So there are alot of things that happen everyday that are exciting but I have to say I am really excited about one thing that is about to start happening.
I am starting a pen pal system with a teacher in Enid Oklahoma. She is not just any teacher either. She was my 6th grade teacher and she was so awesome. Mrs. Corderman's class is going to be writing letters to one of my 5th grade classes and we will write back. I am really excited about this because she was always one of my favorite teachers. She was also very into teaching us through hands on activities and for Social studies and other subjects she has us learn through looking up information and doing reports. This is an awesome way for our students to get a little taste of different cutures and talk to people from a totaly different country.
In other news.....it is getting cold here. I mean it would be okay if the wind would stop blowing. The wind just makes it so much colder.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Monday, October 6, 2008
Update
So I have not written on here in a long time. I really do feel bad about that. Well let me just tell you guys about what has been going on since I last wrote.
I have been teaching for a month now and I have finally gotten the hang of my days and the many changes in the schedule. I teach two 5th grade classes on Tuesday and Wednesday. I am really enjoying it. The kids are awesome and even though there are times that it is awkward because either I am saying something wierd in Mongolian or they don't speak much English. We have fun. I was afraid when school first started because kids all over the city would say hello to me and I did not know them. I was afraid I would not recognize my students and I would feel bad about it. After a month I can recognize almost all of my students and they even walk me home after class on somedays. My mongolian is getting better and that is a good thing.
A few weeks ago the teachers had a competition where we dressed as people in the Army and we marched around. We ran out to the country and did different events where we had to march, run, carry boxes of bullets, and shoot AK47s. It was pretty awesome. I did not care for the running because I am a fat kid and I cannot run. Our team did not win first but we got 3rd. It was pretty cool though. It was the first time I shot an AK47.
Well it finally happened.....they winterized my ger a few weeks ago and it is so much warmer inside. I could not believe how much the extra layer of wool or felt could keep me warm. They also put a ong layer of material around the bottom of the ger and they burried my ger about a foot with dirt and that also helps keep the heat inside my ger.
This weekend was not a good weekend. I started getting sick on Thursday I just was not feeling well and I felt kind of tired. On Friday I decided to try to take a nap just to get some rest. When I woke up from my nap I had a 103 degree temp and in the next 2 hours it went up to 104.8. I took some tylenol and later the fever broke and I started to feel better. Later in the night I started to feel like crap again and took some medicine and went to sleep. I woke up the next morning and I was even sicker than the day before. Let me just say there is nothing worse than having a toiletless outhouse when you are sick and running to the bathroom every 10 minutes. I think that after this weekend my leg muscles have gotten a great workout. LOL!!!!
Well I think that is about it and that is all that is going on with me. I am sorry for not writing for so long.
Thanks for reading!!!!
Jeff
I have been teaching for a month now and I have finally gotten the hang of my days and the many changes in the schedule. I teach two 5th grade classes on Tuesday and Wednesday. I am really enjoying it. The kids are awesome and even though there are times that it is awkward because either I am saying something wierd in Mongolian or they don't speak much English. We have fun. I was afraid when school first started because kids all over the city would say hello to me and I did not know them. I was afraid I would not recognize my students and I would feel bad about it. After a month I can recognize almost all of my students and they even walk me home after class on somedays. My mongolian is getting better and that is a good thing.
A few weeks ago the teachers had a competition where we dressed as people in the Army and we marched around. We ran out to the country and did different events where we had to march, run, carry boxes of bullets, and shoot AK47s. It was pretty awesome. I did not care for the running because I am a fat kid and I cannot run. Our team did not win first but we got 3rd. It was pretty cool though. It was the first time I shot an AK47.
Well it finally happened.....they winterized my ger a few weeks ago and it is so much warmer inside. I could not believe how much the extra layer of wool or felt could keep me warm. They also put a ong layer of material around the bottom of the ger and they burried my ger about a foot with dirt and that also helps keep the heat inside my ger.
This weekend was not a good weekend. I started getting sick on Thursday I just was not feeling well and I felt kind of tired. On Friday I decided to try to take a nap just to get some rest. When I woke up from my nap I had a 103 degree temp and in the next 2 hours it went up to 104.8. I took some tylenol and later the fever broke and I started to feel better. Later in the night I started to feel like crap again and took some medicine and went to sleep. I woke up the next morning and I was even sicker than the day before. Let me just say there is nothing worse than having a toiletless outhouse when you are sick and running to the bathroom every 10 minutes. I think that after this weekend my leg muscles have gotten a great workout. LOL!!!!
Well I think that is about it and that is all that is going on with me. I am sorry for not writing for so long.
Thanks for reading!!!!
