Shin Jil

2nd post this week! Does this mean I'll be less lazy in 2011? Probably not.
I spent New Year’s Eve with my fellow foreigners here in Arvaikheer. A lot of people were out of town for the holidays, so it was a small group—4 PCVs, 3 VSOs, and a Mongolian-Cuban woman that I don’t know very well. It was very low-key, but fun. We were at the Australian VSOs’ apartment, and they made us pizza and even bought fireworks for us to set off at midnight.
First we went to the town square, where there was a little performance going on. Some kids danced, mostly the waltz, and I felt really bad for them because you can’t waltz with a parka on. A few people also sang. Then Grandfather Winter showed up with some kids dressed as reindeer. It was -23 degrees, so we could only be out for about an hour at a time, then would head back in, de-layer, play a card game or two, re-layer, and head outside again. I actually brought extra long underwear, but then I was too lazy to disrobe and put them on, so I just toughed it out. This is why I could never survive long-term in a climate like this.
At midnight, we went out to look at the fireworks and also to set off a few of our own. I say “we,” but I actually had nothing to do with it because I really enjoy having 10 fingers. By midnight, everyone had gone home, so we had the square to ourselves and could set off fireworks from park benches. I’m not sure if that’s legal.
The next day, my counterpart invited me to spend New Year’s Day with her family. I was a little nervous about it, because I haven’t been tested on my ger manners in a while. But I think I passed. One reason I usually don’t speak Mongolian is that it’s such a good excuse not to make small talk. If I don’t say much, they assume I won’t be able to understand them, and it’s not awkward to just sit in silence.
So we just hung out (my CP, her husband, her baby, her parents, her nephew, her little brother, her little sister, and her brother-in-law) as any family would on New Year’s—eating, watching TV (reruns of the New Year’s show in UB and the movie Apocalypto), and generally being lazy. The difference of course was that they were so, so nice to me, which makes me really uncomfortable because I feel like I can’t reciprocate. I got 5 different beverages in fairly rapid succession (being handed a new one way before I could finish the previous one)—milk, juice, tea, beer, and champagne, plus refills on all of those. By the end of the four hours I spent there I really, really had to pee but I was too embarrassed to ask them for toilet paper. Also I’m not sure of winter latrine etiquette. Do I put my parka back on or do I just make a run for it? If they don’t have a sink, am I expected to clean my hands in some way?
So most of the afternoon was spent answering simple questions (“Are you cold?” “Yes.” “Is your home cold?” “Yes.” “Is Mongolia nice?” “Yes.” “Is your job good?” “Yes.”), watching TV, and being stared at. My CP explained to me that I’m her family’s first foreign visitor, so I expected that. Before I left, they had me pose for pictures with all of them, probably so they can show their friends in years to come evidence that they once met a giant pale person. When my CP was arranging for me to pose with her and her sister, she set out a chair and said in Mongolian to her sister, “Joyce can sit so she won’t look so tall.” Except the word she used for “so” was “aimar,” literally, “frighteningly.” Being treated like Godzilla does nothing for my self-esteem, let me tell you. There’s one volunteer here who’s 6’6”—I wonder how he’s doing? Also, when my CP was showing me her pictures on her computer, she pointed to one of her sister and said, “See? My sister used to be very slim, but now she is fat. So this is a good picture of her because it’s from when she was thin.” I can only imagine what they think of me, but they tend not to call me fat and pinch my rolls the way they do with each other.
o So the whole New Year’s experience was interesting for me—I can’t wait for Tsagaan Sar, the Mongolian New Year celebration that’s much bigger over here by all accounts. Right now we’re buried under snow (even though I’m in the desert!) and I won’t even go out to buy food. Brrr!

A traditional dance in the students' New Year's show

One of my 9th grade classes

One of my 10th grade classes

The teachers' room on New Year's Eve at lunchtime, as we feast on cake and vodka

One of our fireworks just as it sets off