ger livin.... ger lovin

this was written a little while ago... but might as well post it. i'll just apologize a head of time for the crappy writting lately, i just haven't been in the zone... lucky i'm writing at all!


My life has changed a bit since I moved into my ger. First of all, it is great to have a Mongolian family to live with. The children love to hang out in my ger, and Baatar, who lives in another ger, loves to come by to watch English movies or to speak English. I don’t have as much time to myself, but it is well worth it, and it’s possible that will change a little as winter sets in. I now get my water from the well and light fires to keep warm. Lighting fires is possibly one of my favorite things about my ger. In the winter, there will be some very cold times… usually in the morning, but once my fire is well-lit my ger warms up pretty quickly. Also, my family gave me dung, which is GREAT because it lights really quickly! It is pretty well insulated, so it holds the heat for a sufficient amount of time. I love the feeling of the warm fire on my skin. No matter how cold it is outside, I can make it nice and toasty in my ger. It’s like having a bonfire in the middle of the room. It must be the California girl in me that likes to make it nice and hot in my ger… and then I step outside to feel the cold air on my skin. I don’t think I will ever claim to be an expert at lighting fires, as sometimes it takes a lot longer than others. I love the feeling of lighting the fire to stay warm and enjoy cooking over the fire as well. Not having running water is really something that I have become indifferent to in my time in Mongolia. True, I don’t take regular showers, but bucket bathing gets you just as clean and can also be relaxing. (not to mention, that I had to do this even when I had running water and I could always go to the shower house…) It is really hard to explain to people who have never been in a ger, how comfortable they are. It sounds weird, but there really is something about not living with corners that creates a very relaxing and comfortable atmosphere. My ger is small, but I really don’t need much space. I’ve never been one for LARGE living spaces, so I kinda like the size.
Winter is just beginning, after a pretty long fall… I get the feeling that the winter is going to be a little more difficult for me this year. Part of this is self-induced by moving into a ger, but the other part is mental. I always new that I wasn’t really a ‘cold-weather’ person, but had never really tested myself. I am now going on my second winter living in one of the coldest climates in the world… and I can honestly say; I am dreading it. I know that the winter will come progressively, as it did last year, and I will continue to add layers to the clothes that I wear, but I also know that the winter is LONG… really LONG. I know that it will be cold for a long time. On a good note, I have my ger, and I can make it as hot as an Israeli summer in here if I want. But it’s also a bit of a walk from town and I will end up spending a lot more time walking to and from work this year. I know that I just need to get in the right mentality. Last year, it was all very new to me and was more about seeing what it was like to live where it’s too cold, while this year, I feel like I will be mentally testing myself. I know I hate to be cold, and I knew it coming into the Peace Corps in Mongolia, but after this I can check it off my list of things to do… live in a cold place (check), then I’ll grab my surfboard and stay in warm places for a while. Believe it or not, despite all my griping, I can tell that I have toughened up a little since last year. This time last year, I was already wearing my long johns and my heavy coat. This year, I’m still wearing my California-made jacket. Only yesterday did I step into the world of wearing a beanie, but I left it at home today. This is either due to global warming… or it means the cold doesn’t defeat me as quickly as it did last year. (I’m hoping the latter)