SpEciAl OlYMpiCs-ThE TriALs and TriBuLaTiOnS!

I was first introduced to the idea of Special Olympics last year, after swearing in and before I went to Thailand. Since then, I had many meetings to discuss the subject with a now Volunteer at the organization. I continually felt like I had similar conversations about it over and over and over again. Since things tend to happen so late and then so all at once or not at all, I spent a long time waiting. This past March, I was contacted to see if I would be able to send coaches from Arkhangai to a training in UB so we could participate in the Special Olympics should it happen. I didn't know if it would happen but I thought it would be great to start building knowledge about the Special Olympics in case it did. When the training didn't happen in April, and was told it might happen in May, I was a tad discouraged.  I was set on it not happening at all. However when May came I put a team together in four days and had them go to UB for the training. It was exciting that it happened and I was so happy that at least a foundation had been laid to open up the conversation for disabilities. Since, this was also around the time that school was ending, I was waiting for the training to be forgotten...and quite frankly for me to be forgotten in my Aimag since I would be working at camps away for most of my summer. I was pleasantly surprised when I wasn't forgotten, at all.

Soon after I got back to Tsetserleg I was told that there would be Special Olympics games in UB, and I had about three weeks to get everything together. My counterpart and I spent the next few days running around like chickens with our heads cut off finding children that this competition specifically caters whose parents would let them participate. Then, we had to set up trainings and complete packets on the athletes, along with a medical check. We got everything done a week and a half before we were supposed to leave.  When athletes were medically cleared and had filled out their paperwork we had three practices before the start of the next week.  This being Mongolia, things changed and flip-flopped, and changed again. The week before we were supposed to leave for the competition, teachers from the 5 schools that would be competing met with Special Olympics director, and the dates were changed again...and we would need to leave Arkhangai to make the 8-10 hour trek into UB that Wednesday. After two days of running around, we had one more practice, then off we went. That night we arrived around 6 and I was beat, and could not wait to just relax with a bubble bath and glass of wine, but i was also amazed that despite it all, I was here, in UB, with three athletes, a parent and a mother of the one of the athletes.
 

A Mongolian Celebrity. She won the Special Olympics Snowshoeing competition in China (I believe)

My Director came and some admin staff came out to support the cause

The next day the competition started around 12. I was to meet my team at the hostel around 11. Previous to arriving, one of the Volunteers had called me to let me know that my team was not only up, fed, dressed and ready to go, but they were also stretching. The excitement was palpable.
We arrived around the same time as everyone else. We signed in, received our shirts ate and my athletes started running to warm up. It was a mild day at first that got colder as the competition progressed. I was completely thrilled with my students. They were happy, easy going and had so much fun, it was a joy to see and a surreal moment for me.
While the Athletes returned the Arkhangai the next day, I stayed to help with the remaining events (judo and table tennis) which would be happening the following week.

At the conclusion of Mongolia's VERY FIRST Special Olympics, one of my Athletes had won a second place medal for her run in the 50 meter and was asked to go to the International Special Olympics competition that would be happening in Los Angelas. I couldn't tell you how happy it made me to see her face, and her mother's face when I told them.  It was a feeling unlike any other. Her incredibly supportive mother didn't miss a beat before saying of course!
Since the Olympics, I am still working on collaborating with the special olympics to get them papers or information they may need for Davaa's adventure. I am also coordinating a Special Olympics of my own, in fact, I was able to do a training on Wednesday about it. Tsetserlegs Social Workers attended, as well as a Special Education teacher, two of my athletes that went to UB, and another child who has a disability was brought by her mother. It's amazing to see the out-pour of support that is starting to happen for those who have a disability. Next week, we will be having a meeting on Thursday with athletes and doctors as well. Between The Mongolian Special Olympics, Arkhangai Special Olympics and Davaa's invitation to the International Special Olympics; I feel like understanding of disabilities in Mongolia are being put on the forefront in an extremely positive light. In a Country where abnormalities are hidden away and not widely accepted, I am thrilled that I can be a small part of the change that is slowly but surely coming.

FoReVer BroKen

As MST came to a close and health checks ensued, I mentioned a problem I have been having with my knees to the PCMO (Peace Corps Doctor). She immediately set me up with a rehab clinic in UB, who sent me for an MRI scan. While I am notorious for hurting myself in awkward ways; the finger incident last year, the slicing of my finger, the second degree burn on my ankle from a demon steamer and more recently the wood that is floating around my wrist; nothing could prepare me for what they would say. I got a call asking me to come in because after a week of physical therapy they finally received the results. As i sat there in the office, my PCMO rattled off some strange foreign name for what was happening in both my knees I was stunned. The name of this strange syndrome was Infrapatellar fat pad syndrome: or Hoffa's syndrome. This syndrome is just what it sounds like. I have fat in between my joints that rubs and causes swelling, bruising and pain.  Apparently it happens in athletes. Since I had been dancing off and on and my knee was fine up until I came to Mongolia I can assume it was not just that. As I went back to rehab with this diagnoses, they told me the bending I have been doing in my Ger is probably the problem. So...after two weeks of rehab, a couple days of rest and steroid shots to me knees I was allowed to go back to site with promises of an apartment in the near future, (as soon as they can find one). I am currently staying at my site mates apartment while she is away in Greece so right now it is not a dire situation. I am hopeful if I continue to work hard on my stretches that this too will pass and no more strange syndromes or injuries will be in my future.

