Teachers Day is celebrated here in Mongolia the first weekend in February and around the world at various times. There is also World Teachers Day, October 5th.

Teachers are such hard working individuals and deserve recognition and fun from their daily busy, and sometimes very grueling schedule! Some folks say this profession has it easy, (with plenty of vacations) but think of all the long hours spent outside of the classroom, lesson planning, grading, etc.!

My school invites all the employees, director, teachers, cleaners, jejurs, plumber, cooks, etc.... everyone joins in the festivities! An awards ceremony is held, with various prizes, plaques, medals etc. being given out. These awards are very revered here and those winning them are held in very high esteem.

There is a lighter side to awards as well, with student voted awards for best image, funniest, most talented, best young teacher etc.. Most teachers trade their teaching duties for one day with a student and the kids have loads of fun with this assignment!

As a Community Youth Development volunteer, I am not exactly a teacher, though I do co-teach several classes weekly with English teachers. I have an easy gig, as I work on conversational skills and pronunciation with the students; thus miss out on the lesson planning, the teaching of grammar, grading of tests, taking attendance and all the other major responsibilities that go along with being a teacher. However, I do get referred to as Jo teacher and respected by the students.

Hats off to teachers everywhere!

Me and Happy (Oyun)

Hajidma (dorm teacher), Otgon (school director) and two of school staff

Altai (dorm teacher) with school electrician

Foreign Language Dept. of my school

Really I wanted to title this post "Take this job and shove it"....after the old time country song, which then goes on to say "I ain't workin' here no more"! Nope, not talking about PC, this job is cool... but I'm sure some of you reading this have had jobs that drove you crazy, had you dying for pay day, or just plain old dreading getting out of bed in the morning! I know I've had a few!

People here in this struggling democracy do many jobs that I just cannot fathom! The photos for this piece were taken in UB in winter. I was cold just walking around outside, wearing long johns top and bottom, heavy jeans, wool sweater, 2 pair of smart wool socks, fuzzy lined boots, fuzzy lined hat, plus hood, scarf and heavy mittens. The bitter cold wind chilled me to the core! I cannot imagine having to tolerate the cold and work in those conditions just to eek out a living!

these women have chopped up the ice and snow from this patio and are moving it

road snow removal crews

changing billboard in daytime...

ice and snow is chipped away

men in trees hanging holiday lights

ice and snow removal in progress

Ice and snow removal is a big job here, a long and arduous process.... no such things as snow shovels, snow blowers, snow plows. People are the snow removal machines. As the woman above are shown, chipping away at the frozen mess, it's then scooped onto a tarp and moved. Streets are eventually cleared much the same way, with people wearing orange vests.

More crappy jobs here abound... I witnessed men changing billboards at night, when the temperature was at least 20 degrees colder than daytime, police officers standing in busy intersections directing traffic day and night, crews laying cable at night in the bitter cold, women and men on the sidewalks hawking their wares, ie. phone units, candy, cigarettes, sweaters etc., and the folks who work on the buses and trolley cars, collecting fares.

So the next time you are feeling unhappy with your work, look on the bright side; you could have a job doing snow removal in Mongolia!

Winter is the perfect time for staying inside, dreaming, planning and reflecting. I personally like winter for that very reason! Snuggled up in the warmth and comfort of home, with a good book, puzzle, knitting, movie, coffee; perfect for dreaming and reflecting about one's life.

Recently the birth of Carter, my "surrogate grandson", has inspired lots of reflection for me. Since my daughter Vicki passed away over 5 years ago, her best friend Courtney became my "surrogate daughter". Now, there are a couple other best friend,s Heaven and Joanna, that I keep in touch with, though not closely.

Courtney and I have helped each other heal from Vicki's absence as much as one can help another in such circumstances. We have hung out together and built a close and caring friendship. One that has helped me through many tough times when I've been missing Vicki. I served as the maid of honor in her wedding to Cody, whom Vicki knew and definitely approved of, in Vicki's stead. It was an honor for me to be part of their ceremony and now more than two years later, to meet (via pictures on facebook for now) of their little offspring!

Being across the world in Mongolia, I will meet Carter on Skype sometime soon. As my eldest son Pete tells me, we are just like the Jetsons (awesome cartoon) now, where we can see each other on the phone!!

My reflection occasionally brings me sadness and mournful feelings. Vicki loved children, and though I don't know if she would have had any kids by now..... I know that I will never get that experience of knowing my daughters children. She would've been a great mother, as Courtney will! Like Vicki, Courtney is very caring, giving, loving and kind. The exact traits I admired in my daughter.

The universe has it's own rhythm, and life goes on no matter what..... I am very happy to have Courtney (and Cody, Brutus the adorable dog).. and now Carter in my life!

me taunting one of the jejurs who always teases me! at school shin jil party!

me in the middle with my amazing dorm teacher counterparts!cool fireworks in Suukbaatar Square

the fireworks extravaganza reminded me of July 4th at home

Mongolian President wishing the country a happy and prosperous new yearSince New Year's is the big holiday celebrated here in Mongolia, parties and celebrations abound! I personally have attended more gatherings and festivities here than my usual at home.

This holiday season I attended the dorm students Shin Jil party, where the girls looked like prom goers and the boys very dapper! It was rather low key this year; held at the dorm, in the dining hall.

Then was the teachers party which likewise, is extremely formal and quite a good time! For New Year's Eve I came to the big city where many places are closed, as many families stay home and celebrate. The gang of PCV's I hung out with managed to find an Irish Pub open, where I enjoyed pork and sauerkraut for dinner!

Fireworks and a televised speech by the Mongolian President were the highlights on the square in Ulaanbaatar at midnight. Though there were mostly foreigners there, quite a few locals were also present.

Father Winter at dorm party!

dorm girls having fun!

two of my favorite dorm boys, holding the new year's cards i gave all the students

along with Father Winter are the Snow Princesses and the Mini Santas

even the boys are all dressed up!

I don't usually make resolutions for the New Year, but I'd like to think that I'll continue to attempt to learn more about myself, work on my spirituality and make the world a better place however I can. My new years wish for everyone is love and happiness, wherever and whenever you can find it. Give love and it'll come right back to you. Welcome 2012, Year of the Dragon.

Winter has finally arrived along with the solstice. Though it has seemed to me that the days are very short in terms of sunlight already, today is the shortest day of the year. It doesn't get light until well after 8 a.m. now and is dark around 5:20 p.m. I've already begun wearing long underwear (albeit light weight ones) for several weeks, as well as my wool sweaters. This is a change from last year, when I thought my apartment was too warm, the wool sweaters too hot, and long johns uncalled for most of the time. Is it true our bodies acclimate to the climate we live in? If this is any indication, I'm going to be needing all that heavy long underwear I've kept!

In Mongolia the winter is one of the harshest. This landlocked country, bounded on the south by the Himalayas and west the Siberian High, affects the winter weather and contributes to Mongolia having the highest atmospheric pressure during the winter.

Siberian High, also known as Russo-Siberian High/Anticyclone is a massive collection of cold and/or very cold dry air that accumulates and reaches it's greatest size and strength during winter. The center of this high pressure cell or anticyclone is often lower than -40C (which is also equal to -40F). This Siberian High is responsible for the severe winter cold, as well as the dryness (very little snow) in Mongolia.

The temperatures are pretty extreme, with winter weather below freezing for most of the country, from as early as mid October to as late as mid May. Usually the months of October and April are hovering around the freezing mark.

Stats list that more than half of this country is covered by permafrost; soil temperature which is at or below the freezing point of water (0C 32F) for two or more years! This permafrost can make building roads, construction and other infrastructure projects extremely difficult. Wow...

Mongolians talk about the nine 9's of winter. This measure of winter was originated hundreds of years ago when herders did not have modern methods of telling dates and is based on the lunar calendar. It is said winter starts at the solstice (shortest day of sunlight annually) and is measured as 81 days total, 9 groups of 9 days, aka the 9 9's. Back in the day herders could monitor the days by the following, very practical, forms of measurement:

1st 9: milk vodka congeals and freezes

2nd 9: vodka congeals and freezes

3rd 9: tail of a 3 year old ox freezes

4th 9: horns of a 4 year old ox freezes

5th 9: boiled rice no longer congeals

6th 9: roads become visible

7th 9: hilltops appear

8th 9: ground becomes damp

9th 9: warmer days set in

The 3rd and 4th 9's are said to be the coldest, so this is just the beginning. I do recall being told last year that after Tsgan Tsar (the Lunar or White Moon celebration) the weather breaks and it's not as cold. I found that to be true. I have heard that Tsgan Tsar this year will start on the 24th of February. The celebration runs for 3 days, ending on February 26th, which happens to be the last day of the 9 9's.

the kids hard at work on their tree...

the tree was in 3 parts that they colored..

hard at work cutting out paper decorations

placing of the ornaments was a painstaking process

look at our tree!!!

wow, that's some gorgeous tree!

During this, my second "holiday season" in Mongolia, I realized the dorm students did not have a tree to enjoy last year. Since I've come to know that this season of merriment is a special time of year, even in a predominately Buddhist country, I decided the dorm kids must have a tree of their own!

With limited resources to purchase a tree, it dawned on me that our arts and crafts club, (sponsored by World Vision) would make a lovely tree out of paper! Thursday at our weekly session, the kids did just that! They had lots of fun and now have a tree to admire and wish upon, as children everywhere do.

Many holiday traditions are similar here in addition to having a tree. Greeting cards are common as are small gifts for children. I have already made over 100 simple "Happy New Year" cards to give to my students this year; I can't wait! There is general feeling of goodwill and friendliness that always warms my heart. Shopping for decorations, gifts, cards and fancy clothes for parties is in full swing now, as I just witnessed in the local market place this afternoon.

School children usually have as well as a performance, a party at school, where they dance and get dressed up. Last year I attended the dorm party, which was lots of fun, as well as the teachers party, which was a wild and crazy event!

I'm looking forward to sharing in those celebrations again, and even here across the world, I enjoy the festive atmosphere. Wishing all of you warm greetings of the season, and the best in the new year......

How can it be December already? And only one post last month.... where does the time go? Much has happened during this stretch, including a broken camera, which is now repaired, thank goodness. However, now I am in the city again for dental without my computer so no photo postings till I return back home.

Some highlights of the month include a dorm room competition which my friends were kind enough to judge. The notice had been posted 3 weeks and of course the entrants were very last minute. The kids had fun and the top 3 places won gifts from me. A fun hand made award certificate, suitable for hanging in their dorm room. The biggest reserved for 1st place, smaller ones for second and third.

First place also won an Uno deck of cards, a small dictionary and some cookies and jello packs. (the jello come in a bag and have little individual jello shots in plastic containers...kids love em!)

Second place got their certificate, as well as food items and a deck of birds of america playing cards. Third place winners got the food and certificate. Most of the kids sang, some danced, recited poetry, a couple of gymnastics feats and a magic trick! It was a good time!

Cooking club this month was making salads. We used carrots and cabbage and made variations of slaws, including a carrot raisin salad with mayo which was a big hit. Kudoos for vegetables! Gotta start somewhere!

I enjoyed a huge Thanksgiving celebration with my PC family here in Ulaanbaatar. PC made many turkeys and volunteers brought sides....yummy leftovers were enjoyed as well as the fun and fellowship of the day!

