End of the Year Festivities--Trip to the Khuduu #2

So, the second trip to the khuduu (countryside) was with all the teachers, staff, and administration from my school. We went to the school's farm. The farm is only about 7 km outside the city. There are 2 or 3 cabins with a bunch of beds in them and a cook house out there. Three or four students take turns staying out there to take care of the crops. They grow potatoes, carrots, cabbage--all the regular mongol veggies. And it's near the river. The cabins are pretty nice. They're log cabins. Of course, there's no plumbing, so there's an outhouse. There's a family that lives in a ger not far from the farm that helps oversee the farm. We had some visitors on this trip too. A couple of petroleum engineering professors from the Mongolian University of Science and Technology and an administrator from the Da Chin Petroleum Company (a Chinese mining company for whom our school provides trained workers). Petroleum mining is one of our big and growing bigger majors. Any hoo...this is a day for all the school's employees to eat khorkhuk (barbequed mutton), drink a little vodka, swim in the river, sing a few Mongolian songs, celebrate the successful school year, and start vacation. It was a very good day!  We had a lot of fun.


Sheep skin--good eats!



While waiting for the khorkhuk to finish cooking I went down to the river (maybe a hundred yards away) with my counterparts, and when we got back the first round of khorkhuk had been eaten up. So we had to wait for the next round to finish cooking. We were pretty hungry, so while we were waiting I was given this plate of "food." It's sheep skin and the layer of fat right under the skin. I'm not sure how it was cooked--smoked, fried, roasted? It was very rubbery but it had a delicious smoky flavor to it. Slap it on a thick slice of bread, taking off some of the fat, and it tides one over for the real meat.



Waiting for khorkhuk. That's Chuluuntsetseg, my CP,
on the left in the red hat. I'm sitting betweeen Naraa (social studies teacher)
and Bayasaa (agriculture teacher), who were in my teachers' English class.



Chuluunkhuu (welding and heavy machine operation teacher
and one of my English students) belting out a Mongol tune.



Me, Ariunaa (my CP), Bayasaa, and our school's Director, Enkhjargal

From left Chuluuntsetseg, Naraa, Ariunaa, Batsurek
(petroleum mining teacher) and Enkhbayar (mining teacher,
branch manager of the mining branch, and one of my English students)
 sitting in one of the cabins.

The men are racing across the river,
having taken running jumps off the bank.

Well, tomorrow I'm headed to UB and on Tuesday I fly out to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. I'm going with my sitemates, Trinh, Joel, and Bob, and my friend from training, Becky. We'll spend 2 weeks in Vietnam and 2 weeks in Cambodia. Trinh has family in Vietnam, so we're going to spend about a week with them in the Mekong Delta. Should be fun! And Trinh speaks both Vietnamese and Khmer, so that will be very handy. We'll spend a week at the beach in Vietnam--I can't wait. And you can bet your bottom dollar that I will not be eating any sheep products. Only seafood, fruit, and green vegetables--YUM!  

Great Picture

I took this picture from the airplane when I flew from Ulaanbaatar back to my site at the beginning of June. We were circling around UB to go back east. This is right outside UB. You can see the edge of the ger district at the top.

End of School Year Festivities--Khuduu Trip #1



One of the boys learning to race horses.
This is at the herder's ger in the middle of the steppe--
note the solar panel and satellite dish.



Sook Bin, enjoying his camel photo op.



These are porogons--rugged and uncomfortable.

A couple saddled horses. So beautiful.

Yeong Ji being hoisted onto the camel...1...



...2...



...3...



Success!



The man to the left with the cigarette in his mouth is the best horse racing coach in the aimag and my school's herder.