UniTE!!! HapPy 25th AmeRiCa!

I have for the past 6 months worked on raising awareness against violence against women at my site. Tonight, I went online and saw this article:  sexual threats against Emma Watson and became quite disgruntled. 

It also allowed me to start some research and here is what I have found as it pertains to the U.S. There is a pervasive problem in the U.S for violence against women. In one survey conducted, it was found that more than half of the women surveyed had reported being physically assaulted by either an adult caretaker as a child or as an adult by another adult. Nearly 1/5th reported being raped at some point in their lives. Furthermore, 2.1% of women reported being physically assaulted or raped in the past 12 months. This number is equivalent to 2.1 million women who are raped or assaulted ANNUALLY in the United States. 8,000 women completed a survey administered by females with questions pertaining to rape, physical assault, stalking, victim-perpetrator relationships and specific examples of violence they had experienced.      Prevelance, incidence and consequences of violence againt women

On another site the most shocking information I read was as follows.
-More than 22 million US women have been raped in their lifetime,
- 63.84% of women have experienced rape, physical assault or stalking within their lifetime
-1/3 of female murder victims are killed by their intimate partner
-The FBI estimates that only 46% of rapes and sexual assaults are reported to the police. U.S. Justice Department statistics are even lower, with only 26% of all rapes or attempted rapes being reported to law enforcement officials. 
If you want more facts visit this site as it is also a good read. (Please don't ignore it just because it is a feminist site)
violence facts 

 In Mongolia, violence against women is prevalent.  Women are discriminated against in life, the workplace, and home. While there are laws to promote gender equality, domestic violence continues to be an ongoing struggle. Existing laws are inadequate to deal with the struggles that women continue to face on a daily bases and lack of protection for victims and lack of prosecution on domestic violence cases yields little success on deterring offenders on participating in spousal abuse.  Sexual Harassment continues to be a problem as well.  This is a continuation of tradition and non-employment. While parliament passed a bill in February 2011on  "promotion of gender equality" this is still and ongoing issue, especially in the workplace. Furthermore, while there are specific laws that focus on rape carrying a 5-10 year sentence, unless it results in injury or entails death or a child under 14 (which yields a 15-25 year term or the death penalty); there is no current law that deals with spousal rape. For more information on this subject you can visit this website. http://www.stopvaw.org/mongolia

I feel that women have to continue to speak out about their personal experiences in order for change to ensue. Women have to start being more openly vocal and honest about their negative experiences so that awareness to be raised, and changes in social ideals can occur. Since this is my blog and I am preaching honesty and openness, it makes sense that I participate in expounding some of my personal experiences.

Since I came to Mongolia in 2013, I have experienced three instances of what is deemed sexual assault. My butt has been grabbed while walking down the street and dancing in a club by complete strangers.  I was so stunned the first time that all i could do was yell at the person in English as they sauntered away. The second time I smacked the 50 year old's hand off of my butt as I quickly walked away. The third time I was dancing at a club and pushed the guy.  The first time the male, about 21 years old looked at me like at a daze (he appeared very intoxicated), the second time the 50 year old and his friend laughed.  The last time, the guy got angry but walked away. Every time it has been disconcerting and upsetting. Subsequently, I find myself walking while constantly looking over my shoulder to see who is around and what threat they pose. I also find myself glaring at any male that comes close enough until he passes more than an arms length away.

I have also been sexually harassed at work by interns and teachers. In order to not completely burn bridges I have had to ignore inappropriate remarks from teachers, and have had to forcefully explained through English teachers what the expectations of my interns were as social workers in the school setting, stating; you will respect me and my professional experience and will act like professionals while in my office. I have also had to ignore the cat calls and whistles of Mongolians while walking down the street.  Interestingly enough, the minute I say something rude to them they state they are sorry and act like I have caused them discomfort.

While this feels more prevalent in Mongolia, this has happened throughout my life. Cat calls while walking down the street in Boston, dates that progressed too quickly, and rude comments from customers while waitressing or bartending.  This has also happened pretty consistently to my female friends. Friends that are grabbed, harassed, told inappropriate sexual comments in jobs or out in the world; old or young it doesn't seem to matter. The fact of the matter is, it happens and it happens too often, especially to women.

In 2014 we are still experiencing gender based violence. I find this horrifying. While the world is advancing in so many ways, it is still so far behind in creating a safe environment for our children to grow up in. While some men will experience these issues in their lifetime; the fact remains that as of current, women continue to be more at risk for violence, sexual assault, stalking and partner violence than their male counterparts. Spread the word and UNITE to end violence against women and girls.

A SuMmeR FillEd WiTh CaMpS

If At First you don't succeed:

Try try again! This was what I have been continuing to tell myself this summer when all three of my camps that were planned were cancelled. After those three were cancelled I worked hard to get other camps and work situated. At one point I had found a potential job for a week teaching English in UB through the Embassy. It would have been the second job teaching English that was cancelled.  At another, I had another camp that I had heard about through Peace Corps. By the time I called, the other camp had filled the open position exactly the day before. It was clear camps were the wrong way to go this summer.

