the warden.  She has a lot contacts so I said that I would head up the essay and poster contests.  They seemed easy to organize and my counterpart, Tamira, helped me a lot.  I felt bad for her because I had to have her translate so many things into Mongolian.  We are also doing this a little late but for the first ever alcohol awareness week I don’t really care.  On Thursday next week (10/16), we are having a get-together at my school with an alcohol documentary, activities, a band, and food.  We will also announce the winners of the contest.  We got two sponsors (because the Peace Corps certainly didn’t give us any money) - Khas Bank and the American Embassy. 

Snow in September

This is the view from my apartment this morning! 

 

Crazy huh?  And it’s only September!

Sahn bahn uu?

How are you?  It has been so long since I have written. I’m so sorry! I finally got a computer so it seems so much easier to talk to everyone and it really makes me feel more connected!  Plus I can watch American tv shows online!  I love it!

 

So, I’m currently teaching 6 classes of English a week at Otgontenger University.  I have 3 English 1 classes and 3 English 2 classes.  I feel like the students are very smart and they know a lot, but sometimes there accent is hard to understand and I feel bad when I can’t understand what they are saying.  I’m actually a mentor for two 4th year students who will be English teachers next year.  They are teaching all of my classes for the next 6 weeks.  It is cool helping them and giving them advice (people here actually think I can teach! Ha!).  The students all say hi to me in the hallways and in the cafeteria.  It is nice.  But if you thought learning 120 students names in America was hard, try Mongolia!  I feel like I will never learn.  I’m almost to the point of taking pictures of them, but I feel like they will think I’m a tad creepy. 

My apartment is very nice, but hot!  I know it will cool down soon and it already has a little.  I really have everything I need – refrigerator, stove, washing machine, tv, desk, shower,etc.  The only weird thing is that I don’t have a sink in the kitchen so I have to wash my dishes in the shower.  Is that sanitary? I guess so, I’m getting used to it. 

The weather is getting cooler.  All of the leaves are falling and it really feels like fall.  You can tell the wind now is crisp and not just hot air.  It snowed the other day, but I was in class and missed it. I’m excited for the cold weather though.  Oh! I live on the 5th floor of my school so I don’t even have to go outside unless I need something.  It will be good when it is super cold, but it is always nice to get out.  A short walk would have been good, but I really can’t complain. 

This past weekend, I went to the hoodo (countryside) with my school.  All of the teachers went and we stayed at a ger camp.  I had the best time!  We got there and immediately opened all of this candy and food and started drinking.  I was proud of myself because I drank everything they gave me and didn’t get drunk or sick (vodka, beer, cherry wine, saki, and whiskey).  Can you believe it?  For dinner, we have horhuck which was goat that they cut up and put in a huge metal can with hot rocks, potatoes, and carrots.  They just serve it on a big platter and the only silverware you have is a knife.  We were lucky enough to get the head on our plate:

No, I didn’t eat it.  I ate a rib and some meat my counterpart gave me.  But here is the after:

Ha!  I thought it was so funny!  Everyone took the bones and other parts home and that is what they ate for breakfast. It was mostly fat.  My one counterpart told me, “Mindy, I am eating a fat sandwich!” and it was a fat sandwich – about an inch thick piece of fat in between two pieces of bread.  There were also competitions like tug-of-war, double dutch, and a relay race.  I only tried the double dutch and I got out miserably.  I’ve never been able to do it.  My department did win the tug-of-war though!  One the way back, we stopped at the Chinggis Khan (not pronunced Gengis – like I had originally thought) monument.  It is supposedly the biggest monument in the world.  They just built it was couple years ago and it also has a giant Mongolian boot in the building below.  You have to pay to go in and there is also a restaurant up there. 

 

If you like the boot, send me some money!  I totally know where to buy you a pair. 

The other weekend,I went to Terelj park which has a lot of ger camps, a river, and some great hiking.  I went with Swiss neighbor Julia. My favorite thing was Turtle Rock.  It is huge and you guys know that turtles are my favorite animals.

They also have one part that has fake dinosaurs.  Very random!

I finally had Indian food – it took me going to Mongolian to eat it – but it is amazing! 

 

I think that is it for now.  It is so hard to think of things when I am writing these.  I will have to start taking notes!  Love you guys and can’t wait to hear from you!  I am off next summer if anyone wants to visit or plan a trip!  Just let me know!

~Mindy

Training is finished!

