More Pictures of Camp That I Want to Show You

Second half teachers: Kaede, John, Pico, and Me!

The coolest kid in Dariganga. By the end of the week, I had him saying, "Sox Rule! Cubs Suck!"

This is the second coolest kid in Dariganga (only because after uploading all my pictures, I realized I had a handful of ridiculous pictures of him):

Playing Mingle:

First session Peace Corps Volunteers: Nate, Kate, Beth, Julie, (Mongolian camp doctor), Me, Maggie, and Alex

Gangstaaa

My Dariganga students that went to camp

This kid is cool.

Aaaaand so is this kid:

It's called Tektonic and it's all the rage amongst pre-adolescent boys in Mongolia. Please note his interesting dance move at the end.

They wanted to learn an English song!

New Dariganga Camp Summer 2011

Camp #1.

This camp is the one I have been looking forward to since I got to site last year. It ran for 2 sessions, 10 days each and was equipped with 6 Mongolian English teachers, 8 American English teachers (i.e. my Peace Corps friends), and 4 adorable Mongolian camp counselors from a local university. This camp was situated in my soum on the lake and hosted about 100 kids each session from all over Sukhbataar aimag (and a handful from UB, too)

Here's what the camp looked like:

Every morning, we would wake up at 7. At 7:30 all kids gathered in front of the outdoor podium for morning stretches.

After stretches, breakfast!

Then, the kids learned some English. Here are some pretty generic pics of PCVs pointing to boards.

Then, we all took some time to awwwww at my lil pupster. Well, I did at least.

Awwwwwwwwwww (yes, that is Lloyd... he's so big! And still ball-less!)

The campers were split into 10 teams which competed with each other in various ways throughout the week. This is my team: The Happy Tigers. Our Motto: We are Happy Tigers! Rawr! Despite the fact that not one of these kids had a competitive bone in their body, I grew to love them and their "We just happy to be here" attitude.

Oh, and our flag was Tigger. Not some awesome badass pic of a Tiger destroying the competition, but the most lovable friendly tiger ever. They were just high on life, these kids were.

The rest of the day was filled with lots of fun random activities to keep the kids (and me) entertained. One rainy day, we made noodle necklaces!

Note: The two women on the right are adults. Noodle necklaces are fun for all!

And the best part about the rainy day was:

Our cabins leaked. Or in this poor camper's case... flooded.

And then my favorite time of day... Outdoor activities!! While half the students went inside to learn life skills (how not to burn down your ger, how to treat a deep cut, and STD awareness), the other half came to ME and we played games. Awesome games: Freeze Tag, Fox and Squirrel, Steal the Bacon (well, we played one round which resulted in 2 concussions...), Swing Dancing, Mingle, the lists goes on!

Dizzy Bat Relay. It's hilarious to watch little children fall flat on their butts.

Lap Tag: The player in front wants to get to the other side of the circle. The player in back wants to keep him back. Hilarity ensues.

This is Chuka. One of our counselors. She really liked this game and didn't seem to mind crushing our campers in order to win. No camper could get past her.

Mingle: We had different formation the students had to make requiring different amounts of people. Once something was called, they had to rush to make the correct formation... If you didn't have a group, you were OUT.

Pyramid: 3 people

Monkey: 2 people

Canoe: 7 people

Window: 4 people

Rachel and Jacob: Mostly Marco Polo, only both kids are blind.

Log Roll Relay: Kids roll on top of the other kids to get to the front of the line.

These are my happy tigers looking a little less than happy.

Duck Duck Goose: well, you know.

Swimming Lessons!

Hiking Day: We hiked to the sacred mountain. Boys climbed it. Girls walked around it.

My soum from atop Altan Ovoo! Clearly I did not take this picture.

Maggie demonstrating how to use the prayer boards.

The Tranny Dance! Teams competed by dressing up as the opposite gender. Best one won.

Happy Tigers! And a nip slip.

The winning team. Well deserved, no?

Oh, I forgot to mention, 2nd session I was on the Giants team. This is Oyona and Temujiin. Temujiin got 3rd.

Here is a very disturbing picture of my male friends.

Moral of the Story: Camp rocked.

Сайхан Зуншиж Байна уу??**

**Are you summering well?

I certainly am. So far this summer has been a whirlwind of fun and it doesn't appear to be letting up anytime soon. I've been busy with camp and friends and being warm and not starting fires.

I tell you, Mongolia in the summer is awesome. It's green. It's hot. The sand storms have stopped. I can leave my ger for a long period of time and it won't turn into an icicle. I am really not looking forward to another winter.

But, on that note, a college friend has recently accepted a volunteer position in Malaysia. So, for the sake of my sanity and the sake of my complexion I will be visiting her during my February break. I already can't wait.

Ok ok ok... that's that. Enjoy these next few posts about my summer!

Summatime and the livin's easy... er.

Hey homeskillets.

Welp, the time has come to return to my soum sweet soum. This Wednesday, our camp starts which is shapin up to be the coolest camp of all-time (if all goes according to plan, the camp will end in an english song Glee-off at the talent show).

