Hello to all again, i am back with what one hopes to be another arousing and entertaining discussion of life in middle mongolia. It is WEdnesday and has been snowing incredibl amounts all morning, sadly i ran out of wood so had to borrow from my hosat family, which is kind of essential. Let me just make this one point. Gers tend to leak a little, and it can be frustrating. Oh werll, it is part of the fun, but still, its cold and my ger is wet, and there is no electricty. currenlty I'm sditting in the internet cafe here, because this is the only place in A-Town where there is electrcity. I do wish it will come back, Brian needs to eat and spending money he really should be using on a winter jacket is a bad idea!
Anyway, so maybe i should talk a little about my site. 20-25 thousand people, cold and windy but it has been hot and warm, so a little slice of everything. We have all the amenities tgat are needed and its not too expensive, so i should be fine. The only problem is reliable electricity. I am living in a big tent, or GER and it is taking some time to get used to, especially when trying to start fires. Stupidly i inhaled a little smoke this morning trying to get the fire started, so in future it might be prudent to wear a mask. I am working with 12 English teachers in a secondary school and trying to build an English department as well as ensure they are able to teach the English language effectively. Not too mention trying to get their speaking abilities up to date, which is going to be lots of fun, as they are quite lovely women. And yes, i am one of only 10 or so malke teachers, which makes me either very lucky or in danger....hahaha, obviously not, but the first question most of the teachers have asked is "Are you married?" "Why not?" and "Maybe you can find a Mongolian wife." Who knows, stange things can happen but i am quite comfortable in my present state, albiet cutting some of the distance would help things run a little more smoothly. Moving swiftly along, Life in A-town is going well, I am starting class on Monday and am expected to deliver a 5 minute speech, as is tradition. Needless to say, my Mongolian is a little poor so writing it andf having it corrected by my tutor and co-workers is essential. I should also mention that i do have a mongolian tutor, a very sweet woman who has a great deal of patience. I've only had one lesson but have I enjoyed it and I'm hoping for a couple a week. Maybe i will be able to carry on a full conversation soon! Crazier things have happened.
Okay, other than being wet and cold and anxious about school starting, there isn't much going on so far. I would like to thank my parents for sending a package, I have no doubt it will make what appears to be a very long winter much more relaxing. I need to get some lesson planning and done and maybe check on the electrcity at home situation but will come back with something a lot more interesting next week, when i should have a much better idea of how a week or month is going to function. Take care andf think of me while you sit in your centrally heated, or even radiator heated building...grrrr....i'm joking; complaining is not something i want to do as it is my choice to be here but right now i am a little jealous of people with heated buildings! Cheerio
Thursday 28 August 2008
Sunday 24 August 2008
Snow..in August...only in Mongolia!
The above statement is not only false but misleading and does not imply that is doesn't snow anywhere else in the world in the month of August. I just thought it was amusing...because it is actually snowing quite heavily now, and we are now August 25th, so it is some sort of warning as too just how much fun winter is going to be. I do need to go chop some wood and get some water, so this will prove to be an interesting day indeed!
So where were we last? Ah yes, I am now a Peace Corps Volunteer with a rather pathetic command of the Mongolian language. I can get by, but not so well. I have some tutoring starting this week which will hopefully ensure I do actually get better. If you are not aware, I have been posted to a site about 8 hours from UB, the capital. I can' t tell you where, because you might come visit me, which for the first three months is a strict "no no". But worry not, check my facebook if you are interested or email me, I will happily supply an address with which you may mail various fruits, nuts or peanut butter, upon which I will dine when my stove freezes over. Okay, it is not that bad but consider this option; the average temperature here in the winter is about -20 C...sound fun yet? It gets better. I am leaving in a Ger (Mongolian tent) and I still do not have glass coverings on the roof, only a heavy wool cover which doesn't quite over the hole becuase my stove is inthe way. I'll post a photo of it soon, but needless to say, it's a touch on the chilly side at the moment.
