6/13/2013 One WeEk LaTEr!

Tomorrow, I have officially been in Shammar a week. I am loving every moment of it…except for the bathrooms which are outhouses with no toilet seat and missing boards in the floor. If you are a girl you can relate to how hard it can be to aim while squatting. On a positive note, my thighs will be wicked toned when I leave. THis week was HARD. My class is moving quickly in learning the language. WE have learned how are you, how did you sleep, where are you from, what is your name, bye, stand up , sit down, I am eating an apple, listen, read a book, study, I am a Peace Corps Volunteer….etc. WE are also learning how to write in Cyrilic. Did I mention….the language is INSANE? THe alphabet has 38 letters and numerous vowels. Ah, eh, e, ee, ya, yeah, yo, y, uh, oh, are just the vowels. I am starting to get the hang of it but practicing every night is completely necessary. Tomorrow, we will be breaking up into two different classes. One half of the class will learn a lot in a short amount of time and will practice more next month and another will practice more this month and then next month will learn a lot of materials. It is a tough decision as to which class you decide to be in. THe peace corps placement office will also talk to us to decide what accommodations we want to live in. A Ger, house, or apartment. I have decided that I DO NOT want an apartment because if the electricity goes out in the dead of winter I do not want to have to pack it up for a night or two or a week and move to a friends house because its negative 50 out. If you live in a house of Ger you will have a woodstove. While they are both more work, and usually do not have running water, being warm is at the top of my priority list.

Today we learned a few games. Mongolians play a game called SHAGAI. You play with sheep ankle bones.  Each side represents a different animal. One side represents a camel, another a horse, another a sheep, and lastly a goat The game starts when one player tosses all the pieces onto the ground.. You roll all of the bones, (similar to rolling die) and you flick one bone into a nearby matching bone (similar to pool). IE..if you have a bone that lands on the horse side you have have to find another bone that is on the horse side and flick the first bone against that one. If you are successful, you keep whatever piece does not match another nearby piece. You continue this until the game pieces are all gone. It is a really fun game and there is a lot of thought that goes into the game.  There is also horse racing. You line up the bones, and your pieces. You have four bones that you roll and if one, two, three, or all four land on the horse side you move your pieces accordingly. Whoever reaches the end of the line of bones first wins!

I am learning so much here, from Dana and her father (Pec) and mother (Torga), and Dana’s nephew in law (Gondolig). He is 8 but in Mongolian years he is 9 because they count the time that the fetus is in the womb as a full year.  Mongolians are very hospitable people. If you show up at anyones house, they usually have something for you to eat and drink. I asked Dana yesterday why everyone tries to feed us so much and she told me that if the belly is full you will not miss home.

June 9, THE TUMPIN!!!

Today I was told that I could sleep all day. I don’t know if it was just because I was here or what, but at 9 a.m everyone was up and about. After a breakfast of about three kinds of talhlk (bread) I decided to take a shower. I am beyond pleased that I have running HOT water for a shower. But I also have to be cognizant of how much water I use because when It runs out of the electric water heater that it would take 20 minutes to warm more water up. Knowing this, I used my tumpin for the first time so I could shave my legs. A tumpin is a round plastic bin that you sit in to wash. It is barely big enough for me to sit in so I can only imagine how hard it was for some of the 6 foot volunteers to bathe!

After learning head, shoulders, knees and toes from Dana in Mongolian we left for the school. It is about a mile away uphill. The view walking up the steep his is just amazing. I am actually glad that I was placed downhill instead of on the plateau where most of my volunteer friends were placed. After shots we walked around Shaamar (near the school) and saw the other homes that people were living in, and then I headed home since it looked as if it would rain. Homemade pasta soup with Yamaa (Goat) intestines was for dinner, and was actually delicious! Dana tells me she will teach me how to make homemade pasta; I am looking forward to it.

