Meet my new lil sister, Misheel! Isn't she a sweetie?

Shine said, "Don't show this to your parents. I look ugly." Sorry, Shine :)

This was Shine's hat when she was a baby!

Aaand who needs diapers? This is how Mongolians poop their children.

And in other news, Anhaa finally had her baby! A brand new baby girl, named... wouldn't ya know it... Misheel. Clearly the number one Mongolian baby name of 2011.

Pics to come later...

Sorry, but Lloyd posts are inevitable. Look what a weirdo he is!

Hello friends and family!

Happy New Year, first off. And Gong Xi Fa Cai, as well.

It's cold here. Very. Very. Cold. In fact, as I'm writing to you, I am bundled in 2 pairs of thermals, fleece pants, 2 shirts, and a scarf. And most ridiculous of all, I have a sunburn.

As some of you may know, I just spent nearly two weeks in the amazingly beautiful country of Malaysia where it is hot. Very. Very. Hot.

View Larger Map

You see that? We were 5 degrees North of the equator. Over a 100 degree temperature difference. It was amazing. Now, I shall tell you of our journey via pictures...

Taxi ride to the airport! We showed up in Malaysia like that...

Best of All! Popcorn is you new friend.

Fly Korean Air. Seriously. Most amazing plane I've ever been on.

Layover in Seoul with some new friends

Look! I'm not throwing a rock at him!

Burger King. We had to. And dear god, did we regret it.

This is what death by Burger King looks like.

Aaand we made it! We got in real late Sunday night and the following morning Patti Tan (the greatest host EVER) introduced us to Malaysian food and culture. Our first taste of a not mutton meal was AMAZING.

Mall, near Kuala Lumpur. Take THAT, Woodfield.

Patti's son Trent! (First boy on the right)

Pineapple juice... mmmm.

I should rename this post to "The Malaysia Gastronomy" because an absurd amount of these pictures are of food. Here we have an Indian Malay combo... Tandoori Chicken, Roti Banana, and some other things I don't know but were delicious.

Chez Tan

The next day, we flew to Kota Kinabalu on the island of Borneo where my old college roommate is currently volunteering.

Rambutan

Coconut water. According to Patti Tan, it cures everything.

Me and Molly! Gusties Unite!

Ummm... it happens.

Night Market! It was Chinese New Year, so the night scene was hoppin.

Sunday Market (Markets are so wonderful). This man is selling birds. Ducks. Chickens. Etc...

Puppies! As I was cooing the pups, the sales lady shoved a little lab in my arms. That was almost a sale.

I KNOW, right?

I told Molly to order me food. She came back with THIS. I'm drooling all over the keyboard right now.

A cocktail! And it's not vodka!

One morning, I asked for coffee to go. So they put it in a bag with a straw.

Malaysian countryside. On our way to Sandakan, Patti Tan's hometown and the hometown of orangutans! The bus ride is normally 5 hours, but we got Chingiss-ed... both times took us 8 hours.

Isn't my sister a looker?

Oh, the orangutans. So, in Sepilok there is an orangutan rehabilitation center. Basically these orangutans are wild, but they are given supplementary feedings twice a day in this one area. If an orangutan is hungry, he or she can help himself.

The first orangutans to arrive were mommies. They don't travel far from the food since they have little ones. You can see the babies clinging to them.

Once the mom's had had their fill, the macaques moved in to clean up.

And then came King Louie! He was the only male we saw, but he was BIG.

Mmm rainforest-y.

My crew: Bonnie, the responsible. Jessica: the goon. Molly: The cuckoo-manchu.

Next, we visited a temple. Meet Buddha.

Gong Xi Fa Cai!

And the quaint swastika garden out back.

Annnd back to food. This was like a fondue-ish restaurant. We picked our uncooked food and then grilled it or steamed it at the table. Here Cecilia is making a pork and [unknown, but delicious spicy sauce] saute.

The carnage.

Also, it was Molly's Birthday!Za, Za. So we continue our trip back to Kota Kinabalu and head for the Islands. We snorkeled for a bit, burned our backs and bottoms, and made shore for Pulua Sulug (only 7 km from the island they filmed the first season of Survivor!)

BBQ on the island. Here we have Jess, slathering some fish.

Fish and squid... oh man I'm remembering how (have I used the adjectives delicious or amazing yet?) ... STUPENDOUS this meal was.

You know that sound Homer makes around donuts?

And as we were eating our squid and fish, our cook threw THESE in front of us. Watch out! They'll bite back!And then we had corn on the cob!

Next up, Wetlands and Bird Santcuary

Rainin

And our stint in Kota Kinabalu came to an end. We flew back to Patti Tan's and made our way to Kuala Lumpur. Here, Bon and Jess are being tourists while the general population continues to ignore us. THESE FISH ARE TRAINED TO EAT THE NASTY OFF YOUR FEET.

Eating Roti, our favorite light meal. The awesome KLCC twin towers.

Patti Tan made us a checklist of things to do in Kuala Lumpur. One was "Do Your Thing." And here we are.

Me and Patti! She was so kind and wonderful. And also the sassiest lady ever. Love Her. Free Planterium... why not?

And suddenly it was over. Back to ... this. ::sigh::You can book your flight to Malaysia here.

As you know, Peace Corps service is 27 months long. This summer we had to say goodbye to Alex and Todd, who have return to their homelands: Colorado and Iowa, respectively.

But with their departure came two new awesome folks, Bonnie and Jessica (Washington and Cali)! Here is a delightful picture of all of us at the swearing in ceremony:

I think they will fit right in.

Glimpses of my life in September and October:

This is Scarface. His face is full of scars. Anyhow, he is everywhere. He hung out with all of us this summer at camp. When I walk to the mountain, he meets me there. When Nate and I hiked out to the lake, Scarface accompanied us, literally appearing out of nowhere.

Nate came to visit! Fences and Nate don't usually get along.

Meet Larry, Moe, Curly, and Shep. Every time I hike to this lake, I run into these horses and this donkey. Last year, it was just the 2 horses and the donkey and the obvious trio to name them after was the Stooges (guess which one is Curly!). This year, a new horsey was added to the gang, hence Shep.

Stare Off.

Lloyd's newest friend. The white neighbor dog has been dubbed "Harry Dunn." This lil pup is named "Mary Swanson."

Huh. I've named an awful lot of animals...

Dilguun and his new harmonica! I regretted giving that to him almost immediately.

Shillin Bogd. Coolest place in Dariganga. That mountain in the background is China! Also, it's not a mountain. It's a volcanic crater! This part of Mongolia is full of them. Shilin Bogd is a holy mountain (but women can climb it, hooray!). Since it is the highest point in the East, Mongolians climb it as dawn to receive the first sunlight into Mongolia.

So many volcanic craters! I bet back in the day this place was as raging as that scene from Fantasia when the Earth was being made.

Some of Mongolia's finest. Shilin Bogd is on the Chinese border so these guys guard the area.

From left: Jessica, Nymaa, Davaa, Mogie, Bonnie, Me, Kate

This is Ganga Nuur. It's the biggest lake in Dariganga. On my left is Erka, Zolaa's husband. To my right, Bajay. We are standing next to the spring that feeds the lake. You are supposed to pray to it. Bajay asked me what I prayed for. I said, a warm winter. I asked him back. He said "A husband for you." They will not be happy until I am married with 12 kids.

First day of school! The tiny cutie in the middle is Zolaa's daughter.

This past month, everybody and their dogs got married. It was crazy. The Mongolians ask the Dalai Lama when they should get married and apparently every day in October was a good day. 2 full days couldn't pass without someone in the school getting married.

Mongolian weddings are quite different from American weddings. First of all, the bride and groom literally wait on everybody hand and foot. The "reception" takes place in the house in which the two will start their life together. The party usually happens something like this:Eat. Drink Tea. Eat again. Drink arag (fermented mare's milk)Toast the bride and groom with a shot of vodka.Vodka Toast. And Repeat. Drunk male relative arrives. Drunk male relative insists you take 3 shots of vodka in rapid succession and refuses to take the cup back until it's empty. Eat again. Present the couple with gifts (vodka, chocolate, and a song), vodka toast when finished. Drunk male relative divvies out more vodka. Sing a song, vodka. Repeat #12 seven more times. Time to leave! Drunk male relative guards the door until you take your goodbye shot of vodka. Stumble home. Realize it's only 5 in the evening and you are very very drunk. Here are pics from my two favorite weddings this month: Anhaa and Zorigoo! This is my beautiful counterpart and her new hubby (she's 6 months prego in this pic... and pretty much ready to pop at this point. She's on maternity leave now and is expecting next month!)

