Some random thoughts through the 1st year.......
June 23, 2011
how has your week been - surprisingly enough - Ive had both a busy and fulfilling week (but to be fair - all that means is that I left my house each day while at least getting clean one of those days! commence applause - but at this moment - I actually may not smell as an individual)
but I'm all alone in Olgii - Justin is at a summer camp and I took the Burt's (married couple) to the airport on Tuesday - they are officially done and back in the US - crazy to think I'm the 'old guy' here now (which I have crossed the timeline where you stop counting the months youve been here and can start counting the ones you have left)
but thats not to say i'm having a good time. I have a new house mate......
Gulmera, (pictures included) is Sabit's 2 year old daughter who now tells her mom "I go to Brian's" (but she says Brian in about 3-4 syllables... 'Bri -iiii -aaan') and hangs out in my house 4-5 hours everyday where I teach her how to throw basketballs and eat chocolate. It's the perfect relationship - I get to hang out with a kid for a few
hours - but when I get tired of them I get to give them back to the real parents (true story - there are no diapers here - so when she crapped her pants in my house the other day I just sneak her in the back door and let her parents discover the accident) Thats how I want to have kids one day
but shes great - and our Kazakh is about on the same level (she teaches me a few new words everyday). but other than that - since the Burts left I have a new oven and crock pot in my house!!!! I made my
first meatloaf (include recipes that are heavy on the meat side) - and speaking of meat I got another tutoring gift (since we cant get paid) and it was a really nice Yak hair sweater - cashmere - which is much
better than meat (still in my fridge) and vodka from my last gig.
but other than that - the big news is getting past the $500 mark on the project! about 680,000 in local currency..... which puts us about 1/4 of the way to our teir 1 goal of $2000!!! THANK YOU EVERYONE
http://sportsresourceproject.
but talk to you this weekend (oh and I love that new show the Voice - go Dia Frampton - but got excited when they had footage from Cincinnati on this weeks show)
but I'm all alone in Olgii - Justin is at a summer camp and I took the Burt's (married couple) to the airport on Tuesday - they are officially done and back in the US - crazy to think I'm the 'old guy' here now (which I have crossed the timeline where you stop counting the months youve been here and can start counting the ones you have left)
but thats not to say i'm having a good time. I have a new house mate......
Gulmera, (pictures included) is Sabit's 2 year old daughter who now tells her mom "I go to Brian's" (but she says Brian in about 3-4 syllables... 'Bri -iiii -aaan') and hangs out in my house 4-5 hours everyday where I teach her how to throw basketballs and eat chocolate. It's the perfect relationship - I get to hang out with a kid for a few
hours - but when I get tired of them I get to give them back to the real parents (true story - there are no diapers here - so when she crapped her pants in my house the other day I just sneak her in the back door and let her parents discover the accident) Thats how I want to have kids one day
but shes great - and our Kazakh is about on the same level (she teaches me a few new words everyday). but other than that - since the Burts left I have a new oven and crock pot in my house!!!! I made my
first meatloaf (include recipes that are heavy on the meat side) - and speaking of meat I got another tutoring gift (since we cant get paid) and it was a really nice Yak hair sweater - cashmere - which is much
better than meat (still in my fridge) and vodka from my last gig.
but other than that - the big news is getting past the $500 mark on the project! about 680,000 in local currency..... which puts us about 1/4 of the way to our teir 1 goal of $2000!!! THANK YOU EVERYONE
http://sportsresourceproject.
but talk to you this weekend (oh and I love that new show the Voice - go Dia Frampton - but got excited when they had footage from Cincinnati on this weeks show)
May 24, 2011
I've been keeping really busy with the last week of school and finishing up the website - I also just had a girl from Spain and a guy from Germany stay a few days (but not together) The German rode his
bike (no not a motorcycle - a bicycle with a little basket and all) for the last 2 years. Maybe Chris can sympathize but I will never wake up one morning with the thought - 'hey maybe I can take a sabbatical and ride my tri-cycle to Rio" (although I did find it appealing to go camping in Mongolia for two years - so maybe I am the crazy one) but here are a few picks from the market - I bought some meat yesterday and thought I'd share
get this tomorrow - here's the link:
http://sportsresourceproject.blogspot.com/
Please email to as many people as you can - thats the goal - to get as many people involved - and every little bit helps - even 5-10 dollars can pay for half a ball! and please let me know feedback from anyone about likes/dislikes - changes they would recommended - this will be my only fundraising effort and am really optimistic and hopeful for a good result.
Many thanks - loved the pictures from the weekend - it seems like my family had a blast drinking and playing with my stick (well, picture on a stick - were not that kind of Kentucky)
Many thanks - loved the pictures from the weekend - it seems like my family had a blast drinking and playing with my stick (well, picture on a stick - were not that kind of Kentucky)
PS - at the market you find the shop with fur laying outside - then you know its fresh
May 12, 2011
I need your motherly advice (oh sidebar - talked with Dad briefly today of facebook - let me know where you get to have dinner tonight - and more importantly... what you eat - never thought I'd be living
through my mom in any capacity)
but I got some good and bad news with my sports project today. World Vision is giving us double what they quoted.... but they are going to order stuff for us this summer and want to have a big celebration the
first week of school in September..... which is great - but means we need to finish our 4 grand grant by then (which literally would be the project I talked about getting people to
just donate through the Peace Corps website for my project)....however - also found out - my grant would have to be in English and Mongolian (and everyone’s Mongolian is good here - just not good enough
to talk technical terms and 'real writing' with me) and they won't accept Kazakh.... plus - with training for new volunteers starting in 3 weeks - they won't review any grants until September and the
training is over.....
