North of the Wall

Teacher’s Day- an opportunity for teachers to celebrate with their coworkers, eat all of the Mongolian food, and drink a lot of vodka. This year, our school decided to celebrate in the countryside, at a “picnic area” about 10 km outside of town. It was a beautiful fall day and a horhog by the river sounded perfect.

Horhog is traditional Mongolian barbecue- in a manner of speaking.  They gather stones from the river, heat them up, and place them inside a container along with some vegetables and a goat or a sheep, seal the container, and cook it over the fire for a few hours. The result? Really tasty slow cooked meat. The only downside is it’s usually served with one knife for a large group of people, and no silverware- everyone just digs in! So it can get a little greasy at times. Still my favorite Mongolian meal by far.

We had a fantastic day- we played volleyball (I mostly watched once they realized my height did not mean I was a natural athlete), took pictures by the river, played cards, ate, and drank. It was  a great opportunity for me to chat with some of my non-English teachers. I realized that my Mongolian has improved significantly over Teacher’s Day last year and I was able to have a lot of conversations. 

My favorite moment of the day was meeting my music teacher’s mother (seen below in the blue/ green deel). She came over to me and asked (in English), “Hi! How are you?” We talked for over an hour (in English and Mongolian) about how she was studying to learn English because (in her words) she wasn’t getting any younger, so why not? It was such a refreshing attitude, to see an adult so passionate about learning and so eager to practice English. I really enjoyed our time together and hope to visit her again soon- I was honestly so caught up in our conversation, that I never realized we hadn’t introduced ourselves! I guess that will be next time :)

Nine hours later, I returned to my ger; exhausted, stuffed, and a little tipsy (a normal post- Mongolian celebration list of feelings). As I often feel after attending gatherings with my school, I felt very thankful that I was placed in such a tight knit community of workers- we really are a family!

Happy (belated) Teacher’s Day to everyone!  Much Love, C

PHOTOS

The best English teachers in Mongolia :)

The beautiful scenery of Zavkhan!

Making new friends with Chimgee’s old teacher/ the music teacher’s mom:)

Cards...

Horhog...

Vodka toasts...

Volleyball...

        I’ve been at site for a few weeks now and things are slowly settling into a routine again (I’ve forgotten how much I missed routine).  I’m teaching thirty hours a week plus three hours of teacher’s classes.  Add in six hours of lesson planning and some hours for tutoring and English Club, and you get a jam-packed week!

           The Mongolian school system has adopted a new curriculum for grades 6-9.  The goal is to increase student-centered teaching and, for English, to focus more on speaking and listening and less on grammar.  While I am thrilled that Mongolia is moving to an education system that is better for students, it is difficult to re-train teachers to abandon their teacher-centered ways of the Soviet era past.  My teachers have been doing a great job adjusting to the new curriculum demands, but we definitely take a lot longer lesson planning than we did last year. I am glad that the demand for better lesson plans and student-centered activities is coming from the curriculum and not me.  My teachers also seem to be motivated to work harder this year because they know I will not be here next year.  While thinking about some other PCV sitting in my ger next year saddens me, I am going to push my teachers harder this year.  I don’t want to leave the next PCV wondering, “What did Christie even do here for two years?” Both my teachers and I want that answer to be very apparent.

           Another exciting observation that I have made is the remarkable change in many of my students, but especially my tenth graders (now eleventh graders).  At the beginning of last year, I tried to get them to do a speaking activity- and many refused to participate.  Now, we do speaking activities every day and they are much more motivated and engaged in class. I am working with a small group of eleventh grade students who want to study in America upon their graduation.  We are working hard, but they are definitely up to the task. I hope that they make it- and maybe in 2017, when they come to America, my parents will let me invite them over to dinner for Thanksgiving!

           Being a second year volunteer does indeed feel different from my first year.  It was hard to fully articulate the difference this summer, but back at site the differences are becoming clear.  I am now no longer struggling with my schedule.  The halls are filled with familiar faces and smiles (I know my students now, I know what they're capable of and how to respond to their needs).  I know the strengths of each of my teachers and we have made plans to improve upon their weaknesses together.  I do not think I would have been able to have that discussion last year, as I did not have that level of relationship with them. Setting up projects in town, while daunting, is not impossible.  I know all of the key players in town and if I want to reach out to someone new, I feel a lot better about awkwardly showing up at their office and proposing project ideas.