Oh, also these are Kate's pictures, hence the professional-esque quality.

Drunk Male Relative.

This is the gym teacher. This is his daughter's wedding. It was so much fun. Anhaa wanted to lesson plan with me afterwards and that was all fine and dandy for her (she wasn't drinking on account of the baby), but I was basically useless by the time we left.

This song is called "Welcome to my Ger" and it was just the first of 20 songs sung that afternoon.

Happy Halloween from Dariganga! This year, Zolaa and myself put on a wicked a Halloween party (on November 1st, but whatevs). I may have mentioned this before, but the only thing Mongolians love more than vodka is a good competition. So, this Halloween party turned into all the different classes competing against each other in various Halloween-themed games for fortune and glory... or rather apple cider and a gallon bag Smarties. The picture above is a class shot of 7a.

Competition #1. Pumpkin painting! Or balloon drawing...

Competition #2: Bite the apple. The adults in the crowd LOVED this game. They were upset when they realized I had only bought enough apples for the students.

Competition 3: Dance-off. It's not a Mongolian party until there is a dance competition. I had made a spooky Halloween mix for the competition, but it was vetoed almost immediately in favor of some techno korean jams.

Competition 4: Costume contest. Obviously the girl on the left won. Most of the other kids just painted their faces oddly. But Buyna literally drove children out of the gym in tears with her costumes. Buyna won the individual contest, but Bajay's class won over all:

Competition 5: Pin the nose on the pumpkin... I was chaperoning at the time... Sorry, no pics!

Clearly is was a spooky good time. Bajay's class ended up winning overall and took home the Goblet of Apple Cider as a prize.

The next day in class, some of the students who took my permanent markers without asking still had faded traces of Halloween on their faces.

Me and Bajay. I forgot my costume at home, sadly. Also, Bajay made more than 1 kid cry with this mask. No joke.

Another class pic!

Happy 11-11-11, ya'll! ( I wrote that intro on 11-11... then I got distracted. Merry 11-13-11!)

It's been a while, yes? Since my last post a few exciting things have happened: I turned 24. Lloyd quite probably turned 1. It snowed. And the avg. temp has dropped by a good 50 degrees. Shinee had her baby! On August 18th, Shinee gave birth to a brand new baby girl named Misheel. Which is an odd Mongolian name because it doesn't mean anything. And usually everybody has two names (Shinee's full name is Shine-bayar). I asked Bajay (Baatar-sukh) about this and he just said, "Misheel Obama." Also, Misheel has a dazzling blue bottom, which according to tradition, makes her a descendant of Chingiss Khan.So anyhow, I'm happy to be up in the city, hanging with friends and reacquainting myself with the BU. So much has changed in the month I have been gone. Most notably the 2 story HOUSES that are being built on the south side... Comparable to the size of our house in America.

And also, the introduction of a store selling AMERICAN goods has us all in a tizzy. We can buy such amazing things as reese's, ranch dressing, Swiss Miss, and above all, not vodka. The store is stocked with wine and whiskey (there is still vodka, yes, but it's endless line of clear liquid is broken up by the beautiful label of Jim Bean).

I'm gunna get to picture bloggin here, so sit back and enjoy!

Sarah

Back to school...

Back to school...

In a short half hour, I will be saying goodbye to my nice hot shower. I think I will miss that most of all...

This summer has been a lot of fun, hard work, and quite a bit of chaos. Since I've last updated you all, I've done two notable things:

TEDx Conference

For those of you who don't know, TED is basically a forum for idea sharing. (check this out). My good friend, Travis, organized the first ever TED in Mongolia. It was phenomenal. The theme was concerning Mongolia's need to push forward while maintaining their rich history. I met a lot of cool folk and heard some real cool stuff... but more on this later when the talks are uploaded so y'all can listen too.

MST

Or, Mid-Service Training (Peace Corps looooves their acronyms). I had a lot of fun being with friends and getting motivated for the next year.

Ummm, yea that's it. I apologize for the lame blog, but I've been busy, ok! I promise a better blog next time (coughinoctobercough).

Hugs and Kisses!

Camp #3.

Dream Eco Camp was set in a sleepy soum called Batsumber in Tov aimag. It was a gorgeous place... rivers, mountains, forests. Unfortunately it also came stocked full of children.

Just kidding, but really... I was wickedly camped-out by this point.

So here are some pics and a story or two about Dream Eco Camp:

The theme this year was "The Chipmunks." So the kids were split into 3 teams:

Alvin

Simon

And... Teathor...

We also got sweet shirts!

The camp was also stocked with inspirational signs:

I was on Team Alvin:

Team Leader: Who are we?Alvins: Super Alvins!Team Leader: What's our motto?Alvins: The Super Alvin Team is strong!We have fun all day long!With our friends, we will grin!And with teamwork, we will win!

I say Super! You say Alvin! Super! Alvin!

Ok- weird story: So I have found many of your Mongolian Dopplegangers. Britt, I found you. And you Stephen. And Pat Gaetz, too. Oh, and you too Karen. Here is the first picture I've taken of these dopplegangers... Call me crazy Mrs. Palazzo... but I see Connor and Brady circa 2006.

The photographer came and insisted we make a human pyramid. The Mongolians were a little over confident.

Fail.

Ahhh, much better.

Some Americans enjoying the heck outta that porch.

My first YAK sighting!

The kids at this camp were incredibly talented.

Camp #2.

After taking a few days to re-coup in my soum, I headed to Bor-Ondor to start my second camp of the summer: a week-long sports camp organized by my friend Leon.

Camp ran from 9-12 and we taught a new sport everyday. In the afternoons we would hang out, play cards, and enjoy the beautiful summer air.

Day 1: Capture the Flag

First, we divided into teams and chose team names. My color was blue, so my kids chose to be "Super Blue." Brian was red and dubbed the "Red Stars." Apparently, we have very few pictures of Capture the Flag day. No matter... neither team managed to capture the flag. They were more pre-occupied with guarding jail and the flag to every make a move.

My team got real close though....

Yea... I'm in jail.

Day 2: Ultimate!

Obviously my favorite day. The kids LOVED it. And they were real good, too. I was so super impressed. Here's a vid of the most intense game of the day:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v​=LIG-ey87d04

Brian and I split our teams into two smaller teams so we could play 5 on 5. Super Blue took 1st and 4th. Red Stars 2nd and 3rd. At the end of the day, we were still all tied up.

Oyoka. She was my favorite. She was super competitive and really great at all the sports. Look at her go!

Reach!

Day 3: Dodgeball

Oh man, another really fun one. The kids had trouble in the beginning, but once they got it... it got intense. Unfortunately, Super Blue couldnt' pull it together for a win. We got 3rd and 4th.

The last game we played was Camp Leaders versus students. While I felt a wee bit bad throwing balls at little kids, it was super fun and of course we won.

Day 4: Kickball

If you are considering teaching kickball to children who don't speak your language and also don't know what baseball is... I wouldn't suggest teaching them kickball. Easily our most frustrating day, but, hey... there are a million rules to kickball. If we could play kickball with them once a week for a month, I bet they'd start to understand it a lot better.

Despite the confusion and frustration, and as a true testament to the wonderfulness of these kids, they said they had a great time and liked the game.

Though Super Blue took an early lead, we couldn't pull it together in the end. Red Stars took the W.

My line-up (10 points to me if I can still remember all their names...): Nendaa, Amraa, Batzka, Monoo, Oyoka, Deka, (Damn it... I can't remember pink stripes!) and Darai

Day 5: Relays

This day was meant as a game-changer. Red Stars were waaaay ahead, but a few relay wins later, Super Blue was only a point behind. Ultimately, it came down to the last game... and thanks to one kid who was spacing out during the game... Red Stars were declared the winners of the week.

