One week in (6/14/15)

I have been with my host family for one week now, and the M26 group is officially finished with two weeks of PST (pre-service training). Time is very weird in Peace Corps. It feels like it has been ages since Caleb and I were sitting in the airport in Birmingham, waiting to head to San Francisco. At the same time, time is going by quickly. It’s difficult to explain.

I have done a lot of things with my host family over the past week. I helped plant cucumbers in their garden. I have observed and assisted with meal preparations. I have taken a bath and washed clothes in a tunkin (sp?). I have played some of the traditional Mongolian games, which I will explain in more detail later when I have all the correct spelling and terminology to share. I have watched Mongolian TV with my family, which has ranged from Mongolian horse racing and wrestling to “So You Think You Can Dance” with Mongolian dubs. I have gotten used to using a squat toilet.

And I have eaten. And eaten. And eaten. I think I have been doing a good job of politely refusing when I simply can’t eat anymore, even though my family always asks if I want seconds or they keep telling me to eat. I thought before coming here that I would lose weight because I am not used to a heavy meat based diet, but it seems like most of the host families are making sure that doesn’t happen. The food I have been eating with my host family has been quite good, despite the fact that I’m not used to eating steaming hot soup and drinking hot tea when it is 80 degrees outside. I have been eating many variations of soup, with cabbage, carrots, onions, rice, noodles, and meat, and noodle or rice based dishes usually including those vegetables and pieces of goat meat in a non-soup form. There are many variations of dumplings too, which have been a favorite of mine. We had fried dumplings two nights ago that were delicious. They had mostly green onions and little pieces of meat inside. Quite good. Eggs are a favorite for breakfast, either boiled or fried with the yolk not cooked all the way (forgive me egg enthusiasts, but I don’t know what this is called). They have been feeding me well.

(Chicken cage, and view of community)

Another interesting thing I did with my host mom, sister, and brother began with my sister telling me “We are going to pluck.” By this point, I had been eating goat, sheep, and who knows what other type of meat. If I didn’t mention in my previous post, my family has chickens. So, when my sister said this, I thought “YES! We are having chicken tonight!!!” Alas, this did not mean we would be killing and plucking a chicken. Instead, it meant we went outside of our fence behind our house, which is where the cows graze, to collect dried cow dung for fire fuel. My sister’s translator on her phone has been helpful most of the time, but it was off with this one. Anyway, the view in this area is amazing, especially during sunset. It took the four of us about half an hour or so to fill up our containers.

During the week, I have been going to school. It is about a 10-15 minute walk, and there happens to be a significant sandy hill between my home and school. I am still getting used to this, especially as the weather is getting warmer. I am usually sweating a good bit by the time I get there. And it isn’t just once a day, but twice. Our language class starts at 9am until 1pm, with breaks in between. At 1:00pm, we have to go home to eat lunch and be back at the school by 2:30pm for our technical sessions. Eventually the hill will be easy, right? Sure. Technical sessions have us learning Monday and Wednesday-Friday about teaching English. We are also required to “micro-teach,” which is where we will practice teaching to community members throughout PST. On Tuesdays, we have cross cultural sessions where we learn about the Mongolian culture.

(Sandy hill, and view to the west)

It has been almost a week since I’ve seen Caleb. We were luckily able to see each other in Darkhan on Monday when we were getting our second series of shots. I have missed him, but he is coming to my soum next weekend on Saturday and will go back on Sunday. After that, it will be less than two weeks before we see each other again in Darkhan for mid-center days, when the whole group gets together for four days for more training.

Overall, I am doing very well. The language has been tough for me, but I know I’ll get better over time. My family is very welcoming, and I have some pretty amazing views of Mongolia. I have a feeling I am leaving some things out, so please feel free to ask questions in the comments. There is much I am still learning, and I am exciting about moving forward with becoming integrated into the Mongolian culture. 

~Sally

I could definitely live here. Oh wait… (6/7/15)

I DO live here. I LIVE here. I live HERE! Wow. Mongolia is a beautiful country, both the landscape and the culture. I met my host family for the first time on Friday. I love them. I belong here. From the moment they greeted me for the first time, I felt like I was a part of their family. I still am not sure what to call my host dad and mom, whether to go with the Mongolian words for father and mother, or call them by the shortened version of their names, which I confess, I still don’t have a handle on. I have THREE host sisters. Urnaa is 22 and I think has a degree in graphic design and her own photo studio in UB, which competing nationally in aerobics / gymnastics. Namuna is 21 and just graduated this spring with an accounting degree. Gangamaa is 15 and is my lifeline to communicating with everyone. She knows the most English of the family, although all the sisters know a little. Her English is very limited, but she knows enough that we can communicate important things when necessary. I also have one host brother who is 6 year old. The best way to get the pronunciation across might be Bynika, although that’s way off from being correct. There are two mountains in my community, and his name is a combination of the names of these mountains.

(My Host Family's house, The green roof building is my house.)