Serious things now. I am working in a secondary school of 3600 students rnaing from 11-18 years old, where I am responsible for the English abilities and resources of 12 Mongolian English langage teachers. They are wonderful ladies and seem to have enjoyed our discussions so far. School does not start until the first of September but I have been meeting with them in order to understand a little more about the current situation. They have some resources but are in desperate need of the CD's, casettes issued by the Mongolian Education Ministry and various other resources. And a Stereo. So I will work on getting that taken care of as well and build on their English speaking abilities, which are quite good but need more practice, as they are used so infrequently. So I am working on getting those as well as creating a library abnd English Langauge Corner from which the students can check out english books. having gotten in touch with a wonderful organisation, The Darien Book Aid in the United States; hopefully witin the next couple months the 15 kilos of books they are sending will have arrived. I suppose that will be a good sign of progress. I ashould explain that I am an English teacher, but generally for teaching the teachers. And that is fantastic, because I feel this is an experience that will assist both professionaly an personaly. So, as a teacher trainer, I will live near the Gobi for 2 years and try to not lose any appendages to frostbite or wild yaks. Fairly amazing in my asute opinion. Oh that reminds me of another tangent. Yesterday I went to toe store for a Viamin C kick (seriously sugary juice with SOME vitamin C) and noticed that a wild yak was bearing herded own the street by a gentleman on a horse with his colleague running beside. I do't think I have ever seen anything so wonderful in my life. What a site! Yaks are by far the most peculiar looking animals, hairy, bulky and a bit clumsy. I think Stars Wars must have used them for various characters because they don't really look like they belong anywhere. Look up Yaks and let me know what you think.
Okay, so I've rambled enough time for some food and fire but I just wanted to let you know what happening. I'll be be back with another peculiar insight into my life here. Feel free to let me know how things are going and if you feel like sending anything, I always welcome cards, photos or food products. Making a wish list seems childish but I am sure I can think of a few things I wouldn't mind receiving! Cheerio.
So where were we last? Ah yes, I am now a Peace Corps Volunteer with a rather pathetic command of the Mongolian language. I can get by, but not so well. I have some tutoring starting this week which will hopefully ensure I do actually get better. If you are not aware, I have been posted to a site about 8 hours from UB, the capital. I can' t tell you where, because you might come visit me, which for the first three months is a strict "no no". But worry not, check my facebook if you are interested or email me, I will happily supply an address with which you may mail various fruits, nuts or peanut butter, upon which I will dine when my stove freezes over. Okay, it is not that bad but consider this option; the average temperature here in the winter is about -20 C...sound fun yet? It gets better. I am leaving in a Ger (Mongolian tent) and I still do not have glass coverings on the roof, only a heavy wool cover which doesn't quite over the hole becuase my stove is inthe way. I'll post a photo of it soon, but needless to say, it's a touch on the chilly side at the moment.
Serious things now. I am working in a secondary school of 3600 students rnaing from 11-18 years old, where I am responsible for the English abilities and resources of 12 Mongolian English langage teachers. They are wonderful ladies and seem to have enjoyed our discussions so far. School does not start until the first of September but I have been meeting with them in order to understand a little more about the current situation. They have some resources but are in desperate need of the CD's, casettes issued by the Mongolian Education Ministry and various other resources. And a Stereo. So I will work on getting that taken care of as well and build on their English speaking abilities, which are quite good but need more practice, as they are used so infrequently. So I am working on getting those as well as creating a library abnd English Langauge Corner from which the students can check out english books. having gotten in touch with a wonderful organisation, The Darien Book Aid in the United States; hopefully witin the next couple months the 15 kilos of books they are sending will have arrived. I suppose that will be a good sign of progress. I ashould explain that I am an English teacher, but generally for teaching the teachers. And that is fantastic, because I feel this is an experience that will assist both professionaly an personaly. So, as a teacher trainer, I will live near the Gobi for 2 years and try to not lose any appendages to frostbite or wild yaks. Fairly amazing in my asute opinion. Oh that reminds me of another tangent. Yesterday I went to toe store for a Viamin C kick (seriously sugary juice with SOME vitamin C) and noticed that a wild yak was bearing herded own the street by a gentleman on a horse with his colleague running beside. I do't think I have ever seen anything so wonderful in my life. What a site! Yaks are by far the most peculiar looking animals, hairy, bulky and a bit clumsy. I think Stars Wars must have used them for various characters because they don't really look like they belong anywhere. Look up Yaks and let me know what you think.