Until next time, please remember that while it may be sweltering outside, at least you have air-conditioning.

(And on that note, please hold off sending me chocolate until October).

Three cheers for summer,

Sarah

It's because I'm white, isn't it?

And the scores are in!

Dariganga did not win the sports competition. BUT we did compete our little hearts out and put up a good fight.

The competition was 3 days longs and included volleyball, aerobics, tango, singing (it's a mystery to me too), and track. There were 14 teams competing from the aimag center and the soums in Sukhbataar. Everybody had sweet team outfits (us included) and flags and game faces on.

So volleyball started on Friday, but a half hour into the first game the electricity went out and stayed out so everything was postponed until Saturday. Within that first half hour, though, I managed to take a volleyball to the face and am currently rocking a sweet black eye. Thank whatever deity was watching out for me that my glasses didn't break.

The next day, we woke at 6 (dear god) and started up games again. We lost our first game, but won the next three. I won the respect of the other Mongolians for being a volleyball superstar (that or for being white... who cares... at one point people were chanting my name!) Later that evening, we were in the 3rd place championship bracket, but we pretty much got slaughtered by this beast of a Mongolian who NEVER made a mistake. Seriously, it was unbelievable.

We took 5th in volleyball... not too shabby.

The next day we had to squash in the rest of the competitions since Friday night was a bust. We began aerobics at 8. Now, I thought our routine was pretty dang good. We worked out to "Beautiful Life" by Ace of Base (and yes, that was TOTALLY my idea). I also choreographed the routine and was fairly sure we'd be a serious consideration for top 3.

Jesus Christ, was I wrong. The teams from the aimag had hula hoops and steps and did aerials. They completely outdid us. We got 8th. Ouch.

Later, my beautiful co-workers performed their tango routine flawlessly and took home the bronze.

We came in last for the singing... woops. (Though, not to put my team down, but I'm still puzzled as to why they chose the woman they did... she was real bad.)

And finally, running. I was running the 4x4, the 400m, and the 100m. I got third in the 400m and my team got third in the 4x4. But, as I was lining up to do the 100, all hell broke lose. Teams were pissed because I was competing so much. Apparently there was a 3 sport rule... You could only compete in 3 categories and I had already been in 4. Anyhow, my director pointed out that many Mongolians had competed in more than 3 sports, but no one had noticed.

Let's face it. It's because I'm white.

But, still, I didn't run the 100 and I got DQed from the other races so I didn't get my medals. It didn't really matter though because Dariganga wasn't going to win, regardless.

That night we had a kickin awards ceremony where I was given an award for doing good things in our aimag. Or maybe it's because I'm white. Whatevs, though... I got a sweet certificate!

So, that... is that. It was a grand old time, but boy am I glad it's over. Now onto SUMMER!!

Setting: 7:30 am at the base of the holy mountain on the Thursday we left for the aimag. We were throwing some rice and milk on the holy ovoo for good luck. Amraa is holding our sweet Dariganga flag, while Erka pours him a shot of vodka... also for good luck (let me reiterate... 7:30 am)

The group looking as serious as ever.

So I barely took any pictures at the competition itself. I apologize. This picture is the aerobics team performing in our sweet get-ups for Mothers' and Children's Day in my soum. And of course, they stuck me in front... because I'm white.

The group again. This time we are on Sukhbataar Square, looking fly and waiting to play some volleyball.

My counterpart, Zolaa, has the most beautiful family. This here is Atzaa. He is the best most darling child I've ever met.

Third Place Tango winners! How fabulous are they?

Zolaa's other child, Nymaa. Seriously, most beautiful family in the world.

ANOTHER group shot!

And for your viewing pleasure, the tango routine!

One down, One to go

HOLY CRAP I'VE BEEN HERE ONE WHOLE YEAR.

I started writing a nice thoughtful post about how I felt one year ago, my hesitations and excitements, but frankly, that ain't me. I think that first exclamation accurately and rather thoroughly describes how I feel about the whole deal.

Seriously. Holy Crap.

Right now, 70 some nervous and excited Americans are on their way to Mongolia to start their service as M-22s (the 22 group of volunteers in Mongolia). Caaarazzzy! (Can't wait to meet all of you!)

Also, a group of accomplished and probably exhausted Americans are getting ready to head back to their States after their 2 year service is finished. (Already miss you all!)

It's a weird time to be an M-21 (that's me). We ae losing some very dear friends and (frighteningly) becoming the figures of authority to the newbies. I certainly don't feel qualified for giving advice for Mongolian survival. I still am trying to learn the ropes of ger living. Also, with the M-2os headed home, it has gotten me thinking about how amazing it must feel to see all the people you love after 2 years abroad.

I've been missing you all alot lately.

ANYHOW. I'm in the aimag now, getting ready to finally compete in this sports competition that e have been training our asses off for for the last month. I found out this morning that the sports complex in the aimag opens at 5:30 am.

So, wish me luck!

Before we hit the road, we conjured up some luck from the holy mountain.