June 8-9, 2013 GaMeS and Views

Dana’s sister (Toya) and brother (Hoya at least that is what I think his name is) in law came over today.  Toya is very interested in learning English so she and I worked on her English and my Mongolian. They pick it up so fast here. But I also know that some of them have been training for years. I am so lucky that Dana speaks such amazing English. Around 3 Toya and Hoya decided they would take me up the hills into the woods to pick some seeds off the trees. I am told they will be planted but do not know when that will be. After, we went to visit a family friend of theirs. Scott is staying with their family friend, Jake and Cal are near as well so everyone came over, played a matching game with bones, (Shagi) and drank some Russian beer. When it was time to leave, about 9:30 we went home and there was corn beef has with other things mixed in with it. It was pretty tasty, and it didn’t take me very long before I retired to bed for the night.

My homestay family is amazing! They give me space but always include me in things. They do funny things sometimes too. Dana is always asking me if I want more food, or if I want to take a nap. Torga is always smiling at me and when I ask her something she will usually follow me around until I somehow communicate what I want.  My homestay is on a little farm with 18 Unee (cow), two mores (cats), and two nohjey (dogs). Behind my house there are hills that overlook the som (town), and off in the distance you can see the mountains. It is simply beautiful and peaceful here.  No wonder I am sleeping so well.

June 7, 2013 CYD GoeS to the StICkS...SHAMMAR!

Picture this, you wake up, have a good hardy breakfast consisting of a cheeseburger with cucumber, pack your already overly stuffed bags with training  books, a water filtration system and sleeping bag that the Peace Corps provided you; and jump on a retro looking van to your homestay training destination with 11 other people. It’s an hour and a half ride with a couple stops along the way to tourist  spots that you know nothing about. You can cut the tense excitement with a knife.  Will your family like you? Will you like them? What will the living condition be like? Will they like your homestay gift? So many questions are running through your head as you travel from green hills and valley’s to an indigenous forest. This is not the landscape you were in an hour ago. This is new. It is as if you stepped into yet another country.  You finally get to your destination and are greeted with a plethora of children and families. You are offered milk, and candy.  People start leaving one by one with their families and you and two other people are left wondering when they will get a glimpse of your new family. You turn around right as a short and adorable old man comes up.  “Jennifer”, Zahar says, “this is who you will be staying with!”.  A short ride back to his house, you meet Pec’s wife Torgo a retired nurse,, daughter in law,  Dana who used to be an international tour guide, her husband Suudam (Named for his beard, similar to that of Saadam Husain) who is a farmer, and Michellet their 11 month year old daughter; over warm milk, Johnny, and some other fruit cake. Dana speaks fantastic English so you think, this transition will be easier than initially thought.  You meet the pets, two Hasha Dogs (Nahajo), two cats (More), cows (oonay) and some calves and you realize that this is going to be a blast!

So, you have met the family, learned about everyone in the family and have someone you can talk to in English. It’s now time to eat a real meal.  A londeon so to speak because it is at 3pm. Outside there is a small wooden round hut with amosquito nets around it. You walk around to the side and through the small doorway. Inside there is a woodstove and a table with chairs and a bench.  On top of the table there is a cutting board and various bowels. You notice the top of the stove has a huge metal bowl on top of it and inside are unrecognizable mach (meat).  You ask “IN YOU WAY?” What is it pointing at the meat.  “Yamaa” Torgo replies. You continue to point around the bowl “In you way, in you way, in you way?”  Stomach, intestine, liver, lungs some other indistinguishable part. You look at a red substance on the table…you ask again “In you way?”.  “Tsus, or blood” Dana reply’s. You won’t what will be done with the Tsus and you don’t have to wait long because Torga picks it up and with Dana’s help pours it into the small intestines. Well, you think this is the moment of truth! You have to learn to survive from the traditions of the people and you have three months to learn it before you go of on your own.

