Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year!

I went to Beijing and Wuxi, China for Christmas!
When I was in Beijing I met up with my friend, Blake. We met last year in the airport when I was returning to America for a short vacation and luckily we got to meet up again. We went out and got some milk tea and dumplings and had the best time just walking around the city till 1 or so in the morning.

Then the next day I hopped on a plane and went to Wuxi to see Korin and April, a couple that I got to know when I was in Zhengzhou, China. It was awesome! I met all their students, saw their school put on a holiday performance, and had a great time drinking and playing Monopoly Deal with my sweet friends.

We also went to a giant pet market and some pictures are below:

Found the dog I want when I finally return to the States.

Next to the pet market was a food market. This is ginger.

Bringing in the New Year was awesome and relaxing. We ate some Western food and I got to play more Monopoly Deal with Chris and we watched the fireworks from the window. We're off to South Korea and North Korea in just a few days and I'll update when we get back. Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and New Year, too!

Date night :)

High-five jumping on the Tuul River! 

Oh, the temperature right now is -26°F right now and it's 2pm! I love Mongolian winters!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I had two sweet Thanksgivings this year. The first one was for my amazing students and we invited the Korean and Chinese class to join us (sharing is caring!) and the second one was a bit more intimate with close friends (Lucas, Eli, Hazel, Joe, Tuyen, and two new friends)

Joe, another Fulbrighter, just got back from Seoul where he was there on a medical emergency for 4 weeks! So glad to have him back.

Happy happy Thanksgiving. So thankful for amazing friends, family, and this phenomenal opportunity that brought me to some truly excellent students and friends. Can't wait for Christmas 'cause I've got some great travel plans in the works.

Proud teacher.

Final message: Tonight's temperature low is -14°F and by Wednesday it'll go as low as -29°F !! 

I love the weekends with my Fulbright family.
Pictured above: Eli, me, Lucas.

Happy Halloween!

My freshman decided to throw a Halloween party...and boy oh boy, did they do a great job. I'm so proud to be their teacher.

Chinese, English, & Korean teacher.

A great student quote:

Student A: Teacher what are these called? [Points to nipples]

Student B: BROWN BUTTONS!!

And one more:

Teacher, what are these? [Grabs his breasts and squeezes]

Also, I'm without water for the next three days, but so are my students. We are suffering together in a smelly classroom. Oh, so exciting!

I just am in love with the sunset out my window:

More than 2 months in Mongolia!

It snowed the other day. It's not even the middle of October and it snowed. Oh man, winter is going to be insane!

Also, finally finalized my work schedule. I teach for 12 hours, but it's considered to be 16 hours. The classes are small and the red classes are the most fun.

Went horseback riding for the first time in over 10 years last weekend. Had a great time in the countryside just outside of Ulaanbaatar. 

The best thing about Mongolia, aside from the countryside, is the amazing sunset.

WARNING: Graphic photos below.

This is a story about a cranky appendix.

I had been feeling low on energy and I thought I ate some bad food, but it never crossed my mind that I had appendicitis. My brother had appendicitis when we were children and none of my symptoms were 1/2 as violent as his were.

On Wednesday morning I went and hiked up a mountain with Chris.

and then Wednesday afternoon I was told by the doctor that I had appendicitis.

He told me that I needed a blood test and an x-ray to confirm but since I didn't have the cash on hand to pay for that, I had to come back on Thursday.

I went back to the hospital on Thursday and it was confirmed that my appendix was fat and cranky and was to be removed on Friday.

Acute appendicitis! Ah!

So on Friday I went into the hospital.

And I got an ultrasound, an HIV test, and an x-ray to see how my heart was doing before we went in for surgery.

The last smile I had for days:

And then an IV was set. It took 5 attempts and overall, it was horrible.

Then I was taken to surgery and I looked like this on the operating table: 

Only I was completely naked and you know, wasn't crucified.

Thankfully I was given some great drugs and my appendix was removed quickly. The doctor brought the appendix to Chris, who took pictures because he knew I would want to see. (WARNING: PICTURES ARE BELOW)

The yellow part toward the bottom of the picture is the infected area. 

And after I woke up from surgery, I was alone and naked and had really chapped lips. I got some "chapstick" (gauze dipped in water) and then dropped back off to sleep.

The recovery was slow and I was in the hospital from Friday to Monday.

Before I could leave on Monday, the doctor had to remove my stitches. 

And now I am back in my little apartment. I am eating more than just broth and hot water and I am sleeping in my own bed and waking up to the sun in my face. Recovery is slow, but I am so happy to be on the way to healthy.

Countryside Lifestyle

I just got back from a 3 night/4 day trip to the Mongolian countryside. It was full of adventure and I'll try to explain it via an awesome picture post.

We left at 9:30ish on Sunday morning and sadly the engine to our tour bus got wet as we were crossing a river and we didn't arrive at our location till 8:30 pm. We actually ended up getting a ride from a truck and here's a video of that: Truck Ride to Mongolian Countryside!

The following morning, Eli and Lucas felt the need to wrestle. It's a very popular Mongolian sport.

We were amazed by the vastness of the countryside. So beautiful.

In order: Joe, Lauren, Lucas, Lisa, Chimgee, and Eli. The rest of the group was in a log-esque cabin about 10 minutes away, but we didn't see them all that much.

After a breakfast of fresh, thick cream and bread we explored the area and got water from this river. We also skipped stones, did a bit of hiking, and herded some sheep and goats later in the evening!

The family that hosted us was so sweet and always made sure that we overate.

The gers were pretty warm and one of them had satellite television! The television was powered by a car battery and the bathroom was just a hole in the ground a little bit away from the ger.

Joe, Lauren, Eli, and Lucas.  At one point we visited another ger about 2 miles away so we could call the tour company for a return ride. While we were visiting we got milk tea, cream, and bread!

I learned how to make Mongolian dumplings one day!

Here's Lucas eating soup...he found 2 flies in the soup but just pulled them out and kept on eating. Haha.

In the evening we herded the sheep and goats and brought them home :)

The next day my group was ready to explore but I was pretty content just to look up at the sky.

The husbands in the family had left to get hay for the winter, so we gladly stepped in and chopped firewood for the family. That was my first time chopping wood and I LOVED IT.

Here's the inside to one of the gers. It's beautifully decorated and it's actually really warm.

Working on my nipple grabbing technique. You have to really work to get that milk!

Gorgeous rainbow our final day in the countryside.

And now I'm safely back in UB with my awesome view. Apparently school starts tomorrow but I haven't heard anything from my school, so who knows! I'll keep you updated.