We had loads of fun, though!

This relay was ridiculous. We gave 2 eggs to each team. The first guy on my team dropped and cracked both of them. So... we lost. But the Red Stars were kind enough to give us their second egg so that each kid could have a go.

No relay day is complete without dizzy bat!

Leap Frog

3 legged race

Super Blue! We had trouble wearing blue all week, so I changed our color to white the last day. My team then suggested our new name was "Super White," but I thought we should stick with "Super Blue" :)

Super Blue + Red Stars = SUPERSTARS!

Bonus Day 6: Water Games

It was hella hot all week. These kids endured that sun without complaining (too much) all week, so we thought we'd give them a special day to hang out with us in a non-competitive atmosphere.

Water Games.

Aaaaaand of course, it was cloudy and colder than all the other days. But we played anyway.

Water Balloon Toss

Drip Drip Drop (it's duck duck goose only with water)

The drenched participants

** pronounced nohoy, means dog.

This post is about Lloyd.

Look how adorable Lloyd is getting! He's so big and huggable and pretty... oh how i love him. And so did all the campers! Many of them thought I was lying when I told them he was Mongolian. They thought he came from America because he was nice.

Second half teachers: Kaede, John, Pico, and Me!

The coolest kid in Dariganga. By the end of the week, I had him saying, "Sox Rule! Cubs Suck!"

This is the second coolest kid in Dariganga (only because after uploading all my pictures, I realized I had a handful of ridiculous pictures of him):

Playing Mingle:

First session Peace Corps Volunteers: Nate, Kate, Beth, Julie, (Mongolian camp doctor), Me, Maggie, and Alex

Gangstaaa

My Dariganga students that went to camp

This kid is cool.

Aaaaand so is this kid:

It's called Tektonic and it's all the rage amongst pre-adolescent boys in Mongolia. Please note his interesting dance move at the end.

They wanted to learn an English song!

Camp #1.

This camp is the one I have been looking forward to since I got to site last year. It ran for 2 sessions, 10 days each and was equipped with 6 Mongolian English teachers, 8 American English teachers (i.e. my Peace Corps friends), and 4 adorable Mongolian camp counselors from a local university. This camp was situated in my soum on the lake and hosted about 100 kids each session from all over Sukhbataar aimag (and a handful from UB, too)

Here's what the camp looked like:

Every morning, we would wake up at 7. At 7:30 all kids gathered in front of the outdoor podium for morning stretches.

After stretches, breakfast!

Then, the kids learned some English. Here are some pretty generic pics of PCVs pointing to boards.

Then, we all took some time to awwwww at my lil pupster. Well, I did at least.

Awwwwwwwwwww (yes, that is Lloyd... he's so big! And still ball-less!)

The campers were split into 10 teams which competed with each other in various ways throughout the week. This is my team: The Happy Tigers. Our Motto: We are Happy Tigers! Rawr! Despite the fact that not one of these kids had a competitive bone in their body, I grew to love them and their "We just happy to be here" attitude.

Oh, and our flag was Tigger. Not some awesome badass pic of a Tiger destroying the competition, but the most lovable friendly tiger ever. They were just high on life, these kids were.

The rest of the day was filled with lots of fun random activities to keep the kids (and me) entertained. One rainy day, we made noodle necklaces!

Note: The two women on the right are adults. Noodle necklaces are fun for all!

And the best part about the rainy day was:

Our cabins leaked. Or in this poor camper's case... flooded.

And then my favorite time of day... Outdoor activities!! While half the students went inside to learn life skills (how not to burn down your ger, how to treat a deep cut, and STD awareness), the other half came to ME and we played games. Awesome games: Freeze Tag, Fox and Squirrel, Steal the Bacon (well, we played one round which resulted in 2 concussions...), Swing Dancing, Mingle, the lists goes on!

Dizzy Bat Relay. It's hilarious to watch little children fall flat on their butts.

Lap Tag: The player in front wants to get to the other side of the circle. The player in back wants to keep him back. Hilarity ensues.

This is Chuka. One of our counselors. She really liked this game and didn't seem to mind crushing our campers in order to win. No camper could get past her.

Mingle: We had different formation the students had to make requiring different amounts of people. Once something was called, they had to rush to make the correct formation... If you didn't have a group, you were OUT.

Pyramid: 3 people

Monkey: 2 people

Canoe: 7 people

Window: 4 people

Rachel and Jacob: Mostly Marco Polo, only both kids are blind.

Log Roll Relay: Kids roll on top of the other kids to get to the front of the line.

These are my happy tigers looking a little less than happy.

Duck Duck Goose: well, you know.

Swimming Lessons!

Hiking Day: We hiked to the sacred mountain. Boys climbed it. Girls walked around it.

My soum from atop Altan Ovoo! Clearly I did not take this picture.

Maggie demonstrating how to use the prayer boards.

The Tranny Dance! Teams competed by dressing up as the opposite gender. Best one won.

Happy Tigers! And a nip slip.

The winning team. Well deserved, no?

Oh, I forgot to mention, 2nd session I was on the Giants team. This is Oyona and Temujiin. Temujiin got 3rd.

Here is a very disturbing picture of my male friends.

Moral of the Story: Camp rocked.

**Are you summering well?

I certainly am. So far this summer has been a whirlwind of fun and it doesn't appear to be letting up anytime soon. I've been busy with camp and friends and being warm and not starting fires.

I tell you, Mongolia in the summer is awesome. It's green. It's hot. The sand storms have stopped. I can leave my ger for a long period of time and it won't turn into an icicle. I am really not looking forward to another winter.

But, on that note, a college friend has recently accepted a volunteer position in Malaysia. So, for the sake of my sanity and the sake of my complexion I will be visiting her during my February break. I already can't wait.

Ok ok ok... that's that. Enjoy these next few posts about my summer!

Hey homeskillets.

Welp, the time has come to return to my soum sweet soum. This Wednesday, our camp starts which is shapin up to be the coolest camp of all-time (if all goes according to plan, the camp will end in an english song Glee-off at the talent show).

Until next time, please remember that while it may be sweltering outside, at least you have air-conditioning.

(And on that note, please hold off sending me chocolate until October).

Three cheers for summer, Sarah

And the scores are in!

Dariganga did not win the sports competition. BUT we did compete our little hearts out and put up a good fight.

The competition was 3 days longs and included volleyball, aerobics, tango, singing (it's a mystery to me too), and track. There were 14 teams competing from the aimag center and the soums in Sukhbataar. Everybody had sweet team outfits (us included) and flags and game faces on.

So volleyball started on Friday, but a half hour into the first game the electricity went out and stayed out so everything was postponed until Saturday. Within that first half hour, though, I managed to take a volleyball to the face and am currently rocking a sweet black eye. Thank whatever deity was watching out for me that my glasses didn't break.

The next day, we woke at 6 (dear god) and started up games again. We lost our first game, but won the next three. I won the respect of the other Mongolians for being a volleyball superstar (that or for being white... who cares... at one point people were chanting my name!) Later that evening, we were in the 3rd place championship bracket, but we pretty much got slaughtered by this beast of a Mongolian who NEVER made a mistake. Seriously, it was unbelievable.

We took 5th in volleyball... not too shabby.

The next day we had to squash in the rest of the competitions since Friday night was a bust. We began aerobics at 8. Now, I thought our routine was pretty dang good. We worked out to "Beautiful Life" by Ace of Base (and yes, that was TOTALLY my idea). I also choreographed the routine and was fairly sure we'd be a serious consideration for top 3.

Jesus Christ, was I wrong. The teams from the aimag had hula hoops and steps and did aerials. They completely outdid us. We got 8th. Ouch.

Later, my beautiful co-workers performed their tango routine flawlessly and took home the bronze.

We came in last for the singing... woops. (Though, not to put my team down, but I'm still puzzled as to why they chose the woman they did... she was real bad.)

And finally, running. I was running the 4x4, the 400m, and the 100m. I got third in the 400m and my team got third in the 4x4. But, as I was lining up to do the 100, all hell broke lose. Teams were pissed because I was competing so much. Apparently there was a 3 sport rule... You could only compete in 3 categories and I had already been in 4. Anyhow, my director pointed out that many Mongolians had competed in more than 3 sports, but no one had noticed.