           Of course, many things are still the same.  I have not magically grown fond of getting up early to make fires before school (and yes, the nights are already in the teens here and we’ve gotten snow, so it’s quite necessary haha).  Saying good-bye to my family on Skype or the phone is even harder than it was last year- I miss them so much.  My students and my school are still my main support network, with my American friends here supporting me as well. Of course, Mongolia still happens- we had school on Saturday this week because in two weeks we will maybe not have school on Monday. Maybe.  But I think it’s quirks like this that I have begun to cherish and will most certainly miss when I return to America.

           I will leave you with a few pictures from my first few weeks back at site.  As always, I appreciate your support and am so incredibly grateful for it. Thank you!

 Love, C

PHOTOS

First Day of School celebrations

We matched for our first day :)

Some dancing by my 7a student :)

The first graders ringing the first bell of the school year!

I’m so excited to be back home :D

View from our hike!

        After finishing my summer in Darkhan, I headed to the capital for mid-service medical and dental exams and another Peace Corps Training: Mid-Service Training (or MST).   After breezing through my medical exam and stumbling through my dental exam (two cavities, one drilled out without novocain, ouch!), I finally boarded the bus to MST. MST took place at the same hotel I attended a workshop at in March, a beautiful hotel located in the hills outside of UB.  As soon as I was off the bus and checked in, I immediately dragged Tyler outside because there was a whole FOREST behind the hotel.  It might seem silly that I was so excited, but after a year of only being around bare trees (or very stunted pine trees), the aspect of being surrounded by trees was exhilarating.  I forgot how much I missed being surrounded by trees and hills (Vermont- I will be back in your lush landscape soon!) and it was a much-needed mental health escape.

           The tone for this training was… odd. A lot of it focused on the support volunteers felt that they needed and weren’t getting. Emotions were high and there were several tense moments.  However, overall, I think our cohort came out much stronger and much more supportive of each other.  We have always been supportive of the people we were closest too, but I think we left with a greater responsibility to the rest of our cohort.  We would finish our final year together.  Our last session was a “preparing for your second year” session lead by our visiting staff member, Kavita, who I have grown quite close to during my work as a trainer.  It was a very moving session, that almost made me cry (sooo many emotions this week!) but I left the session excited, re-energized, and ready to get things done.

           There were a few highlights throughout the week.  First, before we even went to MST (but I’m still counting it in this post), we were able to celebrate Melissa’s engagement to Kyle! For those of you not intimately familiar with my PCV friends’ lives, Melissa is my best friend here who recently got engaged to her boyfriend when she went back to America. I am so happy for her!! :) We secretly planned a surprise “engagement party” by cooking an entirely gluten-free (she’s allergic to gluten) and super delicious Mexican dinner.  We were even able to Skype Kyle in for a champagne toast!  

While at MST, the Peace Corps Chief of Staff Laura Chambers stopped in briefly on her visit to Mongolia.  She was a PCV in Senegal many years ago, but told us how she recently went back to her village and was remembered and celebrated by everyone. Stories like that make me feel very emotional.  How will I serve my community? If I return to my little school 20 years from now, how will I be remembered?  Hearing Laura speak and talking to her “confidential assistant” Elle really made me appreciate the kinship there is between Peace Corps Volunteers.  We all have similar highs and lows, regardless of where or when we served.  I look forward to connecting with RPCVs from other countries when I return home.

           Another highlight was spending some quality time with Melissa and Joanna.  I count the two of them as some of my closest friends here, and it was really nice to just spend some time relaxing with them.  Joanna read to us from The Office’s B.J. Novak’s book and Melissa and I read Joanna some crazy panda facts (this was when we discovered there were new twin baby pandas… sadly now only one… at the zoo in D.C.).  Joanna and I took a long walk into town to buy chocolate and we had a really good talk about life here.  I am so fortunate to have friends like these, friends I (probably) never would have met outside of Peace Corps.  It is moments like these where I feel truly grateful for the opportunity I was given to come to Mongolia.  Not to get sappy, but I feel like I am taking so much more from my service than I am giving back.  Being a Peace Corps Volunteer in Mongolia has changed my life, forever.  And now that I am a little over half way through my service, I am ready to finish my second year stronger than ever.

