I've completed my orientation and am now living with my host family. I've been humbled by how much I need them, and amazed by how kind and hospitable these people are! I literally depend on them for my food, shelter, and integration into this country. They've welcomed me with open arms and have already taught me important, life-long lessons.
When a Mongolian has a visitor, the first thing they do is offer their guest tea (usually a salty tea based in Mare/horse milk, "Airag"), candy, and in my case, bread with jam. They typically share photo albums as well. I gave my host family gifts to show my appreciation for their hospitality (a Michigan photobook for my parents, a deck of cards and magic trick instructions for my brother, and a coloring book and sticker book for my nephew).
My host family has been extremely helpful in helping me adjust. My sister and brother have been taking me to the store on the daily, teaching me Mongolian, translating for me, and keeping me company. My sister also taught me how to hand wash my laundry. My nephew (3 years old and soooooo cute) has also been keeping me company and has been teaching me Mongolian in his cute little accent, lol. He's really warming up to me, too. He told me "I love you" in Mongolian which warmed my heart!
My sister keeps me FED! She's a great cook, too, so I don't mind. The first night I had sheep and noodles (excellent). The next morning I had fried eggs, bologna and bread. For lunch we had mutton (boiled sheep), and for dinner we had sheep and rice (sheep is like beef and chicken for Mongolians). The next day we had barbequed sheep which was THA BOMB. We sat under their gazeebo, barbequed over the fire, and ate good.
All of this to say, I've learned not to have any preconceived notions about what my experience will be like, and to be positive even when things don't go my way. I thought that I was going to live in a ger, would have tons of baby brothers and sisters running around, and would be eating chitlins every day (the last thing I wasn't looking forward to, but I expected it nonetheless). When I found out my placement, I was disappointed because none of those things ended up happening. I immediately checked my attitude and started praying (praising God for who He is, thanking Him for this opportunity, asking for His forgiveness for being ungrateful, and praying that He bless this experience in JESUS name). The moment that I met my family, I fell in love with them and couldn't have asked for anything more! They've went out of their way to help me adjust and have asked for absolutely nothing in return. I should be ashamed about how ungrateful I was, but it needed to happen because it was a flaw that would have surfaced at home point. All-in-all I owe a ton of gratitude to my new family because they've already helped me grow without even trying.
I've also gotten much more prudent with my money. I get about $2.65 per day to spend, which clearly doesn't go far. I'm not used to that; I could go to the store/mall/online and get whatever I wanted, within reason. Now, I have to really think "do I need this right now, or nah?" Instead of going into a store for 5 things and coming out with $75 worth of stuff I don't need and will never use, I go into the store with a list of 3 things and will walk out with exactly that plus buyer's remorse because I just spent 3 days of my living allowance. I seriously haggled with this lady over a cute top that cost 25000 tugrik ($13.30) down to 23000 ($12.24) and was still remorseful about having spent the money. But hey, when you only have 1 long-sleeve shirt for 75 degree weather it's time to bite the bullet.
That's it for now, stay blessed! Nameste.