so what I was thinking..... if I could set up a paypal account to my account - or Dad's (and then transfer when its complete) and set up an email.... or site outlining our project plans - do you think everyone
would be just as inclined to help out and donate even though its not through Peace Corps directly (but then we could meet the deadline with World Vision).... I mean - all I need is 200 people donate $20 - or
100 donate $40.... Andrew could even help with social media stuff.....
but - just thought I'd ask your advice before making any decision....just the red-tape.... which directly handicaps my region the most - could be cut out....let me know and look forward to hearing back from youbut as always - miss ya and have an extra appetizer and cocktail for me
through my mom in any capacity)
but I got some good and bad news with my sports project today. World Vision is giving us double what they quoted.... but they are going to order stuff for us this summer and want to have a big celebration the
first week of school in September..... which is great - but means we need to finish our 4 grand grant by then (which literally would be the project I talked about getting people to
just donate through the Peace Corps website for my project)....however - also found out - my grant would have to be in English and Mongolian (and everyone’s Mongolian is good here - just not good enough
to talk technical terms and 'real writing' with me) and they won't accept Kazakh.... plus - with training for new volunteers starting in 3 weeks - they won't review any grants until September and the
training is over.....
so what I was thinking..... if I could set up a paypal account to my account - or Dad's (and then transfer when its complete) and set up an email.... or site outlining our project plans - do you think everyone
would be just as inclined to help out and donate even though its not through Peace Corps directly (but then we could meet the deadline with World Vision).... I mean - all I need is 200 people donate $20 - or
100 donate $40.... Andrew could even help with social media stuff.....
but - just thought I'd ask your advice before making any decision....just the red-tape.... which directly handicaps my region the most - could be cut out....let me know and look forward to hearing back from youbut as always - miss ya and have an extra appetizer and cocktail for me
May 10, 2011
so I became a legend today.... which just means a lot of free beer came my way. That cream apparently healed the accountant's wife at school (which was really cheap right?) - so whenever you get around to
the next package, if you don't mind - just throw in 5 or 6 of those things in - so basically - you have become the "supplier" for a drugdealer in Mongolia
April 26, 2011
So goes another week......
and actually an action packed full week of activities for once (I just finished a presentation to all of the teachers in the school about Cincinnati - they laughed about Porkopolis - have deep respect for the
Princess Diana tiara - and were most impressed by our river) but anyways..... my Peace Corps directors were in town - and it was definitely a little nerve racking to be sitting in a room with 15
people that you know are directly talking about you - but you don't have a clue what they are saying, its like
blahblahblahblahBrianblahblahb
but for what I gather it went really well. I told Peace Corps that I am doing much better on the culture and developing relationships side than teaching.... and my English teachers all said the same thing that
I wasn’t even thinking about culturally - they said they prevent themselves from working closer with me or talking more to me since I am a man and they are all women (on the flip side working with the
sports teachers - all guys - is an absolute blast)..... but in the workplace I didn’t even think about it - and apparently it’s the biggest hurdle in me being here (at least now I'm aware of it)
but my directors laughed.... all the girls still run up to me say hello and run away giggling.... trick is - now I just need to find someone over the age of 13 who does it.
But Easter was good - I had all of my kids bring in a hardboiled egg and we decorated them with sharpie markers (shout out to Amy Sapsford - she singlehandedly made the Easter party happen with the bunny ears
she sent and bags of popcorn - it was hysterical to watch the kids gets excited and jumpy watching the popcorn pop) Its funny - with Easter, what I miss most is the Sunday afternoon at Grandma Pats - I
literally had an hour long day dream the other day about bloody marys and her sandwich platters *insert salivating and moaning* I really miss those sandwiches - speaking of food - I think I could (and
between you and me I did) drink some of the BW3s sauce straight out of the bottle.... I think I have definitely been in a bit of flavor deficiency
and actually an action packed full week of activities for once (I just finished a presentation to all of the teachers in the school about Cincinnati - they laughed about Porkopolis - have deep respect for the
Princess Diana tiara - and were most impressed by our river) but anyways..... my Peace Corps directors were in town - and it was definitely a little nerve racking to be sitting in a room with 15
people that you know are directly talking about you - but you don't have a clue what they are saying, its like
blahblahblahblahBrianblahblahb
but for what I gather it went really well. I told Peace Corps that I am doing much better on the culture and developing relationships side than teaching.... and my English teachers all said the same thing that
I wasn’t even thinking about culturally - they said they prevent themselves from working closer with me or talking more to me since I am a man and they are all women (on the flip side working with the
sports teachers - all guys - is an absolute blast)..... but in the workplace I didn’t even think about it - and apparently it’s the biggest hurdle in me being here (at least now I'm aware of it)
but my directors laughed.... all the girls still run up to me say hello and run away giggling.... trick is - now I just need to find someone over the age of 13 who does it.
