I was placed into a far out region of Mongolia that most wouldn't choose to visit. When I tell Mongolians about where I live they usually cannot contain their laughter as they ask me, 'how do you like it? are you cold?'. I understand their laughter but it also puts me on the defensive because I have come to love the region in which I was placed. I teach at a school of about 320 students and the soum (village) where I live has about 1600 people.
I am currently sitting in my room, with the shades open, looking out at the -35 degree air and gazing upon one of the most beautiful sites my eyes have ever seen. The soum is shadowed by a high mountain range covered in white untouched snow. Close enough to touch, but far enough to keep your distance. The soum itself is surrounded by snow capped mountains on every side and it really is a winter wonderland. However, that winter part is critical. Never have I, or will I again experience winter the same way. As I mentioned before its -35 degrees as I write this post, and that isn't the coldest I have experienced. Before I step outside, I always take a deep inhale because the cold air immediately takes my breath away. My nose hairs instantly freeze and before I can count to ten my face is completely numb.
I have some of the greatest students and English teachers that I could have ever asked for. The students are excited to learn, they're respectful and incredibly smart. I have two counterparts (fellow English teachers) who have become like sisters to me. They're very kind and caring women who I feel so lucky to have been able to work with. My site is a site that most Peace Corps volunteers would dream of. I have support coming from the entire community and they have really opened their arms, homes and hearts to having some strange American come into their lives.
Peace Corps says that there is a spectrum in which a PCV will go through in regards to happiness at their sites. I am still on an incredible high in my site. It's a place I have come to call my home and I am very happy here. There are of course things that can get irritating, but overall its the small victories that make everything worthwhile.
I have a mantra that I live by here: It is what you make it. Everyday I tell myself that, and it has made my experience so much better. I can choose to miss America, fruits, vegetables, chicken and good pizza but I can also chose to embrace this experience for what it is, and its truly been a life changing one so far.
I have conquered something that many people dream of doing in their lifetime. I have been apart of Peace Corps families in two different countries, on two totally different continents and its made me hopefully a better person. I have more patience, more appreciation for the world around me and less worry about what others think of me.
I look around at classmates that are my age and think to myself what I have given up to be where I am today. So many have gotten married, started their families and here I am a 25 year old single man living in a village smaller than my high school and having the time of my life. I couldn't/wouldn't trade these memories or experiences for anything in the world.
I teach English in a small village, in a forgotten corner of Mongolia, but I do so much more than that. I am a role model for boys to grow up to be respectful to everyone, to try hard in school and make good choices. I teach the students that if they work hard enough and have goals that they can do whatever they want in this world. I was never the best student, I struggled to have a GPA over 3.0 in high school and college, but I am a scrapper. I have taught them to fight for what they want and to never take 'no' for an answer.
I hope that when I leave, my students remember me for teaching them more than just English.
If you're a future Peace Corps volunteer coming to Mongolia, congratulations you're about to experience the best years of your life. If you're a future Peace Corps volunteer going to a different country, congratulations you're about to make an impact on someones life like no one else around you can. If you're someone in America that stumbled upon my blog somehow and made it this far into my ramblings, I challenge you to look at your life right now and ask yourself what could you be doing to help the community around you. Making other people smile is contagious and its not done enough in America like it should be.