Hi All! My school year finally came to a close a couple weeks ago. I had 2 trips to the khuduu (the countryside) to mark the occasion. The first trip I went with a couple branch managers, the deputy director, my counterpart Ariunaa, the 2 Korean volunteers at my school (Yeong Ji and Sook Bin), the visiting educational consultant who was French Canadian (Jean Luc), and his interpreter. Much ado was made over the international make-up of the group. There were many toasts to the international cooperation for the success of the school. I have no idea how Mongolians find destinations in the vast steppe lands. We all rode in the school's porogon. A porogon is kind of like the Russian version of an all-terrain VW Bus. The engine is under the front seat, and I'm pretty sure shock absorbers are non-existent. So, we drive out of town on the paved road til we hit the gravel road which we travel on for several kilometers until we turn off on what appears to be a random dirt road across the steppe. We follow the dirt road which winds around so that it's difficult to tell what direction we're going in. Then at another seemingly random spot we turn off the dirt road and go tearing across the steppe. We're probably 20 kilometers or so outside of town but I really have no idea where we are. We come to a ger in the middle of the steppe with a herd of horses and a small herd of camel. We get out of the porogon, and go into the ger. We're served suutai tsai (milk tea) but for once it's not hot. It is a swelteringly hot, sunny day. And we also get aruul (dried milk curds) and aruun (which is this creamy butter kind of stuff that is quite good--milk is boiled and the cream rises to the top then the milk with the cream at top is set aside for a few days; then the cream is scraped off the top. Sometimes you have to pick a fly out of it but it's still tasty.) The ger belongs to my school's herder. Because my school is a vocational school with agriculture and veterinary majors, my school has a herd of animals (mostly sheep I think but a few horses too) and a farm. I found out that my school's herder is known as the best horse riding coach in the aimag. He trains boys to ride race horses. There are 3 or 4 boys at the ger too, along with the herder and his family, learning to race horses. We stay at the ger long enough to drink a cup of suutai tsai and pick up the khorkhuk (the barbequed sheep) which the herder has already prepared for us in the traditional way using hot stones. We get back in the porogon and go tearing across the steppe again to a perfect spot by the river. Khorkhuk is absolutely the best way to eat mutton. It's delicious. Everyone just grabs a big ol' bone and eats with your fingers. A knife is handed round to assist in getting the tough bits off the bone. And of course the Mongolians eat everything off the bone, fat, gristle and all. When I'm done with my bones, I give them to a Mongolian because they think there's still lots of edible meat on the bone. There are also potatoes that are cooked with the khorkhuk and are delicious, and some of the broth is passed around too. I soak bread in the broth. It's really quite tasty. Of course, vodka comes out and there are several toasts. After lunch we take a little dip in the river. A couple of the boys have brought the small herd of camel, which belong to the herder's friend but have been brought for the foreigners' delight. Yeong Ji, Sook Bin, and Jean Luc all got on a camel for photo ops, but I declined. The camel does not go down on its knees so you can get on. The Mongolians hoist you up onto the 7-8 foot tall camel. I decided that getting on and off the camel could pose a danger to my leg, so I declined to get on the camel. Also, I didn't want to be "hoisted" up. I took photos, though of the others. After the camel photo ops, we headed home, tearing off across the steppe again.



Jean Luc, looking a little uncomfortable with a moving camel
and nothing to hold on to but the hump.
Mongolia has the only 2 hump camels in the world.



Check out my other blog--Explore MONGOLIA!

Hi All!  I promised that I would do an informational blog all about Mongolia for G.W.Carver Elementary School in Salem, VA, my nephew Nick's school.  They are having a multicultural day on June 9. I got input from my students and had some assistance from my counterpart, Ariunaa.   Check it out here: http://exploremongolia.blogspot.com/

This is a project related to the Peace Corps' third goal--to teach Americans about the people and culture in the country where we serve. There is special emphasis on the third goal this year in the Peace Corps' 50th year of existence. It's also the 20th anniversary of Peace Corps Mongolia. Enjoy!

Tsagaan Sar

 

This is Ariunaa's son and Chuluuntsetseg's daughter on Tsagaan Sar Eve.




Tsagaan Sar Eve at Chuluuntsetseg's.  That's Chuluuntsetseg to the right of me.



Tsagaan Sar in the countryside--From left, Ariunaa's sons, Geoff, Ariunaa's husband's mother's sister, me, Ariunaa's husband's mother's brother-in-law, Yeong Ji.  We're in a ger. You can see the hafsa tower and sheep butt.

This is the other side of the ger.  That's the door in the back and the stove in the middle.

Tsagaan Sar at my school.  This is a good picture of the hafsa tower and the sheep butt (not to be confused with my butt which is in the right corner! ;)). In the background you can see the greeting, zolgokh, being given.

At my school--some of the male teachers in their dels giving the greeting, zolgokh.

The man in the center is my school's director.  He's about to give the greeting to the woman seated in the chair.  She's older than him, so she sits and he greets her.  He has a khadag in his hands.