Let's face it. It's because I'm white.

But, still, I didn't run the 100 and I got DQed from the other races so I didn't get my medals. It didn't really matter though because Dariganga wasn't going to win, regardless.

That night we had a kickin awards ceremony where I was given an award for doing good things in our aimag. Or maybe it's because I'm white. Whatevs, though... I got a sweet certificate!

So, that... is that. It was a grand old time, but boy am I glad it's over. Now onto SUMMER!!

Setting: 7:30 am at the base of the holy mountain on the Thursday we left for the aimag. We were throwing some rice and milk on the holy ovoo for good luck. Amraa is holding our sweet Dariganga flag, while Erka pours him a shot of vodka... also for good luck (let me reiterate... 7:30 am)

The group looking as serious as ever.

So I barely took any pictures at the competition itself. I apologize. This picture is the aerobics team performing in our sweet get-ups for Mothers' and Children's Day in my soum. And of course, they stuck me in front... because I'm white.

The group again. This time we are on Sukhbataar Square, looking fly and waiting to play some volleyball.

My counterpart, Zolaa, has the most beautiful family. This here is Atzaa. He is the best most darling child I've ever met.

Third Place Tango winners! How fabulous are they?

Zolaa's other child, Nymaa. Seriously, most beautiful family in the world.

ANOTHER group shot!

And for your viewing pleasure, the tango routine!

HOLY CRAP I'VE BEEN HERE ONE WHOLE YEAR.

I started writing a nice thoughtful post about how I felt one year ago, my hesitations and excitements, but frankly, that ain't me. I think that first exclamation accurately and rather thoroughly describes how I feel about the whole deal.

Seriously. Holy Crap.

Right now, 70 some nervous and excited Americans are on their way to Mongolia to start their service as M-22s (the 22 group of volunteers in Mongolia). Caaarazzzy! (Can't wait to meet all of you!)

Also, a group of accomplished and probably exhausted Americans are getting ready to head back to their States after their 2 year service is finished. (Already miss you all!)

It's a weird time to be an M-21 (that's me). We ae losing some very dear friends and (frighteningly) becoming the figures of authority to the newbies. I certainly don't feel qualified for giving advice for Mongolian survival. I still am trying to learn the ropes of ger living. Also, with the M-2os headed home, it has gotten me thinking about how amazing it must feel to see all the people you love after 2 years abroad.

I've been missing you all alot lately.

ANYHOW. I'm in the aimag now, getting ready to finally compete in this sports competition that e have been training our asses off for for the last month. I found out this morning that the sports complex in the aimag opens at 5:30 am.

So, wish me luck!

Before we hit the road, we conjured up some luck from the holy mountain.

Greetings y'all.

I apologize for the lack of bloggin lately. I have been to the aimag and UB, but I was quite distracted with good food and good friends (which is almost always paired with good... or bad... beer). Anyhow...

It's sadly, still spring in Mongolia. Which is just a horrible combination of winter and summer. You know that expression in the Midwest? If you don't like the weather... wait five minutes? In Mongolia it's... If you don't like the weather, wait 15 seconds.

11:00

11:10

11:25

Also, springtime in Mongolia supports the theory of "Spring Fever." Nearly 1/3rd of my teachers are pregnant. This includes my neighbor Shinee (Dilguun's mom... I told her I was excited to get a new baby brother or sister) and my counterpart Anhaa. Every time I hear about another pregnancy, I exclaim, "Yanaa! Everybody is pregnant!"

To which they reply, "Yes! Everybody is pregnant. You should be too!" Good God. Peer pressuring at it's absolute worst.

These days, I'm finishing up school (which is an ultra-chaotic event...classes are constantly changing at the drop of dime, I never know when I should be teaching) while training for a sport competition that takes place at the beginning of June. This training includes 6am runs, 2 pm aerobics practice, and 6pm volleyball. The 3rd of June cannot come fast enough.

This summer I'll be teaching at a camp for 20 days in my soum (many of my friends are going to come and help... very excited) and so we've been prepping for that for the last month or so.

That's about it for now... I'm only here for today and a bit tomorrow, so I'll leave you with a few pictures to hold you over for a bit.

My big baby :)

My friend Nymaa describes Lloyd as "Ball bakhgui nohoi" which mean no ball dog.

My and my favo... ahem... 9th grade students at their graduation

Gusties!

улаан лооль.

As you can probably imagine, communication is difficult. My mongolian language, according to my neighbors, is getting better. Ehhhhh... perhaps. What's more likely is they are getting better at understanding me.

But to my point.

My life is a giant game of taboo.

For those of you who have never played, taboo is a hecka fun game. You are given a word, such as tomato and you are given a list of taboo words, such as red, fruit, ketchup, and sauce. Now you must get your team to guess the word tomato without saying the taboo words.

Seeing as how my vocabulary is lacking, I am often using other words to describe the word I do not know.

For example, I needed the projector to watch a movie in one of my classes. I did not know the word for projector. So, when talking to my director, I said in mongolian, "I want to watch a movie in class. I need the big, white, TV." She says, "Aaaaaah, тийм байна, прожктор" which, transliterated, is "Aaaaaaah, teem bain, projector."

Go figure.

Za is the Mongolian equivalent to ok. It means everything and nothing all at once. And it is now part of my everyday speech.

Zaaaaaaa.

Like I said before, these last two months have been nothing but Olympic preparation. As a result, I have very little to tell/show you.

In Dariganga, my days revolved around normal class, Olympic prep class for students, Olympic prep class for teachers, and the occasional ping pong, basketball, and volleyball practice (I'm competing in those sports in an aimag wide competition in June).

The weather is getting warmer (KNOCK ON WOOD WHEN YOU READ THIS) which means life is getting easier. I still have sandstorms to worry about, but I'll take it over -30 degree weather any day. When a sandstorm hits, I have to weigh my ger down:

Oor sonin you bain? Which translates to "What else is interesting?" Well... I'm thinking, I'm thinking. I recently went to Choibalsan to visit some friends of mine and we had a blast. Choibalsan is the aimag center in Dornod province, just north of Sukhbataar. It is waaaaay bigger than Baruun-Urt and, consequently, has a wider variety of food (oy, so much of pleasure from getting out of my soum derives from food). We had pizza, broccoli, mozzarella cheese, and soy milk. How delightful.

Of course, it was soooo wonderful to see my friends again. It's so strange to think that I hadn't seen any of them since around Thanksgiving, but plop us all down in one room and it was like we've been friends for years.

I've been chillin with my sitemates for the last few days, which has been beyond lovely. There is nothing better than good friends, good weather, and cheap beer.

Zaaa.

Lloyd tom bolj bain, says everybody.

It's true. Lloyd is getting big. Unfortunately, my ger is not growing with him.

Maw and Paw sent Lloyd an awesome nametag and a rawhide bone. However, turns out the bone wasn't too necessary seeing as how Lloyd often returns to my haasha with a bone he found himself. Sometimes I forget Lloyd's a Mongolian dog until I come home to him gnawing on a cow skull. We used to buy cow hooves from PetSmart for Bailey and Ruby (which they loved). I laughed when Lloyd brought home his very own cow hoof, found right out my ger.

He's out grown his doggie bed! Which simply means you all need to send bigger packages so Lloyd has a place to sleep.

Attractive. Note that Lloyd still does not have any balls. I guess dog's balls drop anywhere from infancy to 10 months. And when that happens, his voice will probably drop an octave and he will grow hair in awkward places. Ahhh puberty.

I left Lloyd tied in my haasha. He was being fed by Bajay and Shinee, but I just ran into them in the aimag two days ago. I asked how Lloyd was and they said he was happy and playing with his friends. They assured me that lil Dilguun was taking care of him while they were gone. Phew, I thought.

Three hours later, I thought... who is taking care of Dilguun?

After all the fun and debauchery of Tsagaan Sar was finished, my school switched into mega-business mode.

The Olympics were approaching.