But Easter was good - I had all of my kids bring in a hardboiled egg and we decorated them with sharpie markers (shout out to Amy Sapsford - she singlehandedly made the Easter party happen with the bunny ears
she sent and bags of popcorn - it was hysterical to watch the kids gets excited and jumpy watching the popcorn pop) Its funny - with Easter, what I miss most is the Sunday afternoon at Grandma Pats - I
literally had an hour long day dream the other day about bloody marys and her sandwich platters *insert salivating and moaning* I really miss those sandwiches - speaking of food - I think I could (and
between you and me I did) drink some of the BW3s sauce straight out of the bottle.... I think I have definitely been in a bit of flavor deficiency
April 11, 2011
Today started school back for the first full week in almost a month. But now we only have 6-7 weeks left hahaha I love the way the school systems work here. but I don't have too much to report - as thehighlight of my week was catching up on TV shows I downloaded (who would have thought I'd be watching more TV in Mongolia than back home - no wonder kids like school here..... there is just nothing to do
when you're on break)
I did get a package today from Adrien..... I didn't have the heart to tell her that her bottle of Franks Red Hot sauce broke and ruined almost everything in the box.... the closest I have come to crying in
this country - my poor friend Frank - I think my body is still recovering from the shock of seeing that mess of a box
but the story of the week comes from my favorite disfunctional teacher "Maybe Guljan" - but she grew up in
the soum I visited last week and after I told her it was "nice" (putting it politely so I thought) but that I wouldn't want to live there - this is the 10pm text I got from her....... either she was drinking or I might be on to a bi-polar something or another "Oh brian! Tolbo is bad for you - for me immeasurable valuable there is isnt any big places it is true but those mountains give every person big bravery and generosity, every mountains have got my traces and dream also there is my fathers grave you got upset me".....................take a minute to let that soak in.... I don't know whether to laugh or watch my back (good to know she isn't learning any English from me)
January 12, 2011
April 6, 2011
I have spent the last few days in Tolbo Soum.... the town (thats not fair to towns to call it a town - lets say - a small collection of random buildings in the Mongolian countryside) Its where Adi lives and
works - she claims that there are 800ish residents - I would beg to differ. Literally when you walk out of her front door and look straight - the only sign of human life that you can see is her outhouse about 50 yards away - It truly is amazing the different levels of experience for volunteers just in Mongolia (not to mention worldwide)
So there were 5 of us staying in her house - which is the size of a small college freshman dorm (my dorm at Samford probably had more room) - but it was cool to see how she lives and her experiences - and it makes
Olgii seem like New York
I just kept asking myself..... why did someone ever decide - 'this looks like a good place to start a home' – there’s not even very much grass for animals, it’s all rocks - it took me back to training during
the summer.... which I am so thankful for that experience - but glad that I didn’t get placed in a soum
and at least I have plenty of coal to make fires..... they don't so she has to collect 'cow patties' to burn instead when the coal runs out (so at least I don’t have to go around picking up crap to stay warm in the winter)
but other than that - no real stories - school finally starts back up this week - Justin is going to UB to get a filling fixed and the married couple has their end of service conference in 2 weeks (I need
to figure out a pain free way to get a medical trip to UB one of these days) open for suggestions
works - she claims that there are 800ish residents - I would beg to differ. Literally when you walk out of her front door and look straight - the only sign of human life that you can see is her outhouse about 50 yards away - It truly is amazing the different levels of experience for volunteers just in Mongolia (not to mention worldwide)
So there were 5 of us staying in her house - which is the size of a small college freshman dorm (my dorm at Samford probably had more room) - but it was cool to see how she lives and her experiences - and it makes
Olgii seem like New York
I just kept asking myself..... why did someone ever decide - 'this looks like a good place to start a home' – there’s not even very much grass for animals, it’s all rocks - it took me back to training during
the summer.... which I am so thankful for that experience - but glad that I didn’t get placed in a soum
and at least I have plenty of coal to make fires..... they don't so she has to collect 'cow patties' to burn instead when the coal runs out (so at least I don’t have to go around picking up crap to stay warm in the winter)
but other than that - no real stories - school finally starts back up this week - Justin is going to UB to get a filling fixed and the married couple has their end of service conference in 2 weeks (I need
to figure out a pain free way to get a medical trip to UB one of these days) open for suggestions
Oh an PS - its been 3 years since Sabit got married so the wife's family must come over to
celebrate and gives furniture gifts for a new home (bed, cabinets, rugs... etc) this was the dinner roast prep
celebrate and gives furniture gifts for a new home (bed, cabinets, rugs... etc) this was the dinner roast prep
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| Dinner |
April 1, 2011
I must say.... that I have been a little homesick the last 15 hours (I stayed up until 5 in the morning to watch the REDS!!!!!! opening day game online) My neighbors probably either think that I'm crazy - or
that I was killed last night - after the amount of screaming that was emitted in the middle of the night (it was even better that my best friend here is from Milwaukee - I might have spelled that wrong but
nobody likes that city - and was texting me all night with Cincinnati slurs..... so that ending was incredible) I can’t imagine the talk around town today
but besides that - as far as big events in Mongolia go - we had the country wide Olympics this week where students and teachers take standardized tests to find "the best" in each grade and subject - and
then I got to read over 100 essays on Wednesday and grade them..... to be blunt - they were so awful that half-way through - if someone was at least on topic I would score them really high (the teachers test
had Walt Whitman quotes in it to interpret - half of the students - lets be fair - most of the students in the south [specifically Texas] *cough cough* would be unable to answer the prompt) I just pick on Texas
since I got Luke's Flat Stanely this week and he will be attending a fishing trip with me tomorrow (and don't worry Dad - my toes are almost room temperature by now and its be consistently in the high 40s