This is me, Yeong Ji and Geoff with Ariunaa's relatives outside the ger in the countryside.  This was February so it was quite cold, especially with the wind whipping across the steppe.

Hi all!  I apologize again for the long time between posts.  Today, I want to tell you about Tsagaan Sar, which is a holiday that celebrates the lunar new year.  Tsagaan Sar means White Month or White Moon.  The date changes every year because it depends on the lunar calendar but it's usually some time at the end of January or early February.  This year Tsagaan Sar was Feb. 3-6.  This is one killer holiday.  It's a lot of work, a lot of eating, a lot of singing, a lot of drinking.  I don't think we have any holiday like it.  It would be like if we had 4 or 5 days in a row of Thanksgiving. 
     Mongolian families start getting ready for the holiday weeks in advance.  Everyone visits the homes of family and friends, wearing traditional Mongolian clothes.  And every time you visit a home, you have to eat a full meal, basically, and drink at least 3 shots of vodka.  It's bad luck if you don't take 3 shots of vodka, so I was told.  The preparation for the holiday is the work part.  The main food that's served is buuz which are steamed meat dumplings, and the meat is usually mutton but sometimes it's beef.  Families make hundreds, sometimes thousands, of buuz in preparation for Tsagaan Sar.  They make them ahead of time, freeze them, and every time someone visits your home, a fresh batch of buuz are steamed for the newcomers. There's also a potato salad, white salad, that has lots of mayo and hiam (not ham, hiam, pronounced like "hyam"--it's kind of like really fatty salami) and pickles.   Then there are plates of pickles and hiam.  At one home, I had a geddes (which is stomach or intestines) salad.  That was definitely not my favorite.  There's a lot of candy too.  Every home has a tower of hard bread, called hafsa, that is topped with aruu, which is dried sour milk curds, and then basically a pile of lard at the top. No one eats the hafsa until after Tsagaan Sar, and by then it's so hard the only way to eat it is to soak it in your milk tea or tea.  The size of the tower depends on how long the parents in the home have been married, and there can only be an odd number of layers.  So young couples may have a 3-layer tower, but an old couple could have a 7-layer tower.  Every home also has a slab of sheep lower back/butt or a cow chest, that has been boiled and is left out ceremoniously next to the tower of bread.  The head of the home will cut pieces off the meat and hand it around.  It's not bad if you don't get a whole bunch of fat.  My Mongolian friends know I don't like the fat so they would give me just meat or meat with a little bit of fat.  Mongolians, however, love the fat and will eat a big ol' piece.  In addition to vodka, there's milk tea (suutai tsai) to drink, and usually juice.  It's quite a spread, really. 
     Also, every guest who comes to your home gets a gift or gifts.   The gifts are cell phone unit gift cards, shampoo, soap, leather key ring holder with Chinggis Khan printed on it (I got 2 of those!), and things like that.  I'm still using up my store of Tsagaan Sar shampoo and soap. Additionally, you're supposed to thoroughly clean your home and buy something new for the home. And you buy or make new dels, the Mongolian traditional clothes. That's to start the new year fresh.  As you can see, this holiday can be very expensive.
     So, Tsagaan Sar eve (the night before the first official day of Tsagaan Sar) is for immediate family and close friends.  You eat and drink all the same stuff, but it's more low key and no presents are given.  I spent Tsagaan Sar eve with my counterparts Ariunaa and Chuluuntsegtseg at Chuluuntsetseg's home. It was nice. Chuluuntsetseg lives with her husband, daughter, and father-in-law, so it was all of them and then me and Ariunaa and her son.  Ariunaa did not celebrate Tsagaan Sar in her home this year because her husband passed away last August, so I guess it's like she's in mourning and doesn't celebrate in her home.