Each year, Mongolia hosts Olympic academic competitions in a variety of subjects, English included. Winners of these competitions win endless amounts of honor for their schools and are therefore put under immense pressure to do well. Teachers study with their students hours every day to prepare for the academic rigor of the test.

To quote my director, "Sarah. You will help us win."

Oh boy. Not only were the students being pressured to do well, but my legitimacy as a teacher was on the line. As I've mentioned before, many of my students' English is... um.... sub par. But it is a result of terrible textbooks and two teachers who have never traveled to an English speaking country. They simply don't have the same opportunities as children in aimag centers or in UB do. The kids are by no means stupid or lazy, as their teachers might often tell them, they simply don't have the means to succeed. I warned my counterpart that I absolutely believed that my students would do better than they did last year. But, they would probably get beat by the aimag kids when it came down to it.

So, we studied. Endlessly. Sometimes for up to 3 hours a day. But I LOVED it. These were the 10 best English students at the school and they wanted to win. When I would tell them to go home, no one would leave. They would say I could keep teaching if I wanted. They would also remind me if I forgot to assign some homework.

Seriously.

After studying one Saturday afternoon, Gunje asks me, "What time tomorrow, bagshaa?" Uhh. Tomorrow is Sunday. And the American in me says it's blasphemy to study on Sunday. But who am I to deny these students who want to learn? So I invited them over to play Uno and Spoons and drink tea and look through magazines. Speaking practice, right?

Fast forward to three days ago. My 10 students were nervous about the test, but I was confident that it wouldn't look as foreign to them as it had in years past. So, they took the test, complained about the hard questions later, and kept checking their watches, waiting for the scores to be posted.

The test is two days long. If you score high enough on the first test, you move on to the speaking and writing tests. Otherwise, you're outta the game. 4 of my students made it to the second part. 0 made it last year.

My counterpart told me there was no speaking and no writing because no students had made it past the grammar and vocab test before. I was very nervous for my students because they weren't prepared for this. I suppose I should have had a little faith.

A few hours later, I was with my friends in the square, when a mob of adolescent girls came screaming towards me. Eventually, I was able to understand that Gunje won 3rd place for 9th grade, Odko got 4th. Gundgie got 3rd for 8th grade. Buyna, 4th. I was gushing with pride.

I am just so happy.

Not to mention that the director now thinks I'm a genius and spent five minutes thanking me over the phone.

SUCH a good day.

Or literally, "White Month," is probably the biggest Mongolian holiday of the year. In most cases, it lasts for 3 days at the start of February. In my soum, the celebration continues for 20 days.

Tsagaan Sar is a cross between Halloween, Christmas, Thanksgiving, and St. Patrick's Day. Everyone dresses up in their best del and walks from house to house. At each house, you must drink milk tea, take a shot of vodka, and eat some buutz. Then, when you leave, the host gives you a present, anything from candy to pens to bath products. I got a belt from one of my counterparts and bath products from another (I hope that's not a hint).

To sum it up, you trick or treat around town, drink endless milk tea, equal amounts of vodka, eat obscene amounts of buutz and see how long you can go without puking. Just kidding. It was alot of fun to visit everyone's houses and gers and to hang out with all my friends and co-workers in a non-school setting.

Oh, Anhaa's mom, who has adopted me as her fourth daughter, made me my own Mongolian del. Awesome, non?

This is Anhaa's family. Her uncle, mom, and dad. The cake-like structure on the table is a traditional Tsagaan Sar decoration/dish. It is basically a cookie fort filled with aral (milk products) and candy.

It wouldn't be a holiday in Mongolia without a sheep's head.

Just. Too. Cute.

More of Anhaa's family. The two women on the right are her sisters, Mojie and Zolaa.

This is me greeting my director. The first time you meet someone during Tsagaan Sar you must greet them by saying the words, "Amar bain oh?" If you are younger than the person you are greeting, you arms go underneath his or hers (like so).

Shinee, Me, Bajay, and Anhaa. Note to self: get awesome hat for next year.

As I near the 10 month mark here in Mongolia (holy effin crap), I find that Mongolia is becoming more and more... normal... to me.

By normal, I mean that throwing a rock at a dog's head no longer leaves me feeling guilty. Or that eating a bowl of sootay bodaah (milk tea with rice) is as commonplace as eating a bowl of cereal was when I lived in the States. And spending hours upon hours traveling through nowhere packed like a sardine in a very questionable looking car does not leave me frustrated, angry, or uncomfortable (well, that last bit is a lie... I just don't think about it anymore).

To quote my neighbor Bajay, "Saraa, chi jinkin mongol hyn!" Sarah, you are a totally legit Mongol.

You better believe it.

Anyhow, last time you saw me, I was headed back to Dariganga to celebrate Tsagaan Sar with my friends and co-workers.

I was traveling with my lil pup and my counterpart's sister. And of course 6 other Mongolians, but I didn't know them. We all piled in the car and set off for my home sweet home.

It became quite clear quite soon that this was going to be a long and difficult trip. Springtime in Mongolia is a very nasty ordeal. It is constantly windy and terrible windstorms can kick up in a blink of the eye. Well, this is precisely what was happening. Coupled with large amounts of unmelted snow, the road to Dariganga disappeared completely beneath feet of snow drifts. After an hour of trying to drive through this, I suggested we go back to the aimag and try again tomorrow. They laughed and said, Zugaree, which in this instance can be translated as, "Silly American. We do this all the time, so don't worry. Here I have a CD with Fergalicious on it. Sing along for the next 7 hours."

7 hours, and a maybe 30 km later, my drivers decides it is too dangerous to drive through the snow like this at dark, so we turn around and go back to the aimag. Grrrrr.

The next day we try again. Conditions were exactly the same, but at least it was daylight. Every 10 feet, we'd get stuck in a snowbank and have to dig ourselves out.

I left the BU at 9 am. I arrived in my ger at 11 pm.

We dug the entire 180 km to Dariganga.

Happy Spring!

It has been a loooooooooong time since I've been back in the aimag and I am happier than ever to be here. Later today (I'm currently waiting for a phone call that will inform me the car is here... could be 10 minutes, could be 5 hours), I am travelling up north to visit some dear friends of mine.

When I come back, my students will meet me in the aimag where they will participate in a rigorous English grammar test that I have been prepping them for since February.

And then it's back to Dariganga.

Anyhow, just wanted to let you all know that I am here for a while, so if you haven't forgotten about me yet, be sure to chat with me!

Like always, I'll be posting random entries while I'm here (fear not, Lloyd shall be the topic of one of them... He is currently chained outside being fed by my haashaa fam... poor baby!). But for now, I'm going to browse some news sources... what a time to be wholed up in Themiddleofnowhere, Mongolia.

Wind, sandstorms, and toppling gers (a typical Mongol Spring),

Sarantsetseg

Well, that was fun.

But all good things must end sometimes, right? I head back to the soum sometime today with my counterpart, Lloyd, and all my yummy goodies from UB.

This upcoming week is a MEGA Mongolian holiday called Tsagaan Sar, literally "White Month." Think Halloween meets Thanksgiving meets Christmas. It's a 3 day long celebration where you go from house to house giving gifts, taking shots of vodka, and eating buutz. I'll tell you more about it next time I'm in town.

Which could very well not be until March.

All of you with letters on the table, stamped and ready to go, MAIL THEM ALREADY! :)

So, it was good chatting with all of you and I'll see you again in March!

Moon Flower

PS. Since it's next to impossible to get my little doggie to UB, the vet just gave me the vaccinations and syringes to do it myself. Luckily my sitemate is a nurse and was wicked excited to do this for me. Lloyd is the healthiest and prettiest pup this side Gobi Desert.

G'day!

I've been chillin in UB for a few days now... takin in the sites and eating delicious food. I'm headed to the opera tonight, so I'm looking forward to that. Here are some random pictures I want to share with you all... enjoy!

Monument in UB. When I first stumbled upon it, I was stunned. The Beatles have never been to Mongolia... Here's what I found out: Mongolian Monument Honors Beatles and Those who Hid Their Love Away

Mural at an awesome breakfast joint called "IHOPE" (slogan: Come Hungry. Leave Happy.) Certainly love staring at that while I eat.