After contacting numerous people about open positions it finally worked and I am currenty at a camp outside of UB.  Even that was a bit of a tabocle. I left Marcs apartment around 8 by taxi. I went to the american embassy because I was told that it was not far from there. After asking a guard directions to where I needed to be I realized it was about halfway in between Marcs and the embassy. So I walked with my huge backpack about a quarter mile, then asked a ton more people on the way how to get where I need to be. By 8:45 I got to the childrens center, and by 8:50 Dream camp called me and said they (the teachers) were leaving at one,  and the children would be at camp 3 days later (on the 18th). Luckily, they stated that they would pick me up, so I walked the last ½ mile back to Marcs and took a nap. By 2:30 pm we left and by 5 we arrived at Dream Camp.

The first night sleep was rough. The staff ages 17-early 20s mostly with a few outliers being between 25 and 28, decided they would stay up all night and “party on dude”. The walls in our rooms are paper thin and you can hear cell phone use, whispering and whole conversations. There was yelling and stomping around and (my favorite) door slamming. By 3:30 I had fallen asleep,and by 7:30 everyone was up again making noise. It was not a fantastic start to camp. Especially since by 8 we were suposed to be at breakfast (which I skipped) and by 9 I was being awakened for a staff meeting that I did not understand.  At about 10 we were walking the grounds picking up garbage. At 11:30 I was told I could rest for a bit, until lunch around 1. When lunch concluded, we worked on a dance (the gummy bear dance; look it up on youtube) and I had to choose a song that I would be singing for the concert which I assumed would happen when the kids arrived.  After taking another  ½ hour to rest I was called to another meeting, in the Dream Restaurant. The Dream Restaurant is completely themed like a fairytale. Grass, green skys, real wood and branches are used for beams and fences, a fake fireplace and fairytale themes like that of snow white. It’s quite a pleasant place, and also the only place I can plug in my electronics.  The meeting lasted an hour an a half and then it was time for food. After we ate, I was told we would be going to do our dance. I assumed by do, they meant practice but it became quite clear this was a competition. There were three judges, the camp director, assistant director and some other man I did not know. It was quite a fun show and regardless of how last minute it was, I had fun. Right before the show, a staff came and asked me if I wanted to dress like a baby with them, like a swaddled baby with a blanket around us and tied in. I had no idea what I was supposed to do but said ok! When it was our turn to present, they waved me out and I just kind of waddled around and tried to look innocent with my pigtails. Then the staff “babies” broke out into a dance, that they had forgotten to teach me. It was really easy so I picked it up, it was just humorous that I was asked to be in the skit dance and then they forgot to teach me the dance!

My group won best song and I was given a huge trophy, that I had to give back at the end. We were also given Mars bars stapled to a ribbon that they hung around our necks. After a dance party that lasted for about an hour, I made my way back to me bed and passed out around 12 regardless of the noise.

Today has been mellow, woke up, had a shower, had breakfast and have had free time all day. We are supposed to go to the river around 1, it’s 1:30 now, so we will see what happens. I managed to get a hike and a work out in so I am feeling rather calm, relaxed and awake!

Our random outing

The second day of camp was a lot more fun.  I got to catch up on my sleep and we were able to get to the river, have a nice dinner, and go for a walk up a mountain where there was a cave. It was really neat to go in the cave with everyone. Since no one told me we would be hiking up a mountain, I only brought sandles. It was still totally worth going however! We were also able to pick some tiny strawberrys, what they lack in taste, they totally make up for in flavor. The only annoyance was the little red and black ants that seemed to be attacking  my feet while I was searching for the jimms (fruit). I backed out after 5 minutes.

Bees!

I had always been pretty sure that in I have never been stung. Today, I decided for for sure that I have absolutely never been stung in my past 29 years because I got stung.  Now, there have been plenty of opportunities for this to happen in my lifetime. As a child I remember a big scary tree in our front yard that constantly had bees surrounding it. I lived in the woods growing up, so bees among other insects were always out and about. Then I came to Mongolia. My family had a bee farm, I helped them one day collect honey. I touched dozens of screens filled with bees. Today however, I did nothing to put myself in a bees line of fire.  I went to the bathroom, opened the door and bam, I was hit! I looked down in time to see the zoogie (bee) stinging my arm and swatted it away. I came to Mongolia, and got stung by a bee...

The Campers FINALLY came Day 1!

The campers have finally showed up. Since the camp is Alvin and the chipmunk themed I am one of the Simon camp leaders. Today we introduced ourselves and had a competition with different activities. I played a game with a ball and a timer. The quickest time got the most point!

It was a fairly relaxed day and after dinner we had a dance party. The campers were semi into it but i think they were tired from traveling from UB so not many of them danced (which was suprising because Mongolians loved to dance. It also rained all day so that put a bit of a damper on things.

 Day 2: Simon group!

Today we split the kiddos into three groups for English, Elementary, advanced and super advanced. Since there was 45 of them and a 15 minute conversation with everyone would have taken all day I did a quick assessment of the kiddos language through an ice breaker in each group (simon, alvin, theodore).  I somehow have ended up with 21 kids in my class as I am working with the super advanced group and I am sure that some of them will drop to advanced. The night English game class was cancelled due to the rain. It has been wet and cold here for two days now and I predict tomorrow will be much the same. There was a movie night that they held but since it was completely in Mongolian  chose to take an amar (rest).