I and my language cluster (a group of 6 Peace Corps Trainees) are located north of Darkhan about 45 minutes. We are in the country. There is just one paved road here. Most people walk where they need to go. I have a great setup with my host family. In their hausha (spelling?), which is a piece of property surrounded by a fence, they have a house, another small building (where I live) and a few other structures for garden equipment, chickens, outhouse, etc. Pretty much all of their property is garden. They grow onions, tomatoes, cucumbers, and probably some other stuff. They also have chickens, from which I have been having eggs for breakfast every morning. Their house is made up of three spaces. The first space is kind of like a mud room. It has some gardening things, mops, brooms, and other outdoor type stuff. Then you open a door and walk up a couple steps to enter the actual house. This room is the kitchen area / bathroom sink. There is a stove in the middle of the room that is heated off of wood and dried cow dung. For those of you saying “ew,” it does NOT smell at all when it burns and is actually quite flammable and a great, free fuel source. There is a sink separated from the kitchen area to wash hands, brush teeth, etc. The “big” room is through the kitchen and is where the family sleeps. Yes, all six family members sleep in the same room. They also have a TV in this room, which turns out to be a favorite leisure activity.

There is no plumbing or water for the property. There is a water pump in the front yard from which to get water. Since we don’t have the enzymes to handle the water here, Peace Corps provided all of the trainees with a water filter, which holds probably 5 gallons of water. I have been getting my drinking water from my filter but have been brushing my teeth, bathing, etc. using the regular water.

My building is quite nice. It is a perfect space for me. I have a bed, two comfortable sitting chairs, a table with a few chairs and stools, my own wood burning stove, a TV, four drawers for my clothing, and corner with some bathroom type metal shelves that I keep all my soap, shampoo, toilet paper, etc. on. The roof and door frame are green, which is also exciting.

(My Building from the back)

My family has been so welcoming, even though I can’t understand anything they are saying to me. My soum is so beautiful. Pictures just don’t it justice. I wish each of you could see what I see from my backyard. It’s just incredible. 

~Sally

Cultural Differences Part 1

Dogs are everywhere. I think that I have seen maybe 50 different dogs of various age and size. I have seen some really cute puppies, and some raggedy old mutts. For all of the dogs I have seen, I have yet to touch one. The first prominent reason is because I haven’t finished my Rabies series that Peace Corps is administering. We all only have one more shot to complete the vaccine. The second reason is because you don’t touch Mongolian dogs. Period. Not unless you want to risk a bite.

The Mongolians do not treat dogs the same way as we do in America. They see the dogs more as tools than as pets. A Haasha (word refers to fence surrounding a family compound/yard) dog is often used to guard fenced in compounds, and is only friendly with people in its family. I have often thought that I get along well with dogs, but I have since realized that I get along with American dogs. The dogs here are more closely related to wolves and should be treated with the same respect. Because I am new, I have been barked at more times than I can count. Most of the time, the dogs bark at me from the safety of their fences warning me to stay away. Dogs on the street seem to be more focused on giving everyone a wide berth.

Family Cows outside the Gers 

Many Mongolians fear dogs, because they have had personal experience as a child with an angry one. They will often throw objects or beat away the dogs with sticks. This may seem dangerous or abusive, but it is only a cultural difference in treatment of the animals. I should also note that not all Mongolians treat dogs the same way. I have seen a number of dogs following masters in loving obedience.

It is extremely rude to throw keys to another person in Mongolia. Keys are only thrown at dogs.

Kids playing soccer down the street

Politeness and directness are key virtues of Mongolian culture. If you bump into someone or step on their toes, it is important to press their hand afterword while saying, “I’m Sorry/Excuse me,” in Mongolian.

One of my fellow volunteers stands at over six and a half feet tall. While walking behind him through the market I noticed a number of people running up to him exclaiming how tall he was. He may be the tallest person they have ever seen.

In another instance after a meal, I got out my Mongolian/English phrase book and pointed to “Be careful when you lift me,” as a jest at some of the strange phrases in the book. (I later realized that I was insinuating that I was stuffed with food, because I pointed right after dinner.) My family thought it was funny; however they interpreted it, and chuckling merrily, my host mother, wrote down my weight. She then insinuated in so few words that they would not be lifting me. (In an earlier blog I mention being weighed by my host mother who is the school doctor.)

Sunset from highest point on Family Haasha

The Mongolians are far more collectivist in culture than America; which is mostly individualistic. They do spend a lot of time with family, and often extended family life under one roof. In Mongolia it is family first and then job/career.  

The Peace Corps has explained that Privacy is a foreign concept to the Mongolians, who are comfortable living in tight spaces with family. It has been expressed to us that Mongolians do not knock on a door unless it is locked. If it isn’t they come right in. All of the host families are told that their Americans may want to be by themselves for periods of time, so my host family has given me plenty of space.