Okay, so I've rambled enough time for some food and fire but I just wanted to let you know what happening. I'll be be back with another peculiar insight into my life here. Feel free to let me know how things are going and if you feel like sending anything, I always welcome cards, photos or food products. Making a wish list seems childish but I am sure I can think of a few things I wouldn't mind receiving! Cheerio.
Tuesday 19 August 2008
I AM NOW A PCV! M
07/28
Here we are, about to try and get down to some business.
Or so I am trying to tell myself; after nursing the prior evenings physical and liquid based activity, I am trying to reflect on what the last few months have been like. I have now been in Mongolia for just over two months and feel free enough to admit that I still love it tremendously. Of course, everyone has good and bad days; that is part of the routine of changing everything about your life and moving around the world. However, despite some language issues and frustration at the lack of activity and disposable income, it is safe to say that things are fairly tremendous. With a wonderful family who are patient enough to tolerate my below par abilities in Mongolian, excellent site mates and some other people I won’t go into details about, life in Mongolia “aint so bad”.
However.
I miss some aspects of being back in the UK, a some friends and family in the USA. There are some wonderful things there that I hope to see again, Brighton itself being one of them. However, things can change and they in fact do, so it is important to get on with things and look out for new possibilities that will create something new and interesting. Being somewhat of a nomadic person, I continuously feel the need to move around, but I think that’s because I have really been able to go anywhere, and I feel ready and confident enough to get out into Mongolia and try to get on with the job I came here for. Now that I’ve said my piece, time to get down to the actual theme of this entry. I might add my apologies for the spelling errors in the last two entries, I had 20 minutes to get it done and post it before heading back to the land of no internet but I will ensure it gets better. Also, if Julia’s Mum is reading this, don’t worry she’s fine and enjoying herself. And of course, she says hello. In fact, I will personally take this opportunity to say hello to all the family members of M-19 Javflant, but in particular I just wanted to make sure Julia’s mum knows she is missed.
So, after two months I am ready to get on with work and get to site, the problem is that I don’t know where that is yet. Now I have an interesting and somewhat annoying 2 week wait to find out. I could be in the Gobi, surreptitious channels have mentioned that I could be in Choibalsan, which is the far eastern region. Who knows, I have only one request and it likely won’t be something they will consider, so I am ready to see a bit more of this country and get down to business.
So, after having had Nadaam, camping out at the biggest monastery in Mongolia and generally trying to find things to keep one occupied, we M-19’s are nearing the end of Peace Corps Training. I am not the biggest fan of acronyms, but I might have to start using them more often as it’s a pain to keep writing things out. So from on, PST equals training, and soon I will be a Peace Corps Volunteer (PCV).
Hopefully.
Peace Corps has these various tasks we have to fulfill before we become volunteers, and most are pretty good. For example, we have our community development project due today, which is supposed to be a field day complete with games and English speaking. However, A.) it is not the sunniest weather, and B.) Trying to get 10-15 kids to play games in English can be difficult. I’m not too worried though, the best thing we can do is keep people entertained, which has been pretty easy; 10 foreigners walking around a village of 1-2000 people makes for particularly juicy gossip. Also, there is a sports hall which can be used to it will be fine. I would like to think we are all excited about getting these things done so that when we get to our sites in August, we will have more of an idea about how to go about settling in and becoming a member of our communities. I’ll deal with that in August, because right now I have no idea what is going on. As much as Peace Corps helps out, they do love to keep us in the dark sometimes. Fair enough, I can’t fault that, if we knew more we would just ask more questions. Pardon me for being inquisitive. So life in the steppe continues to wind down; we leave our Javflant early August and will be leaving for sites mid August, I will know my site address by the 12, and will even have a phone! The ability to communicate globally returns to my fingertips, considering how much I relied on my phone prior to Mongolia, I am amazed the withdrawal symptoms have been that bad. Let me know via email if you feel like sending dried fruit, or some photos of what you’re doing, or just a little card saying hello. I will also need your phone numbers, because texting is fairly cheap. Phone calls might not be so cheap, but I can certainly receive calls cheaply and send a text or two. Anyway, I hope this entry finds you well, I am ready to begin another chapter of work and see where it takes me. Hopefully the next time you read, I will have a clearer idea of where and why I have come to Mongolia. Cheerio.
