Bayartai “Goodbye”

The time has come to say goodbye, as I am no longer a Peace Corps Volunteer. I can hardly believe that it has been over 2 years already. The time went by so fast, especially these past few months (in which I blogged nothing because nothing really happened). So looking back what did I get out of it all? Was it worth it? I'd have to say yes. I have this weird habit of writing letters to myself at various time marks in the future, and I wrote on shortly after swearing in as a volunteer to read at COS (close of service). Here is an excerpt of the 2 page letter:

"How are you doing my lovely? This chapter of your life is now over and I hope I made it a good one for you. Has it been two years, or did you extend to three? It's only been three months and already Mongolia has changed me. I am slowly beginning to accept and embrace the woman I am, and am learning that growing up doesn't mean growing old. Instead of my usual assault of questions, this time I shall simply write what I want from life and hope it will ease the sorrow that leaving Mongolia is bound to bring you. … I want to become fully comfortable with my clumsy awkward self. I'm too loud, too crazy, too Cassandra, but I want to love that. … I am 22 now. You are 24, possibly 25 and on the cusp of returning to America. What are you going to do once you get stateside??? I have no real clue, 2 years is such a long way off. …Oh man, you are soooooo old! I hope you don't feel or look it. I am on the brink of this grand adventure and simply can't wait for it to begin. I know it will be difficult at times. I know there will be silly teas, and bitter ones, and heartbreaking ones too. But you made it out alive, which means I will too!! Oh, I want a Mongolia scar, and a collection of hilair and utterly Cassandra stories! You are so lucky, do you know that? I hope you do. Look at all you have come from, all you have been through. … I know you will forgive me for the mistakes I'm bound to make. I know you will never fail to amuse me even in the 'bluest of 3 o'clocks.' I know you are a good, loving, genuine woman of frustrating quality. You did it!"

While the specifics of my hopes for my PC service were not exact, the overall experience was all I was hoping for and more. My Country Director told me that of all the years he has been working as a PC Director (more than 7) that I've been the most difficult to get to COS, but in a good way. May who have been faced with switching sites, family deaths, repeated illnesses, host agency problems, any number of the things that I have faced usually end up early terminating. He apparently heard stellar reports from my 2^nd site, and was proud of me. I'm proud of me. I hope that if the Cassandra of the past who wrote that letter would be proud of me.

So this is goodbye. It's been a long journey. I hope you have enjoyed reading my blog as much as I have enjoyed writing it. I will be keeping a personal blog for any who still wish to follow my misadventure, hear my random rants, and whatever else I may post. That blog can be found at: http://cassandra-anu.blogspot.com/

Aaviin Bayariin Mend Hurgie!!!!

"Happy Father's Day!" ... or rather a belated one, as I spent actual Father's Day at home, washing clothes, reading Pope Joan, and eating gamber (a traditional fried bread type thing).

I know it's been a while since I updated, but very little seems worth updating, as I'm currently living in limbo trapped in UB. (Shuree, my best Mongolian friend got mugged and robbed, so I loaned her money, and till payday don't have any extra traveling around funds...but she is safe and sound which is the more important thing).

I finally turned in round one of the veritable cornucopia of paperwork I need to fill out and hand in before I will be allowed to COS. Its more so busy work than anything else, but still, it took forever for me to finally sit down and just do it! I think it's the fact that I have to trek all the way to the PC office and then type it up and then trek home (okay so 15 minuets of walking is not really a trek, but it seems that way sometimes). I will be happy to get my own computer when I'm done with PC and be able to work from home.

Learning to "live without" these two years has changed my concept on what is really "essential" to life, but now that I have the option, I will be adding some luxury to my life. Though, considering my luck with phones in this country (the screen on my phone died somehow), I think I will stick with the 5000 tugrug (~$3.50) phone I bought to replace it. It calls, sends messages, its kinda cute...but mostly its sturdy and works.