Day 3: English Lessons

Today I had my first lesson. As hypothesized, 3-4 campers left my group. I made it very clear from the beginning that if they did not understand the lesson, they needed to talk to me and move to the advanced class because nothing is more frustrating then not understanding. I also made them mini books that they can use as notebooks for classes and lifeskills.  I used the English curriculum I was given but found it difficult to explain past participle and past simple. Until  I came to Mongolia I didn’t know that we had so many tenses and grammatical jargon. Growing up, I loved English class and now I find myself slightly annoyed with it. We didn’t have time to do lifeskills today which I was a bit bummed out by but, we will do Stress Management first thing tomorrow. It seems like it is going to be a busy day. I have a group meeting today and then Engish games and a concert of sorts to attend tonight. Tomorrow is supposed to be sunny, and I have a feeling that it is going to be a super busy week, which can be good because time should go rather quickly. Next Saturday my mom comes so I am hopeful that this week does in fact go rather quickly!

Day 4: More performances

Last night was a lot of fun. The kids performed dances, songs, and skits. I was really impressed with some of the guys who danced. One moved just like a robot. Stilted moves in perfect positions, while the other was a bit more smooth in the way he danced, even doing the moonwalk at one point. It was really cool to watch them, and made me want to learn how to dance like them.  There was also this little guy in one group that was about 8 years old, 4 feet tall and had a bit of a belly. He came out in front of his group with sunglasses a low hat on a ton of attitude,  and started break dancing. At the end he pulled up his shirt to show drawn on abs and pecs. It was hysterical! The night ended up a meeting at 10 which lasted about an hour.  In the meeting pictures were shown of everything we have done and gifts and certificates were given out to some staff. At this point, I expect this kind of activity. Literally, there are certificates and gifts for everything.

Today I had a group of 11 in my English class which was perfect. We started lifeskills and they loved it! It was so successful that we ran out of time and will have to continue skits tomorrow. It was also really neat because the kids worked together and really enjoyed performing the skits I created. They have all been talking about stress today so it’s rather amusing.

Today was also sports game at the camp. The children had a basketball tournament that went from 2pm till supper time around 6. After supper they played a form of capture the flag, it was called “Night Fight” and required players to get arm bands off of eachother. As far as I could tell, not everyone playing had an arm band. There were two teams and they would run out, knock another team member down by wrestling them or “fighting” them to the ground and take their arm band. The arm band would be given to the staff who would then check the number on the armband to the list of students they had in front of them.  From what I can assume, one number was the flag. Since it was  night-time, and there were no lights on the field I just had to guess what was going on.

Day 5: The fashion show

I was asked to be in a fashion show the last night I was at camp. I had no idea what this meant but was asked to wear a fancy dress. Since I didn't have a fancy dress about half way through the day I was told I could wear my cowboy boots and be a cowboy. They students were busily making their ruway outfits so I was mostly left to my own devices, only checking in when needed. When the time came for the fashion show I put in a tank, my white button up, jeans and boots. Then, the Mongolian counselors made my tie up my shirt. They had made a runway out of carpet and I had to actually strut down it to music while the children clapped and the judges rated. All of the counselors were involved so at least I wasn't alone. After we all had our 5 minutes on the runway, the show began. Students showed what they had worked so hard on and I for one was incredibly impressed. My group won the first time ever. It was a nice ending to my stay at the camp, as the next day I would be leaving. 

The last camp I participated in this summer was for individuals with disabilities. Two days a week for two weeks (which wasn't much) I went to the American center and focused on speaking as it pertained to the lesson someone would teach in the morning. It was a great experience to have and I enjoyed the enthusiasm of the group I was working with. While I only participated in the camp for a short time, I look forward to helping out the "We can" NGO who headed the group in their endeavors next year.

MoM's AdVenTurEs In MoNGoLia!

Coming to Mongolia is difficult. You have one 14 hour flight after of course you have take a flight from wherever you live in the states to an international airport and then when you get off that 14 hour flight you have another 3.5 hour flight from Seoul to Mongolia. It is a trek to say the least! Initially, mom was suppose to have a flight leaving around noon on Friday from the states (makes it Friday night in mongolia). However her plane had a tire malfunction and so she couldn't leave til that night (which was Saturday morning our time.  This meant that by the time she got here she had already traveled 30 something hours. And because we already had an extremely tight schedule so we could get to my site as well as ride a camel in the Gobi we had to leave only  a mere three hours after she got here. Since her flight was messed up, her baggage didn't make it to UB with her. Not only did this cause frustration for her, but also for me since I could see her wandering around looking for her baggage and had explained numerous times to security that she needed help and didn't speak Mongolian, and they wouldn't let me in to talk to her. After basically walking past the guards after everyone had left, and ignoring their huffs about crossing into the baggage area like I had previously seen three Mongolians do, I quickly used what little Mongolian pertaining to this problem I had. I also called a Mongolian friend to help translate. They stated moms bags would be in Mongolia tonight so we decided they would drop the baggage off at Marc's and mom and I would go shopping and get her some clothing and then head to Arkhangai in a private car since there would be no way to make the bus.
I was really excited about the private car to Arkhangai but soon realized that I had made a mistake when the driver started driving like a bat out of hell on the not so great road. It was absolutely terrifying and we didn't stop until we made it to the halfway point three hours later (it usually takes about 4, and even longer since the road has been dug up). After a brief stop where we felt like we were running around because this guy was in such a hurry we got back into the car and finished the trek which took another 3.5 hours but probably should have take 4.5 or more.
 After checking in to Fairfields it was lights out!