Jeff
Friday, August 15, 2008
Placement
Well the time has come and as of tomorrow at 2:00pm I will be a Peace Corps Volunteer. We do are swearing in ceremony tomorrow. I am so glad that PST is over and it is time to move on to the next stage of Peace Corps. I recieved my placement on Monday. I am going to the imaig Khovsgul and I will be in the city of Merun. Khovsgul imaig (like a state) is in the central part of the country close to Russia. I will be in the Imaig Center (like a capital). This area is suppose to be the prettiest part of the country. I will be working at a school there and doing teacher training. I have already met my supervisor and she seems like a nice lady. I have heard that the people who lived in my ger before me had internet so if that is a possibility then I will probably get it. I have to fly to my site on Monday from UB. I was not happy about my placement in the beginning but I think I am happy about it now. I think it will be a perfect place for me. Thank you for reading my posts and all of your support.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Sainuu
Hope everyone is doing well. I am in the city today planning for a conference that I will be teaching at tomorrow. I decided to sign on and update everyone really quick. There is only 2 weeks left until the swearing in ceremony and everyone is so anxious to hear where they will be for the next two years. I just finished my practice teaching this week. I taught an adult English class with the help of another volunteer. We had a mixed group and it was amazing to see them improve over the three weeks of class. I am really excited to get into my primary teaching though. If you are reading this and want pictures sent to your email. leave your email in a comment or email me at jglenn1182@gmail.com. I will be back in the city in a few weeks and I will send all my pictures out. Looking forward to hearing from you.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Whats up with Jeff!!!!
Hello, I am finally writing in on my blog. It is hard to get to the internet in the town I am currently living in. I am sorry I have not updated before now but here ya go....
So I have been at PST for about 2 months now and things are amazing here. I have finally gotten past the "oh my goodness things are so different here" and now it just seems like another day in the life of. The first week here was hard because even though I tried not to have any expectations it was not what I expected. In addition there was some problems back in America that made it hard to adjust here. Those are taken care of though and all is good. I live in a Ger and it is pretty cool. They say the worst time to live in a ger is during rain. That is okay though because Mongolia usually doesn't get much rain. LOL!!!! Except this year!!! It is okay though my ger has held up very good with only a few water problems. My Host family is really nice to me. They give me space and freedom which is much needed while adujusting to a new culture. They are very friendly people and although we still don't understand most of what we are saying to each other, we have great sign language and motions. There is a holiday here in the summer called Nadaam and it is a fun time where people get together and go watch horse racing, dancing, and the most entertaining for me was the wrestling. My family tried to get me into the wrestling but I didn't do it. I am thinking about doing it next year though. Nadaam was a lot of fun. I can't believe I have already been here two months. This week our training group went through a rough patch. One of our friends in our group had to leave. She has only been gone a day but she was super cool and she will be missed.
I have pictures to post and send out so if you want them sent to you please leave your email address or email me at jglenn1182@gmail.com. Thanks for all the support and I will talk to you later.
Jeff
So I have been at PST for about 2 months now and things are amazing here. I have finally gotten past the "oh my goodness things are so different here" and now it just seems like another day in the life of. The first week here was hard because even though I tried not to have any expectations it was not what I expected. In addition there was some problems back in America that made it hard to adjust here. Those are taken care of though and all is good. I live in a Ger and it is pretty cool. They say the worst time to live in a ger is during rain. That is okay though because Mongolia usually doesn't get much rain. LOL!!!! Except this year!!! It is okay though my ger has held up very good with only a few water problems. My Host family is really nice to me. They give me space and freedom which is much needed while adujusting to a new culture. They are very friendly people and although we still don't understand most of what we are saying to each other, we have great sign language and motions. There is a holiday here in the summer called Nadaam and it is a fun time where people get together and go watch horse racing, dancing, and the most entertaining for me was the wrestling. My family tried to get me into the wrestling but I didn't do it. I am thinking about doing it next year though. Nadaam was a lot of fun. I can't believe I have already been here two months. This week our training group went through a rough patch. One of our friends in our group had to leave. She has only been gone a day but she was super cool and she will be missed.
I have pictures to post and send out so if you want them sent to you please leave your email address or email me at jglenn1182@gmail.com. Thanks for all the support and I will talk to you later.
Jeff
Monday, March 31, 2008
2 months and Counting
I think back and I remember the day that I recieved my invitation to Mongolia. It seems like it was just yesterday that I came to work excited to share the news. I realized today that I only have two months before I leave and I am still super excited. I think about everything I have to get done during this time and I just know time is going to keep on tick tick tickin away. My last day at my job is going to be May 8 followed by graduation on the 9th. After I have done the graduation ceremony I will be leaveing for Colorado for a week and then California for a week to visit some family for the last little bit before I go. Then I will come back to Oklahoma for a few days and leave on May 31st for San Fran. I cannot wait!!! It has been so great talking to others that will be going with me to Mongolia and I just can't wait to meet them and hang out. I just think the attitudes that I have seen so far our team is just going to ROCK!!!! Well I am going to go think about packing. Thanks for reading.
-Jeff
-Jeff
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Space Saver Bags
I finally got them...the Space Saver Vac bags. I even tested them out last night and they worked like a charm. In one of the carry on bags I packed up my big winter coat and it smashed it down to almost nothing. In the Extra Large bag I put my bed spread and three pillows and once again it smahed it down. I can't wait to pack for Mongolia. I am going to have so much fun. Fellow volunteers you should get a set of these bags. I got mine at QVC.com. They were only 31.00 for 15 bags. GREAT DEAL!!!
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