Here in the city for my ongoing dental saga, which is going surprisingly well. Thank goodness for the staff at Perfect Dental, who are trained in Europe and very kind and very good at their trade!

It's difficult to explain to my director why I am in the city so long, why they are working so hard on my teeth. Cultural differences.

World Aids Day was celebrated here in UB with PCV's doing a great job putting together a program involving university students. Most of the volunteers in the city teach at local university's and the kids were interested and involved. Yea, since I was not at site to do something on a local level. I may still attempt to do an AIDS lesson upon my return and maybe a poster contest.

What have I learned? I recently was posting a blog, and while waiting for my slow Internet connection to come up, happened to ponder on the saying that I listed on my blog page.....

"One woman's quest to experience, learn and grow....." And I felt a sudden pang of surprise and wondered.....what have I learned? Have I grown? What have I experienced? Many days have passed since then with these thoughts interrupting and overflowing my everyday activities.

Here is what I have concluded thus far..... Firstly, that experiencing, learning and growing all overlap, intersect, play upon one another, and expand my viewpoint as well as my heart..

My random thoughts are that I've learned I can survive and even enjoy life again without my daughter, though my heart shall remain broken always from her loss. (no matter where I am)

I can make a new home in a foreign, strange land with a language I cannot seem to understand most of the time, let alone master......and even love that new life, that strange land and appreciate the odd and quirky language...

Though my heart sometimes misses "home", but more so the people there I love, and some of the places dear to me; it is OK to be away physically..... The Internet is an amazing thing which allows me to connect across the miles to those left behind and I am grateful for it.

My creativity can blossom from the newness and freedom of a new place and space... I have renewed the joy that sewing and many different art forms bring me and I adore teaching and watching the children I work with be creative and artsy.

I have aged by already having celebrated two birthdays here since arriving , and though the numbers are scary, I still feel much younger than my calender years. I guess we all say that, young at heart.

I find myself feeling more anxious about what's next after this amazing Peace Corps experience. At this point I am pondering a third year in my present location and position; provided my school (HCA), and PC think it's a good idea!

Uncertainty lies ahead of me in the form of not knowing where to go next, what to do, what I want... And if I've learned anything it's that we can plan and calculate all we want, but the universe (or our higher power or whatever else we call it...) is in control, and I want to continue enjoying the ride.

Wow, Halloween is upon us again....This year I planned a festive party for the dorm student and it was a rousing success! The kids made some masks, and many went way beyond the simple mask by painting their faces.....Me saying how awesome they were only goes so far... judge for yourself!

this mask was drawn on felt

the ghouliest girls....from room 204

creepy.......

Happy Halloween

This year at the dormitory, I wanted to continue having students learning to cook. To enjoy the experience of preparing food that is tasty can foster a sense of accomplishment and it can be fun!

Since World Vision is sponsoring clubs at the dorm this year, I don't have to worry about how we (or I) can afford supplies! Initially, the number of members for the Cooks Club was to be limited to 22 students. However, this was the club that the largest number of students were interested in and we have 42 members! Fortunately, not all of them turned up for our first session, as we couldn't have fit them all in the school kitchen where the ovens are!

The first cooking session was baking bread.... fresh, crusty on the outside, warm and soft on the inside, home made bread...mmmmmmm...

enjoying the fruits of their labors!!

fresh tasty bread with jam.....yummy

look what we made!!!!!

ooooooh, wow.....:)

shaping the loaves was very fun!

each team took their turn with their batch of dough

it's a good thing all 42 cooks club members didn't show up today!!!there wasn't enough room

how is this?

ooooh, look at my dough!

the oven was on with the doors open to heat the room....

yeast is slow to rise....

students worked in teams/groups

it was fun and rewarding for all the kids! I can't wait for the next meeting...!

Alcohol Awareness Week is a PC idea to bring to light the issue of abuse and addiction to the most commonly used drug here. Yes, alcohol is a drug, and so widely socially accepted here (as in most societies) though the current rate of alcoholism here is around 22%. (with a total population over around 2.2 million people) Pretty high indeed; that's almost 1 in 4 Mongolians who are alcohol dependent. Things must change for coming generations!

1st Secondary School students at opening ceremony

students made signs and posters

Historically, alcohol is a socially accepted part of most celebrations and very deeply ingrained into Mongolian culture. It used to be that all nomadic Mongolians made all their own alcohol; airig (fermented mare's milk with a fairly low alcohol content is still all locally produced), vodka made from cow's milk, also called traditional vodka. This tastes similar to regular bottled distilled vodka, but with a lower alcohol content. The alcohol now consumed is usually purchased at the store with a most popular brand called "Chinggis" and has around 40% alcohol content.

Our local week was October 3-10th and had all 5 secondary schools in Arvikheer competing in categories such as school participation, an essay contest and a poster contest. The theme for the week was "peer pressure and drinking responsibly", and targeted students in grades 10 and 11.

Some ethnic groups are known to have higher alcoholism rates, such as Native Americans and Mongolians. Looking at the cultures, facial features, ceremonies, etc. the two groups appear to be quite similar. Change begins with the younger generation and it starts here and now.students at 1st school hanging up posters

10 a class with their posters!

Second Secondary School of Arvikheer won the big prize of the competition, for best participation! An awesome trophy and plaque! A great start:)

Integrating into the community is an integral part of a successful PC experience. Building personal relationships is a big part of this integration process. I have many counterparts here at First Secondary School of Arvikheer that I consider friends, and really helps my ability to be a successful volunteer!

My first year here I was a little reserved and shy (hard to believe I know especially for those who know me well:)), not attending the teacher camp out weekend prior to the start of the school year and other events. However, I always enjoyed the parties and celebrations, though felt most comfortable with the students at the dorm!

This year I am expanding my horizons and getting out of my comfort zone more by becoming more of a team player as part of the teacher/social worker/school employee group. The camping trip in early September was great fun and helped the foreign language teachers and I get to know each other a little better! These women are not only my counterparts, I consider most of them my friends as well, which is the Mongolian way. Co-workers are your friends and your social network here!

No wonder, since school personnel spend so much time together! Case in point.... the city wide Teacher/Staff Competition between all 5 secondary schools here in Arvikheer. This event was held yesterday, and my school won first place! Though events often seem very last minute and thrown together to me, they come together quite nicely. All staff and teachers (myself included and only a few were missing) assembled in the school gym at 5 pm Friday. There we practiced our opening number (which I wish I had been able to film instead of participate in because it was great!!!) for hours.... I also wanted to be on the "darts team", so we practiced. We had one dart, a dart board and over a dozen people..... not the most useful practice....Oh no, I thought, this is ridiculous....

Close to 8 pm, I said I needed to go because I was meeting my site mates whom I had not seen nor talked to much all week. Later I found out that the practice continued till 10 pm, by which time I was heading home.

Saturday started late as usual. We were to meet at 8:30 a.m, which turned out to be more like 9:45, where all school teams assembled on the town square, a few words were said by some local government folks then we marched through town with a police escort, each school group with a member holding the school flag out front. We proceeded to the outskirts of town where we had cars, meekers and buses (each department had to arrange their car) with numbers on their windshields and we lined up and proceeded (again with a police escort) to the outskirts of town, near the river, in an open field area for the games.

Each school set up their own area, marking it with the rocks all of us picked up and made our square with. My school had two lovely tents, one where we put our stuff, some folks had to change clothes, and the other was our "hospitality" tent, where we drank airag frequently. I must say that particular airag was the best I've tasted in Mongolia, not too sour or fermented tasting.

The first competition event was the performance and everyone in school took part, with four different musical numbers (including a surprise performance rap by a young teacher and a history teacher who had debuted their rap at practice.... and it was the winning piece I believe!), and a twist and shout type song where the dart team was featured dancing.....lol ...I really felt a part of the school and the team! I even felt badly that I did not score in darts (one throw and I had scored consistently during practice that day...) Oh my, I felt competitive!!!

First Secondary School marching!

After our big win, the celebration continued at school, where we toasted (with vodka), enjoyed the food we won, apples, candy, pizzas, cake, etc... and danced! I was in the early group going home around 8:30.... exhausted from the cold windy day out doors and my legs were tired from so much standing. However, I do feel fully integrated:)

tug of war was so awesome, I wished I was on the team!!!

the Amazing Dart team! some of us are even smiling:)though it's usually "all serious" in official looking photos.....the lighter side

gymnastics competition, which is more like "dance/aerobics" routinethe celebration continued in our big room at school!

We're Number ONE!!!!

Director in center with Foreign Language Dept. (some of them..and me:)

Just as summer transitions into autumn, change is one sure constant in life. With the change of the seasons, my summer time relaxed mode changes into busier school year mode.

Passing, transitory, fleeting, evanescent; the state of life no matter where or who you are..... Changes of work, weather, friends/site mates is all a part of what makes the earth turn round.

Old friends leaving, having completed their Peace Corps service, or Volunteer Service Overseas obligations, moving on to the next phase of their lives.

I remain here pictured above with my remaining (some old, some new) PC site mates, embracing the nip in the air.

Sounds like a pretty scary experience, huh? However, fortunately for me, I have found the opposite to be true! Peace Corps Mongolia does a bang up job with finding volunteers top of the line care, dentists and facilities!

Late August my entire group (M21) of PCV's, had our annual medical and dental check ups in Ulaanbataar. During my dental check up I was told I needed a filling, possibly a root canal on a tooth. The word infection was mentioned and I was told to tell PC I needed an appointment soon.

I was a little concerned by the word infection, but have had much dental work so told PC Medical the information. I ended up getting scheduled for the earliest available appointment, approximately three weeks out.

Last Monday I arrived in the city for my appointment scheduled for Tuesday morning. I should mention here that the entire staff of the dental clinic are very knowledgeable, professional, kind and have the latest high tech equipment I've ever seen..... First clue to the level of care; the stuff is more high tech than my previous dental office.

So as it turns out, I had 3 root canals that appeared to have "been improperly done" as the cute fluent English speaking lady dentist explained to me (whom she heretofore be referred to as Dr. Fluent). When she asked where these procedures had been done and my response was the United States, she was rather at a loss for words. She then told me I had been very unfortunate to receive such (not so good) care.

Long story amended to be a little shorter, after three appointments (one which lasted 2 1/2 hours) this past week, my treatments are finished for now. The most stubborn of the root canal treatments had a very difficult filling which required much digging to remove the filling and clean the canal.

The culprit for part of the problem with this tooth turned out to be a small piece of metal which was jammed/lodged deep down in the canal.... I took a photo of it with my phone camera, but my regular camera is in the shop (again), so I don't have the image to share.... This was so amazing to the entire dental group, that everyone came in, looked at it, clicked their tongues, shook their heads and were (generally) speechless.

If I had to pay for my own dental care here, I'm afraid it would be quite a different outcome. I probably couldn't afford to pay for the high quality service offered by this practice, where all the staff are trained abroad and keep abreast of the latest practices, procedures, etc. I would be like any typical, not very well off Mongolian, and have to go to a locally trained dentist where my tooth would have immediately been pulled.

Unfortunately for me, that is exactly the only kind of services I have been able to afford during many times of my life, (lacking dental insurance and not having much extra money). Like so many other people who struggle financially, dental care is not high on the affordability scale when struggling to survive.