 The next day ma and I gradually woke up got dressed, had breakfast and headed to my Ger to meet my Khasha Family. My Khasha mom and dad were very pleased to see me and came running out to greet me and meet my mom. Seeing the ger for the first time was interesting for my mom I think. Though she wasn't completely shocked at where I lived because she had seen it before, it was such a different atmosphere from her experience as a PCV in Guatemala City. I was also introduced to my Khasha puppy, who they named Johnny. I have decided that they probably thought Johnny was the male version of Jenny. It was also here where mom got her first taste of Suuteatea. The Mongolian milk tea. She didn't like it. She also got to experience the exuberant amount of food Mongolian's always have on hand. I explained it was ok for her not to eat it and to say no. They also didn't pour Mongolia Vodka which i was happy about, as was she. Pretty much all of my counterparts were away in the countryside and the only other person I could visit was Nara, and English teacher. It was nice for mom to get to talk to her because she speaks such great English! After a brief visit with her it was onto the school to see where I work and then back to Fairfields through a quick detour through the black market, and then it was onto the hot springs.  

Since I accidently had upgraded our room from a ger to an actual room in the resort with a bathroom, we were needless to say very comfortable. The hot springs are fed from a natural spring through pipes and were empty when we arrived so after putting our things down and changing we enjoyed the rest in the hot springs for about a half hour, until a hail producing thunderstorm hit! It was a lot of  fun to watch. Unfortunately they had to wait to turn the water back on because it would get murky and muddy if done too soon, so the water was warm instead of hot. We were also told that there was a chef that they flew in from the Philippines, but it was clear that a Mongolian cook was working because the food was very typical Mongolian food. Rice in a mound, one egg, salad with mayo, etc. It was a good thing we did not go for the food. While the resort was beautiful and the room rustic but comfortable, you could hear every sound, including the guy snoring in the next room. Mongolian's also tend to party a great deal and sometimes children tend to be left to their own accord. Needless to say I had to say stop please and quite etc, to get kids to stop screaming and jumping around next door to us and outside our door. Luckily, everyone quieted down pretty quickly after I said something. While the hot springs were not busy at all during the day, at night it got packed. Everyone had decided to come out, but only stayed for about 15 minutes. Mom and I were able to stay till everyone had gone and relax a bit before taking a shower and heading back up to the room.

 The next day, I showed mom where the springs come out. She really enjoyed it and the views around the area. After a quick dip where we rushed out because we thought it was an hour later than it was, we sat outside and waited for our food to be ready. When we sat down at the table for lunch, our meal was still not ready even though I had said we had to eat at a specific time because a car was coming to collect us.  As do most things in Mongolia, it worked out. We finished our meal and headed back to Fairfields to catch the next car that would be taking us to Ulaanbaatar. Unfortunately on the way back we had the same driver as on the way there and it was even more terrifying then the first time! The driver was falling asleep, even hitting a pothole that destroyed one of his tires, leaving an irreparable slice in it. When it became dark it was worse. We were just waiting for a head on collision or a side swipe. When we got back to the outskirts of the city he had even more disregard for our life, almost crashing into the back of a car. Had mom and I not screamed we would have most likely been in a horrific accident. We prayed after getting out of the car that we would never see the guy again. Little did we know, we would see him two more times!

In UB we spent one night in the Ulaanbaatar hotel and one in the Blue Sky Hotel. The UB hotel was beautiful for how old it was. We even got to see part of Suukbaatar Square if we craned our necks towards the left side of the window. It was nice to sit still after such a terrifying ride.

At breakfast we had a delicious array of foods that made us feel much more awake and lively. Since we could not check into our hotel yet, we went shopping after dropping our bags at Marcs and sorting through what we would need. First stop was the cashmere Factory.

We both found gloves and scarves and I got a nice had and blanket. Mom also got cute little booties for a friends baby.  We then went back to Marc's to drop off our shopping successes and grabbed our night bag and the next couple at the Gobi and headed to the Blue Sky. Since I had called months ago and requested a good room and a discount for my mom and I, we somehow finagled the 18th floor. It was everything I had asked for and more, and I was really excited they had actually listened to my requests. After checking in a vegging a bit we headed to the State Department Store (Ick Del Gor),
 

and then Mary and Martha's, which has felt Khasik and Mongolian goods, like purses, ties, scarves, christmas ornaments etc . I found an amazing dress and we got lots of tidbits for people. In the first day of shopping we managed to get all of the Christmas shopping completed. It was a good day! For dinner we went to Ivy's and had a delicious meal with Marc. It was the perfect night to the perfect day.

