Abnormal is the new Normal

Sometimes I realize how different regular life is here, but most of the time I don't. The other day, some people walked into my Ger, and I had no idea who they were. I invited them to sit down and offered them some candy. There was an older man and a young boy. The man showed me a letter that the boy got from America. It was a Christmas card that arrived here in March. Since it was all in English, and they wanted me to translate it for them. I got the main points across, talked with them for a little bit, and then they went on their way.

It was good. First of all, my Ger wasn't messy. That's a big accomplishment because Mongolians do not like when a house is dirty. And I got lucky because I had no idea anyone was going to come and visit. It is also pretty important to offer guests at least something, so it was good that I at least had some candy to give them. Also, I managed to speak to some Mongolians that knew absolutely no English. Anytime I can have a decent conversation in all Mongolian is a big success for me. I've had many people come into my Ger that were complete strangers but that does not phase me anymore. I usually act like I know them anyways just in case I met them before and forgot who they were.

Whoever it was that sent that little kid a letter doesn't know how it significant it was to them either. I don't know what organization it was, but they had Americans send letters to Mongolian children. Later on, some other kids showed me their Christmas cards that they got in March too. I don't know how they figured out where I lived, but they were curious enough to figure out what the letter said and came to me for translation.

I imagine in America that most people would not let strangers into their home, and if someone was seeking help of some sort it would have to be arranged in advance. But Mongolia is very spontaneous – if Mongolians have a plan, its usually to “wing it.” That can be both good and frustrating sometimes. I don't know how the weather got the memo, but it is equally spontaneous. Just when I thought spring “broke” it will go into relapse again. It can be in the 60's several days in a row (no fire needed) only to be followed by snow and bitter wind the next day. But that doesn't phase me anymore either. I'm almost a year in now, and for the most part - I'm adjusted.

recent adventures in mongolia

It was kind of weird and surprising to have Americans coming to visit my school. They were doing an art project with children in many different countries, and one of the two places they visited in Mongolia happened to be my school. One of my counterparts and me worked with them to help things go as smoothly as possible. It was really fun working with younger kids. They really enjoyed making photos and making their own drawings too. When the project was finished, the students were invited to go on a free trip to a museum in the capital to see their art displayed in a gallery. Pretty cool, huh? I got to go with too. About twenty of us went to UB. It was really fun to see the kids looking at their photos and showing them to their parents. And later, other countries will get to see these kid's art too.

And - my English teachers set up an English week at my school. I'm really proud of them because they organized most of it without me. There was a song competition, spelling competition, poetry competition, and other games as well. Also we recently had a creative writing competition, and it was really interesting to read their essays.

So I wasn't really doing that much work during all of this. I'm impressed with my counterparts their ability to arrange project plans, and also translate for the Americans with very little help from me.

 

Tsagaan Sar Holiday

It was a pretty big blur, but probably the most fun Mongolian experience I've had so far. The holiday was started since the days of Chinggis Khan (also known as Ghengis), and it celebrates the lunar new year. It kind of brightens up February and is something to keep my mind off of the cold. They actually start calling this the beginning of spring, lol. The thing that looks like a basket is made out of bread, sugar, and some hard dairy products that I don't know how to describe. Everyone cleans their houses and akes food in preparation for their family to come over. I think I've mentioned buuz before, but they are meat covered with dough, and then steamed - like dumplings. Also people make a bunch of salads. None of them have lettuce, sometimes their potato salads have meat, and their fruit salads taste like candy - different, but I still like it. The first day, close family members will come over to visit. They greet each other by age, and then sit down in a circle. They will talk about family and have several types of drinks. Some of those are also very difficult to describe. Men and sometimes women will pass around a hoorog, which is a bottle made out of stone that has tobacco inside. Before guests leave, the host will give them a present. The following days, people continue to visit family and also friends.

Oh yeah, I got a dell made for me. one of the English teachers helped me find a person to sew it and then we went to a store to buy the materials. It is decently warm, but kind of difficult to put on and walk around in. And I still haven't figured out how to put the cloth belt on correctly. You can't see in the picture, but its bright orange and about 15 feet long. People often carry stuff in the shirt section but sometimes things can fall out. I actually thought I lost my camera, but fortunately I left it at my friends house.

Most of the time, I had no idea what was going on - nothing is really planned, so I just went along with what was happening. Some of the days, I went to multiple houses. It was fun, but it gets really filling. They also offered me drinks more often, because I'm a foreigner I guess. The holiday officially lasts 3 days, but it doesn't really finish. I was invited to peoples houses weeks after the fact. Some people gave me gifts ranging from phone minutes, candy, or games, to shirts. One of my friends mothers even made a Mongolian shirt for me! I felt bad because I did not give out that many gifts, but I'll know to prepare ahead next year. Tsagaan Sar does involve quite a bit of work especially for the mothers. I helped out a little, but since I am a foreigner people did not want me to do that much work. Za, I don't know what else to say, so I'm going to stop.