Sorry I haven’t written in so long. I have been super busy! The last time I wrote was right after Fourth of July, I think. The next week, we went to Zuunmod for Mid-center days. It was fun! We had a dodge ball tournament and a dance. It was a nice break from studying. After that I went to a small Nadaam with my family. We got to see wrestling and the horse races. It was funny because there was a small sheep that kept running into the race lane! I thought it was going to die! We actually found a hosher tent with beef hosher. Some people ate horse, but I didn’t want to. I actually tried it the other week and it tasted like pot roast and I really just didn’t want to eat a horse! We couldn’t find the outhouse so I had to pee outside. My friend Joyce and I would try to go over this hill and pee back to back so no one would see our butts! Little did we know that when we finished, a guy on a horse was about 10 feet away from us! Embarrassing!




After that I went to Ulaanbaatar (UB) to stay with my mom’s mom. They took me around to some sights one of which we climbed to the top of this Russian monument and you could see the whole city. We also went to Sukhbatar Square (sp?). We saw it in the daytime and then we went back at night. That night, there was a concert going on. It was a lot of fun. I really liked being in the city. Oh, so before we left for UB, they told me to be ready by 8. So I get ready, walk out of my ger and into the house and what do I see? My family is skinning a sheep in the entryway! I sat for 2 hours while they cleaned the guts out. My mom would pour water in the intestines and then just put it in her mouth and blow! Shit was flying everywhere! Then as we were leaving (with a small bucket of intestines in our car with 7 people) they bring another goat from the side of the house. They tried to stuff it in a bag and it would fit so they shoved the live goat in the trunk! The drive to UB is about an hour and every bump we hit, the goat was screaming bloody murder! My mom kept saying that they goat was yelling my name! Thankfully that night they made me chicken and I didn’t have to eat intestines!



After that, we started practice teaching. We were put in groups of 4 and we had to teach for an hour and a half. We had to team-teach in groups of 2 and switch our partners every time. My group had the mid-level which was 12-14 year olds. They were so cute! I really enjoyed teaching them but it was hard not being able to fall back on English when they didn’t understand something because I definitely did not know the word in Mongolian.



Yesterday, we took the LPI (Language Proficiency Interview) in Mongolia. We are supposed to get a Novice-High level rating. I’m not sure how my interview went. She asked me super hard questions like “What does beautiful mean to you?” and “How do you get to the post office?” I’m worried. If you don’t pass, you have to get a tutor and re-take it in December. A lot of people don’t pass, but I just don’t want to have an LPI hanging over my head. We find out tomorrow if we passed! Wish me luck!



Tomorrow we got to Zuunmod again for some sessions and then around 3 or 4:00 we find out where our permanent sites are! I am dying to find out! I really want to be placed in UB, but who knows. When I asked to be put there, they said there wasn’t a teacher trainer spot there, but they were looking into it for me. They said a lot of people don’t want to go there, so they don’t just put people there. I feel like I would do much better in a city (or the only city) than I would be in the countryside (hoodo). I asked for an apartment too. I know...I am a total diva! But apartments have running water, a radiator (even if it doesn’t always work) and I don’t have to chop wood or pick up poo. Apparently, when we find out they place us on this giant map of Mongolia!



I made tacos for my family with some Mexican food Shannon sent me. My family didn’t really like them. Oh well! I loved them! My friends Alyssa and Paul helped me and it took us about 3 hours! We had to make the tortillas from scratch, then cook the meat, then the beans, and then we made french fries from scratch. With only one pot! I think they were worth it.



Cassie’s mom sent her Taco Bell kits in the mail with some dried black beans so made that for the Americans and our teacher, Moogii, the other night. Of course the day we decide to do it, the electricity is out. They said it would be out from 10-6 but it didn’t come on at 6! We had to run around town looking for portable gas grills. Then Moogii couldn’t get the gas can in correctly, so I turned it on and just gas was coming out but it wasn’t lighting. I turned the can and tried again and flames went everywhere! I thought I burned off my eyebrows! It was fine after that and the food was so delicious! We were all eating with our headlamps on! What a sight! Right when we finished and said, “I’m so full, I think I’m going to barf!” the electricity came on! Go figure!



Peace Corps also gave us money to do a family appreciation day. We decided to do a horhuck (which is cooking a whole goat). They put it in a huge milk can with potatoes and carrots. They also blowtorch the skin and eat that. We also made garlic bread (which the Mongolians hate), salad, and french fries. One of the guys in our group said he was going to kill the goat because his dad bought it for us. When the dad called him out to kill it, he just handed him a hammer to knock the goat out! The guy was like, “ I can’t do this!” I couldn’t have either. Are you surprised?