                                                              
The next morning we headed to the airport to go to Dalandzag. It was a quick trip, about and hour and a half and our driver Hishgee was waiting for us. He drove us another 2.5 hours to the flaming cliffs and camels. The entire ride I was expecting to see sand dunes and camels but it was all rock and dust. It was a surprise for sure. When we got there we went into a nomadic families ger to wait. about 30 minutes after waiting for the family to go pick up their camels, a German couple came in as well. It was amusing to see them so confused, waiting for the camels to come. It was only when we had gotten there that we were told we would need hats and water for our hour ride. Since we didn't have hats, we used our shirts as bandannas. Everyone was very amused by this. When it was time to ride the camels, the German couple rode less than 15 minutes but mom and I bucked up and rode for the full hour. It was fun but my camel clearly wasn't having it that day and made quite a noise. In order to make it sit at times, the Khasha brothers were twisting it's tail because it would not sit down to let me off. Black camel, as mine was called made quite a noise. Mom's camel was named Brown camel and it was pleasant and easy going. We walked all the way to the water well and the camels wouldn't drink for the life of them. It was clear by their pace on the way back that they just wanted to get home and rest. This specific Khasha family has over 100 camels and they move 8 kilometers away in the winter. Since hills are in the direction where they are pointing I can only assume that it provides some protection from the harsh winter winds. After the ride, we were able to eat dried meat and rice with the Khasha family. It was a delicious lunch and even mom was impressed!

On the way back we saw the flaming cliffs. I had hoped to see them at sunset but it just didn't work out. The cliffs were not at all what i thought they would be, and if you have seen Santa Fe sand and rocks and cliffs or the Grand Canon, it was a bit underwhelming.  We got back to town about 5:30 and went to where we thought we would be staying, the DZ hotel. 20 minutes later I realized I was wrong and we were actually staying a few blocks away at the new hotel Khan Uul. The lady did not appear amused. After checking into our room we just wanted to rest in AC and clean up after the dirty day. Unfortunately,  there was no ac. It was nice to rest with nothing on our agenda for the night after a long few days of travel!

The next morning at the crack of dawn we got up and drove to the airport to come back to the city. After landing back in UB and repacking everything for the third time we made our way to the Naraantuul (the black market). After shopping we headed out but took a wrong turn towards the exit and ended up in the food container section with big trucks and sketchy people. It also started to rain heavily. 

As we made wrong turn after wrong turn and went from one alley to the next it became more and more clear to everyone that we were lost. After one last turn, a man pointed us in the right direction. It was evident we needed to go right instead of left. After hopping in a cab that took us back to Marc's we got our bags and headed back to the Blue Sky. We got the same room as before, it was exciting! That night we went to the Step inn at the British Embassy to meet some of mine and Marc's friends. It was great fun and mom enjoyed meeting everyone! After, we went to Blue Fin for some sushi and other tasty morsels. It was a wonderful last night and everyone really seemed to enjoy themselves.

The next day mom and I did a lot of resting with some shopping of last minute gifts for people in between. We ordered pizza and relaxed until deciding to go out for Mexican at Mexihan for our last meal.
After gathering our things from the hotel, Marc and I took ma to the airport. It was a sad departure filled with tears but I couldn't be happier that she made the arduous trek to have an adventure with me in Mongolia.

Pictures of us are pending since we took all of them on Mom's phone!

It'S GetTiNg HaWT OuT ThErrRe!

The ice and snow has melted, the birds are chirping away and Mongolia's cattle is giving birth to their young. It's finnnnalllly Summer!  I have sustained an incredible sunburn where everything from my face and chest to my legs have peeled and have enjoyed warm hikes outside.
As Mongolia becomes more green, and school has closed, Mongolian's are visiting the countryside at a high rate.  When I got back from UB last week I was asked to go on such an excursion with people from my school. When I arrived at school at 9:45 (we were supposed to leave at 10), which means I gave myself reasonable time to situate my things (in Mongolian, 10 really means 10:30 or 11). The meeker packing started about 11:30 and we didn't really leave till about 12:15 or 12:30.

I made the mistake of waiting and being one of the last in the meeker and my teachers immediately had me sit in the tinniest spot available. I have found another spot in a meeker that I will never sit in again! It was a corner seat that was quite literally meant for a 6 year old. There were bags on the floor in front of me and I had to either cross my ankles or halfway perch one foot on the bag and the other onto someone's foot to my right that had their foot on the floor. Quite literally I had absolutely no where to put my feet. Also, in the Mongolian culture it is not only rude to show people the bottom of your shoe, but to step on their feet is extremely rude. Mongolian's are consistently cleaning and shining their shoes as well . There was also a much larger women leaning back on my knees (so what foot I could get onto the suitcase was being sat on and was falling asleep). All in all, there were 17 of us in the back of the meeker with suitcases, and two up front, plus the driver. Of course since this was a start of vacation and a celebratory time, the vodka was out and in full swing. If you are able to hold your ground and turn it down three times with a firm voice, you can stop drinking it;-)

About an hour out of Tsetserleg we stopped for food, bathroom breaks and rest. It was such an amazing place that we stopped at. I loved it. Rolling hills, a broken down Khasha. It was picturesque. Some of the Mongolian's played volleyball while some sat and ate snacks on the grass. After our stop I stated that I was unable to sit in the spot because I have bad knees. Not really a lie, as I have tendinitis from years of dance that still flares up. At that point was starting to act up because of the sitting arrangement.