     [Diversion--I'm sitting in my kitchen writing this and I have a partial view of a construction site that has a wood fence all around it.  Mongolian men pee outside and in public as a matter of course.  I think this wood fence around the construction site which is in my "backyard" is the most popular outdoor toilet.  I frequently see men pee not 50 feet from my window.  I just saw one, which is what prompted me to write this.  Lovely.]
     The first day of Tsagaan Sar is for family.  Young family members go visit old family members and honor them with a greeting and usually a gift of money (maybe 500-5,000 Tugriks, about $.40 to $4).  The greeting is called Zolgokh. In the greeting, the younger person comes to the older person who is sitting and puts out both their arms, palms up and the older person puts their arms out, palms down on top of the younger person.  Sometimes one or both people have a khadag in their hands.  A khadag is a long brightly colored scarf that is part of many rituals. In the picture of me with the divine tree, those are khadag all over the tree. Then with the younger person supporting the older person's arms, the younger person leans forward and they put cheek to cheek like you're going to kiss them, but instead you sniff them on both sides of the face.  And you say, "Amar sain uu?" which means "do you rest well?"
     Since the first day is for family, I went with several of my fellow PCVs to an orphanage.  That was fun.  The kids were excited to have us there and the couple who runs the orphanage are very friendly and kind. 
     On the second day of Tsagaan Sar, I went with my counterpart Ariunaa, her 2 sons, my sitemate Geoff, and Yeong Ji, a Korean volunteer at my school, to the countryside to visit some of Ariunaa's family.  Ariunaa was anxious that I see Tsagaan Sar in the countryside.  It was really fun.  The family was honored to have us foreigners there.  Mongolians are crazy about singing, and frequently burst into song at gatherings.  Usually, the vodka bowl goes around and the person who gets it has to give a toast and sing a song.  Geoff knows Mongolian really well, so he was able to dazzle the Mongolians with a Mongolian song.  I sang an English song.  At the orphanage, I sang "Amazing Grace" with another visiting PCV, Marisa.  Geoff and I sang "Ripple" (by the Grateful Dead) at another home.  After eating one full meal in the countryside and receiving gifts, we went to my other counterpart, Chuluuntsetseg's home, had another meal, drank more vodka, sang more songs, received gifts and then went to the home of Tserenchimeg, the training manager at my school and one of my English students.  We had yet another full meal, more vodka, more songs, and more gifts.  Three homes was my limit that day.  Some PCVs go to like 10 homes in a day.  I don't know how that's humanly possible!
     On the third day of Tsagaan Sar, my school had its celebration.  That morning, the teachers all met in our large conference room.  We had the tower and the sheep butt and vodka.  And everyone went around and gave the greeting, then we ate some meat and drank some vodka (at 10 o'clock in the morning!).  After the school event, I went to the home of another one of my counterpart's, Batsaya.  And then I went with her to her brother's home.  And then later that afternoon, I went to the home of a student from the local teacher's college who I've been mentoring.  Her name is Ganaa.  And that was enough for that day!
     On the fourth day, I only went to one home, thank goodness.  I went to my school's deputy director's home, Oyunkhand.  I went with Ariunaa and the 2 Korean volunteers from my school, Yeong Ji and Sook Bin.  That was a very pleasant morning.  No vodka but we had some wine.  And that ended my Tsagaan Sar.  Whew!  It was a lot of fun but exhausting.
     I asked my teachers, and they always end up eating leftover buuz and hafsa for weeks after Tsagaan Sar.    