Prior to leaving for Mongolia, I shaved my beard. Since the age of 15, I have sported some form of facial hair. Peace Corps required me to shave, and at staging we were told that Mongolians do not like facial hair. I operated under the assumption that this was a hygiene issue and they thought it was dirty. Disliking facial hair strictly because of hygiene was a stance I could not fully respect, and I hoped to grow a beard once we had established credibility with our sight. Upon arriving to Ulaanbaatar the discussion of facial hair took a different turn when it was explained by true Mongolians. Facial hair is a distinction that elder men are allowed to have in respect to their age. (Virtually all images of Chinggas Haan display him with facial hair.) For a young person to have facial hair is to disrespect your elders. This explanation makes sense to me, and, while it still stings, I am coming to terms with the fact that I may have to shave for two years.

Periodically Sally or I will post regarding cultural differences that we notice. On a more temporal note, Sally and I are excited about this weekend because I will be traveling to her host community to see her and spend the night. It is the first of three visits that Peace Corps finances for us while we are separated. In addition to these visits we will also get to see each other for about 4 days at the end of the month during mid-days training.

~Caleb 

Genghis and Buddha --06/15/15

It is hard to believe that five days have passed since I wrote my last blog. This past week has been a rush of language sessions, and technical training. On Saturday, I indicated to my host siblings that I was interested in hiking. My host sister decided that I should see the swinging bridge and park, so we walked over the hill in the heat of the day to swinging bridge. The Journey was maybe three kilometers one way.  I was informed that the bridge was the only suspension bridge in Mongolia. It consists of a walking path over the road that connects two memorials.

On the eastern side of the road is a small park with a statue dedicated to the hero of Mongolia Genghis Khan. It is easy to see the brutality of Genghis Khan, but he was actually a revolutionary figure for his time frame. He single-handedly united the tribes of Mongolia to create a massive empire that survived off of conquest of others. Into this empire, he exercised freedom of religion (while also proclaiming himself the divine manifestation of Telori/God). He also brought the written language to Mongolia and economic commerce. To the outside world, he was a terrible force of death and power, but to the Mongolians he was the ladder that brought bands of nomads into an age of empires. He did slaughter lots of people, but everybody slaughtered lots of people in those days. Before Robin Hood, Genghis Khan was killing the rich and redistributing the wealth to his subjects (anyone loyal and conquered). So before you make a judgement call on Genghis, remember that there are two sides to every story. He falls much closer to Alexander the Great or Napoleon, then to Hitler.  He was a brilliant strategist, and far ahead of his time in the art of war.

On the other side of road is a religious statue of Buddha. Here is man that makes Genghis seem small and insignificant with a completely different philosophy on life. The suspension walkway connects these two memorials. My host sister and I approach the memorial, which for reasons I can’t comprehend is covered in pigeons, and bow in reverence to the front alter.  It is then explained to me that we are to walk around the statue three times in a clockwise manner. Unfortunately my language skills prevent me from understanding the significance of this, but I hope to understand more. At the conclusion of our circuit, my host sister bows to Buddha again and whispers a small prayer. While I cannot get behind every policy that Khan practiced, I do feel that Buddha really strived to make the world a better place. The religion/lifestyle that has followed has been one of the most peaceful in our history. Buddhism predates Christianity by over a thousand years, yet may have less violence attributed to its name.

After paying homage to Buddha, we proceeded to walk back. The heat over the weekend has been very intense. When I first moved into my Ger, the weather was almost chilly at night, but over the past week it has warmed up peaking on Saturday and Sunday. The sun which rises around 6AM and sets around 10:30PM bears down with furious intensity on the dusty region of Darkhan. I spent a large portion of the weekend studying and sweating.  It is still cooler than Alabama, but we probably haven’t seen the hottest days of summer yet.

In future blogs I will write in greater detail about Genghis Khan (actually pronounced Chinggis Haan) and Buddha, two key influential figures in the history of Mongolia. 

~Caleb

Let the Real Training Begin! 06/10/15

These past few days have been a blur of trainings. On Monday, we started our training. I being a Community Youth Volunteer am receiving my pre-service training (PST) with the other CYDs. We begin our week days with language training from 9AM-1PM. This is followed by a nice lunch break and then technical sessions 2:30-5:30PM. After school, we return to our host families and work on integrating and spending time with them.

Sally had an idea of what this language immersion would be like through her trip to Germany, but for me it is a new experience. One reaches a point, remarkably early in the day, where you feel as if you have absorbed all the language you can. As you progress past that point, your brain begins to feel like it might explode and an almost physical pain is present as you apply yourself. I have noticed that some of my fellow volunteers are frustrated with themselves, and I have tried to explain to them that there really is a limit to how much the brain can take in and retain in one day. The best thing we can do is allow ourselves at least 8 hours of sleep every night to recharge. I take some degree of comfort in knowing that I already know a lot more than I did on Saturday.