PHOTOS

Cooking dinner with my favorites to celebrate Melissa’s engagement!

Pre-MST selfie. Apparently we didn’t need to be in biz cas. Oops.

Look at the forest!

The view was soooo nice. Summer in Mongolia is wonderful :)

How do I pick a favorite tree photo?

Melissa is psyched by the trees as well.

We really spent a lot of time with trees.

A beautiful sunset on a wonderful week spent with friends :)

           Between a very busy second half of my summer, a jam-packed MST, and my second school year starting, I have let my blog sit un-updated. I’m hopeful that I can return back to my usual routine of Sunday blog updates- less than 50 til I’m back in America :)

           This post, though dating back a bit, is one that definitely needs to be made.  The second half of my summer, I was fortunate enough to be selected to be a TEFL trainer for the new cohort of volunteers.  I worked with my counterpart Naraa at Nomgon, a small soum (town/village) about 30 minutes outside of Darkhan and a temporary home to 11 Americans.  It was my job to assist Naraa in facilitating sessions on topics like team-teaching and capacity building.  Mainly, my job was to add my experiences in Mongolia as a PCV when Naraa asked me to :)  Naraa and I also observed the new volunteers’ practice teaching lessons.  Each trainee had to teach 3 40-minute lessons to students of different age groups 3 days a week.  They were responsible for designing a unit plan that sequenced grammar and vocabulary in addition to writing daily lessons.  On their teaching days, Naraa and I would observe different trainee pairs and give advice and feedback on their lessons.

           Being a trainer was an amazing experience for me. Prior to starting my work in July, I was reluctant to leave site (Zavkhan was so green! So warm!) and work a demanding schedule.  However, I left Darkhan brimming with new classroom ideas and a renewed excitement and enthusiasm for my job as a volunteer. I also left Darkhan extremely close to many of the staff, including the new TEFL coordinator Udval, the TEFL staff (Naraa, Puje, Tsegi, and Hongoroo), my fellow volunteer trainers, and the PST Director, Kavita. These friendships are friendships I will have for the rest of my life- every day at the office was so much work (but it did not feel quite like “work” because I was with my friends and it was so much fun!)  After hours, we would go out to eat together, work out, cook dinner, go shopping… I realized how much I had missed having a social life after work (that did not involve me being alone and calling someone on the phone).

           I also got to work with 11 inspiring new volunteers. The volunteers at Nomgon were so hardworking and dedicated to their jobs- they truly wanted to be the best volunteers they could be.  Talking with them helped me gain back some of my enthusiasm for this job that I had lost along the way (probably in January when my phone froze while I slept haha).  I cannot wait to see what they are going to do at site in these next two years- they will all do amazing things! :)

A belated “Congratulations” to the new Mr. and Mrs. Swanson! :) Your wedding photos looked amazing, Ris, and I can’t wait to watch the video with you next summer! Another congratulations goes out to Matt (or should I say Dr. Gingras?) and his newly acquired white coat- so proud of you! Much love, C

PHOTOS

On the way to site with Hongoroo!

Abby and I went to the salon with Dulguun for makeovers (Dulguun likes red lipstick haha)

Some of Nomgon’s most dedicated (or hyper) summer students

Naraa and I before heading to site :)

Some of the Nomgon crew (and Abby) eating dinner at Naraa’s place!

Abby and I before swear-in: take two!

Some of the PST staff/ trainers at our post-PST picnic!

A photo from the talent show portion of our picnic haha

A few weeks ago, I celebrated my second Naadam in Mongolia. It was vastly different than my first Naadam and I think really highlights some of the changes that I’ve made in country. The night before Naadam started, instead of uncomfortably sitting with my host family, I went to the river with my awesome khashaa family.  There were rugs that needed to be washed and I lent a hand. Sambuu, Bolor-Erdene, and Bolor-Erdene’s brother drenched a rug with water from the river.  While my older duu played in the river with his friend, my younger duu jumped all over the rug (think puddle jumping) while we scrubbed it with laundry soap.  We rinsed off the rug with river water (but not in the river) and packed it back up in the car.  We then enjoyed a large bottle of Iced Tea by the river and watched the sun set. It was so nice and relaxing because I felt much more at ease.  There was no anxiety, no awkward communication, just inclusion and acceptance (and a good arm workout from the scrubbing haha).