Close up of one of the figures in the mural... Look familiar? Apparently, originally the guy in the purple vest was painted as George Bush and the guy Ms. Palin is dancing with was Obama. But then they thought that was too political and are in the process of changing the faces. Real glad I snapped a shot of this before she got painted over, though.

Ice Sculpture in UB. Will probably still be standing for another 3 months.

Really AWESOME phenomenon called a "Sun Dog." It happens to a much lesser extent everywhere, but cold places tend to see really intense ones. Sometimes, it looks like there are 3 suns in the sky. It's really cool.

Teacher's Karaoke and Aerobic Competition!

Their aerobics outfits... soooo glad I wasn't on that team. Our outfits were pretty fabulous, though. It included sparkly ribbons tied to our hair, necks, wrists, and ankles. We totally got 1st, too. (Sorry, no pictures... My camera was still in my ger at that point).

Like the boots? They are felt and even without socks, your feet will sweat in them. And they are just as fashionable as they look.

Karaoke

My Karaoke Team. We got 2nd (I was not on the karaoke team, clearly)

I'm too lazy to go through them all so I jacked this from a friend who did such a wonderful job answering all your questions. Apart from the Gobi-specific questions... that answers are generally the same.

http://emmainmongolia.blogspot.com/2010/11/faqs.html

Y'all remember those letters you stuffed into envelopes for me to open on the 9th of every month? Well, I can't tell you how excited I am when the 9th of a month rolls around... and so are my neighbors. They enjoy looking at your drawings and picking out words they recognize just as much as I enjoy reading the cards.

This blog is about those cards.

Every month, after opening one of the envelopes, I tape all the cards together and hang them from the rafters of my ger. Pretty soon, I am going to have no more rafter space...

Some have made me very nostalgic, some have made me miss home greatly, and some... well, some are just downright entertaining (I know Seymour Bunz is you, Weston).

I have photographed some of my favorites to share with you all... do you remember writing them?

Wes, you suck.

Workin on it, Frank.

Sorry, buddy... it might be awhile!

Background story: When I studied abroad in Rome, I left my fishy with Marie to babysit. He, unfortunately, didn't make it. I do not blame you for that Marie!!

Whoever wrote this... also sucks. However, I have seen the latest installment of HP and LOVED it!

I haven't eaten yak yet! At least, I don't think I have. I have yaked a wide variety of other things though!

I wonder who wrote this...

Weston?

I also just received one that read, "It's January now and everybody is getting ready to watch the Bears win the Superbowl." Yeaaaaa. About that...

And finally, I got one from neighbor Haley about Mongolian birthdays. She asked how they celebrated birthdays here and how is was similar or different from how we celebrate.

Well, birthdays usually involve family, food, presents... pretty similar to America. The food is much much different though... no cake. No ice cream. Just meat and beer. Mmmm. Also, presents tend to be candy, from what I have witnessed. It's not as big of a deal here... people don't host birthday parties for their friends, but it is still celebrated to a lesser extent.

Thank you all for all your thoughtful cards... I look forward to reading them every month!

Hello Boils and Ghouls!

(Ten points to anyone who gets the reference)

I realize I do an awful lot of photoblogging, so I thought this time I would paint you all some word pictures about some of the crazy, gross, scary, and hilarious stories that I have from living in this country so far.

Let's start with this summer.

Carpe Diem

One morning, my sister woke me up to help her herd the cows to the water. It was all fine and dandy, but one stubborn little guy went trotting off in the wrong direction. So, we left the other cows a-drinkin, and went to round up the rogue fellow. When we reached him, he planted his feet firmly in the ground and refused to move.

We huffed. And we puffed. And we yelled. And we pushed. But he would not move. So finally, my sister suggests that she push from behind while I pull from the front. She got down into a linebacker position behind the cow, while I... well, I grabbed the bull by the horns.

We were successful, by the way. With the satisfaction of successfully herding cows for the first time, I can now say that I have literally grabbed a bull by the horns.

I'd rather try Windex

One day, I was tossing a disc with lil Dilguun (who has been acting very strange lately... I think he's jealous of Lloyd...), when the hot sand just beckoned for me to take my shoes off. I complied and almost immediately regretted it because I sliced opened my foot on... well... something ( I forgot... not important).

I sat down to better inspect my bleeding foot and was clearing not paying attention to Dilguun. I am going to take a brief pause in this story to remind all you folks back home that medicinal practices vary across the world. Cold water, while refreshing in the states, is believed to cause sore throats here. And the urine of small boys is used as a common cure-all here in Mongolia.

I'll let you guess where this story winds up.

My foot healed just fine, in case you were wondering.

Road Block

At nights, the temperature drops to as low as -40. I get to snuggle with my puppy underneath two fleece blankets, a winter sleeping bag, and two comforters, so I survive the night just fine.

Animals (besides Lloyd, that is), do not fare so well. It is rather common to see frozen animals littering the streets (sadly, common enough for PCVs to invent a word to describe the creature: pupsicle)

One night, a wandering cow dropped dead in front of the school and blocked the main entry way. Hours later, when I was walking to work, the dead animal had attracted a motley crew of evil rabbid dogs that were joyfully enjoying the free meal.

As I got closer to door, the only thought that fluttered through my mind was, "Dammit. Now I have to go around the school."

Hours later, I realized that my reaction should have been more along the lines of "Holy Shit! There are 15 demonic dogs devouring a freshly dead cow RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE SCHOOL!!"

But that's just another day in Mongolia.

My Neighbor, with the Shovel, in my Haasha

I may have mentioned it 2,340,973,452,345.3 before in my blog, but dogs are not liked here. most people think I've taken one too many ger-door frame hits to the head (ger doors are about 4 feet high) because I pet Lloyd (not to mention let him sleep with me and lick my hands). Awww, Lloyd... :)

Anyway. Last month, my haasha dog, whose name is Dick and happens to be female (I've tried to figure out the origin of the name, but I got nothing), was in heat. As a result, every male dog in the soum camped in my haasha waiting to have his way with her.

For a while, it was simply inconvenient to have to yell at a million vile dogs to get out of my way and to listen to all of them get in vicious dog fights over who go to "lay" with Dick (and then listen to them "lay" with Dick) but it soon became a legitimate issue. As time went on, the male dogs got more and more aggressive and less and less afraid of me.

To make the situation worse, Dick's little doggie cage is right next to my argal (cow dung) pile. In order for me to collect the fuel for the fire, I had to fight off 18 maniacally aggressive beasts, usually by screaming, throwing things, and hitting them with sticks.

One day, that backfired. A particularly satanic dog lay on my argal pile, keeping a close eye on his female prize. As I approached, he became tense. I yelled at him. He showed me his teeth (M..m..m...my! W..w..w..what big teeth you have!). I threw a rock at him. He showed me some more of his teeth (as sharp and gnarly as the rest, turns out). I grabbed a stick and bopped him on the head with it. He lunged at me, teeth bared, spit flying, and barking angrily, because I was clearly a threat.

As you would hope in life threatening situations, my body reacted without me telling it what to do. Unfortunately, that reaction was crumble to the ground to make it easier for the dog to eat me alive.

I managed to recover before the dog had another chance at my jugular and went crying to my neighbor's house. He either DESPISED dogs, was ultra pissed that this dog attacked me, or was simply following standard Mongolian protocal, but he grabbed a shovel and marched straight to my haasha.

Before the dog had time to react, Bagay wound up and swung. The sound of a shovel cracking against skull is something I hope to never hear again.

Needless to say, the shovel was effective. The dog ran whimpering away and I gathered my argal like nothing had happened.

Then next day after school, I returned to my neighbor's house and asked politely if he wouldn't mind helping me remove a dead dog with a crushed skull from my cow dung pile.

Jesus Who?

After lesson planning one day, my two counterparts and I were chatting away about the upcoming Teacher's Sport Competition (part 2 of 7). Anhaa asks,

"Sarah, do you know Arabic?"

Arabic? Now why on Earth would I know Arabic? I tell her so, and she says,

"We have an Arabic competition on Saturday."