I think I am getting a Mongolian deel. My mom is giving me her old one and they went to UB to get it taken in. She is a lot bigger than me. I’m supposed to get it today. She also told me she was going to cook me chicken pizza for my last day so we’ll see if that happens! I really hope so! I am so tired of mutton!

We are also learning Mongolian dances.  There are five girls in my dance group, one girl is doing a solo, and 3 guys are in another group.  We had to audition in order to perform at our swearing-in ceremony.  We did so well for the audition but then we had to perform for our families and we did terribly!  We didn't practice for a few days and we all forgot things.  Especially me!  So don't judge me!  I am uploading the videos on facebook so enjoy!



I just can’t believe that training is over! The first month went by so slow and then the last month and a half went by so fast! I’m so ready to be on my own. I am really ready to cook for my self. And also to just get started with my job and to start making friends! Well, I’m signing off for now.... the next time you hear from me, I will be a real volunteer! Can you believe it?



I will send you guys my new address as soon as I can. If you have sent me something or were planning on it, Peace Corps will forward it to me for the first month so don’t worry!

I am also uploading pics facebook and snapfish.

Love you guys and miss you so so so so much!
Mindy 

Meat and Clothes

I hand washed my clothes last week and let me tell you... it is a chore!  I got two blisters on my fingers.  I will never take a washing machine and dryer for granted again!  And believe it or not - I still cleaned them faster than my sister does laundry!  (Just kidding Brandy!)

I also tried the dried meat.  I do not like jerky in the states, except for slim jim.  My mom came home eating it and I told her I didn't like it.  She said she loved it!  I was eating my dinner and she brought me another plate of pasta.  I asked if the dried meat was in it and she said no.  I took a bite and almost started to throw up.  I just sat there with my hand over my mouth and my mom was laughing (bc the meat was in there).  They were like, "It's ok, It's ok.)  I thought I was going to puke!

My pics:  There are some of a cultural thing we had during training with the horse violin and dancers.  The older man is the u.s. ambassador for Mongolia.  The oboos are religious things that you have to walk around 3 times and throw three rocks on.   The red building is the hospital where my mom works.  There are other pics of our town.  It was made by the Soviets so it is very plain.  Some of the buildings have nothing in them but trash.  We went out to the Soviet Air Force base and took pics.  There are also pics of my ger, my outhouse, the dog and our house - compare it to the size of the houses in the U.S. - it's crazy! There are also pics of the yak getting killed and skinned.  The pics that look like a big city are another site where we went to get our shots.  I felt like I was in NYC!  There are also a lot of landscape pics because I think they are pretty.  I also milked a cow for the first time.  It was weird feeling and I don't really want to do it again. My older sister usually milks them.  I posted a pic that shows all the bugs on my ger and my sister's friends that sleep on our floor.  The house is really small.  Our town is really small but yesterday we found a salon and my friend Cassie got her haircut.  We also found a hoosher restaurant (it is like a Mongolian empanada).  My beer I bought last night - Old Czech - it was warm but not too bad.  I would really like it if it was cold.  There is another pics of us playing cards last night in Alyssa's ger.

Hope you enjoy!  Here is the link:  http://www.snapfish.com/snapfish/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=2225482021/a=151443402_151443402/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/


Love you and miss you,
M

26.6.10

First off, I would like to say that it is soooo hot right now in Mongolia!  I thought it was supposed to be cold here!  Hahahaha.  Things are going well.  We still have language classes in the morning and we started teaching in the afternoons twice a week so it is fun.  The kids are excited to learn English.  It has only been about a month and it is funny how close our group has gotten.  We have no problem telling each other how often we have or haven't gone to the bathroom, about the foods we have eaten and the funny stories about our families.  (I am regular by the way in case anyone was wondering.)

A couple people in our group have gotten sick - vomiting and diarrhea.  I have not thankfully.  It only lasts about 2-3 days.  I'm praying that I don't get it. 