11/08/08
It’s the evening before I leave my host site for Darkhan, I’ve just eaten a ridiculous amount of food and have just been told that because I am leaving, my family has slaughtered a goat for my departure. Where I will fit any more of this food is a whole new question. This does not bother me at all because as one does in all types of situations, one assimilates and enjoys the moment for what it is. But seriously though, if you’ve never smelt the inside of goat, you are not missing a thing. Unpleasant stenches aside, I would like to say what a great summer this has been. Sure, I’ve had no material things expect this little computer and my IPOD, but that is more than fine. Classes have been tough but hopefully I have gathered enough skill in Mongolian to at least not die freezing on the steppe. And finally, I have met some truly wonderful people, both Mongolian and American and am in good spirits for the next week. If you are not aware of how Peace Corps works, then you should know one thing: PC tells you nothing at all about placements, site location or your job description. I suppose I can understand, you don’t want any volunteers to have preconceptions about places but honestly, tomorrow I am going to find out what I have wanted to know all summer; where I will be for the next two years. I’m not ner ner ner nervous at all…not really, just apprehensive about what is going to happen, since I am still unsure what my occupation is going to be. Whatever it may be, I’m sure I am going to love it. Starting tomorrow morning at 7, we have five days of final checks, probing and security issues before we swear in on Saturday as actually volunteers. At a grand total of “very little” in the way of salaries, I’m pretty sure I will start to relish the idea of vegetables, abundant salads, tofu and Guinness. That’s alright, I didn’t come here to live the high life, so as apprehensive about how things will go as I am right now, I am more than ready to start. Well, after a really nice hot shower, a sit down toilet and food that doesn’t alleys include salt, I’ll be ready. Hopefully by the end of this week those of you who I know will have received an email with my new address and phone number , feel free to say hello when you get a chance. Okay, I am of to eat some goat liver and intestines, I’ll catch up with you soon. And for the record, I think I will be in ether Choibalson or a large city in the Gobi.
Here we are, about to try and get down to some business.
Or so I am trying to tell myself; after nursing the prior evenings physical and liquid based activity, I am trying to reflect on what the last few months have been like. I have now been in Mongolia for just over two months and feel free enough to admit that I still love it tremendously. Of course, everyone has good and bad days; that is part of the routine of changing everything about your life and moving around the world. However, despite some language issues and frustration at the lack of activity and disposable income, it is safe to say that things are fairly tremendous. With a wonderful family who are patient enough to tolerate my below par abilities in Mongolian, excellent site mates and some other people I won’t go into details about, life in Mongolia “aint so bad”.
However.
I miss some aspects of being back in the UK, a some friends and family in the USA. There are some wonderful things there that I hope to see again, Brighton itself being one of them. However, things can change and they in fact do, so it is important to get on with things and look out for new possibilities that will create something new and interesting. Being somewhat of a nomadic person, I continuously feel the need to move around, but I think that’s because I have really been able to go anywhere, and I feel ready and confident enough to get out into Mongolia and try to get on with the job I came here for. Now that I’ve said my piece, time to get down to the actual theme of this entry. I might add my apologies for the spelling errors in the last two entries, I had 20 minutes to get it done and post it before heading back to the land of no internet but I will ensure it gets better. Also, if Julia’s Mum is reading this, don’t worry she’s fine and enjoying herself. And of course, she says hello. In fact, I will personally take this opportunity to say hello to all the family members of M-19 Javflant, but in particular I just wanted to make sure Julia’s mum knows she is missed.
So, after two months I am ready to get on with work and get to site, the problem is that I don’t know where that is yet. Now I have an interesting and somewhat annoying 2 week wait to find out. I could be in the Gobi, surreptitious channels have mentioned that I could be in Choibalsan, which is the far eastern region. Who knows, I have only one request and it likely won’t be something they will consider, so I am ready to see a bit more of this country and get down to business.