Shin Jil

Hi all! I apologize again for the length of time between posts. I'm definitely staying busy. I promised an entry about the holiday parties. Mongolians celebrate the new year the whole week before Dec. 31. I went to 2 Shin Jil (New Year) parties before Dec. 31. The first was the community women's organization's party. Everyone pays to go to the parties. I paid 25,000 tugriks (about $20) for each party. They are very nice, though. The parties start early, about 6:00 and last til after midnight. My school's teachers' party lasted til 2:00 AM! Everyone dresses to the nines. It's very fancy and sparkly. Women wear sequined, sexy dresses, get their hair done at a salon, and put glitter all over their hair and bodies. At the women's organization party, a woman came around with glitter gel and rubbed it on everyone. I did not have a fancy dress to wear, much to my counterparts' dismay. They gave me a slinky, sparkly dress to wear but I didn't wear it. I can't wear heels with my injured leg, and my flat, suede boots just didn't do the dress justice. Next year, I'll have to try to do better. At big parties like these, there is always some kind of program. At the women's party, a lot of awards were given out. There was a lot of singing and dancing. On each of the tables is juice, water and a bottle of vodka. There are a couple of different salads and a hiam plate. Hiam is like salami except much bigger pieces of fat in it. Dinner is served as the night goes on. At the women's party, I think dinner came out at about 9 PM. At the teachers' party, it came out about 10 PM. Both dinners were very good and quite western. I think we had chicken at both meals. Chicken is not really a Mongolian staple food. Santa Claus made an appearance at both parties and distributed gifts. I got a special gift at each party. When I show up at meetings and things, I usually get singled out as an honored guest. It's unusual to have foreigners at events, so you enevitably become the center of attention at some point. Frequently, you end up on tv if the event is covered by the local tv station. The teachers' party had a huge program that the teachers prepared for for weeks. There were 6 men and women teachers who performed a ball room dance. There were several teachers who sang songs. Mongolians love to sing! I was supposed to sing a Christmas song with my fellow English teachers. We prepared a song, but the program went on so long, we didn't have to do it...thank God! I was nervous about it. There was a couple of students who did a ballroom dance routine. There were a lot of awards given out. There was a beauty/talent contest of sorts between 12 teachers. And there was lots of dancing. We had a blast! One interesting thing is that spouses or significant others do not attend functions with people. The women's organization party was all women, except for one man--the Aimag governor who excused himself after saying a few words and giving out some awards saying he felt a little out of place. I met my school director's wife at the women's party, but I've never met her at a school function. Work and family are kept very separate. Most holiday parties follow this pattern of lots of food, vodka, dancing, singing, some sort of program, and awards. Our teachers' day party was just like the Shin Jil party except a little more low key. We have Women's Day coming up March 8. I'm not sure what sort of celebration is in store, but I'm sure there'll be singing, dancing, and award-giving. I'm not very good with the blog formatting. About the pictures: The first picture on the left is me with Ariunaa (my CP, an English teacher, in blue), Oyungerel (a tailoring teacher and the technical branch manager, in gold), Chuluuntsetseg (my CP, an English teacher, in black), and Bolormaa (the Director's administrative assistant, to my left). The next picture is the teachers' ballroom dancers. Then there's me dancing with Shinebayar on my right (he's a plumbing teacher and in my English class) and Uugaa on my left (he's a P.E. teacher--I played volleyball with him until I hurt myself). Mongolians dance in a huge circle on the dance floor. It's a little silly, but that's what we're doing in that picture. The next picture is me with most of the teachers in my English class. They are a fun bunch! The next picture is of 4 teachers from my English class, from left Deegii (a communications teacher), Saraa (a nature conservation teacher), Khashkhuu (a tractor operations and heavy machinery teacher), and Tserenchimeg (a physics teacher). Then there's Santa Claus giving out an award to one of the teacher's in my English class, Chuluunkhuu.

Staying Healthy

Hi all! So I have a bit of time on my hands. We have 2 weeks of exams (this week and next) and then a 3-week break before the new semester starts. Because the 2 student classes I taught were not complete courses, I'm not giving any exams so I don't have any student classes this week and next. I just have my teachers' class which is still meeting 3x a week. I thought I'd write about an interesting health practice I've participated in at my school. About a month and a half ago, a student came around with a sign-up sheet and my CP (counterpart in Peace Corps-speak), Ariunaa, explained that the school doctor was going to give out cocktails on Monday and did I want to participate. It cost 2,000 tugruks (about $1.50). I thought, well, she must be throwing a party for the teachers, and of course I want to participate in cocktails! So, I put in my 2,000 tugruks. A couple weeks passed, and I didn't hear about the cocktail party. Then one day, Ariunaa says let's go to the doctor's and get our cocktails. So, I went. It turns out that "cocktails" are not alcoholic cocktails but health cocktails. The doctor makes up this drink made out of egg whites, sugar, and juice from raisins soaked in water (white grape juice, really) and then she infuses it with oxygen so that it foams up. You then eat a glass full of the foam and drink whatever juice is left in the glass. The first time I wasn't real sure about it, but then I figured it wouldn't kill me. It is quite tasty. It's sort of like uncooked meringue. But to enjoy the health effects you have to drink it every day for an extended period of time. So we went every day for a couple of weeks. We took a break over the holidays, and now we're back drinking the health cocktail again. It's supposed to aid in digestion, keep you from getting upset stomach, and help you sleep well. I'm not sure of the actual health effects, but it's tasty, it's not hurting me, and everyone else is doing it so why not. One more way to be part of the community. None of my sitemates have done this or do this at their schools. I'm not sure what kind of training our school doctor has had. She used to be a police officer and though she is very nice and friendly, she looks like she would have made a very intimidating police officer. Starting in a couple of weeks, she is going to massage my leg for me to help with the blood circulation. I asked my Thai doctor about it because the school doctor had offered to do it. The Thai doctor said it would be ok. I know that Mongolian doctors receive massage training. Mongolians go to the hospital quite often to rest and get a massage. Mongolians have this thing that they go on "vacation" to the hospital. They'll tell you they're going to the hospital next week, and you are all concerned, but when you ask what's wrong, they say they're tired and they're going to rest. Certainly a different way to think about health care. Well, I should go work on a lesson plan. I'll write more about the holiday parties later.