A scary thought however, is that the tooth may not recover properly and end up being pulled...in spite of all the excellent care I have received. As long as all continues to go well, I don't have to return for another 4-6 weeks from now. I guess the theme here is good quality care is available anywhere, as long as you can afford it.

If it's September 1st in Mongolia, it must be the start of a new school year! Here again, already! Summer is still hanging on a little...., but the familiar nip of autumn is in the air is the same as back home in the US.

Of course, school starting means the flags and banners come out and are flying, children are dressed in their finery (except the cooler, older students who love their jeans almost as much as I do! ) and the teachers look happy and relaxed!

happy students and teachers!green popsicles-breakfast of championsIt also means performances by students, (which I thoroughly enjoy) and speeches by important adults which I don't understand. After the performances and speeches are over, the mad rush for the building begins! The school bell is rung by two adorable little kids, then by the school director, announcing the start of the day and year. Chaos commences, as class assignments were just posted and parents and children alike make their way to the lists and the building. Let the learning, the fun and the angst of a new school year begin!

Just like when I was a kid, summer always flies by entirely too fast!!! The long daylight hours still fool me into thinking the warm weather and sunshine will last forever! The slow relaxed pace of this season makes it my favorite. I relish the warmth and serenity of gardening, being outside more and just taking it easy. Not only is it refreshing, renewing and restorative, it's a magical time of year.Anyone who has ever had the opportunity to garden or grow anything from seed has witnessed one of the greatest miracles. To see this on a large scale during the summertime is amazing! It never gets too familiar or old for me.

As usual, I tried to cram as much fun into the season, while still relaxing, enjoying and relishing the summer time. During this slow season when the school kids were gone, I gardened a bit. Though my garden is only surviving here in this desert, I am already planning for next year- think greenhouse! I have been away for almost 3 weeks and need to go see my garden plot tomorrow.... I should have some tomatoes, peas and beans to pick......maybe even more lettuce and spinach!

In addition to having my sister visit for almost 2 weeks in July, enjoying the big Nadaam celebation in my town, I also traveled a bit this summer. I went to a neighboring town (5 hour bus ride) for Sharayah's birthday. After we celebrated her birthday with many Mongolian friends, I hung out for 2 days, then we ventured to the city together. The bus ride to UB is 13 hours and we were unfortunate to have the very back seats, that when we hit the huge bumps, we flew up........ Never a dull moment! Once in UB we stayed with another PCV for 2 days and saw many fellow PCV's. The good food available in restaurants in UB is always a big draw for me and I enjoyed burgers and fries! (every bite and more than once:)

Five of us then traveled north to Darkhan to witness the new PCV's at their site announcements. I recall this as being such an exciting and scary time and was reassured by having other PCV's there to meet and greet me, so I wanted to extend the same to our new site mates! I welcomed 3 new PCV's in my city and 3 more in outlying areas! Darkhan is the second largest city in this country and from what I saw of it, is much cleaner and nicer than UB. Being so far north, there is also a lot more green stuff there, including trees! Man, do I ever miss trees!

Just another hour by meeker is my fellow CYD Pedro in Selenge aimag, where 4 of us went to spend a day and night. The scenery there is so different from most of the country, that it looks like Russia, or eastern Europe in comparison..... The lush green landscape, covered with many trees, actual crop fields and lots and lots of water! Kate, Sharayah and I all ended up with congestion and allergy symptoms after one night there! We are definitely used to the desert air!

Then back to UB for a few days R & R prior to our mid service training.... Vacation, as well as summer in general, was a whirlwind! Horseback riding (half of it in the pouring rain) was a big highlight of the training, spent at Terelj National park where we stayed in gers.

As I rode home from the city on the bus yesterday, I sadly noticed it was getting dark around 8 pm... when did that happen? Wasn't it just last week that it was still light at 9? School starts in a few days and there is a nip in the air........Goodbye summertime....I shall miss you dearly.....

This year's Nadaam celebration here in Arvikheer was exceptionally big, festive and special! The reason for this huge celebration was the 80 year anniversary of both the city of Arvikheer and the aimag of Uuvrkhangai.

Unlike the national holiday set aside for Nadaam (in mid July) ,this year our city celebrated Nadaam on the 28, 29 and 30th of July. The late dates allowed those from smaller soums and outlying areas to attend the big celebration.

The town underwent many improvement projects in the weeks leading up to Nadaam, i.e., re paving streets, new street lights, repainting of fences, buildings, etc.... In addition, the huge town square block was completed and two grand new statues were erected in the square, along with four huge lights which glow like stadium lighting and shine right into my apartment at night!

Wrestling is the most popular event of the three manly sports of Nadaam, which also include archery and horse racing. Oddly enough (since they are known as manly sports), wrestling is the only of the three where men only are allowed to compete.

The story goes that wrestlers used to wear deels in competition and one year a woman (brother of a well known wrestler who had gotten ill just before Nadaam) participated and won! This was at least 100 years ago, thus the reason for the cute skimpy outfits the wrestlers wear is to ensure they are male!

Horse racing jockeys can be girls and the children are usually age 6 to 12 and the category of race is based on the age of the horses.

I watched some Archery in two different Nadaam's this year and saw many women participants.

It's been a while since my last post and part of the reason is I was enjoying my sister's company, right here in Mongolia! Though this place now feels like home to me, she had many of the same "culture shock" reactions that I initially did upon arrival here. There are so many amazing things to see and do here, that I wanted to share with my sister, though time was of the essence.....

We visited many of the museums in Ulaanbaatar, as well as several Buddhist temples, a quilt shop and the fair trade store, Martha & Mary. While in my home town, we went to both museums, one of the temples (where we watched and listened to the monks chanting), the horse monument for which the town is named, ate at the local vegan restaurant as well as a guanze in the market.

A weekend trip to a local soum for a small Nadaam celebration was also enjoyed! We had the pleasure of going with Leah and Haanda who were invited by the governor, so we were treated very well there! Seeing a horse race from a speeding Jeep was an awesome (though not so comfortable) experience! Sue got to enjoy airag, as well as plenty of vodka toasts during Nadaam as well. Sue told me that she was just happy to spend time with me and I have to agree, that was the best part of the visit.....hanging out, spending time together, talking or not... it was good:)

The one thing she really wanted to do that we didn't get to, was ride a camel. Hmmmmm.... perhaps after Mongolia I'll live somewhere else that has camels.....

Yaks are some of the coolest looking animals in Mongolia. Webster's describes the yak as "a wild or domestic ox of the uplands of Asia that has very long hair". Their faces look like cows to me and their mournful deep "mooing" is low and reminiscent of a bull.

A weekend jaunt in a friends Russian Jeep through some very rough terrain, took 5 of us site mates a few hours away from our town to a national park valley teeming with yaks.

We had the opportunity to milk them and yes, as a farm gal, I have experience with milking cows and the yak was similar. Though cows have larger teats, it was surprising to me how natural it felt to be milking a yak! The herder gave me an old dress (which was inside out) to put over my clothes to protect them from yak hair. Though not a flattering picture of me, I have the proof that I milked a yak in Mongolia!

Our friend Andrew who had been to visit this family before, took us to meet them in their wooden house nearby. We stopped there to say hello and introduce ourselves first and were treated with the usual Mongolian hospitality, being served milk tea and some delicious yak yogurt and bread with sweet cream, called orum. (these treats of course were made with their yak milk)

After chatting awhile, we proceeded to a spot nearby next to a gorgeous river and set up our camp site. Unfortunately for me, later that evening during a rainstorm in the dark, I tripped over one of the tent lines and bruised some ribs. This kept me from our main event, horse back riding the next day!

I thought my ego was slightly more bruised than my ribs until the bumpy ride home Sunday evening.....ow... As I rest now trying to heal as much as possible in the next week and a half until the long awaited and excitedly anticipated visit from my sister, I am still happy to have gone on this adventure to see yaks up close and personal!

Now I ask you, who would be silly enough to take on a major and overly ambitious gardening project in an area which is essentially desert. That's right....me; silly excitable enthusiastic gardener that I am. Now that it's past mid June, at home in Ohio I would have most everything planted and the garden would be a green living thing of beauty. Here, not quite the same. The garden bed (or at least part of it) has been mostly prepared, and planted with lots of hard work and many wonderful helpers, especially the girls of the English Garden Club.These students, in grades 7-10 volunteered to help me work in the garden, 3 times a week for an hour each time for the opportunity to practice speaking English. I am delighted and grateful for their help! The watering alone for the approximately 50' X 10' bed involves countless trips into the dorm and filling up buckets in the sink then carrying them back out to the garden. It's a time consuming and good exercise, but a tedious task.Our garden bed is a fenced in area in front of the school dorm, conveniently located and at least partially sheltered. However,much to my dismay an ornery dog has found his way in and likes to traipse over the beds; I have caught him running through! The ground in these beds (one on either side of the entrance) is filled with sandy dirt and lots and lots of rocks and stones, not to mention the fire weeds that sting like chiggers. The initial preparation involved hours of digging, then adding in some decent soil (thankfully school got bags of it for us) and some manure (mostly bagged as well, that we added in, while attempting to remove most of the rocks. In addition to the club students, occasionally another student or school worker has pitched in and dug or pulled weeds and rocks with me!Seeds planted in the garden have come mostly from my sister Sue and my friend Stephanie back home and include my favorites, which may or may not fare well here. Huge amounts of green beans, peas, radishes, spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, herbs and about 40 tomato's have been planted thus far. (all from seed except the tomato's which I nurtured on my bedroom window sill.) This week I anticipate planting a few cucumbers which I've started and perhaps a few flowers to fill in some spots, as well as working on preparing the other side garden, which though smaller, is extremely rocky.My plan for this smaller side includes "the three sisters" as the trio of sweet corn, pole beans and squash was called by Native Americans, though I don't know how well they may do. I think I'll try it along with a few small areas of potato's which are a big favorite here.Hesitation and angst permeate my mind lately and my garden efforts here.... I have made such a big deal of my gardening abilities that now if it fails I will "lose face"....(oops...at least many of them have seen my lovely indoor garden). The location is not as ideal as I'd hoped (almost 7 hours sunlight a day) and the director warned me that people may take (i.e. just up and steal) plants and or veggies from the garden, plus the poor soil and the tremendous amount of physical labor involved.... This is the experimental garden year, I have now started telling folks; we will see what will grow, and the soil will be enriched just by growing plants in it this year. By next spring our compost will be ready and I will have a clearer picture of how to adapt my gardening practices to Arvikheer. Plus, I think I will attempt to write a grant for a greenhouse project here for next year!

Children's Day, a national holiday in Mongolia, is celebrated on June 1st. Technically, I believe it's Children's and Mother's Day, but kids are really celebrated on this day. Women's Day is celebrated in March, when all women, not just mother's, are honored. Here in Arvikheer, a new Children's Park has been built since my arrival and the park was crowded and appreciated by many on Children's Day. The ferris wheel has been up for months, (before winter) and the rest of the rides and area seem to have appeared since late April. It's amazing to me how quickly some things happen here, i.e., construction! With the limited number of good weather days (above freezing, long hours of sunlight, etc). when things need to be completed, it happens!