here - which is actually a bad thing since everything is starting to thaw out and you realize that there is an outhouse on every corner but this is the first time in 8 months you can smell all of them)
speaking of delicious things..... I was skeptical at first - but since Grandma sent me SPAM in the mail (with the unavailability of pork in a Muslim culture) I started frying it up like bacon for breakfast - and
I must say that it is absolutely delicious - which makes me throw up in my mouth a little just for typing - but compared to Kazakh and Mongolian roasted random animal heads.... pretty darn good (everyone can have a steak on me)
but one last thought - the funniest thing about reading the essays was we all made a bet on how many times a student or teacher would write "This is my dream"....... I won after reading 13 essays that contained
it - everyone finishes essays with "this is my dream.... my name is (blah blah)..... thank you for reading" - needless to say - I'll be starting a writing class next week
that I was killed last night - after the amount of screaming that was emitted in the middle of the night (it was even better that my best friend here is from Milwaukee - I might have spelled that wrong but
nobody likes that city - and was texting me all night with Cincinnati slurs..... so that ending was incredible) I can’t imagine the talk around town today
but besides that - as far as big events in Mongolia go - we had the country wide Olympics this week where students and teachers take standardized tests to find "the best" in each grade and subject - and
then I got to read over 100 essays on Wednesday and grade them..... to be blunt - they were so awful that half-way through - if someone was at least on topic I would score them really high (the teachers test
had Walt Whitman quotes in it to interpret - half of the students - lets be fair - most of the students in the south [specifically Texas] *cough cough* would be unable to answer the prompt) I just pick on Texas
since I got Luke's Flat Stanely this week and he will be attending a fishing trip with me tomorrow (and don't worry Dad - my toes are almost room temperature by now and its be consistently in the high 40s
here - which is actually a bad thing since everything is starting to thaw out and you realize that there is an outhouse on every corner but this is the first time in 8 months you can smell all of them)
speaking of delicious things..... I was skeptical at first - but since Grandma sent me SPAM in the mail (with the unavailability of pork in a Muslim culture) I started frying it up like bacon for breakfast - and
I must say that it is absolutely delicious - which makes me throw up in my mouth a little just for typing - but compared to Kazakh and Mongolian roasted random animal heads.... pretty darn good (everyone can have a steak on me)
but one last thought - the funniest thing about reading the essays was we all made a bet on how many times a student or teacher would write "This is my dream"....... I won after reading 13 essays that contained
it - everyone finishes essays with "this is my dream.... my name is (blah blah)..... thank you for reading" - needless to say - I'll be starting a writing class next week
February 15, 2011
I hope you had a great Valentine’s Day! Did you and Dad go anywhere to eat? What did you get? etc., etc.? I'll allow you to tell me now that I have enough fish and barbecue sauce to last me till next winter.
As far as stories go..... my life has pretty much been consumed with fishing lately. I'll be honest, I wasn't that enthusiastic to stand outside in below zero temperatures from sun-up to sun-down, but as it
happened on Sunday - when you catch 7 fish (all longer than your arm) in a 15 minute span (this actually happened to me) - you understand why so many people love to fish (I am now hooked - and the first thing
I'll be doing when I come home is going to Florida to visit everyone and go deep sea fishing!)
But equally amazing (besides the fishing and the landscape - I hope everyone got to see my pictures on facebook - or here http://picasaweb.google.com/
facebook - you just lost some of my respect, the 13 year old girl I live with has facebook and she doesn't speak English, has no running water and only has one pair of jeans but she is more in-tune with todays culture)
But the Kazakh and Muslim culture is so incredibly hospitable and inviting (and nothing like any pre-conceived stereotypes we are given back home). We literally just find a random house - they invite us in
and gives us a place to stay (and feed us, etc.) for as long as we need.... the families out in the countryside are pretty incredible. If I had to grow up in a one room house with my family.....
I don't think all 6 of us would have made it through our teen years alive. But they do it - and they do it well.... and it has made the families so incredibly close and relaxed and just nice (i suppose
being forced together in such close quarters.... after time you realize there is nothing really worth fighting over.)
The Muslim aspect was interesting - very sexually divided - in the sense that all the men surrounded the table (no chairs – very Asian in sitting on floor pillows) to drink and eat while the women sat
separate or spent the entire time preparing things (even when we had to find gas after midnight in the soum – they invited us in and set up a whole table spread of food and tea for us to get warm) – (also – the
women do run this country and it would fall apart without them)….. and as for the meat (everyone’s favorite part). I am starting to get amazed – right when I think there can’t possibly be something new to
try – I am constantly thrown a curveball. This time when we ate the roasted horses head (sidebar: the ‘rump’ of the horse is the best, tastes like Arby’s roast beef almost – perhaps I don’t correctly
remember what that tastes like) so I literally ate a horses ass, but the new part was apparently what the guest of honor receives, so I got to eat a large strip of meat encompassing the eye
As far as stories go..... my life has pretty much been consumed with fishing lately. I'll be honest, I wasn't that enthusiastic to stand outside in below zero temperatures from sun-up to sun-down, but as it
happened on Sunday - when you catch 7 fish (all longer than your arm) in a 15 minute span (this actually happened to me) - you understand why so many people love to fish (I am now hooked - and the first thing
I'll be doing when I come home is going to Florida to visit everyone and go deep sea fishing!)
But equally amazing (besides the fishing and the landscape - I hope everyone got to see my pictures on facebook - or here http://picasaweb.google.com/
facebook - you just lost some of my respect, the 13 year old girl I live with has facebook and she doesn't speak English, has no running water and only has one pair of jeans but she is more in-tune with todays culture)
But the Kazakh and Muslim culture is so incredibly hospitable and inviting (and nothing like any pre-conceived stereotypes we are given back home). We literally just find a random house - they invite us in
and gives us a place to stay (and feed us, etc.) for as long as we need.... the families out in the countryside are pretty incredible. If I had to grow up in a one room house with my family.....