Back in the Saddle

Well, I'm back in Mongolia, and getting back into the groove, sort of. By order of the PCMO, I'm working half days. I was disappointed at first but once I actually got back, I realized it was a good idea. Though I'm doing much better now, at first I would go home from a half day at work and my ankle would be swollen and sore, which made doing the exercises difficult. It's not as bad now, and I'm out of the walking boot and into a fabulous pair of blue suede, fake fur trimmed boots (as some of you read on facebook). My range of motion is much improved. I go back to Thailand Friday (Dec. 17) for a check up with the surgeon. I'll be in Bangkok by myself on my birthday. I intend to see the new Harry Potter movie and eat really good Mexican food at this restaurant I found last time in Bangkok. I'll also see the physiotherapist and maybe squeeze in a couple physical therapy appointments. I intend to be back at site on Dec. 24. When the Peace Corps medevacs you, they only issue an open-ended plane ticket (because they don't know what the doctor will say). So, I will bend the Peace Corps to my will (cross your fingers) and be back at site Dec. 24. My sitemates have big plans for Christmas which include an actual turkey for Christmas dinner. The turkey is ungodly expensive, and you buy it live. We are arranging to have someone kill it for us. I guess we'll have to pluck it and dress it. Not sure any of us have done that before--another Mongolian adventure! And we'll have a Christmas tree. lights, and decorations. It promises to be a great Christmas. At school, I'm teaching English to petroleum mining students (28 males, 1 female) and 16 teachers from the school. My petroleum class meets once a week and my teachers' class meets 3 times a week. So far, I haven't introduced any petroleum-related language to my students. I am just trying to teach the basics. I want to talk with one of the petroleum teachers who speaks pretty good English to come up with some vocabulary that would be useful for the students on the job site. For homework for the teachers, I'm giving them 10 words a week on flashcards that relate to the subjects they teach. I think they like it, but I'm having difficulty coming up with a good way to review them with each teacher and/or use them in class. One of the problems is that the majority of my class is at the beginning level so the activities I can do in class are limited by the level of the students. It's going pretty well though. I am not yet team-teaching with the English teachers. I hope to get that going next semester. Like everywhere else it is the holiday season in Mongolia. There are Santa Claus's and Christmas decorations around but I don't think they're much related to Christian Christmas. I think Mongolians just like the decorations. As far as I can tell, they sort of roll Christmas into the New Year (Shin Jil--"New Year" in Mongolian) celebrations. And, boy, do they celebrate Shin Jil!! There's a student party and a teacher party at every school, including mine. The teachers pitch in what I think is a lot of money (25,000 Tugruks each) for their party. I think there is a separate party for our branch (3 branches in the school--technical, technological, and other--something I can't remember), but I'm not sure about that yet. The three English teachers and I are going to sing a Happy New Year song of my choice at our party. I don't know what I'm going to choose, but there's an ABBA new year song that I've never heard but is very popular here. Mongolians love singing. My petroleum class asked to learn an English Christmas song, so I taught them "Jingle Bell Rock." It is also winter in Mongolia. It wasn't so bad when it was -10 degrees celsius. Last Friday was the first day I really noticed that it was flippin' cold--it was -22 degrees celsius. Today is more of the same--a high of -22 degrees celsius and a low of -30 degrees celsius. Note that that's celsius, not fahrenheit. It snows every now and then but of course the snow on the ground never goes away, unless the wind blows a patch away. The roads remind me of that show on the Discovery Channel, "Ice Road Truckers." And snow removal in Mongolia is the responsibility of the people who own the buildings. For example, each school is responsible for clearing the stretch of public road nearest it. So, every now and then, you'll see a group of school students shoveling a public road. I'm going to take a picture of it next time I see it. It's quite amazing. It's so cold that my eyes tear up because of the wind, but then your tears freeze on your eyelashes. So when I get to school, I have to brush away the tiny icicles on my eyelashes. I'm going to post a picture of a snowball fight in front of my school, but I'm having technological issues. I'll have to post it later. I'll write again soon. I have more interesting cultural experiences to share, and I'm sure I'll have more as Shin Jil heats up.