We saw the shaman the other day.  It Alyssa's sister who is only15.  Apparently, she was sick for two years.  She couldn't even go to school and would pass out on a regular basis. They finally tried to go to a shaman and they said she was sick because the spirit was trying to get into her body.  He has been training her.  She has only been doing it for 9 days.  You have to train and then do the rituals for 39 days.  After that, he can tell us about our spirits and our families.  So we get in there and she blindfolds herself, puts on a mask with fake eyes on it, and string coming down.  She starts beating on a drum to envoke the spirit and turns in circles.  When she stops, she is moaning like an old man and can barely stand.  She sits down.  It is her great great great great grandfather (maybe add some more greats) from the 1500s.  He smokes and drinks vodka and milk tea and talks to us.  Our teacher was there to translate and told him we were interested in him.  He called me up to him to tell him what I knew about Shamans so I told him about The Horse Boy book.  He then took my head and started rubbing it and smelling me( which I know didn't smell good).  And then he did that to everyone else.  He said he had never seen foreigners before and that the guys were really hairy like yaks!  Hahahaha. We also have a really tall guy in our group and he says to him, 'You are so tall...how are you going to get married?"  I was cracking up.  After that, he left and then 10 minutes later his spirit was sitting on the candle flames and he wanted to come back.  He said we could come listen to him anytime.  I can't wait to go back after 39 days to hear what he says about me.  It was a crazy experience! 

There are tons of bugs in my ger.  It is open at the top so they come in whenever.  Another girl in our group has a ger infested with spiders.  She counts them everyday and has killed about 120 in the past two days.  I would die!  The gnats are bad enough! 

I think that is all for now.  Miss you guys and hope to hear from you soon!  Haven't received any packages yet, but I'm so excited!  I'm also going to try and post pics. 

Love you and miss you! 
M

Training Site

I am located in a very small town outside of UB.  I have a small ger and my family owns 5 cows.  It is weird sleeping with cows mooing all the time but I am getting used to it.  I guess I'm kind of lucky because my family built me a new outhouse which I have finally figured out how to not pee on myself (get low...hahaha).  The food is ok but I have told them that I don't like a lot of meat so they have given me chicken a couple of times.  Ger living is ok but ger beetles drop in occasionally and I only get to bathe about every 3 days.  Yes, we all smell when we are in a group! 

We have class everyday and I don't feel like I am understanding it very well.  But again, I have only been here a total of 2 weeks.  I would love for you guys to write me a letter.  I had to walk 3.3 miles to find wifi and I'm borrowing someone's computer.  Then I will have your addresses to write back.

We saw a yak get killed the other day and then the family skinned it and cut it up.  The skinning was the worse part for me.  I could handle the guts (or gitz in Mongolia) but the skinning was disgusting!  We saw the dad in town the next day with all of the meat in the back of his van selling it.  We also got our second round of shots the other day...4 more.  We have another round in 28 days.  One weird thing is that I have not used a napkin since I got to my host family.  They don't exist here!  I just started wiping my hands on my legs since I figured they are dry anyways so what will a little grease hurt?  I guess you learn to adapt.  The one thing I will not do is pick up dung with my bare hands.  The people here do that and then cook food or do other things.  So if anyone could send me a pair or kitchen gloves.  I told the PC doctor that there was a line and I'm not picking up poop with my bare hands.  I wonder if I will still think that way in 2 years...hahahaha  I miss you guys a lot.  I feel like I have been here forever even though it has only been 2 weeks.

The family is nice.  They gave me a Mongolia name - It sounds like "althga".  I wish they would have given me one that I could pronounce better.  The girls are really helpful.  The come into my ger a lot and watch me put on make up or just stare at me.  We have had a lot of awkward conversations.  They speak to me like I understand them...which I guess is good because one day I will.  Right?  We play a lot of games - some russian game, cards, and I taught them duck, duck, goose.  They give me a block to sit on since I can't get up and down as fast as them. Hahahaha.  The only major problem has been these birds that are outside of my ger.  They start crowing EVERY morning at 4:30 until 5:00 and it wakes me up.  I start screaming, "Shut the ____ up!"  I wonder if my family hears me?  Oh well...they won't understand anyways.  
 
I guess it is just so different because I feel isolated - no computer, no internet!  It is very different but I am getting used to it.  Please send me a letter so I can have your address or send it to my mom so she can put them in a package/letter for me.  Her email is cibrmico@aol.com.(If you don't mind mom - also some stationary would be good and some envelopes).  Have I been asking for too much? You don't have to send it me all of this stuff but it would be good! Hahaha

Thanks!  Love you guys and miss you!  I'm trying to post pics so check the link from the previous blog!