Last year’s Naadam was SO HOT. This year’s Naadam was so cold! I wore my vest over a dress this year, but ended up pulling on a jacket. We left on time to get good seats (versus showing up late and Amina and I sitting on the stairs). When we got there, a lot of the faces in and around the stadium were familiar ones.  My students rode by on horses; I greeted fellow teachers and their families. Sambuu asked if my friends (the other PCVs) were coming and we saved them seats. After the opening ceremonies, we went and got food and I was able to walk around before heading back to my ger (Zavkhan’s Naadam is much more spread out than Selenge’s. The main event I had wanted to see, horse racing, was a 45-min drive away).  I picked up a few things at the delguur and was able to relax at home.  Not only did I feel much more integrated this Naadam, I also felt like I had the freedom to do what I wanted.  I didn’t have to leave with my family- we both did our own thing and caught up at the end of the day.  Independence is a beautiful thing.

Of course, there were still some similarities. I did eat all of the tasty huushuur (a fried meat pancake) again, but on my terms (with ketchup).  I drank milk tea while getting stared at by Mongolians (a foreigner!!) Although this time, I had Sambuu to giggle with :) I was unprepared for the weather, and left because I was too cold (versus last time being too hot. Maybe next year will be perfect... third time’s a charm?) 

Zavkhan’s Naadam was just as stunning as Selenge’s, if not more so.  I was able to see the 9 Flags of Mongolia brought in by traditionally-dressed Mongolian soldiers on horseback. The horses’ hair matched the hair on the flags- white/ blonde for times of peace.  Traditionally, in war time, the Mongolians would ride on black horses and change the hair on the pennants to black as well.  My CP Uuree’s husband was one of the 9 warriors (a very big honor).  I was also able to see a Tsam Dance performed. A Tsam Dance is a Mongolian Tibetan Buddhist dance, characterized by dancers wearing extremely large masks.  These masks are intricately decorated and depict  various holy figures and demons, animals and people.  Each dance tells a story- in the one that I watched, an old monk banishes demons. I wish I knew more about the tradition, but most of the Mongolians I asked didn’t know (and the internet oddly doesn’t have a lot of information on the dance). But my favorite part of the entire Naadam? It opened to the Star Wars main theme song.  Mongolians love using this song for important events (maybe George Lucas borrowed it from the Mongolians when he took all of Queen Amedala’s costumes?) This country is so rich in cultural history, but they totally aren’t afraid to use Star Wars music when the occasion calls for it.  I love it! PHOTOS

3 of the 9 Flags of Mongolia being brought in.

The 9 traditional Mongolian warriors hand the flags off to the modern Mongolian soldiers, who will place the flags in their holder on the right hand side of the picture.

Some VIPs watch the soldiers line up. 

All of the preschool children are led in a dance while the horse head fiddles are played.

The Tsam dance begins.

The Tsam Dance. 

I’ve been so busy with training and Naadam that I’m a bit behind on my blog posts. Sorry!! Without further ado, my first real vacation in over a year.

Once it was determined that Abbey would be staying with me for almost a month in Mongolia, we talked about going on a trip after my seminar.  Various countries were thrown out  in Southeast Asia, but we ultimately decided on Myanmar for a multitude of reasons.  Myanmar has really opened up recently for travel, especially after Obama visited a few years ago. Moreover, with it being the rainy season in Myanmar, a lot of the tours and hotels were WAY cheaper than during their busy season.  And, most importantly, I have been staring at pictures of Bagan on my Pinterest page for forever.  I even brought a  few crisp bills with me from America just in case I went there. It’s been on my radar for quite a while.

