Mongolia's Best

There are days when I feel right at home in Mongolia. There are other days where that couldn't be further from the truth. It's not a big difference; but in life, as the cliche goes, it's the small things that count. I want to share with what I think is different, in a positive way, about life in Mongolia in comparison with my life back in South Dakota.

First off, the stress level here is much lower in comparison to the United States. I consider my personality to be Type A. A Type A person might be called a perfectionist. We like things to be precise, exact, punctual, and with few surprises. In the USA, I always felt like I was "in control" of my life. I could drive myself to work, go to lunch at McDonalds, do whatever I wanted whenever I wanted with whomever I wanted. This worked out well for my Type A personality as there were few surprises. Even with this control obsession, there was one elusive situation, one thing I couldn't seem to get control over: finances.

In the USA, I lived with a roommate. We shared the expenses of our two-bedroom apartment: rent was about $350 each, electricity about $25 each, we did not have a house phone, but my cell phone bill generally ran about $80. If you are an American, you are probably nodding your head thinking, yup, that's life. If you are Mongolian, I want to remind you that my parents had little involvement in helping me pay my bills. That's not to say they wouldn't help me -- they would, but I have always hated to ask for money. I was a career woman in the USA earning about $1700/month, and spending most of it.

Normal living expenses in the USA aren't small. I lived in South Dakota, which is an inexpensive state. It seemed there was never a month that went by where something didn't "come up". Every month, I would spend my savings on some bill that needed paid. They came out of nowhere. In addition to those bills, I had debt I was trying to pay off -- college loans of about $15,000; credit card debt of about $8,000. It was very stressful. It was also quite discouraging to see all my hard-earned money slip from my hands so easily.

In Mongolia, it's a different situation. For my Type A personality, there have been some difficult transitions for me. I say without a doubt that Mongolia has made me more flexible. I think it has to do with the fight-or-flight instinct -- if I didn't adapt to Mongolia's standards, I would have gone crazy and chose the flight option. Instead, I went with the fight option. Stick around and see what happens next.

And you never know what will happen next.

If someone tells you to meet them in an hour, it really means about two hours. All definite plans end with Maybe. Hey Sher, let's go to the movie this weekend! Maybe! Ok, that sounds great. Let's go on Friday! Maybe! And you can't really count on Maybe to be a Yes maybe or No maybe. With my parents, an answer of Maybe ALWAYS = NO. Mom, can I go to the dance this weekend? Maybe (NO!). This was a difficult adjustment for me, but now I am used to it. I just ask the question, take a deep breath, and if they don't say Maybe for me, I assume it in my mind. And I certainly don't get my panties in a bunch if things don't go quite as planned. I would say 50% of the time, they do go as planned. Usually. This situation first elevated my stress level, but now I am adapted. The financial story of Sheridan is Mongolia is much less stressful than my story in the USA.

Things are pretty cheap here. I should restate that; things like food are cheap here. What do you really need to survive? I lived without hot water for almost four months, I didn't have an income for more than four months, yet here I am. My belly was always full and I always slept with a roof over my head (unless I was camping, of course!). It helped that we have an apartment that is paid for. That means no rent payment. No car means no car payment. No cell phone means no phone bill. No computer means no Internet bill. No TV means no television bill. I was living a pretty simple life here in Mongolia over the summer. I use "was" because now we have many of those things. However, they are pretty cheap. Phone bill? Depends how much you use it; about 40,000T for both phones (about $40US). Cable TV, about $6/month. That's cheap living.

Life in the USA is expensive and quite predictable. Life in Mongolia is considerably cheaper and leaves many decisions to fate. Here in Mongolia, I'm not always worrying about where the next car payment will come from, if I am working enough hours to pay the bills. There is more value for family and friends. I'm sure in one of my next blogs, I'll discuss that thought.

Evil Spirits

There are evil spirits lurking everywhere, especially here in Mongolia. Why, just a few weeks ago I had my own encounter with one of them. Here's my story.