M

Food Experiences / Host Family

We had a cultural day at school today.  One session, they made a makeshift ger and we learned about the customs and how to do things when you are inside one.  There was one about surprises we might find - how they kill animals for food, how they treat dogs (not like pets), etc.  Then there was one about hospitality and how to accept gifts, drinks, and candy from your family.  Always with the right hand, palm up.  The last session was on food.  I tasted boiled mutton (not too bad), dried curds ( one tasted like the worst rank blue cheese I have ever tasted and the small ones kind of taste like parmesean cheese..good), mare's milk tea (tastes like liquid pasta), and fresh yogurt ( sour but would be good with jam).  It was a very interesting day.

We also got our host family assignments.  My is a mom who is 38, a hospital cook, and she has 4 daughters - 18, 15, 7, and 5 years old.  They have a puppy, who I am hoping to convert into Bailey, 5 cows, and a potato garden.  They like playing cards and watching tv.  They live in a house but I will have my own ger next to them.  I am pretty excited. 

That is all for now.  E-mail me updates!  Can't wait to hear from all of you!

M

More training 8.6.10

We have been so busy here.  Our schedules are packed from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.  We started our language classes though and the teachers speak no English and we just practice by charades.  We learned how to write our names today in the Cyrillic alphabet which was pretty cool.  We are leaving on Thursday to meet our host families and we are told that we probably won't have internet.  So I'm sorry if I don't get back to you as often.  (Mom/Brandy - no news is good news!)  And we definitely will not have showers!  We will have to bucket bath and use a bath house every once in a while (it costs money!).  We also have to start conserving our toilet paper because they won't have it.  I got my sleeping bag and water purifier the other day as well. 

The people here have been really friendly.  All of the little kids say "hello" to us when we are walking around town and they help us with the different vocabulary.   I finally learned how to ask "What is this?", even though I forget what they tell me 5 minutes later.  The picture of the goat head is a funny story.  We went into the market and I had my camera.  The ladies in there would not let me take a picture of them so I was just taking pictures of the meat.  They are mutton and the big hunk of meat in my photos is horse by the way.  When I started to leave, the one lady grabbed me and pointed to the goat's head for me to take a picture of it.  She picked it up by its horns and put it in front of her face and then she went towards the other lady as a joke.  It was pretty funny! 

I have eaten mutton - a lot!  It is so chewy but I tried it.  I do think I might become a vegetarian which might be hard for some of you to believe.  (I grabbed the vegetarian option for lunch today - it was rice with peppers in it.)  I'm not sure what is will be like with our host families.  I will have to try more things but I don't think I will eat all of the stuff when I am on my own.  I did have fried chicken for dinner tonight because I don't think I will be having it for a while. 

It has been cold here as well.  Very hot the first day, but since then it has been in the 50's maybe.  It has also rained.  They said it can snow sometimes during the summer (is it really a summer if it snows?).  I like the weather but other people aren't happy. 

I'll post again when I can but it might be a while.  Can someone e-mail me who wins Top Chef Masters?  The season finale is this Wednesday.  Thanks!  Hahahaha. 


I also am not supposed to post the towns I am going to be in for safety reasons.  My address is still the same.  My mail goes to the main post office in UB and they have a truck everyday make the deliveries.  I would love some toilet paper, tights, and peanut butter.  And some Mexican food...that would be good! 

Love you guys and talk to you soon!
Mindy

Training

We arrived in Ulaanbaatar around 10 o'clock at night and were welcomed by a line of current Peace Corps volunteers.  (Now I know how football players feel!)  We took a bus to another town which is about 45 minutes away.  It is a pretty big town.  We are in dorms right now until Thursday.  I am with 3 other girls.  We had some meetings today and then a tour of the town.  It is a little run down but it is cute and the people are so nice.  For breakfast, we had mash potatoes (yay!), toast, buckwheat and sheep sausage.  I didn't eat much of the sausage.  For lunch, we also had sheep and rice.  We did go to a market today that has fruits and vegetables but they said it was nicer because it is so close to the capital.  I will be with my host family on Thursday and we start getting our shots on Wednesday.  We have 3 rounds but the people didn't know what were getting *we have to talk to the doctors.  Our group is really nice.  Everyone is really friendly and we all have traveled and have a lot of the same interests.  There are also a lot of jugglers. 

Here is a link to the pictures I have taken so far:  http://www2.snapfish.com/snapfish/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=2225482021/a=151443402_151443402/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/


Well I will hopefully talk to you soon.  Thanks for reading my blog. 

~Mindy

P.S. I also would like to give a big shout to Pauline for designing my blog!  Thank you so much!