Earlier Impressions

It was four days between the time we arrived in Mongolia and the day we received internet last week. During that time, I wrote a couple documents of my first impressions. Here are some excerpts:

March 4, 2010

Communicating: lots of smiles and hand language and guessing. I have no idea what some items in the stores are because much of it is in Russian (items in stores). There's a lot of familiar products, too, like Comet which I bought today! Our Tide container is all in Russian. Our washing machine is all in Russian, so I have no idea what the cycles are.

We have learned the word for "bag" (so we can get a bag for our groceries) and "finished" so that the ladies in the market can quit offering different veggies to us (suggestive selling!). One of the ladies who sells chicken knows our country coordinator; he talked to her when we were with him on Tuesday (March 2). Yesterday, we saw her and she raised her eyebrows and smiled really big...we don't know each other's language, but I could "feel" her friendliness.

Life has a lot of familiar things here, but a lot of "quirks" that make it seem different.

Some examples:

-There's mail delivery, but not to our apartment; we can only get it at the office.

-We can get beef (hooray!) for a good price, but we have to cut it up into manageable amounts and pieces and even trim it a little more than in the U.S. We can get ground beef in any size we ask.

-We have a washing machine but it only holds a load like this: 1 pair of jeans, 3 boxers, 3T shirts, and a pair of thin sweatpants. It's a teensy washer...but, hey, I'm glad to have one! No dryer. Try towels that haven't been dried. Very refreshing after a shower!

-We are actually warmer than at our home in Rochester! The radiators are not adjusted by us; we're at the mercy of the landlord's adjustments. It is kept warm enough that we keep a window open even when it's -5 degrees F! Yep, that's right...and that's the way to do it (we aren't the only ones). It actually "feels" like a spring day when we're inside because the sun is shining brightly (so we're getting solar heat through our big windows) plus we have a window open and we can hear people walking past on the sidewalks and horns honking on the street! Once we step outside, though, our thick coats, hats, and insulated gloves are definitely needed!

-There's cars all over the place...and the traffic is like New York City, but nobody obeys the lights, so we must totally watch out for ourselves when crossing the streets.

March 5, 2010

We went to a crazy flea market type market today. One neat thing: we were looking at some candy bins at one spot, trying to decide if we wanted to buy some (We've learned that giving candy to people you visit is popular here). So, we thought we might get some to be prepared. I wondered aloud if there was any that was chocolate or coffee flavored. A young Mongolian woman (24-27 years old I'd guess) standing near me said, "I don't think so." I said, "Do you speak English?" (well, duh!). She said, "Yes", and then we talked a little bit about if I was a tourist or why I was there. I told her I was there to teach English with my husband and pointed Kevin and Micah out. Then, I told her that her English was wonderful. She beamed. I gave her my cell phone number in case she'd like to call me to practice her English sometime. So....that's something to be talking to our Father about!

March 10, 2010--today as I'm posting!

I want more opportunities like this one at the candy store to build relationships. That is what I'm trusting our Father for at this time. So far the "Candy Store Woman" hasn't called...but He can urge her to do so!

Psalm 19 was especially encouraging and full of nutrition for me this morning. I have thought on: "Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, my rock and my redeemer." I specifically thought of our language training that we're knee deep into at this point! Yesterday, I said to Kevin, "I can't do this!" The language was bending my mind in directions that perhaps it has never been bent. It certainly bends my tongue in directions that it has never had to go with new sounds that the English language just doesn't make! I immediately thought of, "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me" in Philippians. Since then, the meditation of my heart has been "I can't, but He can within me". I actually used a word when shopping for groceries today! It is "hagus" and means "half". The lady asked, "kilo?" for the meat I was purchasing. I said, "hagus kilo", and she smiled and gave me the smaller amount. How convenient. That was a boost I needed to keep learning the language. Someday I want to tell a woman about how He can make her the salt of the world. For now, I just know "dovs" which means salt!