My host family has continued to be a huge help and in general have been fun to be around. On Sunday, we went to the market, a maze of vendors and various shops, and bought a basketball and soccer ball. I had two language miscommunication with my host family. I thought that we would be leaving for the market at 3:00PM, 4 hours from when we discussed it, but actually we were leaving in 3 minutes. I also was under the impression that we would be going to use the internet immediately after the market, so I shoved my computer and camera into my bag and carried it through the market that is known to have some theft problems. It turns out we were returning to the Gers before we went to use the internet. These miscommunication have been common, and, as a foreigner, I have already grown accustom to not always knowing what is happening. I am, nonetheless, in the hands of my capable host family, who seem to know my schedule better than I do.

After the Market and the internet usage where I posted the previous blogs, my host brother and I played some basketball and variations on soccer. It was refreshing to sweat, run, and exercise for the first real time since we started this adventure two weeks ago.  We returned to the Gers, where I convinced him to take me to the top of the hill that our house is located on. It was a short climb, but the view was spectacular. We could see all of Enerel and Darkhan laid out in a relatively small area of the enormous landscape that is Mongolia. In the distance mountains loomed without any visible sign of habitation. This country is truly amazing in its open land and vistas.

Downtown Darkhan

Enerel on the other side of hill

Once we returned to the Gers, I took my first bath using a Tumpun. A small circular tub about 2 feet in diameter and 8 inches deep. My first experience was a learning curve that soaked my Ger, but I have since figured out how to be more economical and careful with the water. Usually the Mongolians warm up the water, but I am enjoying the summer, so I have been using cold water.

I have also reached a good agreement with my food intake with my host mother. She cooks amazingly, but is always giving me too much food. Yesterday, she weighed me in her office (I think she is the school Doctor) and quickly calculated my BMI. I was unable to understand her, but I know she thought it was too high. “Then we are in agreement,” I remarked and wrote down a number next to it that I would like to be. Since then, I have felt more comfortable turning down large portions or leaving some food on my plate.

I have also been using the squat toilet regularly. It remains remarkably easy, although yesterday I lost my first roll of toilet paper to the land below. I expect that this will not be the last roll I lose…

~Caleb 

First Day with Host Family (Caleb)

06/06/15

As I write this, I am seated on my couch in my ger that my host family has set aside for me. I can hear the water dripping in my PC issue water filter, birds chirping, and the dogs of Enerel that never go completely quite. #hearinglossisawesome! It is 9PM Mongolian time, and the sun is still two hours from total dark. The temperature is a nice dry 65 degrees that I am enjoying in comfort.

Yesterday was a whirlwind of emotions, Sally and I attended PST training together during the day at the college in Darkhan, and then immediately afterwards we were sent to the hotel to collect our belongings and board buses to host family sites. It was very sad to say goodbye to Sally knowing that this will be the first of several goodbyes we must say to each other throughout the summer, but we will persevere.

The drive to Enerel was all too short (10 minutes) and still reeling emotionally, I was shepherded up the school walkway to where the host families were gathered.  Almost immediately we are introduced to the people who will be taking care of us for the summer. I was placed into a family of five, a mother, father, sister 17, brother 18, and older brother who is in America learning English.

As I left my group of fellow CYD volunteers placed in Enerel, I immediately fumbled the basic Mongolian greetings I had been taught, but was hugged anyway by my very sweet host father and mother. They spoke to me in Mongolian and chuckled when I have no idea what they are saying. We walked from the school to the gers carrying my entire luggage, a distance of about a third of a mile. My host family has given me a ger to live in while I am with them, and they are staying in the other. I think I can spend an entire blog talking about gers, so let me just focus on last night.

My host family has been incredibly sweet. They laugh at my miscommunication and lack of understanding, not in a harsh way, but as one laughs at a three-year-old who is not using the language right. They fed me a hearty stew of mutton, cabbage, and various other vegetables for dinner. Prior to the dinner, I was also served tea, and a variety of snacks, cookies, sweet spread, and Mongolian style donuts which are only slightly sweet and shaped more like fat dominoes. The daughter in the family understands some limited English and conversed with me throughout the meal using a Mongolian/English phrase book. Topics with my host family started out with how old I was, what is my profession, what does my wife do, and a pantomime expression of how tall my fellow male CYD volunteers are. (I stand almost a foot taller than everyone in my host family. Two of my fellow volunteers stand a foot taller than me.)

Towards the end of the meal, in a gesture of sincere generosity and kindness, my host father takes the Mongolian/English phrase book and points to “Do not worry/be afraid,” and “Let us open our hearts.” It was a really nice touch to the wonderful hospitality they had given me. Later I was shown into my ger, and while I did not request more food the table in the ger was laid out in all of the uneaten goodies from earlier. These I placed in the fridge as soon as they left, but not before I was shown how to lock the sliding lock on the door, and instructed on how to say “Help” in Mongolian. (Promptly forgotten, I think there is a limit on how many new words you can learn in a day.) 

I slept really well, the best I have slept yet in Mongolia. The Peace Corps issues us an enormous winter sleeping bag that will probably keep us perfectly warm in -40 degrees. It has three layers. I slept with the innermost one, and part of the middle layer. The outer layer is too hot to touch in this warm weather of about 50 degrees.

