Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Naddam fun......
Here in Mongolia the big national celebration is Naddam.... There are local festivals everywhere and the three manly sports are the main attratction; archery, horse racing and wrestling.
I was lucky enough to go with my family to a bigger town for some Naddam fun....some of the highlights for me were holding a falcon, sitting on a horse and getting a groovy hat which is very traditional.
Due to a leg injury, I was unable to go to the countryside with my hasha family, and had to stay home with my leg up...
Check out my facebook page to see my Naddam fun photo album...hopefully one day I can post pics on the blog again!
I was lucky enough to go with my family to a bigger town for some Naddam fun....some of the highlights for me were holding a falcon, sitting on a horse and getting a groovy hat which is very traditional.
Due to a leg injury, I was unable to go to the countryside with my hasha family, and had to stay home with my leg up...
Check out my facebook page to see my Naddam fun photo album...hopefully one day I can post pics on the blog again!
pics of kids from last post
ok, apparently there is still some malfunction with posting pictures....damn...dunno if it's the computer here in our little town....or what. Will try again next week when we go to the bigger town with better internet...
in the meantime, look on my facebook (Joanne M. Nussbaum) and I will put an album called pics of kids from last blog post
Sunday, June 27, 2010
kids are the same everywhere
Sweet, kind, loving with open hearts…. I have found that here sometimes their circumstances are not as fortunate as what we may be used to at home, or even when we grew up. Children here seem to be given much more responsibility, in terms of chores, watching little sibs, etc.
My Community Youth Development group has started a youth club here in our small town. Though overall our focus group is actually boys, (roughly ages 12-18) because here in Mongolia we have learned, girls are usually the ones sent to college and boys stay home and work. In most other countries the focus is girls….However, while we are here for the summer, we welcome all children to come hang out, play, maybe learn a new game or two.
Pedro, our resident guitar player intends to teach whomever wants to learn how to strum guitar. Shareya wants to teach soccer basics, Justin basketball, etc…. I am good at filling in a spot for Uno! So during our pre-service training this summer, that is one of our experiential learning tasks. We will also start teaching a basic English class this week, geared more toward adults I believe. Teaching English is also part of our expectations once we get to site.
None of us has any idea where we will end up, but it’s funny to say that in less than a month our small group of 9 has become fairly close knit. We all blend together quite nicely, and I am constantly amazed by the maturity and wisdom some younger people have! The UU church is one of my tribes, and now I have discovered the Peace Corps is another!
My Community Youth Development group has started a youth club here in our small town. Though overall our focus group is actually boys, (roughly ages 12-18) because here in Mongolia we have learned, girls are usually the ones sent to college and boys stay home and work. In most other countries the focus is girls….However, while we are here for the summer, we welcome all children to come hang out, play, maybe learn a new game or two.
Pedro, our resident guitar player intends to teach whomever wants to learn how to strum guitar. Shareya wants to teach soccer basics, Justin basketball, etc…. I am good at filling in a spot for Uno! So during our pre-service training this summer, that is one of our experiential learning tasks. We will also start teaching a basic English class this week, geared more toward adults I believe. Teaching English is also part of our expectations once we get to site.
None of us has any idea where we will end up, but it’s funny to say that in less than a month our small group of 9 has become fairly close knit. We all blend together quite nicely, and I am constantly amazed by the maturity and wisdom some younger people have! The UU church is one of my tribes, and now I have discovered the Peace Corps is another!
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
this place makes me happy
Being here makes me happy!
Mongolia is a place of natural beauty and wonder. A place where life is simpler, slower and totally different than life as we know it at home.
This is the kind of place I have farm fantasies about! The rolling land, the hills, the little hashas, the grazing livestock being herded by dogs; ah the simple life. The simple life also involves a lot of hard work to meet basic needs. No running water here. There are wells located around town, where you go to buy water and haul it back home
I went with my hasha dad Moogi (who is more like my sons ages…) this morning about 10:30 to fetch water. We walked about half a mile to the place where you purchase the water. Moogi had the plastic barrels to fill; the bigger for the family, and the smaller one for my use. The barrels were pushed on a metal frame cart with rickety wheels. There were many others also getting water this morning and we had to wait a minute. The concept of lines here is absent….instead you kind of hustle up to get your turn. I don’t exactly know how much the water cost. On the way back Moogi ran down a little slope to keep the cart going and only a couple spots did I need to help push the cart.