After much back and forth, Abbey and I decided to book our trip through a travel agency based in Yangon.  We mainly did this because we would only have 8 days in country to accomplish a Very ambitious agenda. We didn’t have the time to stay in Yangon to book the trip ourselves (regrettably). Abbey and I had SO MUCH we wanted to do and with the help of all of the in country flights, we established the following itinerary:

June 24: Arrive in Yangon, 11:50 pm June 25: Yangon June 26: Bagan June 27: Mt. Popa/ Bagan June 28: Mandalay June 29: Inle Lake June 30: Inle Lake/ Yangon July 1: Yangon July 2: UB, 11: 50 am

Highlights of my trip: Bagan: Bagan was beautiful and awe-inspiring. Over 3,000 11th century pagodas in one place! We were allowed to walk in and out of all of the pagodas with ease.  Inside the pagodas were ancient Buddhas, detailed fresco paintings, and many miniature Buddhas. At each temple, we had to remove our shoes before entering, which was a new experience for me.  Feeling the warm brick or sandstone under my feet was strange but comforting. Abbey and I also were able to explore Bagan by old-school bicycles the second afternoon, which was so much fun!

Mt. Popa: Monkeys! Easily the biggest takeaway from this short trip. Mt. Popa is a 19th century (?) monastery that was built at the top of an extinct volcano. It’s a one hour drive from Bagan.  To get to the top of the monastery, you have to climb all of the stairs. And scattered all of the stairs were monkeys! There were people whose job literally was to scare away the monkeys with slingshots (they shot the ground, not the monkeys). A monkey definitely took my plastic water bottle, bit it, and drank the majority of my water. Then kindly returned it to me. Mandalay: Mandalay was a strange mix of modern and ancient, like Yangon. We visited a beautiful teak palace of the last king of Myanmar. We were also fortunate enough to visit the largest monastery in Myanmar and watch the monks receive their final meal of the day from local donors. Mandalay also made me realize my own ignorance about this country and its history when we visited a WWII memorial. I had no idea that Myanmar was a battleground between Britain and Japan. I left this city with a desire to read more about this country (and guilt that I hadn’t read more prior to coming here). Inle Lake: Easily my favorite part of the trip. Largely because it was SO MUCH cooler than the rest of the country, being up in the mountains.  I enjoyed traveling by canoe from village to village and having the opportunity to observe a wide variety of handicrafts being made. Abbey and I were also taken to a ruins site similar to Bagan except that it was all overgrown.  With it being the rainy season, Abbey and I literally had the place all to ourselves to explore! It’s a bit more Indiana Jones-esque when you aren’t surrounded by other tour groups and people with selfie sticks lol. Yangon: Yangon was HUGE. Way bigger than the “big city” of UB that I’ve become so familiar with.  Yangon has so many buildings from colonial era that are still in very good shape.  Here, we were able to visit Myanmar’s largest and most revered temple- the Shwedegon Pagoda.  Shwedagon Pagoda is a massive golden pagoda that houses four relics of the four previous Buddhas, including eight strands of hair from the head of Gautama Buddha. This temple complex dates back to the 6th century and was filled with people meditating. We were able to watch the sun set on the main temple before being taken to the airport. It was truly a wonderful way to end our time in Myanmar. Ultimately, I learned one thing about myself: I am not a jet setter. All together, I took eight flights in eight days and was SO exhausted by the time I returned to UB. I loved our trip and had an amazing time with Abbey but I definitely would have liked having a “home base” to return to that was consistent. This trip probably would have been better over 2 weeks but Abbey and I did it in 8 days (in true Gingras fashion lol). 

I returned to Mongolia feeling so much more integrated then when I left. It took being a tourist again in another country (where I didn’t speak the language) to make me realize how comfortable I had become in Mongolia. I am by no means the most integrated of my group (and definitely NOT the best at Mongolian), but I found myself reaching for my Mongolian throughout the trip. I also grabbed someone’s arm after stepping on their foot.. only to receive a VERY weird look (oops.. better work on that before going back to America!)

Here are some of my favorite pictures from vacation- I can’t wait to go on another adventure with my sister! Love you Abbey! :) PHOTOS

View from the top of a Pagoda in Bagan.

Market Day, Bagan

Abbey and I at the top of Mt. Popa

Monks lining up for their last meal of the day in Mandalay.

