It’s very strange to think that PST (Pre-Service Training) is done. Had there been more reliable access to the Internet – and we actually had WiFi at my site…most of the time – and had we not been kept quite so busy, I would have kept this blog better updated. Now it’s the end of PST and there are almost too many thoughts and experiences to sum up. But I will try.
Reflecting back, what comes to mind most prominently is simply the wide range of unique experiences I’ve had so far in Mongolia. I remember sitting and milking a cow at my friend and sitemate Caitlin’s host family’s khashaa (yard) and thinking to myself, “When in my life would I, a self-confessed city boy, do something like milk a cow? What would be doing with myself right now back home in the U.S.? Probably something far less interesting or unique.”
In addition to milking a cow, I’ve had numerous other unique experiences, among which include:
*Attending Naadam, one of Mongolia’s two great national holidays (the other one, Tsagaan Sar, is in February) in my training soum (village) of Dulaankhaan in July. There we watched the Three Manly Sports of wrestling, archery, and horse racing. (I actually only was able to see the first two.) We also tried Mongol airag, Mongolian’s famed fermented mare’s milk drink. A truly uniquely Mongolian experience.
*Learning a traditional Mongolian dance with my sitemates that we performed at the swearing-in ceremony (more on that later).
*Learning the Mongolian waltz and having the opportunity to dance it at community dances. Also, I had the opportunity to learn a few popular Mongolian songs. Mongolians love to sing and sing with no reservations, which I love. Singing is a major part of any celebration, and I’ve had plenty of opportunities to sing.
*Learning to cook traditional Mongolian food, including my favorites buuz (steamed dumplings) and khushuur (fried dumplings). Perhaps my favorite cooking experience was cooking a traditional meat roast with hot stones in a pot over an open fire, usually by the river. This is a tradition I hope to take home with me to the U.S.
*Going swimming in the beautiful local river at least once a week on hot days and relaxing on the sandy beach on the river’s shore.
*Going hiking with sitemates and seeing the beauty of Dulaankhaan and northern Mongolia from high places.
*Hitting up the local karaoke bar with sitemates and some of our host siblings to celebrate birthdays – those of Marikaa and Daniel – or just to celebrate the end of a particularly arduous week.
*Teaching English to local children and adults and not only receiving great practice but building relationships in the process.
*Cooking American food with our host families and having a huge food party to celebrate as part of a Peace Corps project. I gorged myself that night.
*Doing seemingly mundane activities that I would have little opportunity to do in the U.S., such as drawing water from a well with a bucket and rope or becoming completely accustomed to using an outhouse. Activities such as doing laundry and bathing become triumphal when you wash your clothes by hand and when you bathe in a bucket using water you boiled yourself.
*Getting to know the local children, who always wanted to play and practice their limited English. On numerous occasions, I turned into a human jungle gym. We often played tag and laughed until it hurt.
*Perhaps most of all, getting to know the local people on a personal level. I cherish all of the memories of visiting the ger of a family that I was able to get to know multiple times and often going to the river to go swimming with them. I loved going over to Caitlin’s very cool host family’s house and cooking spaghetti for them and having a dance party in the house. Tungaa, the youngest of the family at 17 years old, decided to try on my size 14 running shoes sitting by the door, and we all laughed for about 10 minutes straight. I remember going over to my sitemate Sam’s house to chat and ended up being included in his host mother’s birthday party along with my host mom and several other host moms and sitemates. I can’t count how many times I visited various peoples’ homes and was given food and tea until I could eat no more. We ended the summer with our host families by having a giant picnic with them and having even more memorable times together.
Of course, there were trials too. I had to experience an unfortunate problem with my host family, specifically my host father, that forced me to move to another family. I was never mad and felt bad that I had to leave my host mother, brother, and sister-in-law, as well as their baby, as I had formed good relationships with them. Luckily, my new host family was wonderful. My new host parents were so gracious as to take me in only a few weeks before the end of training, and I had a wonderful time with their three children, my new host siblings, a 14-year-old girl, an 8-year-old boy, and a 3-year-old boy.
I also was unfortunately bitten by a dog twice after entering a sitemate’s khashaa. Luckily, the bites were through my jeans and were not bad. I definitely now have battle wounds from my time in Mongolia.
But all-in-all, training was a wonderful experience. I feel so grateful for the experiences I’ve had and for the new relationships I formed with both Mongolians and Americans.
On the morning we left Dulaankhaan at the end of training, I remember pulling away from the house of my sitemate Ciarra’s host family. As we left, her host mother was chanting a Buddhist prayer and throwing milk into the air behind us, as Mongolians have done for centuries to say goodbye to loved ones. As she did, a few tears trickled down her face.
