My First Month and a Half at Site

I’ve found it difficult to write a blog post recently as things at school are starting to pick up. Even on days when I don’t have as much work, I still am at the school from 9 am until around 6 or 7 pm. This doesn’t leave much time for writing since typically after school I go grocery shopping, start cooking, attempt to exercise, try to finish lesson plans, or am invited to an event with the teachers. However, so much has happened since arriving at site and then meeting all the teachers that rather than leaving out occurrences, each exciting occasion deserves a short summary. So, here goes…

Week 1:

After unpacking the first night, I finally relaxed on my large bed, knowing full-well the coming week would be hectic. Valerie and I explored the “city” and found a coffee shop where we relaxed for a bit before going to meet our supervisors. We were shown the important stores at the market: vegetables, meet, random grocery stores, home utensil stores, and clothing stores. The rest of the week, we went to the market every day, slowly stocking up our apartments with important goods, such as two plates, one pot, and one pan (only the bare necessities for us volunteers)! We ended up going on two hikes. The first “hike” was really just walking up the white stairs on the first mountain that overlook the town with the two M27 TEFL volunteers, while the second actually included hiking up the mountains with Valerie’s supervisor and teacher and my two Mongolian neighbor girls. The mountains here are quite rocky with a high possibility of rolling an ankle, but the views are spectacular.

Week 2:

We still went to the market every day (I even ventured out alone, which is a rare occurrence considering Valerie and I live two floors apart), but we were buying fewer things. We found where the different types of cheese can be found, not that there’s a large selection, and we bought housing supplies that weren’t necessary but were desired, like my shower curtain. Another M28 Health volunteer from a soum in our aimag came into town for a wedding and stayed with us for three days. We were all introduced to a woman in the community who runs an English learning facility and is extremely well-connected. She showed us a new coffee shop, which has WiFi, brownies, and apple pie (it’s our new go-to coffee shop)!

Eventually, we became friends with the store owner, which came in useful when we found out there would be a horse race. Her sister and father were coming in from UB and ended up picking us up. We saw the Fastest Horse Monument and ran into two Belgians who were driving the “Mongol Rally”. This is a car trek that typically starts in England and ends up in the southern part of Russia past the Mongolian border. When our ride left, the guys offered to drive us back home. With the third volunteer and the two guys, we went to the little photo store where we enjoy having our pictures taken. Afterwards, we introduced them to the market where they were finally able to buy fresh vegetables after 7 weeks on the road. They cooked us dinner to thank us as we chatted about politics and life in various regions of the world. The next day, they left for UB.

Week 3:

This was the week leading up to the first day of school. In an effort to make use of my free time, I went on a solo hike to clear my mind. A storm appeared on the horizon, so I was worried about getting caught, but luckily my path led me on the outskirts of the storm cloud, which eventually headed north and missed our town entirely.

The next day, I dressed up in my deel and went to school. I was pre-informed by other volunteers that nothing is accomplished the first day of school as there is a large opening ceremony. The ceremony consisted of speeches from the director and officials in the town with dances, songs, and musical performances by students and teachers interspersed. No classes were held that day as the teachers drank airag, ate aaruul (dried curds), and had a teachers’ meeting. Throughout the day, I was told that I look like a Barbie doll, and my hair was constantly being commented on or touched. I was introduced at the teachers’ meeting by one of the English teachers and had to answer questions about my life in the US. Although the day didn’t last long (I was home by 1 pm), I was definitely tuckered out. Cultural immersion is tiring!

Week 4:

This was my first full week of school. The very first evening, I played volleyball with the teachers for 2 hours! Throughout the week, I also met all the English teachers, and we had a meeting with my supervisor (the school social worker), and the director. The meeting turned out to be very productive as my clubs were decided upon. I will be running 5 clubs (one with each counterpart): girls’ health and life skills, professionalism, big brothers/big sisters, hiking, and piano. The hiking club will include the gym teacher and my supervisor, piano club will include an English teacher and the music teacher, and the other three clubs will have the remaining three English teachers assigned to them.

Two days later, the piano club had auditions. I was taken to the music room, unsure of my purpose, and was told to pick the students. The music teacher then left since he apparently had class… I got through three students before someone forgot her piece. After that, none of the students remembered their pieces, Eventually the music teacher came back and chose the students based on their ability to play back a rhythm. We have 8 students who will participate, broken into two sessions of 4 students each. Although the process was confusing, it was nice to feel like my work was truly starting.

That weekend, we went out into the countryside for a day. We drove for half an hour on a paved road, and one hour on the dirt road. We passed through a herd of horses lying in the grass who only raised their heads as our car passed right next to them. The next herd we passed was slightly more spirited, and the little foals ran by, bucking in excitement due to the car and the crisp air. However, reaching the ger camp proved difficult; we got lost, which was quite amusing. Imagine driving around across the steppe, being able to see in all directions as the land is entirely flat except for the mountains surrounding the valley, and then weaving back and forth to see if maybe another road will be more fruitful. Luckily, we finally arrived. Right away we were ushered into a ger for airag and snacks, before being led to a second ger for milk tea and aaruul. I definitely had my fill of Mongolian food. For breakfast, the teachers made cow intestine soup. My supervisor went around telling each teacher individually and made an announcement that I was not allowed to eat the cow intestine soup. Apparently, my host parents had both informed her of my food poisoning from cow stomach soup, so I was now forbidden from eating it. This was okay by me, as my substitute meal was bread with salami, cucumbers, tomatoes, and some fruits.