In the morning, I am shown how to fetch water with my host brother. We walk up the hill behind the gers to a water station, where my little brother must pay to get water. It becomes evident to me that we went to the uphill station so that we could more easily take the jugs downhill. My host brother did not let me help him, because I am still considered the guest. Hopefully they will let me take part in more chores soon.

After fetching water, my host mother and I descended the hill to the school where the other CYD volunteers gathered. We then followed our language/cultural facilitators on a walk around of Enerel so we might know where everything was. My host mother pointed out words and showed me various sights along the way. The Enerel market is an enormous maze of shops and vendors. It may be possible to find almost anything in this market. My host mother instructed me carefully to beware of thieves in the market and to hold on tight to my bag.

There are some of you that may be wondering about squat toilets. This has been something that I have been naively worried about. It turns out that it is incredibly easy, so easy that I am re-evaluating American’s system.  My host family has a three walled out-house facing the property fence. The toilet consists of two boards separated by about 8 inches that one squats over using the boards as foot rest. Very natural, very easy, it feels like you are setting your system up for the easiest possible release. Why don’t we do this?

I would also like to finish this blog, by saying that my host mother is a fantastic cook!  I naively thought that I would lose weight over the summer, but until she and I can communicate my food intake this will not happen.  I think she might be trying to fatten me up for the winter, more likely this is just a sign of hospitality to give the guest so much food.  I have had mutton three times with my host family. Each time was a different experience and very savory. For dinner tonight we had a sort of mutton pasta with handmade noodles and potatoes. Very good! I had intended to control the portion size, but I stepped out to my ger for a second. When I returned my plate was 5 inches high! I ate as much as a could and then in an effort to not be rude or waste any took the rest to my ger for later.

In the evening, Sally and I are able to share our adventures via telephone. Overall this has been a really neat experience so far. My host family is wonderful and very kind. I will continue to integrate in the hopes of learning the language quickly.

~Caleb 

Darkhan/Orientation Days--06/04/15

We have now spent the last two days here in the city of Darkhan getting our initial training with the Peace Corps. It seems that with the Peace Corps an enormous amount of time has been spent preparing us for the training that we will begin to receive on Monday. As a volunteer there is a part of me that wonders if they could be more productive, since we have received an abundant of training regarding our training. With further reflection, I began to realize how much thought is placed into these Orientation days. The Peace Corps has been slowly bringing us into the culture of Mongolia in a manner that makes me think of easing into a warm bath rather than jumping into a cold pool. We started out in a doubletree in San Fran, then we moved to a decent hotel in Ulaanbaatar. Here in Darkhan we seem to find ourselves in a land of mixed convenience and sacrifice. The hotel being a few more steps in the right direction, but still pretty nice. It seems that the food has followed the same pattern. Starting out with Asian imitations on American food and moving to just solid Mongolian cuisine that has both its ups and downs like any other culture would taste to an unaccustomed palate. This gradual de-sensitization seems to be taking place in the training as well, which started out with broad reflections in gender roles Stateside to an enlightening and entirely necessary discussion on Diarrhea earlier today.  

So while it does feel like we have just been traveling from one hotel to the next, and sometimes the sessions are frustrating, I do feel that everything so far has been entirely necessary and planned out in a manner to give this group of Americans the smoothest transition to a completely foreign world that could be achieved.

Darkhan (when  I figure out how to do Cyrillic on this computer, I will start adding it to the blog) is a city of about 100,000 people approximately 230 kilometers north of Ulaanbaatar. When the Soviet Union collapsed in the eighties, Mongolia, a communist state at the time, stopped receiving income. The result of this sudden lack of funds is that a lot of the infrastructure came to a grinding halt, leading to a city that seems to have stopped doing any maintenance or building anything for 30 years. It is not an ugly city, there is a lot of beauty in the old parks, soviet architecture, and proud people who inhabit it with grace, yet there are a lot of empty plazas and ghostly remnants of a time that was once more prosperous.  The city has at least 10 colleges and technical schools that assist in training a work force. There are also a number of restaurants that cater to tourists, a hospital, several market places, and a variety of internet cafés. Each day of training we walk to one of the colleges that is about a mile away. The walk takes us through a variety of old soviet apartment buildings, markets, and along sandy walkways. We have been told that in Darkhan it is not uncommon to have dust storms in the summer. The traffic in Darkhan can be bad, because no work has been done on the roads for such a long time. Some roadways have become dirt roads, but are still used frequently. It is not uncommon to come upon an open manhole in Darkhan, so caution must be exercised when walking.

It is easy to describe to you the ware and tear of a place that has not received what we Americans would describe as adequate financial support, but how do I convey to you the strength of its people; the pride in the Mongolians who are rich in ways that we do not see at first. The Mongolians seem to have great taste in fashion and dress well. They are connected with the world through cell phones, TV, and internet. It seems like they are pushing toward a modern culture, yet there is a deep heritage underneath all of the modernization that is over a thousand years old. They are a ceremonious people with details in the small things, each ritual full of meaning. They are a wise people, proud people. They say what they like, yet I think there is a caring collectivist center.