I had just been walking around the area of the park a few weeks earlier (yes, looking for dung for the garden) and it was pretty empty.... All the sudden there is (in addition to the ferris wheel), several other rides including a merry go round, a tall hanging swing ride, a pharoh's boat ride, and an above ground pond where paddle boat rides were offered! It is an amazing little place for this small town and is located right next to the new (as of last summer) soccer field (where teams pay to play there) and across the road from the new sports complex (also new last year).

A couple friends and I walked around, enjoying watching the kids have fun and admiring the festive atmosphere! It was quite crowded and most children were all dressed up; even in the dry dusty park!

Just outside the park area were vendors selling ice cream, drinks, snacks and toys of all sorts... Lots of happy children everywhere! Children are a society's most precious resource and though there are issues with child welfare and safety, (just like everywhere!), it is heartwarming to experience a day dedicated to the celebration of children!

The dorm rooms here in Arvikheer, where students live for 9 months out of the year, are pretty nice by Mongolian standards. I only qualify that because if they were compared to the USA or some other country, they might not fare as well.

I recall my first look at a school dorm here. . . It was almost one year ago! When my group of PCV's arrived in Mongolia, it was night time and dark. We then took a very interesting bus ride to a neighboring town where we were to be housed in the school dormitory for our initial orientation period. (It was also my first experience with the pimped out buses here....)

The ride was scary because the roads were bumpy and rutty so the bus went very slowly and there were no lights anywhere. The occasional large dog was seen running along side the road, and there were odd sights, like little police booths where the bus had to stop, and arched entryways on the road with weird writing I couldn't read. It was like being in a foreign land... Oh yea, it was.... not so much anymore!

The dorm building appeared to be very plain and stark. There were no curtains on any windows. This I realized can be quite annoying and disorienting, especially when the sun rose at around 5 a.m. and I was severely jet lagged! The beds were tiny bunks, very hard and not a pillow to be found anywhere. There were many helpful local volunteers there to assist us with carrying all our luggage (100 lbs. of check in baggage, plus carry on....) to our assigned rooms.

The dormitory here in Arvikheer houses 100 students, ranging in age from 6 to 17. They come from neighboring soums and often spend the majority of the school year in this environment. The rooms are pretty nice, with curtains and decent beds, bedding and most even have lockers of sorts. The students take good care of them and many times have posters, bulletin boards and awards hanging on the walls.

My bright idea was to have my friend Andrew take photos of me with each group of students in their dorm room. Then I was going to surprise them with a copy of the photo at a party I am planning to celebrate the end of the school year...this is still the plan...but...

Tune in next week for a recap of the big party...these kids are amazing and deserve the best I can give them!

Much to my chagrin, by the time I got around to arranging this, I discovered that the students in grades 1-5 had already finished school and were going home for the summer, if they had not already left!

So most of the pictures are now with the older kids! And that means they will not be here for the big bash I have planned for Sunday! We are making pizza, watching a slide show, movie and popcorn and many, many games! The students still here are now grades 7-11 so that changes the original idea, but it will all work out in the end.

This past weekend I visited KharKhorin with several of my site mates. The oldest monastery in the country, Erdene Zuu is located here, as well as the infamous phallic rock (both old and new ones) and our wonderful PCV friend Marisa. Many reasons to visit this lovely little town only a three and a half hour meeker ride from Arvikheer. The ride is always an adventure! Allison and I were the only non Mongolians on our way there. The paved road to UB is where we started, and followed it for at least an hour before turning off onto the rutted, dirt path that is the road for the next two hours. The half way point stop is an ovoo where many of us walked around clockwise three times, tossing a stone with each turn; and this is primarily a toilet stop. Our friend Babs (who speaks the best Mongolian among us) found and arranged the meeker for us. It cost us 8,000T each (around $6.) Babs and Joyce ended up on this same meeker the next day and it was the one we all rode back home together on Sunday.

We got to experience the lams chanting at the monastery and it was thrilling, peaceful, spiritual, and uplifting. It is a beautiful and serene place I would like to see again, even though dear Marisa will be back in the USA this summer, having finished her PC stint.

My photos cannot do justice to the serene view from the monastery grounds and the panorama of sky, mountains and intricate buildings. I found this place, just like my response to most monastery's, calming.

It blows my mind to think that the ancient capital of this magnificent country was once here, in the time of Chinngis Khan! The more I learn about the history of this beautiful land and it's warm and welcoming people the closer to my heart it becomes.

Where is my sh%$! What the what?! Manure, dung, doo doo, excrement, kaka, whatever else you want to call it, it's still sh#*! As part of my gardening adventure here in Arvikheer, my good intentions (and enjoyable, though somewhat time consuming and perhaps even a little hard work) were blown away by someone else's good intentions...

Let me start at the beginning. One of the exciting projects that both my school director and I were in agreement about was gardening. She envisions a greenhouse on the school grounds, growing vegetables. These vegetables would supplement the diet of the children living in the school dormitory, plus some would be sold to the public, with the profits benefiting the school as she sees fit.

My vision is to teach some children and adults about the wonders of gardening, the magic of vegetables and to introduce more variety as well as vitamins to the dorm students diet. I also have a serious gardening addiction that needs to be fed by just such activities!

Since I came to town in late August last year, one of my first outdoor gardening endeavors thus far has been to get the directors' ok to plant salad fixins' in the two large urns outside the school. It has been almost a week since I did that. After amending the dirt with potting soil, horse dung and some sawdust, I planted seeds with the help of a dorm student. I have been diligently checking and watering the urns daily, garnering some strange looks from the school workers and much curiosity from the children. I am anxiously awaiting the emergence of some green any day now! (provided all the seeds have not been pecked out and eaten by the birds I have witness feasting there...)

The compost bins, thrown together with the assistance of some of the Eco club members are another project that some folks seem to be interested in. While adding my own compost scraps to the pile yesterday, I noticed that one of the other bins is now being filled with veggie peelings, mostly from potato's. These I am pretty sure can only be from the school cooks..yea! What excitement to know that some Mongolians are willing to try this weird idea of mine out!

My enthusiasm really jacked up my mood yesterday. The pleasant weather also helped me feel fine and I spent several hours and many trips hauling bags of dung I had found from at the stream bed to the fenced in garden bed areas in front of the dormitory. There I dumped this dung, not bothering to scatter it, or to get my shovel from home and bury it.

As a farm girl, I understand the usefulness of manure as a fertilizer. Farmers worldwide know how beneficial animal dung can be! In some countries, such as China, the use of "night soil" is employed to boost crop growth . Here in Mongolia, animal dung is most frequently used as fuel for ger stoves; especially in areas where wood is not readily available, i.e. a majority of the country. Some of this dung I found even appeared to be from a stall with partially decomposed straw combined with it. The perfect combination for helping this rocky, sandy dirt produce better crops! I erroneously thought others would see this dung as exciting and beneficial as me!

What a rude awakening I had today on my way past the dorm to the monastery where I assist with the Saturday afternoon English class, when I saw all my dung was gone!! Who would ever think in a country where garbage, broken glass, discarded clothing and all sorts of trash are frequently found lying around that some animal dung thrown into a dirt bed would be offensive. Outraged, confused and pissed off, I went to class, vented to my monk friend and called Oyun.

After class I met with her and one of the dorm teachers. Apparently as part of the great weather spring clean up the school director told all the foreign language teachers to clean all the sh*% out of the beds in front of the dorm building. Ugh....there is not a heavy sigh heavy enough to convey my anger at myself for not burying that crap!

There appeared to be confusion as to why I might need the dung when we are attempting to make compost. I explained that the compost won't be ready for months and the only way we can get this dirt to grow stuff is through enriching it with dung! Ah, ha... that's all I needed to do was explain this basic fact. I did notice today that there is a little less trash around the school building; trash cans are still on my radar!

Next time I go hunting for dung, I intend to train students, (look out Eco club) exactly what to collect and perhaps we will have a dung collecting field trip! Live and learn.

week ago Sunday I spent the entire afternoon at the cinema. No, not watching movies; it's what the "old theater" is referred to. I was watching the kids from the 5 local secondary schools Eco clubs compete. The two weeks prior was an active time for the Eco clubs, with the presentation competition at my school, then a big club competition at the local Aimag Children's Center.

The Sunday event was specifically for the Ecology/Green clubs, and included skits about taking care of mother earth, talent competitions,and a knowledge quiz portion etc. I really admire the stamina of the students, patiently waiting their turn for each event. My own patience has expanded by leaps and bounds in the past 11 months here; as well as my ability to sit in hard chairs for hours at a time. Though I couldn't understand the language, I could mostly follow along and the students from my school were very creative in their presentations. They won first place, with a big trophy; it was very exciting!

During the week I had my usual weekly activities, two English classes at the dorm, an Eco club meeting ( where we made compost bins from wire, which I actually got the school to pay for, though I ended up having to purchase my own shovel), Life Skills club, movie night, and arts and crafts time and assisting with English class on Saturday afternoon at the local monastery.

Thursday after English I was astounded to see a volleyball net erected, as well as a banner, balloons and real nets on the basketball hoops! I knew something was going on and suspected an important visitor was coming. However, turns out the 11th graders (what we would call high school seniors) were having a sporting competition that afternoon. Fortunately I took some photos because the nets, banner etc were all down the next day. I made many new little friends from the school that afternoon, as they all clambered for me to take their photos!

Friday evening at the dorm I had a karaoke competition for the students. They were so cute, and it was mostly younger kids, as many of the older students were busy, with 5th, 9th and 11th grade graduation celebrations planned for all the next day. I need to get over feeling that an event is not successful if it's not well attended. The idea is to give special attention to the dorm students and if nothing else, they certainly get that from me, and I in turn get so much back from them.

I don't really understand the grade system here, though I believe that there are separate Kindergarten schools, then grades 1-5 are all considered elementary. Oddly enough, there is no such thing as 6th grade, so 7, 8, 9 are what we would call middle school or junior high, and 10 and 11 are high school.

Graduation from 5th grade means you are advancing to middle school and from 9th to high school, then from 11th you are on your way to university! I did not attend any of the celebrations though I have been invited to go on a class trip with my friend and counterpart Oyun's 10th grade class early in June.

Saturday evening some friends and I had soup at my house then hung out at the town square (very close to my apartment) for an open air concert; sort of like a Mongolian Idol type of competition. It was a little chilly for being out too long but rather fun for the hour or so we lasted! We ran into several Mongolian friends, and some of my dorm students as well!

Yesterday (Sunday) the weather was beautiful; sunny, rather mild and not too windy. I ventured out hiking around town attempting to collect manure for gardening. My hour and a half was enjoyable, though only garnered a bag of dried manure. It was enough however for the two big blue urns out in front of my school that the director ok'd my planting salad fixins in!

I went by the dorm and found two willing young boys as helpers as well as a young girl. The boys graciously hauled my two big plastic bins full of mostly composted veggie scraps that have been sealed up in my kitchen. Booya carried the heaviest one as well as dug holes in the "soon to be new vegetable garden" patch in front of the dorm. He then buried the stinky compost, along with some sawdust in the holes for me! What an enourmous help he was! Nyearma, my quiet little friend, hung out with me and helped me dig the manure into the planters as well as some sawdust and potting soil we went to the market to buy. After preparing and water the planters she helped me plant the seeds then water again.

Nyearma and I enjoyed some ice cream after and I am very interested to see her reaction as the salad garden grows! Now if only I can get her and some of the other children to want to try lettuce, spinach and radishes! We did plant carrots and that is one of the most commonly grown and used veggies here, so that's a start!

