5/5/2015
We just had our COS (Close of
Service) conference. This is a time where Peace Corps brings in all the
COSing PC volunteers (volunteers who are
finishing their service this summer) for one last seminar. The COS conference’s
purpose is to equip us with tools and ideas to use when we go back to the US.
Basically, how to readjust to life in the US. The session topics included:
Readjustment, Job Search, Resume writing, Non-Competitive Eligibility for state
jobs, elevator pitches, reminiscing on the past two years, how to say goodbye
to Mongolian friends and what it means to be an RPCV (returned Peace Corps
Volunteer). Peace Corps bought in a few RPCVs who live and work in Mongolia
still to talk to us about life after PC. It was really interesting to see how
their lives were changed by PC and how being an RPCV really helped them with
jobs. We also had our physicals, which included giving two stool samples (this
was the topic of conversation every night, techniques, successful attempts,
failures, etc.). Gross but true. Living in Mongolia for two years and all
modesty and manners go out the door. Who am I?
Throughout the whole conference, I
was a mess, crying in almost every session (luckily I was not the only one).
Since I am early COSing, it really hit home to me. I will be leaving this
country in 2 weeks. The other volunteers have three months left. It is scary to have to readjust
back to life in the US, but I am so
happy that I am moving back to the capital district and will be so close to my
family. We heard from many RPCVs that adjusting to life back in the US is just
as hard as it was adjusting to live in Mongolia when we first arrived. We have
lived in Mongolia for two year and it has had profound impacts on all of us. In
my director words "You're not going to be the same person when you leave
Peace Corps as you are when you come in." A lot of them talked about how
overwhelming the first couple months are in America. You have to really
readjust to American life, which is so different from Mongolian life. There are
a lot of changes to deal with when serving in the Peace Corps. “During the
first 2-3 months volunteers go through pre-service training. This training
includes meeting all of the other volunteers, living with a host family, going
to school 8 hours a day, trying to learn a new language and adjusting to
someone else making the schedule. Volunteers often get homesick for a myriad of
reasons. After training, volunteers leave their new friends to be alone. They
have to adjust to a completely different job, house, village, a regional
culture, making new friends and missing everyone back home. Towards the end of
service there are more worries about what's next, adjusting back to life in
America and leaving the place you lived in for 2 years.” We have formed strong
bonds with our Mongolian friends and fellow volunteers which makes it really
hard to say goodbye. I think that is the hardest part for me is that these
people have become my family, they are the only ones that truly understand this
experience and not having them around all the time is going to be tough.
Luckily, we have a Facebook group, so we can all stay in touch after service.
“Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can
see
the place you
came from with new eyes and extra colors. And the people
there see you
differently, too. Coming back to where you started is not
the same as never
leaving.” ― Terry Pratchett
I am really
excited to be returning back to the capital district. Upon graduation of high school,
I moved out to Buffalo, in Western New York and lived there for the 5 years
before moving to Mongolia for 2 years. I can’t believe that it has been almost 7
years that I have lived away from the Saratoga Springs area and I am really
looking forward to moving back there. I have
found a new appreciation for home and cannot wait to spend summer in the
Adirondacks once again, as wells as fall, winter and spring. J We shall see how long
the love affair lasts.
The last day of our conference, we
had a ceremony, where our country director awarded us with our completion of
service certificates. Another tearful moment. Watching the other 24 volunteers
receive their certificates and receiving one myself made it so surreal. How
could 2 years have already gone by? We
were all so proud of one another. It was a long hard road, but we made it. Out
of the about 50 volunteers we arrived in country with, 24 of us were left. 24
of us had made it through 2 years in subzero temperatures. We did it. It was
and is such a tremendous feeling.
The days after COS were filled bar
after bar and party after party after party. It was the last time we were going
to be all together, so we were determined to make the best of it. One night we
all got together to watch a slide show of pictures of us over the past two
years. It was humorous to watch how much we had all changed in the two years.
Two volunteers were in charge of giving out superlatives to each volunteer.
They were hilarious and it was in the form of a roast. Just making fun of each
other and laughing hysterically. My superlative was “most likely to be found
watching a reality tv show while solving 8 logarithms at the same time.” I like
it, it gives praise to my intellect while also giving nod to my love of Keeping
Up with the Kardashians, Dance Moms, Married at First Sight, Duck Dynasty and
other reality shows I habitually watch. Other peoples were “most likely to seduce
their students with their cleavage” “most likely to be kicked out of PC
Mongolia, etc.
Following COS conference, I
started my new job at the Traditional Medicine Institute and Research Center.