 My Khasha Mom Nara and I.

My Conterpart Togohtoo.

 As you can see, Mongolian's love pictures. Over the weekend, when all was said and done I had gone through 4 sets of batteries (not that the batteries are great in Mongolia) and had taken over 300 pictures. In this blog, I managed to carefully select 79 pics!

 Mongolians are also not known for smiling in pictures. Everything is very serious so I always stick out like a sore thumb!

Mongolian's love Volleyball! They will play it basically whenever they can.

Around 5pm, we finally arrived at our destination!

I had, at this point no idea what was going on. It is so normal to just get out of the meeker for a a little bit and then rapidly pack things up and get back in the meeker. In this perspective, Mongolian life moves very quickly! So, when we stopped at 5pm I just assumed it was another brief pause in our journey. About 30 minutes after the stop I realized it was permanent because we went back to the meekers, got out our stuff and started setting up tents. It was such a beautiful location that I was thrilled to be staying there the night. I was also enthused to get out of the cramped travel quarters.


Tsagaan Kmairhan tourist camp; I am assuming that this was where we stayed, but this sign was slightly down the road!

I stayed in the tent (that's behind us with my Khasha mom and another coworker!

They hung the meat in the tree so that the local cows and other unseen animals couldn't get to it. I did wonder about squirrel interest however!

One of the pots started out as tea, then gradually became gittis (animal intestines) It is actually not bad tasting, just some parts like the stomach are tough to chew and not at al appetizing. 

Mongolians' love to sing. At night we stood around the fire singing Mongolian songs and dancing as we held hands. It was a lot of fun!

Since this was an end of the year celebration, gifts for hard work were given. Gifts usually included chocolates of some kind and vodka or darse (wine)

The next day I was awakened by Nara my Khasha mom telling me to come eat. I explained that I had brought trail mix and I am not used to eating meat in the morning to keep from having soup with mutton (sheep meat) in the morning. I love bacon but cannot get past mutton that early! It was really hard to get out of my sleeping bag that first morning because it was incredibly damp out. The tent walls were soaked (thankfully we had a pad under us or we would have been soaked too).  The ground was completely marsh-like. 

When i got up I was hurried out of my tent to join a walk with the group. I assumed it would be a short walk and since everyone was rearing to go had no time to brush my hair or face or sunscreen. Big mistake...HUGE mistake. The first stop was not far from camp, it was pretty much on the hill and it was this natural hot spring.

In this particular hot-spring it is not deep enough to sit in while wearing a swim suit. However, there is a place you can sit and rest. It is supposed to give you energy! First you sit on a set of rocks like you are in  a chair, on your hands. The warmth will go into your hands and give you energy.

After you sit in the chair on your hands, you are supposed to turn around and breath in the steam that rises from a little hole in the rocks. It was actually really refreshing after the previous nights festivities and waking up so damp. 
While I didn't know it at the time, I would need all the energy I could get for what was in store for me after leaving this are!

When we left to hot-springs we started hiking into the woods. Here is a local flower that you are supposed to smell, sit by or in a patch of them and again, they are supposed to give you energy. They were really beautiful flowers!

After 5 kilometers we got to this rock. цагаан уул (Tsaagain Olth). I forget the last part of the name, it was something that sounded like hairhoren. The first two words mean white mountain in mongolian. It was a sacred area in the middle of the woods that had been around for an incredibly long time. I believe someone told me the year 900 but you never know and Mongolian's will guess. This was our entire group and I didn't realize it until everyone had scattered but the man we asked to take the picture somehow put my camera on the fishbowl effect so it came out like this!

The rock lived up to its name Tssagan Uulth because it was seriously huge!
On the other side of the rock people would leave and light candles, milk in bottles as well as throw milk around the grounds, money and other tidbits.

The sign as you walked onto the premises.

On the walk back! Everyone was asking me to take pictures. I must remember to get better batteries next time!

Back at camp I hurridly went to the river to clean up, brush my teeth and put sunscreen on my already frying face. My Khasha mom then asked if I wanted to wash up in warm water and said I could swim in hot springs as well. At least that was what i was sure she said. So I got shorts and a tank and followed her and a friend to the shower rooms. There were three showers in one room and no changing room. It was awkward but one in rome..you get undressed as hurriedly as possible look at your toes and run to the shower. Afterwards I dried off with the shorts and tank because i thought I had misunderstood and there weren't really hot springs to swim in. I hadn't seen them! I was wrong. I quickly realized my mistake and was able to change in a changing room into my shorts and tee and soak in the pleasant pool of hot water. The natural minerals in the water made me feel so fresh and my skin so soft that it was a little slice of heaven after the previous days activities and the unexpected hike in the morning.

Before going to the hot-springs, this cow walked up to me and licked my arm as I was putting sunscreen on my arm. It started wandering the camp for food after that. I tried to feed it my apple core but this cow preferred bread (not super strange, and leftover meat) which i did find extremely strange. When he started to nudge people as they were sitting on the ground he was escorted away with sticks and yells of Yoush (a sound Mongolians make to cattle to get them to move from place to place.)