Palace of the last king of Myanmar, Mandalay

Shan paper umbrella shop, Inle Lake

On the lake at Inle Lake

Puppy that kept us company at Inle Lake

Downtown Yangon

A Gingras Family Vacation

I was ecstatic when my parents decided that they would spend the first two weeks of June with me in Mongolia.  Add in my sister for (almost) a month and you get a fantastic staycation (for me).  After not seeing my family for a year, I was so excited to see them but also a little anxious.  Mongolia has become my home, and my school my family.  What if they didn’t like it? Mongolia (or at least the countryside where I live) isn’t for everyone.  Sure, I would coach all my Mongolian friends thoroughly beforehand in what my family liked (hint: no intestines!) and we would be eating at the restaurants way more often than I do on a much higher budget but still.  There’s not a lot to do in Zavkhan.  As the dates grew closer, I spent my time talking to my family about what they should pack and talking with my Mongolian khashaa family and friends about what my family would eat.

When the day finally arrived for me to pick them up at the airport in UB, it was a hectic day to say the least. I was training in Darkhan (see previous post), hopped onto a bus at 6pm with all of my stuff, took the four hour bus ride to UB, met up with Melissa and Tyler at the bus station (love you guys!) and went straight to the airport to wait for them to get off their flight.  I got there about ten minutes before their plane was set to land.  It landed! I ran to the arrivals gate with everyone else and waited. And waited. And waited. Finally, one hour after the plane landed, my family arrived! They were really here! It felt like a dream. After all of the hugs (I missed them so much!!) we loaded them up in the taxi and headed to our hotel.  After checking in, it was almost 2 am in the morning.  I said goodbye to Tyler (shout out to the best boyfriend for waiting with me at the airport so I wasn’t alone!) and went to sleep.

The next day started our whirlwind in UB.  Jetlagged, my family went walking around UB with Melissa, Tyler, and Sarah (the most amazing M-24 ever).  We ate all of the food, celebrated my dad’s birthday, did some shopping, and took pictures. The next day, we went to Terelj National Park, a beautiful park (supposedly) 45 km outside of UB.  We rented an old Russian mikr (pronounced meeker) which is an old school van circa 1960s.  We made our way to the park, stopping to ride camels.  At the park, we were taken around to the sites I had requested, including Turtle Rock and the old monastery.  Although I was fine with the roads (they were above average Mongolian non-paved roads) my parents were less than impressed (dare I say horrified?) Needless to say, they were both very glad to get back to the hotel (and I was glad they never have to experience something like driving from Tyler’s soum to Mandalgov which is far, far worse). Finally, our last day, we watched some Children’s Day celebrations in the main square.  We left SUPER early the next morning for our flight back to Zavkhan.  I was anxious to be back at site and show my parents the “real” Mongolia.

Our ten days in Zavkhan flew by, and my parents (and Abbey!) loved it. There were plenty of highlights to the trip, but I will definitely remember:

Cooking food for all 60 of our school workers.  It was a combined team effort and although it took 2+ hours to cook, the food was all gone in less than 45 minutes.

Going to the countryside with my khashaa family.  We milked goats, took lots of pictures, and even though playing “translator” was a bit stressful at times, I was glad my parents got to see how beautiful my home here really is.

Dad deciding he wanted a particular purple flower to bring home.  He attempted to dig one up in front of my school with my teaspoon (not kidding).  A bunch of my students gathered to watch and assist in this task that they definitely did not understand hahaha.

Playing cards with Enkhee and her husband Muugii.  There are few occasions that both of my parents stay up past 10.  This night, they stayed out until 11:30 with no complaints! Hopefully, we will play Mongolian card games in America now!

Tyler spending time with my family.  I’m really glad he got to spend time with them.  Dating is so weird in Mongolia but at least he met some of my family 10 months into our relationship lol

Spending time with my family.  The Gingras family is usually all on the same page (“Ice cream?” “Obviously.”) and it was wonderful to fall back into step with our familiar routines.  I’ve missed being around the people I love most in the world.  Phone calls, skype, and face time is nothing compared to real life!

But sadly, the time went by too quickly and all too soon I was driving my parents back to the airport.  We ended up saying a quick goodbye because my ride into town wasn’t sticking around (there aren’t many rides when the airport is 45 minutes away).  I cried most of the way back into town, to the alarm of my CP’s husband.  It wasn’t any easier saying goodbye a second time around, but the fear of the unknown was removed from the equation.  I have an amazing support system in country, thanks to Tyler, Melissa, Enkhee, Sambuu and everyone else in Zavkhan. I also have an amazing support system in America, one that understands a little bit better what “ger life” is truly like.  I feel so fortunate that the two halves of my life were briefly able to come together.  My family was able to experience everything I love about Mongolia: the generosity and kindness of the Mongolian people, the natural beauty of the Mongolian landscape, and the simplicity of life here.  My Mongolian friends and family were hopefully able to get a better idea of how an American family acts (or at least, a better understanding of how different Americans within a family act!). 