It is so cool. I am helping them translate their abstracts and research papers
into English. In the next couple of months they will travel to China for an
international symposium on Traditional Medicine. I am also teaching 3 hours of
English lessons every day and conducting CPR trainings for the Traditional
Medical Hospital. I am really enjoying it. The first day my new counterpart,
who used to work for PC, gave me a tour of all their facilities and brought me
into rooms to watch the traditional Tibetan medical procedures. I was able to
see different massages, acupuncture, suction cupping, raking, mud wraps, as
well as tour their research facility where they make all the drugs from the
different medicinal plants. I also took a trip to their greenhouse to see how
the plants are grown and cultivated. It is so interesting, I am so happy to
have this opportunity to see the more holistic traditional medical practices
that take place in Mongolia. Perks of my
job: midafternoon Acupuncture and massages. HEAVEN. This is the perfect way
to end my service. I am hoping to try
cupping before I leave, it is the practice of suctioning hot mason jars to
areas of the body (usually the back) to “restore healthy blood flow” and treat
many kinds of ailments. Although, I am going to do some research, because it
leaves huge bruises/dark marks on body for days. I need to see if there are any
problems with suctioning your skin like that for about 20 minutes. I do not
want to cause a blood clot or permanent scarring. But here in Mongolia, they
swear by it and it would be a pretty cool thing to experience.
Life in UB is so much fun. There
are so many things to do here. I am no longer going to bed at 8pm because I am
bored and trying to pass time. I have been up till at least midnight every
night, hanging out with friends. I was afraid that I was becoming a socially
inept lazy troll who never left her apartment. Luckily, it was just because I
was in a small town with nothing to do during the winter. I feel alive and
rejuvenated living in the city! Now that I am getting ready to leave Mongolia,
I now find humor in this list that a former PCV made. It is called the summer
challenge and it is for Americans at home to try to give you a little taste of
what it is like to be a volunteer in Mongolia.
The time frame of this challenge is one week. Some of the challenges
will only happen once during that time, though you can repeat if it’s something
you’d do more often. Others are activities that take place over the entire
week. These are marked with a 1W.
Point values are assigned to each challenge item, depending on the
difficulty. For 1W items, you may only get the points if you do the item
for an entire week.…
1. Do
not use your personal vehicle. Options allowed: hitching rides from others,
bicycle, public transportation, or by foot. 5 points per day
2. 1W
Do not leave your house after 9 pm unless you will be staying at a friend’s
house for the night. 10 points
3. Spend
an entire evening after dark (minimum 5 hours) without electricity. Flashlights
are allowed, but candles are preferred. 15 points per day
4. 1W
Spend no more than $3.00 USD per day.
15 points
5. 1WOnly
watch TV channels in a language that you are not fluent in. However, you are
allowed to watch any previously downloaded TV shows or movies that are already
on your computer – in any language you prefer. 20 points
6. 1W
Do not use the internet on weekends. 20 points
7. 1W
When you have to go to the bathroom, first go outside of your
house/workplace and close the door, then walk back inside. Then you may go to the bathroom. If you really want the authentic
experience you must go to the bathroom outside. 30 points
8. 1W
Only use water from a bucket i.e. fill the bucket from a tap and only use
water from the bucket. You may refill the bucket as many times as you like. 40
points per day you do not use your indoor tap (you may wash your dishes
directly in the outdoor tap)
9. Do
not shower for the full week. You may only bucket bath (fill a pot and use a
ladle to pour water over body, heat water on the stove and crouch over a large
pot, pouring water over your body.) or use wet wipes. 100 points total if
you go the entire week 5 points per bucket bath/cold shower
10. Wash an
entire load of laundry by hand and let the clothes hang dry. 20 points for wash; additional 5 points for
dry
11. 1WYour
only food options are the following: 40 points (50 points if you do the
vodka shots)
1. You’re
in luck…I live in a large town and luckily have access to a lot more variety
than my fellow volunteers, but even I have my limitations…
2. Your
only veggie options are carrots, tomatoes, cabbage, onions and potatoes.
3. Your
only fruit options are brown bananas, oranges and apples.
4. You
may only supplement them with white rice, pasta or bread.
5. The
only dairy products you are allowed to have are milk and yogurt (must be at
least a week expired).
6. The
only canned foods you are allowed to eat are pickled vegetables, canned peas or
stewed tomatoes.
7. You
can only eat sheep, beef or horse meat (can only be fried).
8. But
you can eat all the eggs you want.
9. The
only spices you can use are salt, pepper and garlic.
10. No
condiments other than soy sauce.
11. The only
kind of alcohol you can have is the cheapest vodka. (Whenever visiting a
friends home for the first time or for any type of party/celebration you must
take 3 customary shots in a row. You can only chase with a piece of meat or a
pickle.)
12. 1W Your
only drink options are the following: bottled water, Coke, Sprite, orange soda,
tea, and coffee. You may have a glass of juice once every other day; it’s all
you can afford. All must be room temperature and flat. 20 points
13. 1W You
may not use your oven (stove top is okay), microwave, nor your dishwasher. 20
points
14. 1W Do
not open your refrigerator. How to survive: store foods/leftovers in a pot or
container on the counter. Be sure to reheat thoroughly each time you eat (on
your stove). 30 points
15. Only cleaning floors in house (including those
carpeted) with a washcloth or broom. No vacuums or mops here 10 points