WOO HOO!

Hey! The surgeon cleared me to return to Mongolia! Now PC HQ in Washington has to clear me, then PC Thailand can get me a return airplane ticket. Hopefully, I'll be flying back to UB on Friday. I am so excited. This has been quite the emotional roller coaster for me. There were some dark moments when I thought I was not going to be able to return to Mongolia. Having Carolyn here, my fellow Mongolia PCV, was helpful. It's easy to lose sight of Mongolia when you're in Thailand by yourself. I tried to maintain my perspective too. Every day on my way to physical therapy, I have to walk past the dialysis center. So, every day I got a reminder that it could be worse. That was a good reality check. I am pretty certain that I can eliminate "leg model" from the list of possible careers after the Peace Corps. The scar on my leg is about 5 inches long. It doesn't look great now but it looks much better than it did. The first time I saw it, I had visions of Frankenstein. I've started using vitamin E oil on the wound, so that should help with the scar. Also, not using your calf muscle for 4 weeks really reduces the muscle mass in your leg. You can definitely see the difference between the two legs. I've lost the symmetry, probably for life so they tell me. Anyhoo...sometimes it's good to eliminate options when you're looking a smorgasbord in the face. Ha! Well, on that light-hearted note, I'm outtie. My next post will be from Mongolia!!

Progress!

Hi all! So, last Thursday I got the walking boot but not much more change at that time because I also had a surface skin infection on part of the incision from surgery. That set my physical therapy back a week. They couldn't start stretching exercises until the infection healed. Good news--the infection has healed, and I started new PT today! I am so excited. The doctor thinks I am still on track to make it back to Mongolia within 45 days. He says I should be walking with the boot and no crutches by the end of next week. I'm a little doubtful of that, and so is the physiotherapist. But I am going to give it the ol' college try. I now have daily PT appointments and I have stretching exercises to do on my own 4 times a day. I have 2 weeks til the 45 day mark. I am now alone in Bangkok. My mom went home Oct. 14 (the day I got the boot), and my fellow Mongolia PCV who was here went back to Mongolia yesterday. There was also another PCV from Ukraine here (gall bladder surgery) and we were hanging out with her too. But she went back to the Ukraine on Tuesday this week. I think it's actually probably better that I'm by myself for the last 2 weeks. I really need to work hard on my pt and walking. So I'll be going to my pt appointments, going back to the hotel to do my stretching exercises, and practicing walking around the long halls in the hospital. I was a little down this week when I couldn't get started on the stretching exercises, but now I'm excited and focused. The pt is really kind of interesting. The therapist puts a heating pad on my calf and tendon to warm it up, then she stretches it gently by hand. There are also some stretching exercises I do on my own. On Tuesday, the surgeon says I can get the incision wet (yay! showers!), and then at pt they will also put my leg in a warm whirlpool to loosen the tendon. The tendon is very tight right now. They also use electro-therapy on my leg. They attach these electrode things that send an intermittent 5-second shock which makes my calf muscle contract. It kind of feels like little needles stabbing you but it doesn't really hurt. This is supposed to get the muscle used to being used again. My calf muscle has turned to mush since I haven't used it in 4 weeks. It's kind of amazing. Today at pt I walked with the crutches and no boot,putting 25 % weight on my repaired leg. How do you figure out 25% weight, you ask. I stand on two scales with one foot on each scale. First, I put all my weight on my good foot to see how much I weigh. Then I figure 25% of my total weight, and I shift my weight to my bad foot so that I hit the 25% of my total weight on the right scale. I didn't know how I was going to figure that out. In a few more days, hopefully I'll move up to 50% weight. Well, this entry is probably way more information about my leg and physical therapy than you all want to know. It's still hot and humid and raining frequently here (the height of the rainy season). I was able to do a few things when Mom and my fellow PCVs were here but I'm through trying to sightsee now that I've been given the go ahead on the pt and walking. Hopefully, I'll be writing an entry from Mongolia in the near future. Thanks for all your well wishes and prayers! Keep 'em coming.