If you would have asked me before I came "What will be the biggest obstacle for development/improvement during your project here in Peace Corps?" - I probably would have said language, or maybe culture, or possibly resources. Even though language, etc. are very apparent differences, they are minor compared to the basic principle of changing habits.
For example, I have had people tell me hundreds of times that they want me to teach them English. My follow up question is always, "When do you want me to teach you English?" Then I get a shrug of the shoulders followed by an answer like "I don't know - sometime." People don't always think about how much time and effort it takes to learn a new language. I have an advantage here in learning Mongolian because there are Mongolian speakers everywhere, but it still takes effort on my part to learn Mongolian. It doesn't just "happen."
Another silly example not related to English is the concept of sharing. In a lot of ways, Mongolians share more than Americans do. At the workplace, when a teacher is eating something like cookies or drinking juice, they are expected to share with everybody. People share cups and pass it around to everyone in the room. Often people borrow each others phones. But for some reason, toilet paper is guarded as if it is some kind of precious treasure. I don't know why, because it is really cheap. Nevertheless, everyone carries their own with them, and it is unheard of for there to be a roll of toilet paper sitting around in a bathroom. Moving on, Mongolians often share their homework or even tests. Most people call that cheating, not sharing, ha ha. In their language "cheating" is not even a harsh word. The word people use for cheating basically means copying information. As long as someone is not caught cheating, most people do not see it as a bad thing. They think of it as a way to help their friends as well as making their class look good by having high scores. I can tell people about the differences between my culture and theirs, but I have little control over actually making a difference in areas like these.
Back to the teaching part of my life here, I have told my teachers how important it is for them to speak English during class. Even though my teachers know how to give instructions and ask some questions in English, they often say those things in Mongolian because the students won't understand or because they simply forget to. Anyways, one of the teachers (that I initially had a lot of difficulty working with) all of the sudden started asking her students during every class, "How are you? What is the weather like today?" and "What did you do yesterday?" Simple changes like that have made a huge difference. Before, the students did mostly translation-type activities. If the teacher uses English in a way that requires an actual response, the students have to listen, understand, and then speak. It is a much more interesting and practical way to learn.
Mongolians are sometimes bashful when it comes to asking for help. I am the opposite of intimidating, but for some people, I am the first foreign person that they have ever spoken with. Also, Mongolians are afraid to admit when there is something they don't know or understand. Of course, if they don't ask questions, they cannot learn or fix mistakes. So gradually the English teachers have started to ask me for more help with pronunciation, proofreading, definitions, and so on.
There is a lot of work to be done here. If there wasn't any need for improvement, I would never been sent here in the first place. It takes a lot of patience, but there have been a few positive changes. And I am optimistic about those changes remaining after I leave (crossing my fingers).