I don't think all 6 of us would have made it through our teen years alive. But they do it - and they do it well.... and it has made the families so incredibly close and relaxed and just nice (i suppose
being forced together in such close quarters.... after time you realize there is nothing really worth fighting over.)
The Muslim aspect was interesting - very sexually divided - in the sense that all the men surrounded the table (no chairs – very Asian in sitting on floor pillows) to drink and eat while the women sat
separate or spent the entire time preparing things (even when we had to find gas after midnight in the soum – they invited us in and set up a whole table spread of food and tea for us to get warm) – (also – the
women do run this country and it would fall apart without them)….. and as for the meat (everyone’s favorite part). I am starting to get amazed – right when I think there can’t possibly be something new to
try – I am constantly thrown a curveball. This time when we ate the roasted horses head (sidebar: the ‘rump’ of the horse is the best, tastes like Arby’s roast beef almost – perhaps I don’t correctly
remember what that tastes like) so I literally ate a horses ass, but the new part was apparently what the guest of honor receives, so I got to eat a large strip of meat encompassing the eye
ball, socket, and all the way back to the ear……. Which who knows what it tasted like (very leathery) I ate it so quick that I’m surprised I didn't choke (just to get it down) – but in the countryside – what I like the least is the post-dinner “tea” – which is literally the fatty broth that they used to cook the head in – and everyone must drink a
bowl full…. That’s when you get to practice the power of imagination in tricking yourself into believing you’re actually drinking something else
But the highlight of the month was definitely our attempts at wolf hunting. Which consisted of us flying around on a frozen lake chasing wolves with one of the locals hanging out the side door (since the
windows don’t roll down) with his late 1970s Russian rifle trying to get off shots while Sabit and I hold a rope that is wrapped around his waist so he doesn’t go flying out the door - in all honesty, I
would have been shocked if he actually hit the thing since as one volunteer put it: The Russians really have perfected the jeep, its durable, simple and easy to fix, can drive over anything and can start
in -40 degree weather…. The only thing they forgot is that people have to ride inside…… riding in a Russian Jeep on Mongolian roads is nothing short of an amusement park ride where they have to warn people
who are prone to seizures and have pace makers….. so to aim even in the right direction was considered a success. But it was a rush none the less…. And apparently I’m good luck – the locals say you’re
lucky to see a wolf a month and we chased down 3 in 2 days. But all in all – its been a great time here lately, and the cold is over – its only in the negatives at night – even reaching the high 20s
during the day. Soon it’ll be Spring – new volunteers will be arriving and I’ll be the ‘old guy’ and a year from now I’ll be making plans for coming home! I just fear that I’m becoming a bit of a ‘country boy’
hahaha Aunt Marsha would be proud!
bowl full…. That’s when you get to practice the power of imagination in tricking yourself into believing you’re actually drinking something else
But the highlight of the month was definitely our attempts at wolf hunting. Which consisted of us flying around on a frozen lake chasing wolves with one of the locals hanging out the side door (since the
windows don’t roll down) with his late 1970s Russian rifle trying to get off shots while Sabit and I hold a rope that is wrapped around his waist so he doesn’t go flying out the door - in all honesty, I
would have been shocked if he actually hit the thing since as one volunteer put it: The Russians really have perfected the jeep, its durable, simple and easy to fix, can drive over anything and can start
in -40 degree weather…. The only thing they forgot is that people have to ride inside…… riding in a Russian Jeep on Mongolian roads is nothing short of an amusement park ride where they have to warn people
who are prone to seizures and have pace makers….. so to aim even in the right direction was considered a success. But it was a rush none the less…. And apparently I’m good luck – the locals say you’re
lucky to see a wolf a month and we chased down 3 in 2 days. But all in all – its been a great time here lately, and the cold is over – its only in the negatives at night – even reaching the high 20s
during the day. Soon it’ll be Spring – new volunteers will be arriving and I’ll be the ‘old guy’ and a year from now I’ll be making plans for coming home! I just fear that I’m becoming a bit of a ‘country boy’
hahaha Aunt Marsha would be proud!
January 21, 2011
so i realize that this email may finally find myself 'crossing the line' - but to really give you an idea of the life I lead (or better yet, the smell....) I've included a picture of the current state of my "bathroom" (and I use that phrase quite liberally) - that being said - you have been warned, but when you really think about it, it really is quite a unique thing in all the world (and I hope most of you share my immaturity in laughing at poop jokes) hahaha but anyways - you can all go to sleep tonight being thankful for indoor plumbing - and that you don't have to have the conversation with your family about who will 'clean the bathroom' (i.e.... find a stick and knock the pile of ______ over) hahaha enjoy Who feels like exploring Mammoth cave?
The two things I've learned in Mongolia:
1. Laughter sounds the same in every language 2. and EVERYTHING can eventually freeze
1. Laughter sounds the same in every language 2. and EVERYTHING can eventually freeze
 |
| My bathroom in January |
Hope you got to see the ice fishing pictures - it was a lot of fun (not to mention I caught the biggest fish of the day!) as I told dad on facebook (its still a little weird that I facebook 'chat' with my dad and grandma from time to time) but as I was telling dad it turned out really really nice - the weather hovered around 0 degrees
all day with no wind so it was actually pretty warm (to the point of taking off layers) I had on three pairs of socks - five layers on my legs - 6 layers including my coat - and two layers of gloves (and sweated whenever we had to drill holes) but I'm starting to get better so its becoming pretty fun (Sabit wants to go on an overnight
fishing trip in three weeks - at a river about 6 hours away) which will test my dedication to the fishing trade.