Eh? Mongolians know Arabic? After 10 minutes of miscommunication, I finally realize she means aerobic. We laugh at the misunderstanding and my other counterpart asks,

'Well, what is Arabic, then?"

I tell them it's a language. You know. Like English or Mongolian. Arabic. They speak Arabic in Egypt. Jesus spoke Arabic (let's just ignore the fact that I meant Aramaic).

Crickets.

You know... Jesus. Jesus Christ.

Blank stares.

Finally,

"Who is Jesus?"

How's that for isolation?

Loyal Blog Followers: How cold is it, Sarah?

COLD.

So cold that when a LARGE Mongolian (easily 200 pounds) sat down in the seat next to me (and half of mine as well) I was not ticked off like I would have been in the States.

No, I was thankful for my rotund bus buddy as he blocked the draft from the door and provided a source of heat (my bus apparently did not have working heat... that was 11 hours of being able to see my breath).

It is so cold that I am willing to snuggle with large strange men on buses to keep warm.

Anywho, hello everybody! I write to you from a delightfully warm hostel where I am checking emails, digesting a burger, and regaining feeling in my extremities. I will be here until Sunday, when I head back to my soum to celebrate Tsagaan Sar, or White Month, the Mongolian equivalent to Thanksgiving (only with buutz and vodka instead of a delicious variety of food and drink).

Well, that's where I am at now... If you get a chance, I'm sure I'd love to catch up with you on skype or facebook or email!

Until then,

Sarah

Wait!

My neighbor, Bajay, decided one day that I needed a Mongolian name. I was slightly confused because Sarah (or Сараа) is a legit Mongolian name, but all Mongolians have two names, so I was in need of another.

I am now known as Sarantsetseg ( or Сараанцэцэг) which literally translates into "Moon Flower."

So, to quote the skunk from Bambi, "You can call me (moon) Flower".

You can't triple stamp a double stamp! Lloyd!

I'm totally one of those parents now who only talks about how great her kid is and wants to show everybody pictures that they couldn't really care less about.

But here is the cutest best puppy EVER and you all better love him. If you say one bad thing about him... Oh, just kidding! But really...

So goofy sometimes.

Lloyd heard the camera click and stretched in his sleep... he fell right out of my bed onto the floor!

One of his ears has flipped... Not sure why... but isn't he even cuter now??

Silly boy... that's your tail!

I don't even care that you are chewing on my hair tie... you are adorable.

It's ok! I'll just sleep on the floor!

My counterpart said, "Lloyd is lucky dog." You can say that again sister.

Happy New Year! Or Merry Christmas... Mongolian's don't really know the difference between these two holidays. They think it's just one big celebration spread out over a few days. Which, let's face it... is kind of accurate.

Fun Fact: so far, 2010 has been the shortest year of my life. 13 hours shorter than all the others... strange, eh?

My school had a big community shabang for the event (hosted on December 26th... most things here are a mystery to me) complete with dancing, singing, awkward games, sparklers, and booze (the last two compliment each other very well).

I decided that I do not take enough B&W photo's, so I switched it up this time. Though, it is a shame that you cannot see the prom-esque dresses in all their brightly colored and glittered glory. I looked like a hobo in comparison (but that is true on most days (how women remain clean and fabulous living in a desert without showers is COMPLETELY beyond me), but I digress...)

I got the evening started by playing some hot American tunes for everyb... this picture was most certainly staged (pun soooo intended).

When the Mongolian soldiers are not out fighting terrorists and enemy countries (i.e. always), they are hired out as live entertainment for New Year's parties, weddings, and birthdays.

Our Midnight Toast! Happy New Year!(At 10:00 on December 26th)

My Haasha fam... Bajay and Shinee (Dilguun's ma and pa). I am a beast next to them.

Bunny Ears are universally funny!

Fellow teachers

The stage complete with the New Year's Christmas Tree!

Some impromptu karaoke

My counterpart, Anhaa

This man is training me to be a table tennis CHAMP. Also a volleyball champ. He's also training me to run the 4 by 4 and 100 meter dash in the sport competition later this year. I think he has a little too much faith in me.

Cake! Candy! Yak milk-based dairy product! Beer! Vodka! Truly, a Mongolian Celebration.

In Mongolia, you spend the stroke of midnight in your ger with your family because how you ring in the New Year is believed to be how the rest of your year will go. So, if you spend it happy, healthy, safe in your home surrounded by family, you will spend the year living the same way.

Due to some questionable buutz, I spent New Year's puking into my tumpun. I hope that's not an omen...

Oh, and at our New Year's party, the Governor awarded me the "Best Foreign Teacher in Dariganga" award. Competition was tough, but I daresay it was well deserved :)

Many more pictures to come... I'm living large in the big city for the next week!

Big Gulps! Alright!Well, See ya later!

Lacking an oven, my options for making Christmas goodies was severely hindered.

But, since the quarantine has been over, my local shops have been stocked with new and exciting products (ORANGES! SLICED BREAD! CARROTS!). One day I found pretzels. So, I bought the shop out. 7 bags of pretzels, a bag of delicious M&M's (courtesy of the Palazzo's (package received and thoroughly enjoyed... watch the mailbox in the coming weeks)), and 9 bars of chocolate later... I made some reindeers for my students!

As close I could come to cookies... but my students (and I) will attest to the fact that they were deLISHious.

(I. Want. Snickerdoodles. Now.)

According to Mongolians, winter lasts for 81 days. It starts on December 22nd and goes through 9 phases of 9 days each. I'm 5 days in... and freezing my tookus off.

First 9: It gets so cold that Mongolian Milk Vodka freezes.

Second 9: It gets to cold that Russian vodka freezes.

Third 9: It's so cold that the tail of a 3 year old ox freezes.

Fourth 9: The horns of a 4 year old ox freeze.

Fifth 9: It's starts to get warmer here... Now, boiled rice will no longer freeze.

Sixth 9: Roads become visible again (ha, what roads?)

Seventh 9: Hilltops become visible again.

Eighth 9: The ground becomes damp.

Ninth 9: It's warm again! (Probably finally breaches 10 degrees)

Note: The first 9 is where it becomes so cold that Sarah's eyelashes freeze together due to the condensation from her breath. Can't wait to see what freezes during the second 9.

Last Saturday, the teachers and the students put on a fabulous dancing competition. I surely never tired of the endless awesome costumes and the adorable first grade cuties dancing around, but I tell ya... 8 hours is a loooong time for anything.

Votes on the best costumes?

The Judges... They look thrilled, no?

My counterpart's ADORABLE daughter.

A Sea of (Mongolian) Faces

Some of my fourth graders... aren't they precious

This is Dilguun's dance number... he's on the right in the front.

So the other day we had a teacher's sport competition, a jolly good time. During volleyball, my team was starting to lose focus so we called a Time Out.

The team captain started goin off in rapid Mongolian while I stared at my shoes. I was thinking about the Frog.

Suddenly, he stopped talking and everyone looked at me.

I said, "Ribbit."

Pretty sure they think I'm crazy. Well, not too far from the truth I suppose.

We came back and won that game, FYI.

And that's not even the coldest it's gotten... and my ger is about 35 degrees in the morn. Lovely. My neighbors staged this picture. They told me to show it to my family as proof that i can make a fire (a running joke amongst volunteers is the question, "Can you make a fire?" In a typical Mongolian interaction with anyone at anytime, revolves around three questions: "How are you? Are you cold? And can you make a fire?" Yes, for goodness sake, we can make a fire. If we couldn't we'd be dead.)

My neighbor Shinee, my other counterpart, Zolaa, and me in my Christmased out ger.

Sure is gettin crowded up there!

A Mongolian Rubix cube. A friend of mine gave me this for Christmas... I worked on it for 5 days straight and COULD NOT get it. Shinee had it in her hands for 3 minutes and solved it. Grrrrr.

Bawwww. Cutie Patootie.

The Road to Dariganga. Thanksgiving Burritos! Yum!

The Thanksgivin' Bunch

So my bestie and I took a walk around town... in the freezing cold. Here's what Dariganga looks like these days...So my bestie and I took a walk around town... in the freezing cold. Here's what Dariganga looks like these days...

Dilguun pretending to fall in the ice and scaring the living bejeesus outta me...

