I'm 3 weeks in, and I've made some very meaningful observations about life as a Mongolian versus life as an American. I Mongolia, everything is a process. From bathing, to fixing dinner, to doing laundry, everything is a process. It's really opened my eyes to the luxuries that we take for granted in the U.S. We have to fetch water (granted the well is in the front yard, but it's still a lot of work to carry buckets of water back-and-forth from the well to the water bin inside the house), heat our water, filter the water so that it's safe to drink, and wash everything by hand. There are no dishwashers, elaborate washing machines, microwaves, air conditioners, etc. Yet, I don't miss any of those things! Granted I've only been here about 3 weeks, but the first month is the major adjustment period. Once the shock is over and you accept it as your new way of life, you get over the conveniencies.
The some things I do miss, however, is the option to have a nice salad with grilled chicken, feta cheese, fruit, and balsamic vinegerette. I miss chicken, beef, and turkey. I miss fresh fruit being readily available at the grocery store all 12 months of the year. I miss tap water WITH ICE. And LAWD! I miss my dirty chai latte!
I'm starting to get a daily routine and rhythm. Of course, things change from time-to-time, but here's the basic jist of my week as a Peace Corps trainee:
Monday - Friday
- 7:00am: Wake up, boil a pot of water (we have a large bin that holds a couple gallons of water; it lasts our family of four about 1 day), and go use the outhouse while I wait for my bath water to heat up.
- 7:15am: I brush my teeth. Afterwards, I pour the boiled water in my tumpin (a shallow bucket that's about 2 ft in diameter) followed by a couple cups of cold water and begin washing up (side note - I'll explain how I wash below).
- 8am: Get dressed (usually I wear a polo shirt with jeans for the first half of the day).
- 8:20am: Cook breakfast (usually a fried egg with a peice of bread and a cup of coffee)
- 8:55am: Walk to class
- 9:10am - 1:00pm: Language class
- 1:00pm - 2:30pm: I walk back home for lunch with my family...after a quick nap (I'm usually exhausted after four hours of language class). My mother usually fixes boiled sheep with carrots, potatoes, onions, and noodles (or rice)
- 2:30pm - 5:30pm: technical training (where we learn about Mongolia's health care system, go to our practicum site to work with our counterpart, or learn more about Mongolian culture)
- 5:30pm - 7:30pm: another nap
- 7:30pm - 8:30pm: play with my nephew, fetch water, and watch my family talk while I pick up a word or two in the conversation
- 8:30pm - 10pm: dinner, more eavesdropping on people's conversations when I really don't understand a word they're saying, and practice my language with my mom, dad, brother, sister, and nephew (well, actually my nephew teaches me incoherent baby talk, but hey, he's cute so I'm not going to stop him).
- 10pm - 11pm: play computer games, do some journaling, and get ready for bed.
Saturday and Sunday: sleep in, wash clothes (by hand), go to the market with my family, and do homework.
And now the moment you've all been waiting for....how I stay so fresh and so clean clean. Tumpin bathing! I only shower once a week, maybe even once every 2 weeks (YES, the struggle is real), but I got used to it. The trick is thorough tumpin bathing (or "washing up") every morning.
I start by boiling a pot of water and mixing it with cold water. I wash my face first, since that's when the water is the cleanest. After that, I wet my wash cloth and wipe myself down with just water. Then, I soap up my wash cloth and thoroughly scrup myself from head-to-toe. Afterwards, I dip the wash cloth in the water while rubbing the cloth together to loosen up the dirt. I do that over and over again until the cloth is (relatively) clean. Then I wipe myself off with the clean cloth, diping the cloth in the water as I wipe the soap off. I dip and rub the cloth for the last time to clean the cloth off, ring th water out, and dry off. I dump the dirty water in the toilet and rinse the tumpin off with a little water. That's it! I haven't heard any complaints thus far.