So, after having had Nadaam, camping out at the biggest monastery in Mongolia and generally trying to find things to keep one occupied, we M-19’s are nearing the end of Peace Corps Training. I am not the biggest fan of acronyms, but I might have to start using them more often as it’s a pain to keep writing things out. So from on, PST equals training, and soon I will be a Peace Corps Volunteer (PCV).
Hopefully.
Peace Corps has these various tasks we have to fulfill before we become volunteers, and most are pretty good. For example, we have our community development project due today, which is supposed to be a field day complete with games and English speaking. However, A.) it is not the sunniest weather, and B.) Trying to get 10-15 kids to play games in English can be difficult. I’m not too worried though, the best thing we can do is keep people entertained, which has been pretty easy; 10 foreigners walking around a village of 1-2000 people makes for particularly juicy gossip. Also, there is a sports hall which can be used to it will be fine. I would like to think we are all excited about getting these things done so that when we get to our sites in August, we will have more of an idea about how to go about settling in and becoming a member of our communities. I’ll deal with that in August, because right now I have no idea what is going on. As much as Peace Corps helps out, they do love to keep us in the dark sometimes. Fair enough, I can’t fault that, if we knew more we would just ask more questions. Pardon me for being inquisitive. So life in the steppe continues to wind down; we leave our Javflant early August and will be leaving for sites mid August, I will know my site address by the 12, and will even have a phone! The ability to communicate globally returns to my fingertips, considering how much I relied on my phone prior to Mongolia, I am amazed the withdrawal symptoms have been that bad. Let me know via email if you feel like sending dried fruit, or some photos of what you’re doing, or just a little card saying hello. I will also need your phone numbers, because texting is fairly cheap. Phone calls might not be so cheap, but I can certainly receive calls cheaply and send a text or two. Anyway, I hope this entry finds you well, I am ready to begin another chapter of work and see where it takes me. Hopefully the next time you read, I will have a clearer idea of where and why I have come to Mongolia. Cheerio.
11/08/08
It’s the evening before I leave my host site for Darkhan, I’ve just eaten a ridiculous amount of food and have just been told that because I am leaving, my family has slaughtered a goat for my departure. Where I will fit any more of this food is a whole new question. This does not bother me at all because as one does in all types of situations, one assimilates and enjoys the moment for what it is. But seriously though, if you’ve never smelt the inside of goat, you are not missing a thing. Unpleasant stenches aside, I would like to say what a great summer this has been. Sure, I’ve had no material things expect this little computer and my IPOD, but that is more than fine. Classes have been tough but hopefully I have gathered enough skill in Mongolian to at least not die freezing on the steppe. And finally, I have met some truly wonderful people, both Mongolian and American and am in good spirits for the next week. If you are not aware of how Peace Corps works, then you should know one thing: PC tells you nothing at all about placements, site location or your job description. I suppose I can understand, you don’t want any volunteers to have preconceptions about places but honestly, tomorrow I am going to find out what I have wanted to know all summer; where I will be for the next two years. I’m not ner ner ner nervous at all…not really, just apprehensive about what is going to happen, since I am still unsure what my occupation is going to be. Whatever it may be, I’m sure I am going to love it. Starting tomorrow morning at 7, we have five days of final checks, probing and security issues before we swear in on Saturday as actually volunteers. At a grand total of “very little” in the way of salaries, I’m pretty sure I will start to relish the idea of vegetables, abundant salads, tofu and Guinness. That’s alright, I didn’t come here to live the high life, so as apprehensive about how things will go as I am right now, I am more than ready to start. Well, after a really nice hot shower, a sit down toilet and food that doesn’t alleys include salt, I’ll be ready. Hopefully by the end of this week those of you who I know will have received an email with my new address and phone number , feel free to say hello when you get a chance. Okay, I am of to eat some goat liver and intestines, I’ll catch up with you soon. And for the record, I think I will be in ether Choibalson or a large city in the Gobi.
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