Today has been an interesting day in our training. In addition to learning how to treat Diarrhea, we had an amazing afternoon of cultural discussion. After a lunch of Salisbury steak that may have been liver and onions, we returned to the conference room at the school we have been having sessions at for a cultural fair. This involved a variety of cultural demonstrations, we heard the traditional two stringed instrument with traditional dance. (I don’t have the ability to find proper words for this right now, so I will just describe and perhaps edit later.) We also were exposed to a contortionist due that involved possibly an older sister and a very cute younger sister of maybe 6. (The Mongolian children seem to be the cutest children Sally and I have ever seen.) Finally a variety of traditional instruments were played with accompanied throat signing.

After the show were split up into groups and were sheparded from one classroom to the next with different cultural topics in each ranging from food, to dress, to hospitality, and games. The food classroom was particularly interesting because it contained boiled sheep head a delicacy in Mongolia. I regret that I did not take a picture to share with you, but next time I am offered I will. The texture was a little off, but the taste, was not bad. We also sampled dried cheese curds. ( I have had this twice since then, and the first time was the worst. Fresh dried cheese curds seem to be better, having a deep blue cheese taste that is a little sweet.) There was also Mongolian yogurt, candy, and donuts. The final item was dried camel jerky. At the moment, I can only say that this must be an acquired taste.

After training, I went with a couple of other volunteers and exchanged some of the money I had from San Fran for Tugriks (the Mongolian currency.) Current exchange rate is about 1,900 Tugriks for one dollar, so you can imagine how rich one feels after exchanging just $60. The wealth is an illusion because it depends on what you are buying. For instance Coke seems to run at the same price as America, but it can only cost around $6 to dine well at a higher end restaurant. Our language guide dropped us off at a Khuushuur café that where we dined well for about 1.5 dollars. Khuushuur is like Mongolian fast/traditional food. It consists of a deep fried flour casing filled with meat or potatos or kemji(fermented cabbage, spelling is probably off.) I tried one of each and found all three to be delicious.

 Tomorrow, we will move into our host families that will accommodate us for the summer. It is here that we will begin to behave and live like true Mongolians. Sally and I are placed into two different families in two different communities to better allow us to integrate and learn the language. I am going to be placed in Enerel a suburb of Darkhan, and she is in Ophoom Jiim (SP?) about 45 mins north of Darkhan. We will be able to stay in touch through the Peace Corps issued cell phone, but we will still be separated about two weeks before our first potential visitation weekend. It is difficult to place into words the level of anxiety, sadness, and excitement we feel.

~Caleb  

Pictures from the Road to Darkhan

The Road to Darkhan

We arrived in Darkhan yesterday, on Tuesday afternoon. Our route took us through UB (Ulaanbaator, the Capitol city), so we got a chance to see it in the daylight. UB is quite large with a population of about 1.4 million. Walking and driving seem to be equally popular modes of transportation. Most of the city-goers we passed were wearing clothing that any of us would wear - jeans, t-shirts, dresses, slacks, suits, etc. There were only a few Mongolians dressed in the traditional dress, which I will describe at another time when I know more about it.

The road to Darkhan was bumpy but relatively flat. We saw beautiful mountains and wide open grasslands cut to the perfect length courtesy of the cows, horses, sheep, and goats. We learned that goats and sheep generally hang together, so their herds were always fully integrated. Apparently, if a mother sheep dies, a goat will adopt the lambs, and vice versa. We also saw several men riding horses, either herding or just riding somewhere. One of these men, I saw, was texting while horseback riding. Oh, the dangers of technology!

We stopped about halfway to Darkhan for lunch, which was a Mongolian version of enchiladas. Up until this point, my stomach had not been reacting well to any food. The day before we left for Darkhan, I only had eaten some rice, a small salad, and a piece of bread. I was feeling nausea anytime I even thought of food. Yesterday, however, I was able to eat a bit of the enchiladas without feeling sick, and I've been feeling much better since then.

During this stop, I also had the opportunity to use a squat toilet for the first time. It actually flushed and wasn't just a hole in the floor. It wasn't bad. It actually felt quite natural! I'm sure that this was one of the nicer squat toilets out there. I'll keep everyone updated.

The second half of the trip had two sections of road with construction work. These were marked by large piles of dirt going across the road. The detour went off road, up a  huge hill will uneven terrain. It was quite bumpy for our buses. Many laughed. Some feared for their lives.

After about 5 hours on the bus, we arrived at our hotel. We went on a walking tour of Darkhan, which is the second largest city in Mongolia at a population of about 100,000. We ate out in small groups, and Caleb and I ended up with a group at a very fancy hotel restaurant that had menus in English and "western" food. We split a chicken quesidilla.  I can already tell that I will miss chicken and other fowl as a regular food item. There is beef, mutton, and unidentified darkish brown meat everywhere, but chicken, I think, will be rare.