Thank you, Mom, Dad, and Abbey, for not only finding the time for this trip in your busy summer, but also for being flexible when Mongolia happened. I know those plane tickets weren’t cheap and that the trip over certainly wasn’t easy but I honestly can’t fully express how much your trip meant to me. I love you all so much.   Thank you.

PHOTOS

No trip to UB is complete without a selfie with CK!

Mongolian camels are the best.

We played all of the cards. Grandma would be proud.

Master chef, nbd.

Enkhee supervising Abbey to ensure a Proper Mongolian potato salad is made.

At the local monastery- my home is WAY in the back to the left of that mountain!

So strong. He must workout or something.

Everyone loves baby goats :)

Card games with my favorite Mongolian couple :)

Picnics are the best! 

I love you all!

Sorry I’ve been AWOL but between the Great Gingras Family Vacay of 2015, my teaching seminar, and a vacation to Myanmar, I am just now collecting my thoughts in my ger. I’ll post about family vacations next week, but this week I wanted to write about my English Teacher’s Seminar. First, let me again express my gratitude to everyone who took the time to donate to my project. We couldn’t have done this project without you, so THANK YOU! This project was extremely successful, though that success was mainly due to the hard work of my awesome CP Sony and the seven other PCVs who helped out with the project (THANK YOU Virginia, Emily, Melissa, Tyler, Noah, Rojo, and Will!).  All the PCVs were responsible for writing session lesson plans, preparing materials, facilitating sessions alongside Mongolian CPs, and observing the soum teachers during their practice teaching sessions.

There are about 70 English teachers in our province- we had approximately 50 come to the event. So we divided the 50 into two groups. Each group was further divided into groups of 3-4 for practice teaching.  We had sessions on Teaching Reading, Writing, Listening, and Speaking. We had sessions on Using the Internet, Creating Renewable Resources, Forming English Clubs, Adapting the English Textbook, and Teaching Difficult Grammar. We started each day with a Youth Development lesson featuring our Life Skills books (these are books that showcase skills such as communication, stress management, etc.). With each lesson, we had the teachers do a number of activities that they could use directly in their classrooms. 

Then, after practicing the skills together, we asked each group to plan a lesson for the following day that showcased one of those skills.  We encouraged all English teachers to take control in their classrooms. We were able to really see progress in the teachers from the first day of practice teaching to the last day.  Furthermore, all the soum teachers were really excited about the prospect of forming relationships with Americans- for the most part, we were the first Americans that they had ever worked with. 

For me, it was truly rewarding to see a project that Sony and I have been working on since January finally come together.  There was so much speculation on our parts about whether or not this seminar would be successful (we even had a phone call the night before it started where we both freaked out a little and tried to think of things we could have forgotten lol). We were both very relieved to be done with the actual project.  Now that I’m back from vacation, it’s time for me to work on my grant completion report.  I’ll compile receipts to account for every tugrik spent, write all of the success stories down, and try to put into words how much this project meant to me.

Will I do another seminar next year? I just might. Though pulling it all together was stressful at times, the actual project itself made it all worth it. I think during the grant writing phase, it didn’t feel as real, but when I actually did the project, it was a great reaffirmation of what a Peace Corps Volunteer truly does. (And of course, how much  more awesome a project can be when you have the support of 7 other brilliant PCVs).

So, thank you to everyone who donated. Your postcards were sent out a few weeks ago, so if we’re lucky you’ll have them by August. I took so many pictures of the seminar, so here are a few of my favorites (stay tuned to Facebook if you want to see them all!)

PHOTOS

Sony starting off the seminar with a rousing speech!

Several PCVS helped out with the Creating Renewable Resources session :)

Teachers preparing for the Teaching Speaking practice teaching.

Collaboration between English teachers was key for this seminar- we wanted teachers who worked alone in their soum to form relationships with other English teachers.

Em’s CP Enkhee facilitating the Teaching Writing lesson.