But then yesterday we had a big teacher’s sports competition at school. (Teacher's day is on the 28th which apparently is the biggest party for teachers all year long - should get interesting to say the least)
But yesterday were volleyball and basketball tournaments between all the teachers. You'll be very proud to know that my team took home the gold in the basketball tournament! Apparently I grew up in the wrong
place if I wanted to be a basketball star. My training manager - who rarely speaks to me - usually only to tell me that 'I don't make the kids take enough notes' actually told me I was a really good basketball player (now mind you I was playing with mostly late 30s overweight teachers in a chaotic game that never included all 10
players on the same side of the court once -- and apparently the Kazakh measure of basketball genius is if you can dribble the ball up the court without knocking it out of bounds off your foot) but that’s
neither here nor there - apparently as long as I keep playing basketball no one cares if I ever show up to class - we have priorities over here (which are actually pretty online with those back home) but volleyball was much more interesting (since the women played in between and all the guys just drank vodka for two and half hours
before we finally played) but all the games were very close - which made it really interesting and competitive - but we won one and lost one
all day with no wind so it was actually pretty warm (to the point of taking off layers) I had on three pairs of socks - five layers on my legs - 6 layers including my coat - and two layers of gloves (and sweated whenever we had to drill holes) but I'm starting to get better so its becoming pretty fun (Sabit wants to go on an overnight
fishing trip in three weeks - at a river about 6 hours away) which will test my dedication to the fishing trade.
But then yesterday we had a big teacher’s sports competition at school. (Teacher's day is on the 28th which apparently is the biggest party for teachers all year long - should get interesting to say the least)
But yesterday were volleyball and basketball tournaments between all the teachers. You'll be very proud to know that my team took home the gold in the basketball tournament! Apparently I grew up in the wrong
place if I wanted to be a basketball star. My training manager - who rarely speaks to me - usually only to tell me that 'I don't make the kids take enough notes' actually told me I was a really good basketball player (now mind you I was playing with mostly late 30s overweight teachers in a chaotic game that never included all 10
players on the same side of the court once -- and apparently the Kazakh measure of basketball genius is if you can dribble the ball up the court without knocking it out of bounds off your foot) but that’s
neither here nor there - apparently as long as I keep playing basketball no one cares if I ever show up to class - we have priorities over here (which are actually pretty online with those back home) but volleyball was much more interesting (since the women played in between and all the guys just drank vodka for two and half hours
before we finally played) but all the games were very close - which made it really interesting and competitive - but we won one and lost one
January 9, 2011
Happy to hear you finally got my Christmas stuff.... I know it wasn't much but hope you like it (did you look inside the ger?) but I do have an interesting dinner story tonight..... so being here, most volunteers 'turn into vegetarians' -- which is half understandable (I say embrace the culture and suck it up)....... which my philosophy led
me to an interesting juncture this evening..... full roasted goat heads.... mmm mmm mmm (hold the applause).... it was actually about the top half of a goat (with its brother's decapitated head sitting next to it) which is fine.... no big deal (and after boiling it for five hours.... was quite tender). Now I will say that hands down, the
meat off the shoulder blades was by far my favorite - Sabit loves the top of the skull (sidebar: probably my greatest achievement - and the only way I can eat half of this stuff - is after the introduction of
Montgomery Inn sauce to my hashaa family - thank you everyone - because now they love it, which makes it acceptable for me to drown all the meat in it - and thus masking the taste) anyways, all was well with my shoulder meat, the occasional cheek, and of course, my Montgomery Inn sauce (I hear they will soon be adding 'whole
roasted goat head' to its menu) but thats neither here nor there..... the dinner got dicey though when Sabit uses a clever (like those huge butcher's knives) to crack open the skull, and proceeds to distribute the brains to everyone at the table.... I was thrilled. All I can say is that I will probably go the rest of my life without replicating the
texture of the brains in my mouth tonight.... I have never had to force a smile on my face so hard before in my life - but hey, now I can say I've eaten brains (thats in the present perfect tense by the
way) So, I have included some pictures to liven up the email and hope you enjoy..... I'm going to brush my teeth now - and at least I talked my way out of trying the eye
me to an interesting juncture this evening..... full roasted goat heads.... mmm mmm mmm (hold the applause).... it was actually about the top half of a goat (with its brother's decapitated head sitting next to it) which is fine.... no big deal (and after boiling it for five hours.... was quite tender). Now I will say that hands down, the
meat off the shoulder blades was by far my favorite - Sabit loves the top of the skull (sidebar: probably my greatest achievement - and the only way I can eat half of this stuff - is after the introduction of
Montgomery Inn sauce to my hashaa family - thank you everyone - because now they love it, which makes it acceptable for me to drown all the meat in it - and thus masking the taste) anyways, all was well with my shoulder meat, the occasional cheek, and of course, my Montgomery Inn sauce (I hear they will soon be adding 'whole