The Eco (or Green) Club as it is known, is an extracurricular activity at The First Twelve Year Secondary School of Arvaikheer. Though I have started and am involved with various activities specifically at the dormitory, this is the only club at my school that I have worked with this year. Officially, there are 32 club members, all hand picked by teachers in the school. I take issue with this process, as students are not given free choice to follow their interests, they are told what club to join, etc. Seems to me this is a leftover viewpoint from the days of communism (whispered)... To further fuel the fire in me on this notion, the school social worker told me the governor will come and speak to the graduates, telling them what potential job growth there will be in our city; essentially telling them what to study at university, then to return to Arvaikheer to work. huh....Back to the eco club...the students and I have floundered through recent months with me preparing power point presentations in both English and Mongolian. This has been fairly effective, but not exactly the enthusiasm I was expecting. I need that dose of reality once in awhile, as I am getting spoiled by what M20 PCV Wally G. calls "celebrity status" accorded to us here in Mongolia.With the onset of Spring (at least some days... just like in my home state of Ohio)), the students interest seems to been peaked. Just in time for a "composting" lesson again. My big plan was for each club member to receive free of charge a medium sized plastic trash can with lid which they would use for composting their household scraps. Viola ! I thought by now we'd have gallons of compost for the gardening projects I have been envisioning.Our club applied for financial sponsorship through World Vision a great organization which provides monies to children's' organizations. By the time we got our papers submitted (2 months of missed meetings and lack of translation of my ideas/proposal) it's been over 6 months and now we are actually expecting our requested materials! Too bad I didn't ask for the equipment to build composting bins! I thought just like at home I could find some old cast away materials; boards, wire fencing, etc. Not happening....In honor of Earth Day, the Eco Club has two weeks of green activities focusing on ecology. Last week our school hosted the annual meeting of all the area Eco Clubs; two of the four other secondary/high schools attended. There was a competition for the high school students (10th and 11th graders) for presentations given on the importance of taking care of the Earth. In addition, I got to present my PP on the importance of composting, including step by step directions on how to build a compost pile, materials, to use, etc. My club students had been interested in it (they saw it earlier in the week) as were the others in attendance. The instructor form the tech school invited me to their school to give this presentation, and another teacher from my school urged me to present this to all the teachers at our school!Weather or not this will transpire is another story, however, their enthusiasm encourage me!Next week at our Eco Club meeting, we will be building compost piles near our school. Prior to that I have much work to be done, finding "free" or "nearly free" materials to build it with, gathering some tools and getting the school director to agree to let us build it in my chosen location.

This is the story of me being a persistent trouble maker and some deflated balls....... Since I first came to my school dorm to work, there have been several large cardboard boxes underneath the computer tables. Early on I tried to find out what was in them... big mystery.....Turns out these were boxes full of great donated items (which I believe my PC predecessor acquired for the dorm students). After a couple months, one of the teachers reluctantly allowed some of the items to be taken out for use by the kids. These included books, some games, etc. The boxes were then taped back up and returned to their lair....At one point during the cold winter months, I took out many jump ropes for the little kids to play with. After a few days they disappeared. I am not sure but I believe staff put them away.I recalled many brand new balls in those boxes.... basketballs, volleyballs and soccer balls. When I asked several times about getting them out, I was informed we don't have a pump.Now that spring appears to have arrived, I started a quest for a pump. You would think it wouldn't be that difficult to find a little hand pump, but for me it certainly was. Two weeks ago while visiting my friend Sharaya in a neighboring town (5 hour bus ride) we saw in the market hand pumps!!! I was so excited that I bought 2; each costing the equivalent of $2. I decided one for me (and my bike that I need to be riding) and one for the dorm kids and those balls!Earlier this week after the English class I told my counterpart Altai I bought a hand pump for the balls and would bring that evening when I returned for our life skills class.And that's just what I did.... I brought the pump and started getting balls out of the boxes. Sometimes I just do stuff instead of really thoroughly thinking it through. Occasionally I need to check my attitude and motivation .... However this time I think what I did was ok. I applied the philosophical questions of "if not me, then who?" and "if not now, then when?" and concluded the balls might sit there and rot before the children they were intended for, derived the pleasure they should, from them!The young teens in the life skills class were so excited at the new balls...and quickly pumped them up and began tossing them around. During a break in the life skills lesson the kids chattered excitedly about the balls, putting them under their shirts, etc.Later, Altai told the kids they must leave the balls in the big room and I was both angered and dismayed, though reluctantly agreed. Knowing that Altai has worked with these students way longer than me, and figuring she had some pearl of wisdom about the situation, I told the kids and Altai I would stop by tomorrow..... (even though I did not have anything scheduled at the dorm Tuesday, I told the kids that I would get the balls out ...)I did return Tuesday afternoon and went to the big room...where both dorm teachers were locked inside discussing the "ball situation". They did let me in and when I asked about taking the balls outside, they reluctantly said ok. I took 2 basketballs, 2 soccer balls and a volley ball out and gave them to the dorm students who were out on the playground.Feeling somewhat devious and smug about it, I left... The next day Hajid explained to me that they would keep the balls in the teachers office (good idea) and kids would have to ask and come get one to play with. She said they are concerned students will ignore their lessons/homework if allowed to have open access to the balls. Imagine my excitement to find that I totally agree with her, and my pleasure at seeing the dorm students have some new equipment to play with !

Non verbal communication comprises a large percentage of inter- personal communication. Since my Mongolian language abilities remain pitifully limited, even after 10 months in this amazing country, I'm grateful and dependent on non verbal communication!Fortunately for me, many folks here speak some English and most others are interested and motivated to learn what is referred to as the global language. Since talking with others is something I really excel at (lol....yea, I talk a lot...) my participation in English classes, events, competitions are a fun way for me to share with others!Our local PCV's have a weekly "Monglish" night, where we assist others in learning English and it's intended to help us with our Mongolian language as well. Truthfully, we mostly speak English and our group ranges from as few as 5 to 20 some weeks.At the dormitory I conduct twice weekly English lessons. These lessons are based on games and fun activities, which I find very effective! The kids are exposed to English through many games including bingo, one of their favorites, partly because I use candies for markers. Once there is a bingo, the winner gets candy as a prize. We have been playing animal bingo for weeks now and I just finished making a clothing bingo which will debut next week after the kids return from spring break.Just last week I began assisting with the weekly English class held at the local Buddhist temple. My monk friend Bataar teaches along with a Mongolian woman and I assist by writing on the board, answering questions, talking, and pronunciation practice. My friend Uugnaa teaches at the local technical university, and recently asked us PCV's to judge an English speaking competition. Five of us went and heard informative speeches which were accompanied by Power Point presentations given by 15 students. We scored each participant, then averaged the scores to determine the winners, who received English -Mongolian dictionaries from the university. English Olympics are an annual competition held all over Mongolia and our local event was earlier this week. The test is for 9th and 11th grade students and my school hosted 23 students in each grade (from various area schools) for the test. The 11th grade exam itself was very confusing to students and as proctors we were not allowed to explain or clarify instructions. The two hour time limit was utilized by all participants and the highest score was less than 50%.English teachers had their own exam and my friend and counterpart Oyunchimeg won this event; outscoring the competition by 20+ points! None of the 1st school students placed in the top 3 ; however PCV Joyce teaches (at Merged school) the first place 9th grade winner (who is my counterpart Chewka's daughter) and 2nd place 11th grader(who is a regular at Monglish night) - wooooo who!!!Lucky for me that I speak the global language and that I'm somewhat animated when I speak, otherwise I might have much greater difficulty communicating!

Mongolian wrestling

is similar to boys and mens'wrestling world wide. The outfits are skimpy and I think a little embarassing, just like the little singlets American boys wear in competitions.My own sons both did a little wrestling, so I have watched it all before. However, here there is a whole little traditional dancing, after a match (eagle dance I believe it's called) and some thigh slapping that goes on before a match. It's all very formulaic and fun, and the dorm boys competition was enjoyable.Some of the boys wrestled, and several were spotters (don't

know what else to call them....on sidelines, keeping wrestlers from falling on the crowd!!!!).....There were several rounds of competition and all the guys were great sports!The event started at 9 pm and concluded at 11:30.... kind of late for a school night...but that's how it goes. I was offered a place of honor at the head table, but opted to sit with some of the kids, both for my comfort level and for a better vantage point for photographing some of the action. As you can see from the photos, only a few of the guys had the costume which is traditionally worn for wrestling, down to the custom made Mongolian boots. I got the honor of giving out the awards; it's great to be a volunteer here!

This could also be called Cooks Club, as my counterpart Altai referred to Sunday afternoons' adventure. Originally this was going to be (in my mind) an opportunity for all the dorm boys (around 40) to get in that big kitchen and bake with me supervising. I thought they could bake cookies in teams and the girls would vote for the best cookies and team!

Of course this is not at all how it went..... Instead what happened is Altai picked some boys, 8 or so, to be part of the baking. We went for cake instead, as the boys, when given the choice of cookies, bread or cake, wisely, chose cake. So as promised, I brought the ingredients, 10 kilos each of sugar and flour, 2 dozen eggs and baking powder, soda, vanilla and chocolate bars to melt.

Instead of the dorm kitchen, which I thought we had agreed upon using, we were taken to the school next door (which is my school) to use the kitchen that felt like it didn't have heat (though it did) and sans running water. No big surprise there.

The boys ended up baking two humungous cakes; one vanilla and one chocolate. (we quadrupled each recipe.) Since the recipes were in English, I explained and showed them how much sugar, etc. to put in. They enjoyed the process and I got a huge kick out of "making them" lick the huge stock pot which was our mixing bowl. As far as I know, people here generally do not bake their own goodies so this was their first experience. I attempted to explain to them that licking the bowl and putting your fingers to taste was always my own kids favorite part of helping bake!

I have many fond memories of my own kids in the kitchen and even when they drove me crazy with their "help", it was a great shared experience. My sons both know their way around the kitchen, (as did their sister) and can cook and bake; an important skill for all young adults! Perhaps these boys will now feel confident to do more in the kitchen, and all expressed an interest in learning more. I would like to continue these baking activities at least once monthly and will do what I can, as the school year is quickly flying by.

The pride on their faces when they served the cake at dinner that evening was great! They were all smiles and the kids were amazed at how yummy both cakes tasted! There was enough cake in those two huge pans that each dorm student got a small piece of each. These boys fill my heart and enrich my life. I am very fortunate to be able to share a small slice of their lives.

A buck is still a buck and a togrog (pronounced toogrick) is still a togrog; though the value of that buck has declined since my arrival here in June. Back then the exchange rate was around 1,500 T per dollar. Now it's hovering at around 1,150.

The actual money here is quite lovely, and bills only, so no small change clattering around in your pockets. The photos show just how attractive the bills are.....A togrog seems to go a long way sometimes though on a Peace Corps salary not always far enough! Ah, just like back at home, surviving paycheck to paycheck!

Some of my most frequently purchased items (and great bargains) are the big jug of Mongolian yogurt priced at around 3,000 T. A block of wet Mongolian tofu 1,000 T, a pack of delicious green tea is 600 T, coke zero is 650 T, a beer around 1,350 (the one pictured is my favorite, a dark beer pronounced Har Horen and it's a little more than most).