This is day one of living with a traditional Mongolian family. After about a second of thinking about it, I decide to help. I held the Yamaa intestines while Torga  dumped in the tsus and untwisted the intestines so the blood trinkled down. It looked like uncooked sausage. Next, was the stomach. Blood was dumped into this as well. I realized fairly early on that I probably should have taken my bracelets of, but made due by pushing them up my arm with my wrist. I was glad I did because when I got done helping Torga and Dana cook, I looked down at my hands and they were caked in blood. After placing the meat In the boiling water that was in the metal bowl on the woodstove, and a thorough handwashing, it was time to eat. THe meat was placed into another bowl and brought inside. As my family father Pec cut the meat from various parts and placed them on my plate, I wondered how I was going to do with the various bloody parts. I started with the meat I have had before. Liver, then lungs. He cut my off a piece of the intestines and the stomach. Inside, the blood had become solid…a jelly like substance. I threw it into my mouth and started chewing….and it wasn’t that bad. It was rich, but did not taste horrible. I was thrilled. I had survived my first traditional meal, Yamaa and I didn’t get sick or dislike it.

After unpacking and a nap, I took a quick hike up the hills that were behind the house. It was yet another spectacular view. You could see the entire town, and mountains way off in the distance. When I got back home Torga took my across the street to show me the Jimays or Fruit that they were growing. She also grabbed some Mot (wood) for the Gothhh (fire).  Since Pec was going to a convention for earth day and would be gone for two days his coworkers came (Environmental officers). I had heard that we would be offered vodka and if we could just take a quick sip instead of drinking the whole thing it would be easier to obtain respect because they would know we were not there to party but we also wouldn’t be turning their offering down so we would also be respectful. I was happy when, after I took a sip they did not pressure me into drinking more. It was perfect! After everyone had drank a bit of the vodka The male of the group who first was offered the vodka did the traditional offering by dipping his fingers in and flicking it up and to the side. It was really neat to see.

By nine I was in bed tonight. It was an exciting but exhausting day! Reflecting back on it, I am glad that I tried everything, and even tried to cook a little. I am looking forward to getting to know this family more and learning the language better in the coming months.

June 3rd-5th- RoLlINg HilLs and EndLess Sky'S of BluE!

June 3rd! DUNKHAR!

The third we travelled to Dunkhar. It was a four hour drive. We kept ourselves busy with trivia, and just checking out the countryside. I now understand why they call it land of blue skys and rolling hills. For as far as the eye can see you see landscape, hills, and the occasional sheep herder with his flock. Of course there is also the small villages…(I use the words village loosly because you may see 2 Gers or 20 huts with a fence around them). I can completely see why so much of Mongolia is practically untouched.

 

June 4 Welcome Ceremony!

Today we had our first day of language class and orientation! The welcome ceremony was AMAZING. The had a dancer, two singers, a flexible little girl and a little girl who played a interesting looking instrument.

       

         

Language class went by extrememly fast. I learned basics…hello, proper and inproper, my name is, excuse me. Etc. THe language is hard but doable with practice. They have sounds that are not in the American vocabulary. OOOO’s and aaaahs, and throat growling, tongue flipping etc. It’s great!

We also broke into our groups so I was with all of the Community and Youth development volunteers.I learned that past volunteers in CYD had created a plethora of programs for their community. From creating and opening a development center to creating fitness and health clubs, to peer education programs.  Needs are  communitybased so, I am excited to get to my final site and work with my counterpart (which is a Mongolian local) and determine how I can help. 

WE received our health kits today! I have medication for every ailment I could possibly get! In the next week or so we are supposed to receive our medication for the BUBONIC PLAGUE!!! While no one has gotten the plague, apparently we could if  Marmot is not prepared properly!

 On a side note, I will NEVER AGAIN take the availability of toilet paper and FREE WATER for grantide. In the united states we go through paper like no ones business (pun intended).  Water is easily accessible to drink and FREE ANYWHERE.  TOILET PAPER is available in every store, bathroom, restaurant, rest stop etc. Here, it is impossible to find! You have to carry your own toilet paper when you travel because the outhouses do not have it…most business do not have it, even the hotel where we stayed out did not want to give us more toilet paper! It is advisable in Mongolia to buy water bottles and fill it up at the start of everyday out of your own personal water filter. It is so easy to remember how spoiled we are, until we go to another country!