Here's a Mongolian word I learned yesterday. When I share Mongolian words, I won't write it in cyrillic, but I'll try to write how it sounds using the English alphabet. It is "dza." This means "okay" and is often used as a filler in conversation as we use "uh" or "okay."

Sorry about the lack of pictures. I'm posting from my phone. I don't know when I'll be able to post with pictures again. I am somewhat limited. Until later!

~Sally

Our First Day

            Yesterday was our first day in Mongolia! We are on the other side of the world! Strangers in a strange land that will become home for two years!  We woke up to find ourselves feeling surprisingly refreshed with no severe jet-lag symptoms. We are staying at a hotel used by peace keeping diplomats about 20 miles north of Ulaanbaatar. The hotel is pretty nice, much nicer than was expected with warm showers and internet access in the lobby. Everything about the hotel has a soviet era feeling about it. It is a large blocky structure laid out in a maze of passage ways with conference rooms, large modern style lobby, dining facility, and even an elusive indoor pool that Sally and I have failed to locate.

                                                             First Yak outside Hotel 

            Our first meal of the day was a brunch/meet-and-greet located in the restaurant. The food was pretty good. There was a Mongolian version of hot dogs, boiled eggs, salad, rice, a soup with a strong pungent flavor, and a meat and vegetable dish. It was a very good first meal in Mongolia. I found that my stomach is still a little jet-lagged even if the rest of me feels fine, so I couldn’t handle some of the stronger dishes just yet. It also seems that the normal drink for meals is hot tea, which has been quite good!

            Training sessions followed the brunch, and the day consisted of training on what kinds of training we can expect soon, as well as a host of logistical things from immigration to tax forms. We also met with the medical staff on an individual basis to prepare for immunizations which we started on Monday. On that line, I should mention that we have been informed to not drink out of the tap. Our bodies have not built up the immune response to the foreign bacteria and water, so to drink from the faucet would result in possible diarrhea. The Peace Corps has supplied us with plenty of clean drinking water, and we will receive water filters at the next stage of training.

            When we completed our sessions for the day, Sally and I found ourselves with some free time which we spent outside enjoying the warm humidity free air. We wandered around the hotel, which is nestled at the high point of a valley that looks like some place in Colorado, and found a small mountain at the back with a slope of pine forest. We started up the slope enjoying the alien forest. I was intent on summiting the mountain, a fact that Sally may not have expected when we started out.

            After about a 500 ft climb we reached the bald spot at the top and could look out into the valley where we could make out the distant outlets of Ulaanbaatar. There seems to be a very large species of crow or raven that Sally has dubbed pig crows on account of the grunting cry they issue that echoes through the mountains. We could also hear a group of locals singing at the base of the mountain.

            Sally enjoyed the view 50 ft below the summit while I climbed to the top where I encountered a strategically placed pile of sticks with cloth tied about the tops. I believe that this is a holy site for either shamanism or Buddhist tradition. Hopefully, we will learn more about this in our trainings.

            Climbing the mountain was the high point of our day, and we descended it just in time for dinner which was an Asian take on meatloaf that was really good. After dinner, we got our instruments out and jammed with some of the other volunteers before retreating to our room for the night. The fact that we are still rooming together has been a pleasant surprise. We fully expected to have separate sleeping arrangements for the duration of training, but it may be that we will only be separated when we are placed with host families. Let me take a moment to break down the 11ish weeks of training.

1.    These first few days take place at this hotel in Ulaanbaatar. With initial training and logistic work.

2    2. On Tuesday, we will travel to Darkhan located about 7 hours north of Ulaanbaatar. There we will receive more training for a few days as one large group staying in a hotel.

3    3. On Friday, we will be separated into small groups based on our sectors, and placed individually in host families where we will stay for 8.5 weeks. I will be located in the city of Darkhan because I am a Community Youth and Development volunteer (CYD). Sally will be located in a village no more than 1 hour outside of Darkhan with another small group of volunteers. She is a Teaching English as a Foreign Language volunteer (TEFL).

4    4.  In the middle of the training around July 4^th, we will have mid-days where the entire group comes together again in Darkhan for more sessions. Afterwards, we will then return to our host communities.

5    5.  The last week of training End Days, we will return to Darkhan as a group before swearing in which occurs on August 15^th.

In addition to seeing each other when the group comes together for training, Sally and I have three weekends that we can schedule to visit each other. Peace Corps pays for our travel expenses for these weekends. So the eleven weeks of training is broken into at least six times that we will get to see each other.

One final point to this blog, there is so much to write about so we just cannot include every detail. Sally and I have made a number of new friends with the other 70+ Mongolian PCV. This is a really great group of individuals that all share the adventure of leaving home and coming to Mongolia.

~Caleb  

Traveling, Staging, Traveling, and Arriving. And traveling.

We are in Mongolia! It is beautiful here! We have been working towards this for over a year, so I am extremely excited that we have arrived.

