Playing Catch Up

The past month or so has been quite interesting for me. In order to make sure I cover the major bases, I will separate them into chunks:
1. Khentii and COS conference
2. Gobi Desert
3. Meditation Retreat
4. Harhorin and Israelis
5. What's next?

1. Khentii and COS conference:
I left my site headed for the not-so-kosher Khentii Pig Roast, and annual tradition among the Peace Corps Volunteers in Khentii. This is where they buy a big, kill it, skin, clean, and chop it and then cook it on a fire near the river. I did not go last year, but decided to go this year since it was immediately before my COS conference. It was a good time of sun, beer, and good food... though I don't eat pig. Those of us headed out to Chingis' homeland piled into a Microbus and were fortunate enough to have a comfortable and timely trip both ways. This was a part of my efforts to see more of Mongolia before I head out. After a few days of hanging out by the river we headed back to UB for out COS conference. This is our final Peace Corps gathering where we talk about all the paperwork and medical appointments we must do before we can leave. It's a surprising amount of work. I am officially set to leave Mongolia July 24th. We also spent some time talking about resume's, cover letters, and what its going to be like trying to adjust and find a job in America. The most interesting part was talking about some of the things we will miss the least, what we have done, and how we think Mongolia has effected us. It was interesting to see everyone's answers.

2. Gobi Desert
Following COS conference, I had about a week to kill that I didn't have to be at work. I was going to take the bus out to Omngovi and try and find my way around. At the very last minute, I decided to join a tourist group who was headed out the next day. This proved to be a good decision. Omngovi is very big and I would have had no idea where I wanted to go. It was definitely a different way of travelling mongolia than I am used to. I found myself spending a lot of time with the guide and the driver. It is obvious they are not used to having people who speak Mongolian on their trips. I could understand just about everything they said. And I also learned some new vocabulary words. I was on the trip with 4 other people; a german, a danish, and 2 americans. We had a really good time. I found myself explaining certain things about Mongolia and Mongolian culture and I really started to realize how much I love this country. It was really interesting seeing all their reactions to things.... especially the amount of camel pictures they took. I ended up with a lot of great photos from this trip. The guide asked me what my favorite Mongolian food was and I said "horhog". (this is the REAL Mongolian bbq) Him and the guide decided we would do horhog before I left the trip. So, one day, we were driving through the desert and stopped at a herd of goats and sheep. We bought a goat and took him in the car to where we spent the next few days. It was a beautiful place right next to the sand dunes.
The killing:
One of the men took the goat and layed him on his back. He cut a small cut, maybe four inches thick. He stuck his hand inside and pinched the main artery. The goat died immediately and without any cries for help. It was all very humane and it showed they'd done it millions of times. Once the goat was dead, they took the goat inside the ger and started to take the skin off. Still, there was no evidence of blood. Once the skin was separated and the insides taken out, they took a bowl and collected the blood. Every part of this goat was used for something. Mongolians don't waste. The good parts to eat were separated and hung ready to be cooked. The innards were taken to the other ger and given to the family hosting us. (we weren't going to eat them) A little later we started to make the horhog. First, rocks were collected and heated in the fire. Once they were hot, they were put in the togoo (big cooking bowl) with the meat, some salt, potatoes, and carrots. Horhog cooks over a hot fire. When it was ready, we feasted. It was delicious. The way you eat horhog is simple. You pick up a bone with meat on it, and you rip off the meat until the bone is clean. You get grease all over your hands and face. When you are done eating, you pick up a hot rock and hold it in your hands. This is supposed to be good for your health. You then rub the grease into your skin and wash your hands when you are ready. After every horhog, you must take a shot of vodka. This is to help your stomach digest the food.
After we ate, we hiked up the sand dunes and tried to get there in time for the sunset. Some of us didn't quite make it for the sunset but it was still a beautiful scene when we reached the top. The colors the sky creates over the sand dunes is really amazing. I was sure to fill my water bottle with sand. Gobi sand is found all over the world. Hiking up the sand dunes was quite a task. With every step you take, you slide down at least half the distance. Later we realized we had simply gone up the wrong part. haha.
The day, I woke up early and helped the guide by making hushuur while he got ready for other things. I realized in my time there how comfortable in Mongolia and around Mongolians I have become. I gained an overwhelming feeling of not wanting to leave Mongolia.
The highlights of the gobi trip: ice gorge where it is hot outside but stays frozen most of the year, flaming cliffs are beautiful but not very high... i was surprised, ruins of one of the monasteries from way back when, sand dunes, camel ride, and maybe a couple other things. We eventually headed to Arvaikheer, where I was going to separate from this tourist group. I showed my new friends around my town, said hi to my work people and a couple friends, and had my group over for some tea before they headed on their journey. I think it was interesting for them to see a ger of an American living in Mongolia. It was a big compliment when the driver said he needs to go to America for 2 years so he can learn the language and the culture as I have Mongolian language and culture. I said goodbye and started on my next adventure.