The bag of apples is only 1,500 T though I believe apples and oranges were way more expensive in the summer time. Eggs are sold individually and usually you grab some out of the cooler and the cashier puts them in a small plastic bag for you. I however, like to take the egg crates, thinking I'll use them for some plants later this spring! Oh yes, the price of eggs is 250 T each. My favorite brown bread is made locally and costs 550 T a loaf. The local tub of costs 1,900 T and real butter here is good though always unsalted and comes in big chunks wrapped in plastic and is a little more expensive. Sugar comes in cubes (also available in granulated form and you buy it by the kilo), like those shown for around 1,600 T and this particular one is in the shapes of suits of cards. I recall during our Pre Service training having these at breakfast and thinking oh my all the sugar cubes here are so cute!

Paper products are reasonably priced, with napkins shown going for 700 T and my choice toilet paper is 300 - 400 T. There is much plusher t.p. available but I happen to like this one, though the texture is very similar to crepe paper in the US. I like the fact that here paper products are not used too much. You will get a small napkin in a restaurant, but generally you need to carry your own t.p. (I buy the Mongolian products:) Kleenex can be found in small pocket packs or large boxes, from either Germany or China. Funny how weird that sounds to me, but how I have become accustomed to these changes! Generally t.p. is not flushed here either, and there is a waste can next to the toilet for the paper.

I also buy some imported foods, such as that huge box of Corn Flakes (from Germany) which cost 3,500 T, but worth it; cereal is hard to find here! The peanuts shown are from Germany and sports the offending can with the pull off tab which was the cause of my first stitches in Mongolia (during Pre service training in the summer......) The crackers are from China and a bargain at 1,000 T tasting like Ritz! The big yellow bag is powdered milk, imported from Korea and sells for 6,000 T. Occasionally I buy Mongolian milk which comes in a box on the shelf and the equivalent of half gallon sells for 1, 700 T. The powdered milk is handy for drinking in my morning instant coffee, a jar of which runs 5,000 T.

Fresh produce has been fairly easy to find in my small city, with more types of veggies showing up lately, such as broccoli, leaf lettuce, red cabbage, zuchinni and bok choy! I anticipate having more veggies growing in my own garden this summer, but it is great to find them in the market here.

Since most of my money is spent on food, that's what I've focused on here. However for a quick comparison sake, one way bus ticket from Arvikheer to Ulaanbaatar costs 14,000 T, as does a small set of computer speakers. You can purchase a warm hat or mittens for 1 - 2,000 T in the market, kids scissors for 300 T, and a glue stick for 500 T, though a ream of paper goes for 9,000 T.

I am always wracking my brain for some new and different activities for the students to get involved with. Especially now that I've been here since August and realize the school year is slipping away and there's much more I want to do before June. . .

There are several regular activities at the dormitory which are ongoing, i.e. English classes, movie night, story time, arts & crafts, life skills (for teens) and occasional other special events. A Valentines day party I organized was not very successful, and frankly a great event was what I needed to redeem my rep and not have them shy away.

The kids all love to dance (well most of them do, a few are too shy or self conscious, but once they see me out there they loosen up....hey ), and competitions are usually exciting, so why not a dance competition?I asked Altai, my awesome counterpart/dorm teacher who liked the idea... and I offered a Friday night date and it was on! I made a poster (Mongolian and English.....) and a sign up sheet. There was a almost 2 weeks before the event. Altai agreed to be in charge of music, and I said I would find judges not affiliated with the dorm and I'd get awards. (my friends here tell me no wonder I am broke, I spoil my dorm kids...my own kids would laugh hysterically at that, I never spoiled them:) And spoiling them here means I spend some (ok about a fourth to a third monthly) of my meager PC living allowance to buy my own supplies for classes, activities, prizes, candy and treats at random times).

So as it turns out, no one was signing up and though I kept bugging the kids about it, no one would put their name on the sheet. My frustration was growing daily, and finally a couple days prior, I told Altai that if no one was going to sign up, perhaps we should cancel the competition and just have a dance. She assured me that there were 25 acts and she had the names and would give them to me in a couple days.

Suffice it to say the competition was amazing and fun, and the kids had almost as much fun as I and my friends who were the judges did watching them perform! They never cease to amaze me with their enthusiasm and their attitude of gratitude! (something I strive toward myself)

Yes, that is the Gobi Desert, just a few hours drive away from my town. The notion of a weekend trip was inspired by our site mate/friend, Erin who was having a birthday on the 18th. She lives in a small soum 2-3 hours south of our aimag center, and had to work all day Friday, her actual birthday.Some conspiring ensued, and our VSO friends with a Jeep, suggested a surprise trip to see her and continue to the desert and another neighboring soum where their landlord happens to live.Joyce and I convinced Erin we were coming to get her Saturday morning and whisking her away. We all pulled up around noon, and it was great! She was surprised and our adventure began! Not that riding in a Russian Jeep through the whoodo (countryside with passes and ruts that are roads here) isn't an adventure in and of itself! Thanks to Andrew, our fearless driver for getting us around all weekend. We headed from Gochinos soum to Baron Byan something... soum where we were graciously met by their landlord and a local English teacher. We enjoyed Mongolian hospitality having dinner at his family's ger. Our accommodations for the night was a room in the school dormitory, which was very comfortable, and after taking our belongings there, joined our hosts to watch Mongolian wrestling in the local school gym. One of the coolest differences we noticed here were the saddled camels tied up outside. Not a sight I have witnessed previously in Mongolia. Camels are amazing looking animals, with their big eyes and long lashes and now during the cold weather, their hair is full and lovely. Their feet are unbelievably huge, and they tend to snort and sniff. Our hosts took us on Sunday morning to an area a short drive out of town to ride camels. We all got a turn to pose with one, then took turns riding. It was a crazy cool experience to see them up close and personal, and to ride them, even for a short time. Though I felt pretty secure in between those humps, the ride was a little wobbly.I was reminded of one of my favorite Mongolian movies, The Story of the Weeping Camel; if you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it as representative of life as a herder in the Gobi.

...My sister Sue commented to me recently that on my blog she sees plenty of me, my friends, my co-workers, my site mates,my students, but what about the scenery? My town, what I see every day as I walk places.... I have struggled with this and the accompanying photos because to look at this place which has become my home, through my eyes, is not the same at all as looking at these photos. The pictures, taken at face value, seem rather dull, boring, perhaps even a little bleak. I have come to love this place, so as anyone who loves their home, it is comfortable, familiar and even beautiful to me.

The lunar new year as celebrated in Mongolia, is similar in some respects to Chinese new year. All of Asia has a lunar new year traditional celebration and my first experience of this holiday was amazing! The official holiday lasts three days and begins according to the moon, so the dates change each year. This year it was February 3, 4 and 5. Tsagaan sar translates to white moon, or white month. During this celebration, the first day is generally for family members, with elders being honored. A special greeting is said. "amar bahn yy?", and you embrace with the elders arms over top your outstretched arms, and touch/sniff cheek to cheek. I rather enjoy this greeting as I tend to be a huggy/touchy type person, unlike the cultrual norms here. After using this greeting for 3 days, then going to my school gathering (where all teachers/staff were to attend, though only about 2/3 attended), I was corrected that men and women don't touch cheeks, though I did. Guess my rep as crazy American can withstand a few more cultural mishaps..... The school gathering was similar to the tradition at someone's home. During a home visit, you are waited on hand and foot. Initially you greet all family members, eldest first. You are offered food, lots and lots of food, salads, candies, milk tea (tsute tse), then vodka (3 drinks, though traditionally you are to down the first shot then can sip the next two times), followed by wine, (same), and buuz, the traditional Mongolian Tsagaan sar food.Buuz are the steamed dumplings, traditionally filled with meat, onion and spices. During my visits to 7 homes I ate buuz made from horse meat (quite tasty) goat, and other unknown meat. I was also given vegetarian fare at 3 of the homes, which was greatly appreciated! Families prepare hundreds and sometimes thousands of buuz for their expected visitors.Preparation for this holiday reminds me of Christmas time in the US, with folks doing heavy cleaning and preparation for visitors, parties, open houses, only here it is very much confined to 3 days. The guests/visits are scheduled so there are only a few people at any one time, then once all the rituals have been completed, the host gives you a gift (sweets, make up, hand cream, a fortune telling game...) and that's your cue to leave! Though it is not necessary for a visitor to give a gift, I baked russian tea cookies, and wrapped them in pretty paper and ribbon as thank yous. These were given after receiving gift from host. It was a whirlwind week!By the time Sunday rolled around I was tired and I didn't even host anyone! Our school gathering was similar, and we met in the big room with men sitting on one side and women the other. Our school director sat at the table with the traditional white food centerpiece, and she was the first person to be greeted. Thankfully for me, there are always some counterparts looking out for me and steering me in the right direction! Following initial greetings, milk tea, then vodka, then meat was passed around then candy and white cheese curd while two llams from the Buddhist temple came and conducted a ceremony for the ocassion. Perhaps next year I will host a Tsagaan sar of my own!

Like so many other things in life here in Mongolia, traveling around is a whole 'nother experience.... As in my youthful days of riding the Greyhound bus to and from Ohio State, I am enjoying and even at times, savoring the "autobus" as an inexpensive, though not exactly time saving method of transportation.People here do not own cars the way we Americans do... They accept that riding the bus or hiring a car or meeker (van) to go where they want or need to get to is part of life. I recall seeing a PBS show on Mongolia prior to my arrival where it was stressed that to travel here, you need lots of time or money. A truer statement was never spoken.With failing infrastructure, the "roads" are not so good and to many places there are no roads, and drivers must know the way. A well paying and fairly prestigous job, driving for a living must be extremely tiring here!At one of the major bus depots in Ulaanbataar, Draegen station, individuals set up small stands and sell snacks and beverages for the long rides. I have even seen women get on the bus selling heavy duty long underwear, in case you are cold. The buses I have ridden to and from UB are very pimped out with curtains on all the windows as well as some nice storage spaces, and a big screen dvd player. You can count on seeing many Mongolian music videos and usually a movie on the 6+ hour trip. Not too shabby for a bus! The cost one way is the exquivelant of aroud $12 US, affordable even on my PC living allowance.Fortunately the road all the way from Arvikheer to UB is paved and fairly smooth. The disruption on the ride is usually the driver honking the horn to either chase livestock from the road, warn a motorcycle or when passing the slow moving heavily laden trucks.On a recent weekend trip to Buyankhungor to visit some PC friends, it was a totally new bus experience. First of all, though only about 200 Km away at most (UB being being 450 Km away) it takes a minimum of 5 hours for the trip. The "road" is not paved, and reminds me of the narrow roads of my country childhood. Winding, narrow and rutted, the bus spent much of the time in low gear climbing.Another interesting matter was that I could not actually purchase a ticket from here to there. My town is a stop in between Buyankhungor and UB, so I had to go to the petrol station on the highway (where the bus either passes or stops for fuel) and was given a 1 1/2 hour time window when the bus would pass by. Hhhhmmmmmm.... So my friend Uugnaa took me there, asked the two men waiting for the same bus to help me out and show me which bus... always an adventure. So after just a few minutes, 2 buses whizzed past the station, then a 3rd bus came and went and the attendant yelled at the men, who in turn, motioned me to follow. One of the men ran to the road and flagged down the bus, which then pulled over several hundred feet ahead. Oddly enough the men stopped to chat with two women in a car who pulled over and I rushed ahead to the bus.The driver looked at me, pointed to a seat and said "bish", which is no... I was totally prepared for this, smiled and dragged my sleeping bag and half full backpack down the aisle, over several others seated there to find a spot to sit. I plopped down on my bag and coat in the aisle. It was surprisingly not so uncomfortable!During the next 5 hours we stopped twice for bathroom breaks. Now a bathroom break here means in this case, we stop in the middle of nowhere (no electric poles, gers, anything in sight)... men go off to one side of the bus and women to the other, everybody just popping a squat out in the open. My parka comes to my knees so my bare cold ass is not showing to everyone though. Amazing what becomes common place after awhile as this practice has for me! We arrived safely, not frozen and within 5 hours.On the way back I was fortunate to get a seat by getting to the bus depot early, and it was much more comfortable. These buses were not nearly as plush as the previous ones I'd ridden on, with no dvd player, a broken clock, but there was music. The stop we made was in a tiny soum, with gers and buildings around. When we got to Arvikheer the bus stopped at the petrol station where I got off. I had not paid for my fare and had to approach the driver to give him my money. One additional tiny difference here is that PC advises us to always carry supplies, especially in the brutally cold winter, such as sleeping bag, extra layers of warm clothing, food water and matches in case of the bus or vehicle breaking down and being stuck. I have ae a much longer journey planned for next month, to the far north of this huge country to witness the ice fest and see the reindeer people. I can only hope that journey will be as safe and pleasant as this most recent trip.

