Hello all!!! I know it has been a bit since I’ve written a blog but I have been busy busy busy!! I think it might be best to work backwards to fill everyone in on what been going on. Right now my brother, Porta Potty ( his name is not exactly Porta Potty but it sounds extremely close…so that’s what I call him) is sitting on my bed eating candy. He and my sister eat candy like it is going extinct. So last night I got home from a threeish day mid center training, where my site mates and I met up with the other 74 trainees for more training. It was great to be able to see everyone and hear about his or her experiences thus far.
During our mini vaca, as I like to call it, we had more sessions regarding Peace Corp and other necessary information. As a CYD we were able to meet with local agencies to become acquainted. That was really helpful to go and visit to see what they were all about. We meet with a Aimag Children’s Center as well as World Vision. Another thing we got to do, as CYD was I paired up with a fellow site mate, Jo, to inform other PCT’s about lifeskills. That is apart of my job is to facilitate Lifeskill training. Lifeskills is basically what one might think but here in Mongolia such topics are necessarily implemented within the schools like the U.S. For example in the U.S. we have Character Education that is somewhat similar but in Mongolia they don’t. SO it is apart of my job to try and show the importance of the curriculum and have them become apart of the education. Anywho what Jo and I did was explain to other PCT’s how to do this in their future sites.
Ah lets see what else….oh we had a 8th of July party which was a lot of fun! The trainers cooked for everyone and the food was great! We had kabob’s, watermelon, salad, and Kool-Aid! It was awesome! After that we had a dodge ball tournament by site. My site one our first game but lost the second. Despite my disinterest in dodge ball, it was quite enjoyable. That evening we also had a dance, which was great entertainment as well. Umm let see what else..oh I went to a monastery! That was really really fascinating! There was a bunch of prayer wheels and about tenish monks. The building was very ornate with colors and design. They had a little shop where I purchase a prayer bead bracelet. (it actually reminds me of the bracelets which were popular when I was in middle school) So the three day mini vaca was very eventful and was a great break from our busy schedule.
On a sad note, I am not sure if anyone at home has heard the news or not but a fellow American died here in Mongolia. The story goes that there were two Americans who were here for an internship of some sorts and were traveling around. They were hiking last week at some point when they got separated somehow. The one got back safely, but unfortunately the other did not. We have been told that the individual died from exposure. It is really a sad sad story. Something that I think we all have taken from this is to never leave anyone behind no matter what! Buddy systems are very important!
Before our vaca we had individual evaluations regarding our progress thus far. One of the topics was language. Let’s just say I am learning but Mongolian is a tough language to master. I have roughly a month left to achieve a novice-high level in Mongolian. I think I can achieve that but I have a lot of practicing to do!!! Some important dates ahead are: August 15 and August 20. The 15 I find out where I will be going in Mongolia and a bit more on my specific job duties. The 20th is when I will be officially sworn in as a PCV!!!!
I have to say that this summer is flying by! It is hard to believe that I have been here for over a month! I have to say I miss everyone at home!!! It is one week till my brother’s wedding!!! Congrats early to Jesse and Buffy Neace!!!!!
Ok well I am going to get off here. My family and I are going on a picnic!! I am really excited to see how this goes! They have watermelon so I know it is going to be awesome! Oh and Naadaam is this weekend as well! For those of you who don’t know what it is…please look it up!! It really is fascinating. Basically it is a festival of sorts. There is wrestling, archery, and horse racing!! I think tomorrow and Monday my family and I are going to be going to watch the festivities! I’ll get back to y’all about how that goes!!
Za,
B
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