Upon our return, I helped him heft the large barrel into the family ger and I carted the smaller one to mine. Then I proceeded to fill my water filter which was almost empty (though it must hold around 3 gallons or so) then the fun job of hand washing clothes.
Now this doesn’t seem too bad to me theoretically, however, it’s a chore. I use cold water, a little Tide (yes I found it here) and scrub, scrub, scrub. My scrubbing technique needs some work though, since I noticed the jeans with mud on them still had some mud on them after washing…ugh. Part of the challenge to this is using as little water as possible, since it’s such a pain to get the water….conserve, conserve, conserve. So after washing some clothes, wringing, wringing and wringing some more, I then rinsed them sparingly. They at least smell better, though I’m not sure how clean they really are. (remember the water and lack of purity...)
The Mongolian language is really a challenge to learn. All the ish, ick and hocher kinds of sounds are fun…I think I finally have a grasp on the Cyrillic alphabet which is pretty wild. Though, of course, words are not always so simple to sound out. Our group of CYYD’s are meeting this afternoon for a little study session. What a fun group we all are….most of us went hiking yesterday and though it was far and a tough climb, the views were awesome! We plan to hike a different area next Saturday.
Mongolia is a place of natural beauty and wonder. A place where life is simpler, slower and totally different than life as we know it at home.
This is the kind of place I have farm fantasies about! The rolling land, the hills, the little hashas, the grazing livestock being herded by dogs; ah the simple life. The simple life also involves a lot of hard work to meet basic needs. No running water here. There are wells located around town, where you go to buy water and haul it back home
I went with my hasha dad Moogi (who is more like my sons ages…) this morning about 10:30 to fetch water. We walked about half a mile to the place where you purchase the water. Moogi had the plastic barrels to fill; the bigger for the family, and the smaller one for my use. The barrels were pushed on a metal frame cart with rickety wheels. There were many others also getting water this morning and we had to wait a minute. The concept of lines here is absent….instead you kind of hustle up to get your turn. I don’t exactly know how much the water cost. On the way back Moogi ran down a little slope to keep the cart going and only a couple spots did I need to help push the cart.
Upon our return, I helped him heft the large barrel into the family ger and I carted the smaller one to mine. Then I proceeded to fill my water filter which was almost empty (though it must hold around 3 gallons or so) then the fun job of hand washing clothes.
Now this doesn’t seem too bad to me theoretically, however, it’s a chore. I use cold water, a little Tide (yes I found it here) and scrub, scrub, scrub. My scrubbing technique needs some work though, since I noticed the jeans with mud on them still had some mud on them after washing…ugh. Part of the challenge to this is using as little water as possible, since it’s such a pain to get the water….conserve, conserve, conserve. So after washing some clothes, wringing, wringing and wringing some more, I then rinsed them sparingly. They at least smell better, though I’m not sure how clean they really are. (remember the water and lack of purity...)
The Mongolian language is really a challenge to learn. All the ish, ick and hocher kinds of sounds are fun…I think I finally have a grasp on the Cyrillic alphabet which is pretty wild. Though, of course, words are not always so simple to sound out. Our group of CYYD’s are meeting this afternoon for a little study session. What a fun group we all are….most of us went hiking yesterday and though it was far and a tough climb, the views were awesome! We plan to hike a different area next Saturday.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
its a ger life for me....
Wow, ger life is pretty awesome! It's sort of like living in a tent.....only with a stove and a bed! Here are some pics of my ger.... it's big and all mine! My hasha family lives in the ger next door, and our hasha (yard) is fenced in. Our hasha dog is tied up and barks a lot...dogs here are for protection, not as pets. One of our first days or orientation, we were taught to yell "CHO" loudly at dogs who may bark or run at us, and then throw rocks at them. Some people have trouble with the idea. Even though I consider myself an animal lover, I haven't had a problem throwing a few rocks and yelling at dogs!
My pics are not in order...however, you can see the hasha (yard fenced in), the glorious sky and some gers on the hills, boys riding a horse and some views of my ger!
It's cozy inside, though it has been getting a little cold..My fire starting and tending skills need lots of work and it's pretty hit and miss with me. I had a nice little fire going last night and it was good. We bathe in a tumpin, the pink tub near the sink....yes use your imagination, more like a sponge bath and rinse, but definetly doable!
Classes keep me quite busy and the language is tough, but I'm getting the hang of it!
I'll post more later, and perhaps about my hasha family! Mongolia is very cool! I am really happy to be here and am up for the challenges that await me.....
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