June 5,
      Today we had  Cultural Fair. We learned about the many customs that Mongolians have. For instance, when you are offered food or drink you roll down your sleeves (going through the motion, symbolicly if you don't have them), rest your left hand under your right elbow and take the food palm up. Rolling down up your sleeves symbolizes that you want to fight, so rolling down your sleeves represents that you are here as a friend. You are also supposed to TAP, not hit the bottom of a plate before you take something from the plate itself. When serving people you are supposed to serve from the oldest to the youngest. It is respectful. Mongolians will also try to insist you drink a shot of vodka. It is suggested that the first time you are offered a drink, that you should not take it. If you take a full shot, you will be expected to keep drinking. While the head of the household may be persistent in giving you the drink, it is best to keep denying it so that it is not assumed you are there to get drunk and partaaaay.  When a bottle is opened, Mongolians make an offering by dipping their finger in the vodka and flicking up and to the side.
       As American's we are obsessed with time! How long is it going to take to get there? How long do I have to complete this task etc...In Mongolia if you ask someone these time related questions, especially when it comes to the length of trips, it is considered bad luck because you could jinx the trip!
        Breast milk in this country is considered lucky and will bring god health. In the United States it is taboo to breast feed past one and a half or two....here, it is normal to breast feed till the ages of seven.  It is also believed in Mongolian culture that if an individual is sick, they believe drinking a healthy relatives urine will make them healthy. 
       Below I have uploaded some pictures of what we were able to try yesterday. It is a sheep head and instestines. I Enjoyed, the head, liver, heart, and kidney's but the intestine was foul. I will try to stay away from that if I am served! Children usually will eat the ears and tongue and the rest is left for the adults.

         I also uploaded this picture of horses in the truck. I saw it on the way to dinner and can only assume they are going to be slaughtered since they do eat horse here!             

  
      I saw these little guys yesterday coming home from training. While it is now taboo for our generation to allow children to run around with toy guns, I can only imagine this looks very similiar to the United States when our parents were growing up, as cowboy and indian play was normal!

            

June 2nd- Ulaanbaatar!!!!

 

San Ban-0? (How are you!)

Today was FUN! We woke at 7 and had breakfast at 8a.m. We then got on the bus to head into the city for our rabies and Hep A shots as well as walk around the city. We were told after our Rabies shot to not get bit for 6 weeks (dog bites seem to be very prevalent around the countryside).

We got a flat on the way, which is quite normal for the rough terrain. It took a bit of time to change it but definitely not as long as it takes for triple A to show up in the states!

When we got our shots at the Peace Corps office we were taken in groups to tour the city. Our Peace Corps Training leader was Ned. He was hysterical and quite calm about everything.

 It was a nice change from the security training we had the previous day.  Here are some warnings we received yesterday from the Peace Corps Security Administration:

-In UB pick pocketing is prevalent, so don’t bring a big bag or purse

-People with tattoos are often looked at as being part of a gang

-A previous Peace Corps Volunteer was once walking alone down the street when out of nowhere a Mongolian male slapped her.

-People will slit open your backpacks with a knife

- a female once was checking into a Hostel alone at night, stopped to get cash at 3 am and was followed by a Mongolian Man. I think he tried to slit her bag open but she managed to curb it by turning around before he could.

-If a Mongolian man starts a fight with  you run away because his friends will step in and for lack of better words kick your ass*. There have been Peace Corps Volunteers that have ended up in the hospital because they tried to fight back.

-Never bring all your money because it will get stolen, as well as place your money in separate areas.

So basically do not travel at night, avoid fights, and always be aware.

When I went to UB, I brought my huge purse, all of my money, and money to exchange.  For those of you who know me well, clearly leaving my bag at home was not an option! I did however store a good portion of my money in my boots.  M-24 (our group name) managed to come back to our Gers (pronounced Gars) with all of our money, possessions an more importantly cell phones. There was a running pool going from current volunteers about how many of us would misplace our cell phones the first day we received them.  None of them said zero! No faith!