However, it wasn’t a short journey. After a great send-off celebration from my family on May 25^th, my aunt and uncle dropped us off at a hotel that evening close to the Birmingham airport. Early the next morning, we got a shuttle to the airport and, after biting our nails and breathing a sigh of relief when our luggage officially met the weight requirements, we boarded the first flight on our journey. We had a few hours layover in Dallas, where we happened to run into another Peace Corps Volunteer on her way to Mongolia! She would be the first we met of about 75 of us headed towards Mongolia.

We arrived in San Francisco in the late afternoon and muscled our luggage through the airport to find the hotel shuttle. Upon checking in at the DoubleTree in Burlingame (the hotel gave us each a cookie!), we had just enough time to freshen up in our room before heading down for registration. Registration was short and included signing some things, accepting a Peace Corps T-shirt, and briefly hearing from the staging coordinators.

Staging took place over the next two days in the hotel, on May 27^th and 28^th. The Peace Corps staff introduced us to a plethora of great topics to start considering, like cultural differences, gender roles and responsibilities in other cultures, personal goals and expectations during service, the Peace Corps’ core expectation and goals for us, safety and security, our anxieties and aspirations, and more than I can remember. We also had lots of opportunities to get to know our fellow M26ers (shorthand for the 26^th group of PCVs [Peace Corps Volunteers] to serve in Mongolia). Caleb and I were glad to find out that we are one of three married couples in the group! It is awesome to hang around a group of people who are so dedicated and kind. Peace Corps provided us funds for food and incidentals during staging, so we were all happy.

We woke at 3:30 the morning of May 29^th to prepare for departure. After all the luggage was loaded, the group was on its way to the San Francisco airport by around 5am. Traveling with a group that size significantly elongates processes like checking in for a flight, checking bags, and going through security. We made it through with no incidences (that I know of) and had plenty of time before we boarded. Our flight from San Francisco to Seoul, Korea took about 11 hours, during which the sun was up the entire time. I slept some of it and watched a couple of the in-flight movies. The flight went by surprisingly quickly.

Upon arrival in Korea (still daylight), the M26 group moved around like cattle until someone figured out where we needed to go. We had to go through security again, which is where the Seoul airport and I became blood brothers. Upon removing my watch before going through the scanner, I managed to cut myself at the base of my thumb. It began bleeding profusely. I noticed it when I picked up my Peace Corps passport from one of the bins, which is now EXTRA secure (or not?) because my DNA is stained on the front outside flap. A Korean security worker noticed this and politely lead me over to the medical desk just a few feet away. Then, five security workers began adamantly cleaning of the blood, sterilizing it, wiping it, and bandaging it. Although I couldn’t understand anything they were saying, their sincere kindness and concern was quite comforting, despite the fact that it was only a small scratch.

We had a 7 hour layover in Korea. The airport had free showers, which most of our group took advantage of, including Caleb and I. At one point, Caleb was making a purchase, and he dropped something out of his pocket. Almost instantly, three different Koreans tapped him on the shoulder and pointed out his fallen item. Needless to say, we found the Seoul airport incredibly nice and the people seemed very kind. Perhaps someday we can spend more time in Korea.

For our final flight to Mongolia, we flew Korean airlines. If you ever have a choice to, choose Korean Air. The crew was amazing and the plane itself was the highest quality I have ever flown in. For those of you interested, Caleb DID poop during this 4 hour flight, and not during the 12 hours flight. No, not in his pants. Yes, in the plane bathroom. By the time we arrived at the Chinggis Khaan airport in Ulaanbaator, Mongolia, 30ish hours after we awoke in San Francisco, it was finally dark outside. We were greeted by many enthusiastic Peace Corps Staff, both of Mongolian and American origins. They directed us through the process of customs and picking up luggage.

By this time, the group were all moving slowly and were just ready to sleep in a horizontal position. However, we still had about an hour on a bus before arriving at our hotel. The buses and luggage trucks were ready for us, and we cleared out of the airport relatively quickly. One bumpy bus ride an hour later, we arrived at our hotel. Everyone helped unload everyone’s luggage, and we queued to check in to our rooms. Caleb and I were pleasantly surprised to find out that we were rooming together. Initially, we were under the impression that once in Mongolia, we would not be sharing a room. However, it seems that we are roommates for whenever the group gets together. Hooray!

One more thing before we slept. This is Mongolia. We are on the outskirts of Ulaanbaator, not in it. Therefore, no elevators. Being on the second floor, we thought, “Only one flight. Not so bad.” But, no. They do it European style here. What Americans call the first floor is actually the ground floor. We had to lug our 250 pounds of luggage up two flights of stairs before we could surrender to sleep. We finally got to bed at 3am Mongolian time on May 30^th.

Despite the long, tiring trip, we are so happy to be here. The traveling isn’t completely over and won’t really be until the end of PST (pre-service training) in August. But we are very glad to finally arrive in our country of service after over a year of applying, interviewing, waiting, and preparing. It’s great to be in the land of eternal blue sky!

~Sally