roasted goat head' to its menu) but thats neither here nor there..... the dinner got dicey though when Sabit uses a clever (like those huge butcher's knives) to crack open the skull, and proceeds to distribute the brains to everyone at the table.... I was thrilled. All I can say is that I will probably go the rest of my life without replicating the
texture of the brains in my mouth tonight.... I have never had to force a smile on my face so hard before in my life - but hey, now I can say I've eaten brains (thats in the present perfect tense by the
way) So, I have included some pictures to liven up the email and hope you enjoy..... I'm going to brush my teeth now - and at least I talked my way out of trying the eye
 |
| Left: goat heads Right: borsak (Kazakh 'bread puffs') |
 |
| Sabit in I in our meat room with the Montgomery Inn sauce |
December 11, 2010
About to go to a teacher's house for lunch today - wish me luck - you never know what will show
up on the table to 'impress' me..... Impressing me would be hamburgers, not a horse head that’s been boiling for 5 hours – oh and to answer Dwight's question..... yes I have a lovely bucket in my
house that has a duel role in the Winter, the drain for my sink and my bathroom in the middle of the night (think of it like my green efficiency initiative) - luckily I have not been woken in the middle of the night to go number 2..... that’s a decision and a bridge that I'm not sure if I'm ready to cross yet
up on the table to 'impress' me..... Impressing me would be hamburgers, not a horse head that’s been boiling for 5 hours – oh and to answer Dwight's question..... yes I have a lovely bucket in my
house that has a duel role in the Winter, the drain for my sink and my bathroom in the middle of the night (think of it like my green efficiency initiative) - luckily I have not been woken in the middle of the night to go number 2..... that’s a decision and a bridge that I'm not sure if I'm ready to cross yet
I should be able to post some pictures from Thanksgiving soon - unfortunately every time I go to UB I get lazy on my picture taking. But the worst part about being home is that no one made a fire in my
house while I was gone - It was colder in my house than it was outside today.....I am still thawing out a bit as I write this. If you were curious, here's a list of things that can freeze - as they are now
frozen in my house:
obviously: my sink, my water filter and my water boiler
also: my hot sauce, my barbecue sauce and cooking oil
not to mention: my contact solution, my peanut butter and any food
anyone sent me that is in a can....... especially soups
so my day will consist of chopping wood and coal to maintain the fire while I rotate the items proximity to the fire so that they start to thaw....... remind me not to go out of town till it gets warm
again..... aka - late June
house while I was gone - It was colder in my house than it was outside today.....I am still thawing out a bit as I write this. If you were curious, here's a list of things that can freeze - as they are now
frozen in my house:
obviously: my sink, my water filter and my water boiler
also: my hot sauce, my barbecue sauce and cooking oil
not to mention: my contact solution, my peanut butter and any food
anyone sent me that is in a can....... especially soups
so my day will consist of chopping wood and coal to maintain the fire while I rotate the items proximity to the fire so that they start to thaw....... remind me not to go out of town till it gets warm
again..... aka - late June
November 13, 2010
So today was an interesting day.... and I think it warrants an email (just maybe - I'll let you decide if this morning was email worthy) So its the first weekend of winter break.... and do you know what that means.....? That's right - its time to slaughter some animals (borderline a national holiday) 'Their blood is on my hands' ..... literally, I think I still have some under my fingernails. Since it shouldn’t get above freezing until say, late April early May, you kill all the animals that you will eat throughout the entire winter,
and store them on hooks and tables in a small room - roughly the size of my house. If you could see through my wall right now - you would see the meat hanging from ten, yes ten sheep and goats (more to come don't worry) and one horse (my favorite of course). Directly on the other side of my wall (probably staring my way right now) are the eleven heads all lined up (I should know, I lined them up - sidebar -
Kazakhs are probably the most organized when it comes to arranging and staking meat - a skill that I am quickly picking up on, so if I come home with nothing else, I can at least make the freezer look pretty
while being supremely organized)
So back to the killing....... they took each animal one by one, killed it, skinned it, took out the organs, then cut up the meat and hung it. Unlike Mongolians (who slit open the stomach and pull the heart out)
Kazakhs just slit the throat and drain the blood (they prefer their meat blood 'jok' - or 'without' and who can really blame them) So my primary job became holding the animals down while one of the men
killed the animals until it died (which was surprisingly five to ten minutes before it completely stopped jerking around) the horse took five of us..... but I'm man enough to hold down a sheep all by myself
(I can feel how proud you are of me) The couch surfer I have, from Poland, quickly left to 'wander around' after the horse went down (I think he was a little uneasy) Me, on the other hand, became the meat
transporter who took the meat from the men as they cut it off, and took it into the storage house to be hung. This job I did very eagerly, for the alternative (which was to help the women) was to
drain the organs (*disclaimer*) of all the feces (or poop - not really sure what word sounds better in a story involving such) but they drain them, clean them and stuff them with meat and fat to be
hung and dried (which is a very popular Kazakh dish called 'Kuz')...... but all in all it was a very interesting morning.