I know I have said this same phrase many times since my arrival in this vast country 7 months ago, and it bears repeating..... I love these kids and this place! Every day that I spend time with the students here, especially my dorm kids, my heart is full.Though it may be difficult to inspire change, a great change has taken place in me in the short time I have been here. My heart has never been this open and loving before (with the exception of my love for my own children). At my age, I think I have now become what I officially term "a crier"...Sometimes I feel so emotional and overwhelmed with warm fuzzy feelings for them that my eyes fill up.Many of these children do without a lot of things, just by virtue of living in the dormitory. They live there during most of the school year (Sept. 1 through May) with only a few breaks to return home. Some are orphans, some from trouble families, and all are from neighboring soums (small towns out in the country). Some of these students are there only because their tiny soum does not have a school, or because their local school does not go past 8th grade. To complete their education, they must live in the dormitory.The dormitory in my aimag center houses 100 children. These kids live there with minimal supervision, and minimal love and attention. Not to say they are neglected or running wild; that is not the case. However, I don't believe that American children under the same circumstances would behave so well.Of the 100 residents, approximately 60 are boys, 40 girls. They are housed on separate floors. Boys on the first/main floor, girls and "family units" on the second. The first floor also contains a large kitchen, dining hall, offices and storage space.The only working toilets in the whole building are located on the first floor. This is one small bathroom with two toilets,no stalls and is shared by all the kids. (Think about that for a minute......I used to think it was horrendous to share two toilets with my three children....) Perspective.....There are actually other toilets upstairs (an entire bathroom designed for small kids, 6 and under with the tiny toddler toilets).... which has been closed off since 2004. The shower room, has also been closed since 2004 when the water heater broke and the solution was to turn it into a storage room.There will be more ranting about plumbing later.... The school is more interested in new windows for the building which are desperately needed. I am slowly working on a grant for this need.The second floor houses girls and what I call "family rooms". If there is a whole family of children, all the siblings share a room. I found it weird at first, but now see that it works pretty well for all of them. Mongolian children appear to have more responsibility toward siblings and the older ones are always looking out for and caring for the littler ones, related or not. I believe newer younger students without siblings are placed with older girls as well. (My limited understanding of the language is burdensome...)The entire dormitory is financed by the Ministry of Education. There is a small amount for food per child, equal to about one dollar and housing costs are covered. Not all the children come from poor families, but it's not evident who may or may not...... Personal possessions here are minimal. I learned that early on from my young host family over the summer. Though they were a family and had a tv, and a dvd player, they owned one photo album, one game, and had a couple albums covering their school years.The dorm kids may have cell phones and those who do keep in touch with their parents. It does not appear to be a status symbol. Clothing is all pretty equivalent, and none of them have extras like i pods, etc.....They have chores at the dorm, must keep rooms clean, rotate helping and cleaning after meals. Discipline and structure is here; although I tend to be concerned about extra attention from adults.This is where I come in... there are two dorm teachers, both of whom are great though have different styles of interaction with the kids. They are there day and evening, switching shifts on a rotating basis. Not much going on in the way of extracurricular activities, which has been a thrilling opportunity for me...Some days it appears I've become an art teacher after all! That's just one arts and crafts activity a week, and they are thrilled to make and display artwork!!! I love seeing their joy, though it's difficult to get them to smile for pictures...Movie night on Wednesdays is a favorite for everyone, with sometimes 50 kids attending....Recently story time has started on Monday evenings for the littler kids, right before the teacher and I have life skills class for the 12 and older crowd. We are discussing relationships, dating, love, etc... they are quite interested.After our int ital life skills class Monday, several of the students came up to me after class to say in their Mongolian way, "thank you Jo teacher"... No wonder I love these kids and this place so much.

..Don't miss the MLK day appliance sale only at Sears... so said the commercial on the internet when Babs (friend and site mate) and I were attempting to check out the Peace Corps story that had aired on ABC's 20/20 Friday evening in the US...I started giggling and said to Babs, doesn't that just make you laugh? Isn't that some funny stuff? Appliances!!!! He agreed that appliances seem like a very silly thing to get excited about here in Mongolia. It's a whole different perspective when you're living in a developing country. Babs like most Mongolians, hand washes his clothes. Literally, hand washes clothing in a tub scrubbing the fabric together while squatting over it. Then rinsing an item takes time, along with wringing it out enough to lay it out or hang it out to dry... A clothes dryer here is the rack you hang the freshly laundered clothing from.Above are pictured my favorite appliances here in Mongolia. On the left is my toaster oven, gratefully received from my friend and site mate Caitlin when she went home. On the right is my amazing washing machine. Though not the same as a washer in the US, it is a wonderful, time saving device! In spite of the fact that you have to fill it up with water one bucket at a time and after it's done soaking and washing, you have to drain the tub one bucket at a time (there is an attached hose for this) it is great! On the right side of it is the spinner compartment. After you wring out the clothing, you put it in to spin and it comes out halfway dry! The iron pictured there is also the nicest and newest iron I've owned in years!Not shown are my water distiller and my water heater. Both of these are used to purify water before drinking and major necessities here! They are used constantly!So back to MLK Day... Is an appliance sale really what our national holiday intended to inspire in our citizens? I think not. I think Dr. Martin Luther King was one of the greatest Americans in our history. An inspirational speaker and a natural leader, he still today sparks idealism in many. I am one of the many inspired by Dr. King. Just thinking of the phrase "I have a dream" and Dr. King saying it, gives me goosebumps.He was a man who left a legacy of love and hope. My dream is that each and every person can come to realize that each and every one of us have our own legacy of love; to share, to inspire others, and to leave behind when we are gone from this place.

I know we are past Christmas, New Years and the holiday season in general, but I still have many photos to share. Here are some of the actual holiday where we had a party at my house. Top left is my pal Ihab, with the purple scarf I got in the white elephant gift exchange, but that he ended up with...a group photo later in the day wishing you all happyholidays...then up left.baatmaa (VSO translator) and her husband Toogge, Right the boys learning how to use chopsticks. Left is the girls, me, Leah (VSO from Austrailia), Erin and Joyce. On right, me with my "harem" of boys...Ihab (VSO from England, Terrence, Babs, Jack (VSO from Kenya) and Andrew (hubby of Leah)..A good time was had by all... later several of us wanted to go out for a drink (it was about 10 pm) and nothing was open to the public, because everywhere was reserved for and hosting private sheen jeel parties. This is the same difficulty I experienced with friends in mid December in UB...

Me and "B" a young homeroom teacher, cheesing it up..and on right I'm dancing with the smooth PE teacher (it was his house warming from an earlier post)

these young men are guards at the dormitory, surrounding my counterpart Chokeu, an English and Russian teacherc

Oyun himeg English teacher and the physics teacher

lovely young English teachers

So one of the cultural snippets of information given to us PCV's during training, was that holiday teacher parties are lots of fun. I can now say that is certainly true from my limited experience. We were also advised that due to cultural differences, we may find some games that are played during such parties to be embarassing. I can say fortunately at my school shindig, the most embarassing thing was the dancing and drinking (perhaps just on my part!!)

I did arrive at the appointed time, 6 p.m., though hardly anyone was there yet. So I parked myself in the social workers office (to which I have a key but hardly use)...This led to me being taken to the director's office by one of my teacher counterparts to participate in some holiday toasts. Yes, those would be holiday shots of vodka. I continued to sip in spite of the heckling that was good naturedly directed at me!

Following a couple rounds, another teacher came and got me and we returned to the social workers office. At this point several other counterparts had arrived and two of us got our nails painted while we waited!

Soon I was led back to the director's office for another round by another counterpart.... Oh my and the party had not even started. Add to the drinking the fact that I was wearing "dressy shoes" though low heels I just can hardly walk in anything other than flats or wedges anymore... Or so I thought... I managed to dance for hours in those shoes, even though I did take them off two or three different times, but when I did a counterpart usually fussed at me, telling me my feet would get cold and I should put my shoes back on.

I finally went home at 3:30 a.m., and there were still teachers there having a good time. phew...

Ah, the amazing dormitory students! I was invited, through formal invitation to attend their party/performance. It was held December 26th and slated to begin at 5 pm. As is common here, the event actually started about 45 minutes late..... my patience is expanded through my living here.The Santa boys, or Father Winter, as he's also known as, had some fun with sparklers while waiting for things to begin. For their performance, they did an entertaining coreographed dance to the tune of Jingle Bells.

The event was scripted and kept on track by the emcee's, an older boy and girl who live in the dorm. Many of the students were dressed in their finery, with dresses/gowns reminiscent of a formal dance or prom, boys in suits. I was seriously undressed, but they are mostly accepting of such faux pauxs from me as the American volunteer.Dancing, singing and the excitement of the children made for a very enjoyable evening! The kids are so sweet, they even gave me a gift of a lovely chess set, complete with felted case and board! I was surprised, humbled and thrilled and it reinforces my ability to make a little difference here!After the program, we danced (yes, I danced with the kids and had so much fun!)! I twirled around to the Mongolian waltz with a few of the boys, and one of their dad's that was in attendance), and hip hopped it around with all the kids. Many of them are great dancers, and the techno stuff they do is mesmerizing to watch! (guess that's why it's called trance).More photos of this event to follow, my computer is having trouble uploading,

Happy Christmas is what the British say, and so it is in Mongolia. Most of the English text books here are actually British. Spelling, grammar and English language here in general reflect the British influence. Though as I've said before, here Christmas is not actually celebrated, it's hard to distinguish at times because of the decorations and themes seen around this time of year.One afternoon I ventured into the market place looking for glitter and garland. Here such places are called "black markets", though not all with the same connotation that it invokes in Americans' minds. Our market place in Arvikheer, is called a "Container market", because many of the little shops are actual "containers" that would be hauled on the back of a semi truck. Though there are some actual stores, much of the buying and selling takes place at the various containers and stands, which are located mostly outside in the elements. I know I don't have the stamina to attempt to eek out a living in the elements!Though this day was not so cold by Mongolian standards, about 15 above zero F, it didn't stop the vendors, nor the shoppers. I found the glitter and flashy garland for the dorm kids to use in their happy new year coloring posters that I'd copied for the arts and crafts time that evening

The masks and fireworks in the upper right picture are mostly used by children at Sheen Jeel.These little girls pictured above followed me around the market for awhile, saying hello and giggling. Perhaps one day I will tire of being stalked by the "hi monsters" as some other volunteers affectionately refer to such little ones; but I appreciate and enjoy their curiosity and friendliness. Eventually I may meet all the children in town, but considering that there are four schools, plus countless kindergartens, maybe not.