I'm perpetually freaked out a little by the exponential growth of the foreigner population here in UB. Yes it is summer and it is tourist season, and it only makes sense but still, I don't know...it's a bit strange, I feel almost more Mongolian than foreign at times. But, then I get frustrated at my boyfriend, his mom, his friends, my Mongolian friends who come over and leave there nasty chewed up gum where ever they want (hello people!!!! trash cans?!?!?!!?), and know that I'm foreign to the core.

Okay, well that's all for now. Will try to do something exciting so I can write about it for you all.

I do not think this word means what you think it means.

As my time in Peace Corps draws to an end it almost seems to be speeding up. Nothing new is happening, but the familiar (random visits from my 6 year old "sisters", being followed by the 1-eyed dog, taking naps in the student dorms, etc.) have become ever more precious as soon it will be over and I will no longer be a PCV but rather a RPCV (Return Peace Corps Volunteer)...and life will never be the same.

We had our COS (Close Of Service) Conference last week and it was most mellow. (Though not for everyone as you could definitely smell the partiers the morning after, and I'm pretty sure at one point someone peed on our window). I went to one session about returning to America and the difficulties RPCVs can face. It was nice to be able to give tips and stories having been back to America during my service, and know just how strange things can be (You can flush toilet paper?!? An entire grocery aisle of ketchup?!? They not only have food but actually have all the food listed on the menu?!?) Yet it was really wired since I wont be going back to America for at least another year (having officially signed my contract to be a Primary Teacher). But I know that it will be much different; living in the city, having a salary, having a shower, not being able to text or call my fellow PCVs (aka "family") whenever I want. Its scary. But COS helped to reassure me that while the physical distance may increase, the relationships don't have to decrease.

One bad thing about COS was that I got addicted to this awesome show DEXTER. Most of you know about it probably, but if you don't its about a man named Dexter who is a blood splatter analysis for Miami PD by day and a serial killer by night. However, he only kills other serial killers...so is he the "Bay Harbor Butcher" or "The Dark Defender"? Its highly entertaining, the filmography is stunning, and the forensics of it isn't completely off. So once again my interest in forensics has flared up, and got me thinking about what do I want to be when I grow up. I love teaching. I loved forensics. Maybe I'll chose my future career one of these days...

The conference itself encompassed the essence of Mongolia most excellently. We stayed at a beautiful tourist camp called The Mongolian Secret History Camp, where we stayed in Luxury gers on a hillside field complete with randomly grazing cows. (Sadly after 2 years my fear of cows has not lessen. Calves are cute. Cows are terrifying). The first afternoon was disgustingly hot. I couldn't even nap it was so oppressive. So of course, Mother Nature decides to juxtapose day one with day two and its 5+ inches of snow! There was some worry about being snowed in and not making it back to UB safe, but the third and final day dawned delightfully and soon we found ourselves rocketing down the "paved" road to UB. But since no trip in Mongolia is complete without transportation difficulties, we ended up losing our back tire just inside the city. As I was sitting in the very last row on the side the tire came off I had the perfect view of it popping off, skimming a truck on the side of the road, wildly bouncing and rolling for about 100 yards at which point it meet/demolishes a fence before continuing another 200ish yards. Insane! Props to the driver though for not tipping the bus. Upon finally arriving back to the PC office I took my Mongolian Language Proficiency Interview, in which I scored an Intermediate High. I apparently missed Advanced because I" have good Mongolian and rich vocabulary. But one of the criteria is accuracy of the language." Read: grammar, or rather a lack their of. Whatever, I'm happy with my score and am understood, which is more important in the long run.

As of now I'm pretty much done with my PC work. I've some volunteer projects in my town and will be slowly moving out of my ger and into my apartment in the city. I'm also going to visit my host family in July! I can't believe I only have 2 months left....inconceivable.

"What do you mean bucket?"