3. Meditation Retreat
That night I took a car into UB. The next morning I met up with the people who were in charge of the Vipassana meditation retreat that I had signed up for. The head people had really good English and put me in a car headed out to where the retreat was to be held. I got there and was pretty quiet, just observing my surroundings.... not to mention I was absolutely exhausted. Many of the people had no idea that I speak Mongolian and could understand everything they said. It was funny. They thought I had already begun my 10 days of silence. I was sitting in the ger while everyone was getting situated when someone called me outside. It was really funny how worried they were about me staying in a ger... even when I explained that I live in a ger. To my surprise, there were 3 Americans there. I didn't realize it at first, but they were the one facilitating the seminar. Turns out, they were peace corps volunteers in Napal a long time ago, and they have studied Vipassana meditation in India with Goenka (the real teacher of this retreat). The majority of the instruction and talking of this retreat were from tapes that Goenka taped at a seminar in CA. He spoke in English and a Mongolian translation followed, so I had no problem following along. The next 10 days were the most challenging and most interesting 10 days.... possibly of my life. I encourage whoever is interested to try it out. You can find more information at www.dhamma.org there are these seminar in countries all over the world, including 2 Vipassana centers in CA. I plan on doing another seminar one day, and may even challenge myself to do a 30 day seminar. It is very difficult for me to explain what this seminar was like. It was intense. We meditated about 10 hours a day. When you are trying so hard to concentrate for so long... it is inevitable that your mind will wander. Even though I was trying to keep my mind from wandering, it was very interesting to watch all the random places that the mind wanders to without you even noticing. Vipassana also concentrates on the body and feeling sensations. This was also extremely interesting... observing your body in a way you never have before. At the beginning of the retreat, I wasn't so sure that I really believed or agreed with some of the things they talked about... but as I continued, I started to see for myself what they meant and now I find it entirely possible. I have noticed a small change in myself since this seminar, something I didn't expect. I don't really want to explain it but I do hope this change stays with me. I do plan on continueing to meditate, though I will admit, I have only meditated 1 time since the closing of the seminar. Not talking was really easy for me... definitely easier for me than some of the people around me. There were times when we would talk a little about how our meditating was going with the teachers... sometimes I didn't want to talk but I did anyway. A few words doesn't disturb the silence. At first I would come up with questions that I had and I would try to hold them in until the end, but then there came a point where I felt the need to ask immediately and I would go through all the questions that I had. This would prove good for me because it would help me let go of the idea so I could focus better on my meditating. At the end, there was a time where the silence was broken, but we were still meditating. As soon as we could, the people around me wanted to chit chat. It was really wierd for me. My senses had become so heightened that the sound of people's voices hurt my ears. I walked from the meditation ger to our housing ger and it was really funny. One girl standing in the middle opened her arms and said "hello". I said "hello". She then giggled and said "english finished". I smiled and proceeded to tell her in Mongolian that it is ok because I speak Mongolian. From this point on the room murmered with small conversations about how the American speaks Mongolian. It turns out the person sleeping next to me has family in LA and I plan on calling them when I get back to America as I head down the road of "operation make Mongolian friends". The people at the retreat were very diverse; men and women of all ages from 15 to 92. Meditating can be rough on the body at he beginning and I really admire the older men and women who persisted through. There might have been a couple people who went home early but I really don't know... I wasn't concentrating on that. After the retreat, I thought of the one person I think would really benefit from this the most is my mom. We'll see if I can convince her to give it a shot. The truth is that I could think of a long list of people who should try it out. If nothing else, its definitely an experience.
At the end of the retreat, I sat talking to one of the Americans for a little while. Turns out he was headed for harhorin and I arranged to have him in contact with a friend who might be able to help him see the wild horses...