Amaraa (my husband) was away to Beijing and I was staying alone in our hot-water-less apartment for a few days. I slept one night with no company, and decided the next night it would be nice to have someone stay there with me. Amaraa's youngest brother, Munguu, was nominated as that person.

People don't have much pride as far as getting trash in the trash can; but part of that problem maybe that trash cans are few and far between. So they bag up their trash, throw it in the hallway of the apartment building, out the window, out the front door, whatever is convenient. All along the streets there are heaps of trash just waiting for the wind to come up and blow them around. Stray dogs can always be found dining at such places. The biggest problem with the garbage is in our own apartment building.

We were climbing the stairs to the fifth floor to my apartment. The floors are littered with trash. There is no appropriate place to put your garbage. We even threw ours in a water line hole that was being dug just outside our building. As for our apartment hallways, it largely disgusts me. My dad would have slapped me for throwing so much as a candy wrapped on the ground, let alone a huge sack of miscellaneous garbage.

As Munguu and I were climbing the stairs on that fateful night, we crossed paths with one small sack of a few sheep bones (it's normal!). One of those bones is from the pelvis of the sheep; the bone that connects to the femur and holds the socket of the femur bone. Regardless of its name, it has a hole through the middle. So the Mongolian legend goes, evil spirits come through that hole. At night, you cannot leave it in your house, or the evil spirits will visit you.

Munguu pointed this sheep bone out and was insistent that we do something with it. I certainly didn't want to pick it up and throw it out; it was someone's trash for God's sake, not to mention the bones of some dead animal. Nasty. So he proceeded to try and smash it with his foot. He was wearing these chinsy flip-flops with literally no sole, and it looked hopeless that he would ever have success in breaking the hole apart. I offered my "assistance" and took to stomping on the sheep bone myself. It would not break. I tried a few more times before I gave it my all, and I mean my all, and tried to smash the evil spirits right out of it. When I did this, I felt a sharp pain shoot up the heel of my foot, into my Achilles, and then into my calf, which began to cramp instantaneously. I wanted to cry it hurt so bad! I stopped, bent over, picked up the bone through the hole with my key so I wouldn't touch it, and walked up 10 stairs to the window. When in Mongolia, do as the Mongolians; so I threw it out the window. I hobbled to our apartment wondering what the hell I had done to my leg.

The next morning my leg would prove to be swollen, and the morning after that an enormous bruise began to appear in the calf muscle. As the days passed, it got worse. I didn't know what to do with my injury. After one week had passed, I agreed to go and see Uncle Chojo about it.

After waiting about four hours for a doctor, we finally crossed paths with Uncle Chojo. He looked at it and told me I should stay off it during the weekend. I would also need to put some alcohol on it each night. He also instructed Amaraa to massage it to help the bruise diminish. I followed his orders, and by Monday it was somewhat better. On Thursday, Amaraa and Mama went to the monk. He told them that some bad spirit had entered my body through the bone, and I would need further cleansing. He gave me directions through them (and also for Munguu, because Munguu had touched the bone too) to clean my leg for three nights in a row with some special vodka he had made holy. I also had to throw milk he had made holy each morning for three days. Every morning I had to put on my del, cover my head with a hat, and go out on the balcony and throw one cup of milk while making nine good wishes. So I stood out there with Barbara's del (thanks Barb!), my pink Santa Claus hat, and a coffee mug of milk. I threw it teaspoon by teaspoon as instructed. In any other country, people would have thought I was crazy. Here? Normal. 100% normal.

Whether it was time passing, Uncle Chojo's orders, or the monk's holy ability that healed my leg, it is better now. I spent the weekend running around doing things, and only once in a while did I wince at some minor pain.

Quite interesting.