As the day went on, we ate khorkhog and boodog (these were described in an earlier post with my host family), played volleyball, sang songs, and had a relay race. I was given the apple-eating station. Now, I can eat quickly if I’m eating chips, but I like to savor apples and other fruits. This lead to some difficulty as I decided to not swallow in an effort to eat more quickly (don’t judge me, I was under pressure!). Another teacher ended up finishing the apple for me, so I was definitely my team’s weakest link. Afterwards, we had a dance party, which mostly consisted of the younger students. However, luckily for me, I got to have the real dance party experience at the end of the night. We all piled into the cars, turned on the cars, and then all got back out as it was spontaneously decided that we should quickly have a 10-minute dance party (cough cough 45-minute cough cough). All the teachers danced in a circle for the modern music, and when it was time to waltz, the lights were turned back on, and people started pairing up. I danced with a female teacher I’d met that day, the music teacher, a history teacher, and the school director. It was a long day (I arrived back home after 11:30 pm) but a great bonding experience.

The next day, I went with Valerie and another volunteer to the countryside. We’d been invited to a picnic by the well-connected woman. She currently has an American staying with her, who also came on the trip, along with the woman’s youngest daughter and her husband. It took an hour to reach the camp on dirt roads, but we got to see trees finally! We had lunch by the river and relaxed before the other two PCVs and I decided to go on a hike. We crossed the river four times and saw a plethora of animals: goats, sheep, horses, cows, and yaks. In one weekend, I had seen more of the countryside than in my entire three months in Mongolia. This country truly is beautiful, and the people are wonderfully friendly!

Week 5:

Monday started off with my supervisor telling me with which classes I would be working. This meant that throughout the week I was going to these classes to observe how the teachers were running their life skills homerooms. Some teachers continued on with their class, only stopping to introduce me or ask how it went at the end, while others had me fully participate. I watched a 7^th grade class on dreams 20 years from now and the steps that will be taken this year to help them move forward on this path. I sat there innocently assuming I would just watch, but the teacher came over, handed me a paper, and so I wrote my 20-year plan (apparently in 15 years my only goal is job advancement). I ended up having to share my goals in front of the class. The teacher and I went over my goals in a mix of English and Mongolian and hand signals before I shared since I finished the assignment much more quickly than the students. Then, I slowly shared in English so the students could try to understand, after which the teacher explained my goals in Mongolian. In each class I watched, the students were very excited to see me. The ways they demonstrated their excitement were all over the board. The 5^th graders gasped in awe, 7^th grade tried to ask questions right away, 8^th grade made me introduce myself in English the first minute by saying “say it in English, we speak very well”, one 9^th grade class stared at me throughout the class and then made me introduce myself in Mongolian at the end of the period, while the other 9^th grade class crowded me, brought me a chair, sat me down, and promptly started throwing questions my way. Their excitement was a welcome change of pace and really helped me throw myself into work.

I also started with the piano club. The students showed up Tuesday morning, but the music teacher did not… I ended up teaching them fingering for scales and the D and G major scales. However, the session on Friday with two different students ended up with everyone besides me being a no-show. It was okay though because the students from the Tuesday session had seemed more interested and motivated during the auditions, so I knew I’d be okay (as long as they kept showing up to the club…).

I left Friday afternoon to go see Kharkhorin, the old capital of Mongolia. I met up with the two volunteers who live there, went to a concert in honor of one school’s 60^th anniversary, and visited the monastery. This trip was my first solo attempt at traveling. I ended up taking a meeker there and back (12,000 MNT per one trip). On the bus, I chatted with a mother whose twins attend my school. The entire meeker-full of people kept saying how I was fluent in Mongolian (a far cry from the truth, but I’ve had enough practice with the usual questions), so the conversation was quite validating; I was able to communicate, and not just when buying vegetables!

Week 6:

So far, this week has included fewer classes, but a lot of independent lesson planning. Monday night, I went out to karaoke with the music teacher! The next morning, I had the piano club, and this time the music teacher did show up (YAY!). Only three students came, but they seem extremely interested, so hopefully they continue coming. I also met with one counterpart (CP) to discuss the Professionalism Club and create a weekly plan! Today, some schools across the country held a strike which consisted of teachers arriving at school but not teaching. As PCVs, we were informed that we should still go to school and work on lesson plans unless we were told by our supervisors not to show up, at which point we should work from home. However, my teachers did not participate. I have been told that there will be a protest in October or November in which they are planning to participate. For now, though, the teachers are working hard and preparing for Teachers’ Day. This is a day when the senior students teach classes in place of the teachers who have a sports competition.

Yesterday, the teachers had a teachers’ meeting during which they were informed of a survey I’d like them to take regarding teaching health classes and a survey they should give their students about their students’ knowledge. They were also split into groups for the sports competition. Apparently, I was assigned to a group as well; I have yet to find out which group it is. Tomorrow, we have a piano club session (who knows if students will come) and volleyball in the evening. I will also be teaching a lesson on dental health for parents of children participating in Special Olympics that will be held in my town this weekend! On Saturday, the Country Director is coming for lunch with all the PCVs in my aimag and watching Special Olympics. Afterwards, my main CP wants to show me a trade market and has invited me for dinner at her home! The integration is becoming more pronounced and a part of everyday life. I’m ready for a finalized schedule so I can start teaching classes. This will supposedly start in October (just 10 days away!)!