I got a free anatomy lesson, which my favorite part was the kids poking everything to see how they felt and Sabit's dad (who became the meat butcher and meat closet organizer) who did everything
in a three piece suit - I wish I had a picture of it all – but its very very bad luck to take pictures of dead animals (or vacant buildings) here..... hopefully this email was picture enough of my
relaxing Saturday morning
and store them on hooks and tables in a small room - roughly the size of my house. If you could see through my wall right now - you would see the meat hanging from ten, yes ten sheep and goats (more to come don't worry) and one horse (my favorite of course). Directly on the other side of my wall (probably staring my way right now) are the eleven heads all lined up (I should know, I lined them up - sidebar -
Kazakhs are probably the most organized when it comes to arranging and staking meat - a skill that I am quickly picking up on, so if I come home with nothing else, I can at least make the freezer look pretty
while being supremely organized)
So back to the killing....... they took each animal one by one, killed it, skinned it, took out the organs, then cut up the meat and hung it. Unlike Mongolians (who slit open the stomach and pull the heart out)
Kazakhs just slit the throat and drain the blood (they prefer their meat blood 'jok' - or 'without' and who can really blame them) So my primary job became holding the animals down while one of the men
killed the animals until it died (which was surprisingly five to ten minutes before it completely stopped jerking around) the horse took five of us..... but I'm man enough to hold down a sheep all by myself
(I can feel how proud you are of me) The couch surfer I have, from Poland, quickly left to 'wander around' after the horse went down (I think he was a little uneasy) Me, on the other hand, became the meat
transporter who took the meat from the men as they cut it off, and took it into the storage house to be hung. This job I did very eagerly, for the alternative (which was to help the women) was to
drain the organs (*disclaimer*) of all the feces (or poop - not really sure what word sounds better in a story involving such) but they drain them, clean them and stuff them with meat and fat to be
hung and dried (which is a very popular Kazakh dish called 'Kuz')...... but all in all it was a very interesting morning.
I got a free anatomy lesson, which my favorite part was the kids poking everything to see how they felt and Sabit's dad (who became the meat butcher and meat closet organizer) who did everything
in a three piece suit - I wish I had a picture of it all – but its very very bad luck to take pictures of dead animals (or vacant buildings) here..... hopefully this email was picture enough of my
relaxing Saturday morning
October 10, 2010
It’s been a busy but very good week here on the Mongolian front lines. Sidebar: did you
see my facebook post that I got the food package in ten days!!! It's awesome..... thank you soooooooo much - I eat Peanut Butter way too fast.... and that chicken white bean soup was the first to be
demolished (and that is putting it politely for the children who may be reading this) thanks again. But I suppose I do have a few stories for you from the week's adventures. I have finally had to start making
fires every night - but just one a day is not too bad..... and I would categorize them as medium sized. Good news is Sabit ordered a chain saw from China (so when the Chinese border opens back up I at least won't have to spend hours sawing wood anymore - I know.... my life is
so easy) On a completely different level - I teach a class every Tuesday afternoon for non-English teachers who want to learn English - so far they know 'Whats up?' and how to talk about their family
but one of the guys came up to me after class this week and told me that he 'likes American sex and if I could help him out' - after a brief moment to collect myself - and through really bad Kazakh (I have
yet to reach the sex related vocabulary lesson in my Peace Corps provided language manual) I figured out that he was asking me to get him some American porn......I think all I can do is laugh
- not sure how to play that one.... I'll just lay low and hope he doesn’t bring it up again - but he is a really nice guy - I suppose that’s a good segwey to my story from last night - so I said yes
to a teacher at another school - which I was regretting all day – but it turned out really well. She teaches a Masters course at the local University - and its for teachers of courses who need English in
business situations (like economics) and they spent the whole time just practicing asking me questions and answering mine - but a very cute 22 year old eventually asked me 'what are you doing Saturday' -
so now I have my first Kazakh date this Saturday afternoon - which her follow-up question, regarding what we will do - was if I wanted 'to hunt some wolves' - so I think we will be going to the
countryside (where her parents live) to hunt with some Eagles......
which would set the bar very high for any future first dates back home..... so how would that be for 'how did you meet' – anyways - details to follow I’m sure - but just wanted to say hi - sorry I
gotta run to class today - this next week everyone wants to learn about Halloween - I'll let you know how it goes (I think we are going to carve watermelons since there are no pumpkins) throw any fun ideas
my way (also going to bob for apples)
see my facebook post that I got the food package in ten days!!! It's awesome..... thank you soooooooo much - I eat Peanut Butter way too fast.... and that chicken white bean soup was the first to be
demolished (and that is putting it politely for the children who may be reading this) thanks again. But I suppose I do have a few stories for you from the week's adventures. I have finally had to start making
fires every night - but just one a day is not too bad..... and I would categorize them as medium sized. Good news is Sabit ordered a chain saw from China (so when the Chinese border opens back up I at least won't have to spend hours sawing wood anymore - I know.... my life is
so easy) On a completely different level - I teach a class every Tuesday afternoon for non-English teachers who want to learn English - so far they know 'Whats up?' and how to talk about their family
but one of the guys came up to me after class this week and told me that he 'likes American sex and if I could help him out' - after a brief moment to collect myself - and through really bad Kazakh (I have
yet to reach the sex related vocabulary lesson in my Peace Corps provided language manual) I figured out that he was asking me to get him some American porn......I think all I can do is laugh
- not sure how to play that one.... I'll just lay low and hope he doesn’t bring it up again - but he is a really nice guy - I suppose that’s a good segwey to my story from last night - so I said yes
to a teacher at another school - which I was regretting all day – but it turned out really well. She teaches a Masters course at the local University - and its for teachers of courses who need English in
business situations (like economics) and they spent the whole time just practicing asking me questions and answering mine - but a very cute 22 year old eventually asked me 'what are you doing Saturday' -
so now I have my first Kazakh date this Saturday afternoon - which her follow-up question, regarding what we will do - was if I wanted 'to hunt some wolves' - so I think we will be going to the
countryside (where her parents live) to hunt with some Eagles......
which would set the bar very high for any future first dates back home..... so how would that be for 'how did you meet' – anyways - details to follow I’m sure - but just wanted to say hi - sorry I
gotta run to class today - this next week everyone wants to learn about Halloween - I'll let you know how it goes (I think we are going to carve watermelons since there are no pumpkins) throw any fun ideas
my way (also going to bob for apples)
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| Halloween 2010 |
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