So I find myself back in my town. Apparently PC was not fully aware that I was doing the seminar, despite the fact that I was totally open about it and what not. Oh well. What will be will be. The only really sucky part is the fact that I can no longer go on my vacation. I was bummed but then since there was nothing I could do about it I just let it go. So I find myself back in the soum, and I have to say that life is rather boring and slow. I’ve gone from working about 10hour days, to teaching like 3 40minuet classes a day. I have nothing to do. Luckily the weather is gorgeous!!!!! I walk about an hour every day. The other day I found myself finally climbing to the top of the mountain next to my home, and visiting the Buddhist shrine. It was so beautiful up there. I will have to borrow a camera one of these days and take pictures.

We recently had some visitors from Thailand who are going to help our school with a greenhouse project. I served as an informal translator. They seemed so shocked that I lived without running water, and had to bucket bath. This also seemed to shock the one American teacher at the Seminar. They couldn’t quite grasp the concept. So I present to you…

~The Art of the Bucket Bath~

First, buy a bucket. Mine is neon pink and about 50cm in diameter, and 7cm in height. You can go for something in a different color. Unfortunately there are no larger sizes. Next, go to the well and get water. If you are lucky, time the trip to coincide with your 11th grade boys’ trips to the well as the will inevitably offer to carry your water back to your house. If not you will have to roll the giant water canister all the way home, and pull you back out trying to lift it over the door frame into your ger. If you have electricity, the next step is to fill your instant water boiler with water and boil it. (Note: if you don’t have one of these yet, get one. They are glorious!). If there is no electricity, make a fire and heat water on the stove. First you must wash your hair. If you are efficient you can accomplish this with a grand total of 2 cups of water. One to wet your hair, and one to rinse. Then throw out the dirty hair infested water. Next fill your bucket with about two inches of water. Squat next to the bucket (remember you have no table) and wash face, ears, neck, and upper torso. Then sit in the bucket, and wash your lower torso. Finally stand in the bucket and wash your legs and feet. TADAAAAA!!!! That’s it! You are now, more or less, so fresh and so clean clean! Throw out this water, rinse your bucket, and you are completely done.

A Mongolian Children's Folk Tale

Once upon a time there were four animal friends walking in the forest. A wolf, a fox, a hedgehog, and a rabbit. Suddenly, they found a bottle of vodka in the middle of the road! However, they thought that the bottle was too small to share amongst the four of them, so they decided that whoever got drunk the quickest would be allowed to drink the entire bottle themself.

"I get drunk after just one taste of vodka," said the wolf.
"I get drunk after just one smell of vodka," said the fox.
"I get drunk after just one look at vodka," said the hedgehog.
"I get drunk after just hearing about vodka," slurred the rabbit.

So the rabbit won and got to drink the entire bottle of vodka by himself. THE END.


Discuss.

"Ashgui dee" = GREAT!

Mongolian doctors....seriously....way to give me all that crazy unnecessary stress.

Apparently DC took a look at the images, and snuffed. "Humph, that little thing. It's nothing. 85% of people have such things in their kidneys. The pain was most likely from a low grade urinary tract infection, with some sand in there somewhere. Nothing to fret about, simply keep pushing fluids."

:::faints:::

However, all this worrying has made me reassess all the crazy stressfulness that is my life here in Mongolia. I don't need it. I will have to talk to the seminar people, and if they can't cut back my hours then I'm going back to the soum, or just taking a vacation and visiting Dornod and other friends.

Being healthy is such a nice thing.

Celebrated Gregory's birthday yesterday with my boyfriend. We had surprisingly delicious and cheep cake, instant noodles, and shared a beer. It was nice.

Tomorrow Never Knows...

...and apparently neither do the doctors here.

One says blood clot, one says cyst, still another says tumor...is it new, have I had it from before?

I'm tired.

Tomorrow is Gregory's birthday and I miss him.

I'm going back to the countryside tomorrow until we hear from Washington, and there are three possible answers:
1. Nothing to worry about just forget it for now/take such-and-such a medicine/etc.
2. We want to know more go to Bangkok.
3. We want to know more, we are medically separating you from PC and bringing you back to America.

I know being healthy is what is most important, I know this. But I'm just hoping and praying that they at the very least let me finish ... I only got 4 months.

Fingers Crossed.