After we packed everything back up, including ourselves into the meeker we spent about an hour traveling to the Orkhon Waterfall.

At 20 meters, (if my math is correct that's 60 feet) this is Mongolian's tallest waterfall and wikipedia suggests that the it was formed from volcanic eruptions and earthquakes that happened approximately 20,000 years ago.

I had to get my picture taken here! and so did everyone else:-)

 

 Photo Bombed: this little boy managed to turn around just in time for me to take this pic. He was absolutely adorable!

When we left the waterfall we traveled another half hour towards a river and unpacked everything again. People spent a lot more time resting in their tents when we got there than they had the previous night.

My Khasha mom is a nurse. Mongolian's will often hook themselves up to an iv with saline solution when they are feeling tired or sick. In my friends health department, the ladies will tape the IV's to the walls in the afternoons frequently. I don't often see Mongolian's drinking water so this could be the problem. Mongolians often drink tea or suu tea tea (Mongolian Milk tea that usually has salt in it.

As night fell it got colder than it had been the first night. The wind was blowing like crazy and sitting close to the fire with a blanket allowed you a bit of warmth but also yielded a ton of smoke in your eyes. At some point in the night I had to give up and go to bed not because I was just freezing but because I could barely keep my eyes open from all the smoke that was blowing in them. Mongolian deels are smart, and super warm. There are deels for winter that are lined, as well as summer and fall and have been used by Mongolian's forever. Pictured to the right is my Khasha mom in her Deel, she also won that fancy tea set:-)

The next morning as we packed up a pack of Hawks started soaring above us and grabbing leftovers off the ground. It was really neat to see them!

That morning I had noodles, after sleeping completely covered from head to toe in my sleeping bag I welcomed the warm breakfast.

Another stop on our way to our next destination.Everyone got out to walk and wash up in the river. I got out to walk in case the bridge collapsed.

After about 45 minutes the meekers stopped and we walked up a ridiculously steep hill. I had barely put on my sunscreen and my hiking boots when we were off on another hike. I asked again how many kilometers this would be and no one seemed to know but I do know that this walk felt longer than the last.

This was supposed to bring you luck. The Mongolian who took my picture couldn't quite figure out the camera and she didn't tell me when she was taking it. This is my most successful "Mongolian picture face".

When we got to the top of another hill I was able to see where we had walked into the forest. This is zoomed in and the treeline is where we started.

We came across this sacred place in the woods and I was wondering if this was our end destination. I was at the front pack of the hike with a much older lady that went incredibly fast when she was hiking. We went around the stick tepee twice and we were on our way. 

This is a close up of a type of pine tree. I loved the moss that occupied the branches.

Tuvkhun Monastery was our final destination on our trek through the woods. The monastery is located on a mountainside which sits on the boarder of Arkhangai and Uvurhangai provinces. Bogd Gegeen Zanabazar who was a descendent of Ghengis Khan was recognized by the Dalai Lama and Panchen Lama as a living Buddha. In 1648 when he was he was 14 he chose to build the temple. Construction began in 1651 and In 1688 soldiers of Oirad destroyed the temple and in 1722 it was restored. In 1992 it was taken under state protection.

These steps take you up to the temple.

When we got into the Fence-line (Khasha) there was a well and they were giving people water out of it. Since I was out of water I got some. I didn't initially look and was thrilled at how cold the water was. It was only after I gulped down a large amount of water that i was told to look inside. The water had dead bugs at the top of it and I could have touched the top of the well if i had stuck my arm in. It was also not deep at all. I could see bottom. I was of course incredibly worried that I was going to get sick but luckily did not!

The meditation cave was very small. I would have been claustrophobic occupying it for that long!

The entrance to the meditation cave.

My group got very concerned
about how high up I was. They were all asking me to come down at this point.

The prayer temple was one of the three temples you saw when you came into the gates of the monastery.

The Lavrin Temple was one of the first temples when you entered the gates to the temple.

This temple sat halfway up the mountain in a little house.

The border of Uvorhangai.

This cave symbolizes rebirth. You are required to cover your shoulders and take off all your jewelry.

I'm ready!

I'm a new Jenn!

This hole that is situated next to the womb hole, goes to the other side of the mountain where you can see Arkhangai the province or aimag where I live)!

This tree was the last stop at the monastery.

It was incredible that you couldn't see the temple from the ground!

When we got back on the ground the Monks were chanting. It was really cool to see and to hear!

As I was leaving I got this picture of a monk on the rocks in front of the Monastery.

After we about six of us made it to the bottom of the hill we waited for the others to get back. After about 45 minutes it was determined by one of the workers that we would meet them near the Monastery instead of waiting for them to hike back. We drove for about a half hour and then waited another 45 minutes. Some wires must have gotten crossed because before I knew it we were heading back up the hill. For the next hour or so people were picked up and dropped off where we started to cook dinner. At approximately 9:30 or 10 we left and I arrived home around 2:30. I was exhausted from the long weekend and couldn't wait to see my bed and heat my Ger to a cool 80 degrees! I spent most of Monday recuperating and cleaning and shopping for food! It was an unforgettable three days and I was so happy I was asked to go!