Shown above left are some of the completed happy new year signs the dorm kids made, though the amount of glitter on them is difficult to see here, there was lots and lots of it!

Happy Sheen Jiil, still! What a lapse in posting lately I've had. However, I attended no less than three school performances for new year so this is the highlights of the first. (In addition to the big teachers party, and a new years eve performance and fireworks outside...yes, in the negative 20 air)Literally and figuratively speaking, this performance was put on by and at 1st 12 year secondary school, my host country agency. This show was on Christmas Eve and was lots of fun! Controlled chaos would be an accurate description for the children in the audience!The gym was very festively decorated and there were so many talented and cute children, both performing and in the audience, that I had great difficulty choosing only a few photos.

Though not the exact spelling, phonetically Shin Jeel is the Mongolian term for Happy New Year. Though it is the coming of the new year that is celebrated, Mongolia is covered with Christmas decorations... trees, wreaths, etc, everywhere.Here from what my students tell me, families usually put up their new year tree on the 25th of December, then New Year is when they really get dressed up, give gifts and celebrate.So all places have major blow out parties, spending way too much money and wear glitzy clothes. According to my counterpart, Altai, our teacher party will be the 29th and the children will put on a performance on the 24th. I intend to get gussied up wearing my deel (skirt and jacket) I had made for my Peace Corps swearing in.I bought a few decorations for my apartment: a tiny tree at the market with little lights and am making tiny snowflakes and tinsel to decorate it. That photo will come later along with the dinner and celebration with my site mates. Sadly Caitlin the site mate who loves Christmas the most, went home (early terminated) just recently. However, I did inherit her little toaster oven and massive cookie baking supplies so there will lots of Christmas cookies made by me for others. Hopefully, I can bake some for the dormitory students! Though the holidays will not be the same as being home and with my own children and family, circumstances change and so must I. Wishing everyone a Happy Shin Jeel!

Most days I find it hard to believe that I have now been in this lovely central Asian country for six months. The whole place is growing on me as I adjust to the differences, in the pace of life here (much slower), the attitudes (very easy going), the lack of amenities that we Westerners are so spoiled by (but nothing very drastic), the people, the music, the pride in their heritage and their nation. Mongolia with it's harsh weather balanced out by the gorgeous blue sky has become home to me in this short time.

I enjoy the slower more relaxed pace, and have realized that though plumbing is awesome and I really appreciate it, I can live without a shower or a bathtub, learning to bathe in a tumpen. I am fortunate to have the stove that I have with one working burner, a second that works on low heat and an oven that mostly works (but you can't use the burners at the same time and the oven temp is hard to regulate). I have not driven a car since leaving the USA, and thought that would be tough, but it's not. In fact, I rarely ride anywhere, except for the bus trips to the city and back and the occasional taxi ride there. These are some of the minor adjustments I've made here and after awhile these adjustments become a normal part of everyday life.

The saying "time flies when you're having fun" is true. So is time flies when you are busy being confused, befuddled, misunderstood, frustrated and sometimes exhausted trying to communicate.

My Mongolian language skills, or should I should lack thereof, are just that. . . Though I have been trying, studying and attending weekly tutoring sessions, my ear for this language (or perhaps any language foreign to me) is just not so good.

Perhaps it is partly my age, the fact that our hearing (as well as sight, etc) starts to slowly deteriorate after age 30..; or, that I've never learned another language besides my native English (which is seriously weird after being here 6 months and talking slowly and in simple language); maybe because folks here are so anxious and interested in learning to speak English....maybe my brain just doesn't have the aptitude for language.

Whatever the causes, issues, the simple fact remains that I still can communicate with others, in spite of language barriers! Smiles, gestures, and dictionaries are oh so helpful here. I am learning slowly, but surely, and just like the other adjustments that I've made here, this too shall come in it's own time.

Though I still miss leaves and forests, creeks and grass, there are many similarities here to NE Ohio weather wise....

Now that it's November, my steam heat has been on for 6 weeks and I have winterized my windows , there are days that I'd like to actually open a window or two! Just like back home, one day it's unseasonably warm, then the next day it's freezing cold! My heat is steam, with the old fashioned radiators and it's very, very toasty! There are many buildings heated by the same boiler and you can see the little building with the boiler and the black smoke rising from the stack. There are many of these stacks in our town and consquently a bit of air pollution hanging about in the cold weather.

As they say in Mongolian, "oh yahnna" , which roughly translated means oh my. So even when it's really cold outside I'm sitting in my apartment wearing shorts and a t-shirt. Yes, I shudder to think of all the years of cold interiors when I insisted on turning down the thermostat (with pricey gas heat), telling the kids and myself to just wear more clothes!

Now I can relate to what they wanted and rather enjoy the excessive warmth. However, I feel a little guilty with the excessive warmth. On the other hand, thank goodness I don't have to build fires daily or even many times during the day or night like my unfortunate counterparts living in gers.... (I was very fortnuate to enjoy the ger living experience during the summer and made very few fires...good thing, because fire building is not my forte'.

So I go from the warmth cozy comfort of my apartment, and have to hurridly layer up to go outside. Even wearing a long sleeve T and a light sweater inside make me sweat...Thus far, there have only been a couple days when I actually wore long underwear, though many days I wear the fleece sock/boot liners with my socks and boots.

It's still not cold enough for me to wear wool sweaters, long johns and a scarf over my face, but I'm sure the day will come soon enough.

a few of the advanced english class students at the Arvikheer museãm. we practice speaking skills,and pronunciation top 2 and left

ecology club members have many awesome projcets above below and left

ecology club members top and left...

knitting club at the dorm!

english class at the dorm

Just call me baacsht ..which roughly translates to teacher in Mongolian. Though a social worker by education, I have found that I am mostly teaching English here, and I love it! However, I really need to brush up on my language skills. I cannot diagram a sentence to save my life, in fact I don't think I spelled it right either!I currently teach two English classes to the dorm students (a few of them shown above) and they are wonderful, bright, eager, loving, sweet and sometimes mischevious! Mostly they just need more love and attention, which I am doing my best to give them. I have little teaching experience so am learning and flying by the seat of my pants! Some training this summer has at least helped me attempt to plan class time and what we will cover. There are over 60 students who attend the two classes! Sometimes I have 15, other times 30 with varying skill levels so it is challenging. I resort to playing games (hopefully they are educational), toss a spiderman ball to a student, try to pronounce their name (they made name cards with their names written in English) then ask them a question. The hour passes quickly and at least they are having some fun (me too)! One of their favorite activities is writing on the board so we do that every class, as well as using dice to practice counting and playing games in teams...I have an amazing counterpart/dorm teacher, Octay, and we have found that we are of one mind when it comes to the dorm students and what they need!

Witness Octay teaching kids to knit! We have our own little stitch and bitch, Mongolian style going on! It was her idea and I happily joined in, even though it's on Saturday afternoon ...We started out with about 7 girls and within 2 hours had 20 kids there! Some already knew how to knit and others (including a few boys) were eager to learn! I brought chopsticks for those without needles and bought the locally available cheap yarn for the kids to practice with. They are so proud of their accomplishments and it makes my heart full!The advanced English class is one that I mostly just practice speaking skills with and assist them with pronunciation. One of the interesting words we discussed was lion. They always say it like "leon". I told them that is a boys name, and if they want to sound like a native speaker....lion it is. Always a lively discussion in that group!

Though Halloween is a little known event here in Mongolia, it's always been very special to me. That's because my first born made his entrance into the world on Halloween morning in 1982 at 7:50 a.m.

Weighing in at 8 lb. 6 oz., and a whopping 21.5 inches long, Peter Alan Hunt appeared via C-section following many hours of labor and pushing to no avail. Back in those days, and in Moses H. Cone Memorial Hospital in Greensboro, NC no less,(said with a delightful southern drawl) not too many innovative techniques were offered to women in the maternity ward, especially first time moms.

As comedian Stephen Wright says, in his hilarious deadpan delivery... Pete, like all children born by c-section... "came in through the window"......

I am not one for regrets, but I will say that the children I now have the pleasure of working with (who live in the dormitory and attend school here in the aimag center(equivlant of the county seat), have the benefit of my wisdom, maturity, patience and kindness that I did not possess while Pete was growing up.

As a woman old enough to be a grandma (no rush whatsoever!!!) I often fondly recall comedian Bill Cosby saying in a routine about his mother and her relationship with his own children, alluding to her sense of playfullness and joy, "this is not the same woman who raised me"!

Regardless of my parenting shortcomings, there is one major theme that rings true now and all during Pete's childhood... the depth of love, connection and bond that I feel toward my son!

Even though I have moved across the world from you dear Pete, you are always on my mind and in my heart. Happy 28th Birthday from Mongolia!

drinking airig in the big bowl, my counterpart, Happy

So this was my first Mongolian house warming party, and as usual my invitation was at the last minute. (those who like to play it loose and not worry about making plans, etc. would love the easy going way things are done here). The man here is not the host, but a friend/coworker of the host. This is the chemistry teacher who speaks some English. He was serving up the airig, fermented mares milk, which is one of the popular drinks you must drink three times here ceremoniously. You get the big bowl full of airig, take three drinks, pass it back, it's refilled, then passed to the next person.

Airig looks, smells and tastes something like watery, sour yogurt. You can see in the background some of the juice, water, milk tea, fruit and many types of salads which were served to us upon arrival.

Me drinking the Mongolian national vodka, which is made from cow's milk (I kid you not), and looks and takes like airig, only this is clear. I'm drinking it from a cow's horn cup..... will wonders never cease....

On left, my fave chemistry teacher, and in striped shirt, our host (can't remember his name or what he teaches). After the airig and Mongolian vodka were passed around, we then moved on to the bottled Vodka. It is customary on both types of vodka to drink three shots. Whoa..... this is a big drinking country.... I did it, they were impressed, then thank goodness we left so I could go home and rest!

our hostess in orange sweater was busy serving, washing up and serving some more that she never enjoyed anything with us.After all the drinking, we were then served dinner...each plate individually prepared with rice, beet salad, carrot salad and boats (little steamed dumplings with mutton)... What a lot of work for the hostess...I was expecting to have to sing a Mongolian song, which I would have done when forced to, but perhaps that all happened later. As we were leaving, more teachers were coming in, so maybe the singing was led later by the men who were there when we arrived and still there when we left and by my count, had way more than 3 shots each during the time we were there!You know what they say, when in Mongolia...