 While we were in UB, we saw the Parliament Building

There were guards out on the steps. Much like the guards in front of the queen’s palace in England, they do not smile, and do not move. Sometimes they put on shows where they march but, we were not around for that.

Ghengis Kan,  which is really pronounced CHENGIS KAN; There is a statue of him in the very front center of the Parliament building because he was responsible for the fall of the Chinese. He is a very important and respected leader in this country and it is well represented on the Parliament building!

                               

This is the Blue Sky Building. It is a luxury hotel and as you can see is quite trendy and has an amazing view of the city and the countryside!

While these pictures represent the amazing views that you see while walking in the city of UB, the winter air tends to be polluted due to the coal and dung that is burnt to keep warm. Clean energy is costly and it does not exactly correspond with the traditions of the Mongols.  At times, the smog is so bad that planes cannot land in UB.  To curb the traffic in UB, people with certain numbers or letters at the end of their license plates are unable to drive certain days. There is public transportations, buses and cabs, however there is also preliminary discussions of building an underground transportation train system. Since change in UB takes time, this probably will not be built for at least 5-10 years. Pictured below is a coal plant!

Walking around the city, the Mongols tend to keep to themselves. They do not smile or say hi, much like the people of Boston. The traffic is also similar to Boston, and crossing the street is like a free for all.

The cars have steering wheels on both sides, and those cars that do have a steering wheel on the right side have a mirror on the front left side of their hoods.  Mongols also drive on the same side of the road as we do, which really surprised me.

Since the traffic, smog, and risk of pick pocketing risk is higher in the city, they are placing less people in UB. While it would be nice to live in a city of 1.5 million I have decided that a Ger will probably be my preference to live in. While it can be harder, no running water, you have to chop your own firewood and burn your own coal, It is also warmer than the spotty electricity and heat that are in apartments. When it is 50 below, I would rather be warm than have conveniences.

My Group today!

Kaitlynn, Laurie, Karissa, Ned, and Shane. Kaitlynn was my roommate in Washington and we have been inseperable ever since she came up to me at Orientation and apologized profusely for having her clothing strewn from hell to breakfast in our hotel room.  Neither she, nor I even realized we would be having a roommate in Washington!  She is from Kansas and has quickly become a great friend!

NEXT STOP:

DARKHAN (Pronounced Darhan)   

DAY 1= JeTLaG!

I  got up May 30^th at the ungodly hour of 3a.m…It’s now…well…6:30 am the next day (Your time) 7:30 PM mine. Our group of 50 got on two buses this morning at 4 am without a hitch! Airport personnel checked us in (as a group) and three hours later we were sitting at the gate waiting for our quarter to 10 flight.  After a quick layover of 45 minutes we were enroute to Seoul, South Korea. A flight that takes 13 hours.  The plane was gorgeous, and had ridiculous seating for first and business class passengers.

If I had been privileged enough to gain the first class or business class rediculously spacious seating, I probably would have slept however; I did not so my snoozing was at a minimal. Do you see the seats behind the one I am sitting in? Those were ours.

13 hours later and 2 naps at an hour a piece and we land in SEOUL SOUTH KOREA! THe airport reminds me of a mall, and get this, there are showers. I am not talking showers similiar to those in highschool, where there are shower quarters in a locker room; I am talking about an immaculate, spacious personal bathroom. They hand you a towel, toiletries and everything is FREE.  A completely FREE service. Darn right I took one, and I must say; it was AMAZING! The airport also had massage services, a resting area (with lounge chairs), a lounging area, and multiple other luxuries (although I did not partake in those because they were NOT free).

By the time I showered and ate, it was time to board the last flight. three hours later, we landed in MONGOLIA! After grabbing our bags, we were met by other Peace Corps Volunteers cheering and signs Welcoming us to Mongolia. It was a SURREAL feeling! 

By the time we boarded the buses, drove to our Ger sites and settled in for the night it was 1:30 a.m. It obviously did not take me a great deal of time to pass out!