This is a post to tell you about my first weekend with my new host family.
Keep in mind that all of my interactions with Mongolians thus far have been a game of charades as language has been a huge barrier.
Unlike my Salone experience Peace Corps has split us into groups of ten and placed us into small soums around the countryside. The soum im staying in has roughly 1500 people and contains; a hospital, police station, school and a shop.
We arrived at the school around 7pm and were welcomed by ten families standing in a line, all smiles. They called my name and my host parents stepped forward to claim me. We loaded up the Honda and went to my new home. Everyone but one person from my group lives inside the host families house. We pulled up to my house and I realized that I was going to be lucky enough to have my own one room a-frame home in the backyard of my host families house. It's perfect in every way. It wasn't until I unpacked and went into my host parents home that things took a really WEIRD turn.
We sat down for dinner and my host mom brings out a map of the USA. I know that they have had three previous Peace Corps trainees before over the last ten years and she motions that she wants me to sign my name on the map where my hometown is. As I take the pen and look for Spokane I realize the space has already been filled. My host dad chants "Spokane! Spokane! Spokane!" And I realize then, that their first volunteer was from Spokane, WA as well. Instantly I knew I am where I should be. My host dad and I then spent the next three hours watching Mongolian television, having broken conversation using a Mongolian-English dictionary.
The next day I spent most of my time studying my Mongolian until in the evening when my host dad told me to follow him. We walked to the market and met a few of his friends. We were only there for ten minutes when two men in a Honda Civic swooped in and took my host dad and I. We drove up to a high point and watched the sunset over our soum. The beauty is something I can't describe because I can't do it justice. I've never witnessed a more beautiful place, the sky is so blue and never ending. While watching the sunset, I found out that I was in the presence of a Mongolian celebrity. He showed me his K-Pop music videos and then did some traditional throat singing for me.
Sunday was a day for us to go far out into the Mongolian countryside to see my host dads parents. After driving 40 minutes off-roading in a Honda we arrived at a house in the middle of nowhere. I spent 3 hours helping my host brother herd 300 sheep and goat across the steppe to and from the watering hole. After we returned home with all of the animals my host dad asked me to pick one out. If you haven't guessed by now, it was slaughter time. For the next three hours I watched my host family take apart this entire goat piece by piece. Every part of the goat is used for something or another. We cooked all of the innards and had fresh goat for lunch. I was a little worried at first, but wow what a meal! The liver and heart were tender and I'll never forget the flavor of the fat. It's a meal I hope to get quite frequently because it was that good.
I'm having a great time here. My host family has been very welcoming, I feel safe in my community so far and I feel at peace. It's hard to not be a peace though when you look outside to nothing but the beautiful blue sky, mountains, horses and other wildlife roaming free.