4. Harhorin and Israelis
After the retreat I decided to pass through Harhorin on my way home. I have been to Harhorin a few times but still hadn't seen the famous monastery, Irden Zuu. Harhorin is the ancient capital of Mongolia, has the most preserved of the ancient monasteries, and is the home of one of my good friends. It also happens to be in my province and on my way back to Arvaikheer.
In the guesthouse, I was in the kitchen making tea when an Israeli noticed my belt and asked me where I got it. I had totally forgotten what I was wearing and had to look down before I knew what he was talking about. Turns out, I was wearing an Israeli army belt, given to me by a friend that I met in 2002. We started talking and he had just arrived to Mongolia. He had no plans, so I offered for him to come with me to Harhorin and Arvaikheer. He thought about it for a while and by the end of the night decided to join me. I also told him that I was headed out to get a tattoo and after showing his worry about getting a tattoo in Mongolia and my explaining that the guy is clean, he started to seriously think about getting his nose pierced. In the end, he and 2 other people came with me. (i'll post pictures in the next post...) My tattoo is on the back of my neck and says "ikh Mongol" meaning "great Mongolia". I'm a little sad that I can't see it, but I was trying to be a litte more discreat this time. That night, I took a few people from the guesthouse out with me to meet up with the group that I had travelled with and a few of my other Mongolian and American friends. It was a good time.
The next day, me and my new friend headed to Harhorin. It was funny watching him react to all the small things that I don't notice anymore... like packing people into a microbus, the openness of the countryside, the question of where to pee, etc... I took pictures of him drinking milk tea and standing with mongolian countryside in the distance for his photo record. We got to Harhorin and met up with my friend. Her ger was the first ger he had gone to and my ger was the second. We walked around the town and he saw how difficult it can be to find things... usually when you really want them. The following day, my American friend from the meditation retreat joined us and we all went to the Monastery. We couldn't get a car to Arvaikheer that night, so we stayed an extra day. This was good for us for two reasons; its cheaper to take the post car and it turned out we got our own private concert of Mongolian instruments and throat singing in my friend's ger. It was a really neat experience. Harhorin is a really beautiful town surrounded on one side by huge mountains and on the other side by absolutely nothing. The Monastery, the mountains, and the concert provided for lots of great pictures and some really good experiences for our friends new to Mongolia.
My Israeli friend ended up staying with me for almost a week combined. In this time, I realized how much I miss Israel and how bad I want to speak hebrew.

5. What's next???
I also learned that I have been put on the waitlist for the CSULB graduate program. I really don't think I'm going to get in. This has caused my mind to swirl with thoughts and ideas of what I want to do instead. I don't know if I want to stay in the US if I don't get into school. There are soooo many options of what I can do instead. I have thought about Israel, Latin America, and more of Asia. I have thought about going back to community college and learning a new discipline or getting a job somewhere and just working and going to the beach. I really have NO CLUE what I will do. Right now it is all up in the air. For some reason America intimidates me. I don't feel like I am ready to return to the American lifestyle. I know that returning will most likely be a lot easier than it seems right now. It will be really nice to see my friends and family and to speak fluently everywhere I go. It wil be nice to go to the BEACH!!!!!!!!!!! Man I can't wait to surf! There are tons of things I'd love to do in and outside of the US... which will come first... I just don't know yet. I have learned new skills to learning languages and have compiled a small list of languages I want to know: Spanish, Hebrew, and Arabic. I want to begin with Spanish and Hebrew because I have a basic knowledge of both sitting somewhere in my brain (though I can not access it at the moment). Once I know these, I will move on to Arabic. I feel like the options are endless!!!