Mongolian Customs and Traditions

We have some traditions, customs, and superstitions in the USA. Try to think of something traditional that we do in the USA. For example, students saying the Pledge of Allegiance each morning in school. That would be something I consider a tradition, something that has held true for a long time. An American custom? I think the greeting, "Hi!" would be custom to the USA. You don't hear that from many other places! But what about superstitions? Opening an umbrella in the house is thought to bring a death in the family. A black cat crossing your path is bad luck. The number 13, because there were 13 people at Christ's last supper, is also thought to be bad luck. Mongolia has many of these same... ideas. I'm not sure if I should call them traditions, customs, or superstitions, so I'll just label them as All of the Above. Read on to hear more about these "ideas"...

1. If you bump someone's foot with your foot, shake their hand. You don't want them to be your enemy.
2. Don't cry in bed.
3. Don't sing in bed.
4. If you leave your closet door (or wardrobe door) open, all your wealth will leave you.
5. If you leave the spoon in the food and then leave the house, your wealth will leave you.
6. Ladies, if you put your purse on the floor or the ground, your wealth will leave you.
7. Don't whistle in the house. It brings snakes inside!
8. Cutting your hair on the new moon is bad luck.
9. Don't put underwear on your head (seriously, I did it once and got in trouble!! ;)
10. Book are very sacred items. They don't belong on the floor or near your feet (I really like this one! I love books!). Take good care of them!
11. Don't splash water on people even in fun! Especially not in the house!
12. Don't eat standing up!
13. Don't sit on the corner of the table... you will never marry!
14. If you need to pick something out of your teeth, use a toothpick, but for God's sake, cover your mouth while you do it! It's very offensive for people to see you picking your teeth.
15. Don't sit with your feet pointing at anyone!

I know there are many more, so look forward to Part Hoyr (Two!) in the future!!

Where's the hot water?

I promised this note last time. I hate to break a promise! And now more about the hot water...

We're now at the end of day 83 with no hot water in our apartment. Don't get me wrong -- there is hot water in the city. Our building is new and the hot water has not yet been turned on... or at least I tell myself that every day.

When anyone of importance (such as the construction company!) is asked about the hot water, the answer is the same. "Mitgo!" (I don't know!) Sometimes they give vague answers like... when the government registers the building... when summer ends (it snowed today! still no hot water!)... when Jesus walks again. The last one seems the most likely.

During the summer it is normal to lose the hot water here in UB. When Emily and I first arrived and were living with Dunka and Tsegei (a.k.a. Papa and Mama, or Aav and Eej), the newspaper published that there would be no hot water for the next ten days. Just like that. No hot water. Now, if you are reading this from the USA or some other modernized country, ponder on this a moment. You wake up, grab the daily newspaper, say USA Today, and read, Hey! For the next ten days there will be NO hot water. Sorry for the inconvenience! What would happen? Continue reading after you have given this careful thought. Please respond with any appropriate answers in 300 words or less.

Anyway, if you are wondering HOW do you survive without hot water? How do you wash dishes? Take showers? Wash clothes? I had the art of boiling water down to about 40 minutes for a decent bath. I would boil three containers in our water boiler (it's fast!), two large pots on the portable gas stove (the kind you take camping and would never use in the house unless you live in Mongolia), and cook two separate kettles two times (for a total of four kettles) on the stove. We also have a little plug-in device that will heat water in a pot, but it is dreadfully slow. I only used it once in a while.

Notice the previous paragraph was past tense? I had the art of boiling water...? Well, about two weeks ago the hot water from my boiled shower leaked out all over the floor of the bathroom from our bathtub (that's the very condensed version of the story). That put the ka-bosh on showers at Amaraa and Sher's apartment. Now I take a "bath" from the sink, or we make a bi- or tri- weekly journey to Papa's apartment across town for a "hot" (or lukewarm) shower.

It's interesting living. I know God is making me a patient woman through this experience. I also know that however annoying the water situation may be, someone somewhere has it much worse. Maybe they don't have any water, hot or cold. Or maybe they haven't showered in months rather than days. So I am grateful, and try to keep my sense of humor.