Two teachers acting out a short reading during the Teaching Reading Lesson.

Teachers sorting sentences (and pretending to be 6th graders).

My CP Uuree facilitating the Teaching Reading lesson.

Practice teaching- teaching reading!

My feedback on a group’s practice lesson- Teaching Reading using recipes (their idea- though I’m definitely stealing it!)

Starting May 15, I left Uliastai to travel to the capital city of UB.  From there, I hopped on a bus to drive four hours north to Mongolia’s second largest city, Darkhan. Why head to the second largest city when I was already in the largest? I’ll answer it with yet another Peace Corps acronym, TOT, or Training of Trainers.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I was fortunate enough to be selected by Peace Corps Mongolia to be a trainer for the second half of the summer.  Since the new volunteers are now here (excitement!!!) I can now go into a bit more detail about what I’ll be doing. I am a second half TEFL volunteer, which means I will be teaching a few sessions with my amazing Mongolian counterpart on how to work effectively in a Mongolian school system.  The bulk of my work will be watching the new volunteers practice teach lessons to Mongolian students (or adults).  This year, they have to teach 24 “classes” in 8 days- yikes- but I think with stronger feedback we can really prepare them well for life at site.

So, during TOT, we each got assigned our summer site, as we will each be traveling to the same site every day with the same counterpart. We trained with our site’s LCFs and I absolutely love ours- they are so funny! I’m not going to reveal my site because the new volunteers don’t know their trainers yet.  But stay tuned for a post second half about my site, counterpart, and LCFs. Because they’re awesome :)

Anyway, TOT was a lot of training for the LCFs (oh, I forgot, this is yet another Peace Corps acronym- sorry- LCFs are Language and Culture Facilitators. They are responsible for teaching Mongolian to the new volunteers and helping them learn about the Mongolian culture). The first week was a lot of us as PCVs building relationships with our LCFs by working with them on simple things like giving feedback. It was a lot of giggling on both ends because I had to pretend to be a new volunteer with no Mongolian.  My LCF was pretending to teach me about family and I pretended not to understand the word for “mother.” She actually thought I didn’t understand until I, laughing, was like, “of course I know mother! But the new people might not!” It was a lot of fun and I’m very excited to work with them :)

Second week we divided into our “sectors” (health, language, community development, TEFL, and cross culture) and spent the week revising and rewriting last years sessions, facilitating them with our CPs, and giving all of the feedback.  This week was a bit more stressful because we had a LOT of sessions to revise but I got a lot closer to the Mongolians on the TEFL team.  They’re all amazing. If you’re an M-26 TEFLer reading this blog... you have the best Mongolians in Peace Corps on your team! Not that I’m biased or anything;)

Outside of work, I spent a lot of time with Patrick, Sandra, and Abby. I hadn’t seen Patrick and Abby since December and Sandra since August, so it was great to spend all of our time together.  We even worked out every day (and did Zumba with some of the staff! See pics). My favorite part of each day was lunch, where we ate outside and chatted with all the Mongolians who were interested in us “foreigners.” Mongolians are just so friendly, welcoming, and (when they realize you speak Mongolian) super curious with ALL of the questions about why you would choose to live in Mongolia for two years.

On Friday, I took the bus back to UB with Sarah (a super awesome M24 from Melissa and Tyler’s site) and headed straight to the airport to pick up my family! They’re finally here, in the Land of Blue Skies! But that’s next week’s post :)

PHOTOS

Sandra, Patrick and I eating sharsan toms (french fries!) in Darkhan

Enjoying the BEAUTIFUL weather outside

Mongolia- where you can get Sandra’s boot fixed while you wait! (In 10 minutes! For only $4! This country is amazing).

Abby, Patrick and I waiting to eat tacos at Collin’s apartment.

The lunch crew entertaining all of the 3rd graders at lunch.

It’s little things like this that make me the happiest :)

Friday night sleepovers- this (completely sober) picture truly describes peace corps life. We have a good time when we get together :)

John sang a Mongolian song, but this child wasn’t having it hahaha

Patrick was the children’s favorite at our Host Family Orientation Day, mainly because he gave rides like this all day lol

Post- zumba selfie with some the best staff (and PCVs) in Peace Corps!

Next week: The Gingras Family adapts to life in the Wild West :)