Winter isn't that bad...yet

After my hasha family's dog had puppies a couple months ago, most of them disappeared  We were going to keep one, but that one also was nowhere to be found - until one random day the puppy came back! He's not so cute now though, I might add a photo of it later.

I went to the store last week and got myself a sweater made out of camel wool. When I wore it to school, I got bombarded with compliments. People are proud of Mongolian clothes. I was going to have someone make me a big winter dell, but that might not happen this year.

Meanwhile, it hit 50F over the weekend. I actually went to the store without my jacket and wore my hooded sweatshirt instead... and then my training manager happened to see me and chided me for not wearing my jacket. Oh well, I was warm. Yeah - and I thought January was going to be much colder (crossing my fingers).

I've had a couple Morin Khuur lessons now. I can play the F major scale and 2 little songs. It doesn't sound very good, but I can play them. Still working on the fundamentals - my teacher often me that my hands need to relax. It reminds me of the piano teacher I used to have.

And English teaching? Well - there's still a lot of Mongolian spoken and a little English spoken. I think that's my official goal now - more English speaking.

happy holidays

I'm writing a couple weeks after the fact because its been ridiculously busy coordinating around work and planning parties. December in Mongolia is a little different than in America - they don't celebrate Christmas, but New Year's is a big holiday. If felt strange though because they use "Christmas" decorations, we eat "birthday" cake, and people dress up as if it is a "prom." - and most of the new years parties are not celebrated on new years - on new years eve, families are spending time home together. It was nice that people wanted me to take part in their celebrations. I probably went to about 5 parties, and they were pretty fun. I wasn't that homesick except for wishing that it were alot warmer.

growing pains

So I've been seeing her for about 6 months now. Its pretty complicated. Since communication is very important in a relationship, its a bummer that its so hard to see each other clearly. Usually I resort to groping in the dark and making hand gestures.

Hope can be a dangerous thing. As long as there are enough positive aspects in our relationship, I can still forget the shortcomings.

I am usually quite independent, but with this friendship sometimes I make myself vulnerable. A friend can take you to places that you would never get to otherwise. Sometimes you will even come out a different person.

Sometimes I forget about the previous relationships that I have been in. I hardly hear from America very much. Once in a while I pay attention to whats going on, but long distance relationships are pretty difficult.

school break

Well, my first semester of teaching is finished already. I can't say I've worked that hard at the break, but it has been nice to relax a little bit. I watched a couple movies and played some video games, but I've also had extra time to spend with some people at my school. I got a washing machine and it just arrived last week. Though Mongolians do have some frustrating qualities, they are very generous and caring. My training manager came over one day to wash my clothes and showed me how the washing machine works. (I'm not going to bore you with the differences between a Mongolian washing machine and an American one, but its a little more work - way easier than hand washing though). Not only did my manager help me wash clothes but she also helped me clean other parts of my house. I felt strange about it, but I think that she was happy to help me. Could you imagine your manager coming over to clean your clothes, and then start cleaning your floor? I don't think that would happen in the US, but that's just my opinion.
Some other teachers came over a different day to help move coal for me. Mongolian tradition is always to offer food when someone visits your house, and I managed to make banana bread one day, and tsuivan (Mongolian noodle stir fry) one of the other days. They weren't perfect, but they turned out okay. it was also an honor to be invited over to one of the math teacher's house. She is someone that I can sort of communicate with even though my language is not that good. It really helps when the person you are communicating with is patient at listening to you. Since there was no school, it was a good time for me to invite my English teachers over. With scheduling, its hard to get all 5 of them to be together at the same time, but they all came over. I made tacos (my tortilla-making skills are improving) for them and I think they liked it quite a bit. I made sure to make it very mild, because people here typically can't eat spicy food. So yeah... a lot of visiting each other's houses.
And this week I came to UB to meet up with my peace corps friends for thanksgiving. Its spendy here, but I have had some pretty good food. One of my meals was broccoli soup (yum), another was curry chicken (yummy!) and I also had some pizza (cheese!!) and some pancakes (delish :) ). I've only known my friends here for a couple months, but it was nice to see them again. There is a handful of people that I like to talk to quite a bit. My other main mission was to buy a horse fiddle. I wish I already had one a couple months ago because I have wanted to start learning how to play one since I got here. So I asked around for a place to find one. I didn't want go by myself to shop for one, but that's how it worked out. Long story short, I purchased one. It was spendy, but I think it will be worth it. I don't have my camera right now - I'll just take pictures later and upload them in a couple days.
Anyways, happy belated thanksgiving!!
Peace,