Til next time...

School life in UB

If you are new to this, UB is short for Ulaanbaatar. Ulaanbaatar means Red Hero (Ulaan = Red, Baatar = Hero). It's quite a lengthy name, and the foreigners have brought it down to just UB... and the nickname has stuck.

We are finishing our second week of class here in UB. I was truly blessed to find this job! I work with students aged 7th-11th grade. I'm teaching them English. Amongst them we have other languages spoken... many other languages spoken... such as Chinese, Japanese, German, Turkish, Swedish, Korean, Russian, Kazakh, Polish... and I know there are many more, I just cannot think of them. And the places they have been! It's incredible. It's a far cry from the tiny town of Isabel I taught in. But in a sense, it isn't that different. We have the same dilemmas I faced there... no printer, all ages of students (6yrs-18yrs) in one building, really tasty food that will eventually make me fat (again!)... so on some days I feel a long ways from home, and other days it's nothing different.

I know in South Dakota we would sometimes complain about school things. Not enough colored paper, the ink cartridge in the printer needs changed, etc. It seems so mundane now in comparison to what takes place every day here. For instance, we don't have any kind of colored markers, pencils, crayons, paints, nothing. Posterboard? Nope. Construction paper? Nope. Just the other day our electricity went out and we spent the morning with no lights. I was concerned as to how we would eat lunch. Lunch is cooked in the basement of the school, and that is also where it is served. I really didn't know how they could have cooked it in the dark and then were we going to EAT in the dark? I'm always thinking with my stomach. Incredibly, when the lunch bell rang, lunch was ready, the lights were on, and we ate in the normal situation. One thing I learned last year in Mongolia (on my first trip here), everything will come together in the end. It's just that the "end" may take a long time to get here... hot water for example... but that is another posting.

Some students live in the dorm here, others are bussed in, and still others come by taxi. Most people in Mongolia don't own a car. Those that do pile into them! Carpooling is essential for survival here, or walking! Riding a bicycle isn't a good plan because the drivers are crazy. They will run you over and smile doing it. Amaraa's little brother was hit by a car while riding his bicycle. He's ok, but I'm pretty sure they won't move the Tour de France to Tour de Mongolia anytime soon.

We have "duty" at this school as well. All schools are different in this sense! Some schools it's a daily activity, others a weekly. Here it is a daily activity where you watch "your end" of the building (in my case, the secondary side) between classes and lunch time. For the most part it is pretty calm, but one thing I have difficulties with are the unattended children. They just sit in classrooms with no teachers and ... do whatever! I assure you kids aren't THAT different around the world, so you have those general activities of text messaging on cell phones, card games, horseplay, and such; and our windows, I was noticing, are huge (big enough for a body to go out!) and have no screens or safety features... it would be very simple for a person to be pushed our fall from them. You see lots of crazy dangerous things like that in Mongolia; you just say a little prayer in your mind and look away. I don't know what else you would do. If you tried to save everyone from the dangers, well... come here and see.

Also, President George W Bush would be beside himself with our lack of teaching standards and the number of children being Left Behind on a daily basis. We don't have any state standards, national standards, continental standards, nothing like that. Just whatever. So you are used to teaching TO the STANDARD? Try teaching with NO standard. At least WITH standards you have some ideas on where to start, what the children should know...

Write with any questions about our schools. I'll try and post again tomorrow with a new topic... Where's the damn hot water?

Sher

This is my first post on my very own "blog"... I kinda stole the idea from another teacher here at my school. He's blogging (about what, I'm not sure), and I figured if he can do it, I can too.

If you are just reading this out of the blue, I am a teacher in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. I moved here in June 2006 and took a job. I also got married in July 2006 to a Mongolian man! That's the least of the story... I'm from South Dakota, USA, and I'll tell more in the next posting. It's time to go home now!

To be continued.....