That is a lake in front of me. Froooozen.

Silly Boy

I'm sad to announce that Norman is no-more. When I returned from IST, he was simply gone. My neighbors told me that one night he disappeared.

Oh well. I didn't really want a dog.

But then I met Lloyd. Lloyd is a timid, shy, and ridiculously adorable puppy that kept getting beaten up by all the other doggies. So I rescued him and now I love him.

Meet Lloyd Christmas!

Lloyd is a big pansy. He's scared of the wind. As a result, negative reinforcement works wonders on him. In less than a week, I had him totally potty trained!

He's also a huge momma's boy (perhaps Norman Bates would have been more appropriate for him than the other Norman). He whines when I leave and gets wicked excited when I come home. He also likes to snuggle in my lap and snuggle in my sleeping bag when I sleep! He's so frickin adorable.

He also will spend HOURS chasing his tail. He's so stupid... it's very endearing. Lloyd suffers from what Douglas Adams refers to as a "Logical Loop." Lloyd's thought process is such:

"Oh! What is that?? I will bite it!"

and then...

"Ouch! Something bit me!"

and then...

"Oh! What is that?? I will bite it!"

and so on and so forth.

The loop is a result of 2 factors. 1) Lloyd has yet to figure out that these two thoughts are related and 2) Lloyd does not experience boredom, thus enabling him to do this for EVER.

Cutie.

I brought him with me to the aimag because I don't want to lose him. If you skype me, you can meet him in person!

Merry Christmas from Mongolia!

I received a card from my school director that read, "At this special time of year, may the Hope and Joy in your heart be Renewed."

It touched me deeply. I miss so much during the holidays... hot chocolate, pumpkins, christmas songs, christmas trees, fires (that are not necessary for survival), 24 hours Christmas marathons, and watching Storm Chasers all day while building puzzles and ugly sweaters. And more than anything, spending time with family and friends.

I had a bit of a mental breakdown on the 24th... I wanted sooo bad to be in America with all of you guys. It was a rough day, but now I'm in the aimag celebrating Christmas the best we can (i.e. going to the karaoke bar and singing every Christmas song in the book).

I'm very happy to be in the presence of other Americans right now, but know that I'd give my right arm to spend just one quick day at home in America with all you.

Happy Holidays, all!!

So, apologies for the horrendous blogging I have been doing lately. I should have been posting when I had the chance, but alas... the lure of the city (and it's vegetarian options, open air black markets, and a night-life that consisted of more than binge drinking vodka in your home) kept me busy every day... not to mention it was swarming with American Peace Corps volunteers, whom I clung to as though I wouldn't have contact with them for another 8 months. Oh wait...

It was sad to realize that the next time we would all be together again would be for MST - Mid Service Training - next August. Until then, I suppose I'll just have to deal with the motley bunch I was cast as sitemates here in the BU (just jokes, y'all... I could not have asked for better sitemates and that's the truth!).

Now, I am once again awaiting the phone call that will tell me I am leaving RIGHT NOW! and then I will head back to my popsicle of a ger where I imagine I will spend a few hours shivering miserably while everything thaws. I get to return to my Norman and my Dilguun and my students, which I am very excited for. I did miss my site a lot and really do consider it to be my home.

To be honest, when I left Dariganga a month ago, I was burnt out. Really needed that vacay. But IST and being with my friends again has totally revived me. When I get back to site my counterpart and I are starting a variety of clubs and activities and such, so at the very least I'll be occupied and perhaps a few will learn English in the process. :)

Also, I'm super excited to announce that the Minnesotan in me is bringing broomball to Dariganga. I'm not sure why I didn't think of this before but, everyone has brooms! Everyone has a ball! And we all have a giant frozen lake! It's going to be like GAC all over again... except outside. And probably a lot less English. But just as much booze, I'm sure.

Hokey - long boring post sans pictures because Smartypants McGee over here left her computer charger at the hostel, which means until I get that back... oh boy. I don't even want to think of the implications of being without my computer (no music... no movies... no games... eeeek!) Luckily, enough of you darling folk have sent me books. I'll probably burn through those over this next month.

Goodness I'm being long winded today. I'm done. I'm going back to Dariganga sometime today and I am going to try my hardest to be back here for Christmas. We shall seeeee.

Thanks for tunin in and I'll see ya when I see ya!

Sarah, TafKap, or Snag... depending on how you know me. mwah!

Loneliness and boredom has taken it's toll on all of us here in Mongolia. It was real fun learning how everybody dealt with that... A dear good friend changed the lyrics of "Don't Stop Believin" to "Don't Stop UB'in." It is a gem of a song.

I just discovered that the cord connecting my external to my computer also works with my camera!

Nifty!

So, I'm still in UB. My counterpart and I just wrapped up a week long training seminar at a fancy resort in the hills with all the other TEFL volunteers. It was a raging good time to be with all my friends again.

Beautiful, yea?

A few days before the seminar, PC-Mongolia flooded the city to celebrate Thanksgiving... turkey, stuffing, and pumpkin pie (oh myyyy). The food was delicious, the company was great, but I assure you that all you back home were on my mind the entire day. Being separated from all y'all that I love dearly has made me more thankful than ever that I have such wonderful people in my life. The letters, the packages, even the short emails that I check 2 months late reminding me that I am missed mean so much to me. I am so thankful to have such a great support system back home.

I am especially thankful for family these days (and I'm not just mocking you Michelle... :) ). Mom and Dad, your packages and phone calls may be my saving grace here in Mongolia. You guys have done and continue to do so much for me, even if I am half a world away. I can't possible express how much it means to me. I love you guys very much.

Sappiness aside, I had a funny sort of moment here in Mongolia over Thanksgiving. I love hearing that you all read my blog and are taking such an invested interest in my travels. But get this... A fellow PCV approached me over Thanksgiving and informed me that his Mongolian counterpart is also following this blog. I am so flattered! I felt that the blog would be for introducing you all to Mongolian culture, but it excites me so much to know that it is working the other way, too. Best part, though... Tom's counterpart bought me a Christmas gift... a jar of peanut butter :)

So, a thank you so much, Batjargal! I hope you continue to enjoy my blog. I absolutely enjoyed that peanut butter!

I promised a photo blog. But i have yet to take pictures. Sorry. I suck. Today I will! (Ummm maybe:) )

I go back to the soum in 2 days, so skype me soon!

Another dear good friend changed the lyrics of Paul Simon's "America" to "Mongolia." So goodbye for now you fabulous people, I love and am truly thankful for you all. Now, "I'm gone to look for Mongolia."

kisses.

The quarantine has been lifted, huzzah!

Now on to new challenges, such as untravelable roads due to snow and the like.

Salut!

I'm currently staying in a hostel overrun by French backpackers... I'm starting to get all these languages crossed.

So, I'm in UB... and it's magical. I bought soy milk. I can buy peppers and eggplant and popcorn and any type of bean I can think of (although I haven't seen garbanzo... I want me some hummus!), FRESH twix bars. There is REAL coffee, wireless internet, paved roads, restaurants with more than just huushuur on the menu, and alcohol selections that VARY. Oy. I'm so overwhelmed by the choices (I'm going to stand dumbfounded in the entry way to Jewel when come home).

Anyhow, this Thursday is Thanksgiving and Peace Corps is hosting a fantastic party, complete with turkey and pumpkin pie! I'm so so so pumped for it. Most PCV's claim it is the best meal they eat for 2 years.

Today, I am off to the Chinese Embassy to apply for a visa. I'm going to Hong Kong to visit with a dear friend and eat some yummy Chinese food in March. Real excited for that one. Also, I've been pickin up some awesome postcards and knick knacks so keep those eyes on your mailboxes! I am also about to head to a cozy little cafe to drink some delish coffee and pretend that I'm in a Starbucks in the States. I intend to take a bunch o pics today, so look out for a photo blog soon.

Well, that's what I'm up to now. Still rolling in the glory that is internet, so if you want to talk... I'm here!

Over and Out

To quote the always classy Michelle,

Oh, how I love being a Kappel. Sometimes Mongolians will mistake us Americans for Russians. Not in this shirt.

Represent.