Welcome 24

Thank you, everyone, for the birthday wishes. They were much appreciated. My first birthday in Mongolia was a good one that extended over four days. I’ll give you a quick recap.

On July 1, I was in UB with about 20 other volunteers, touring the capital. On this day we went to the PC office, and they passed out letters. I had three letters! A good day indeed. This was also the last night we were in UB, so everyone decided to go out for a little boojiggly (which is what the word for “dancing” sounds like to the untrained American ear.) Like most Mongolians, the DJs were eager to use their English, so when the volunteers told them it was my birthday, they proceeded to say “Happy Birthday, Jenny” over the speakers as often as they could.

At 6:30 a.m. on my birthday, I woke up to the unfamiliar ring of my new cell phone. My first call from the states! It was very exciting, even if the person had forgotten that it was my birthday. ;-) My second call from the states came at lunchtime! Midday, I’ll admit, I became a little melancholy. I started missing everyone at home. The three-hour ride in a meaker (little Russian van) with 10 other people wasn’t helping. When we got back to site, the sky was full of storm clouds. A blustery, blah day. It fit my mood. I wasn’t looking forward to attempting to speak Mongolian to my host family. But when I walked in they were so excited to see me. They brought out three little presents and sang “Happy Birthday.” They helped me realize that on my 24th birthday I was doing exactly what I had hoped for. I was feeling refreshed and walked outside and there was a huge, beautiful rainbow. That’s the great thing about the storms here. They blow in and blow out in a couple hours. And there are no buildings to block the view, so you can usually see both sides of the rainbow.

On July 3, my family called from the states! Another good day. And on July 4, during class, my sitemates surprised me with a cake! And so ended my four-day birthday celebration.
(Cultural sidenote: In Mongolia, I’m 25. When you’re born you’re 1 year old.)

Phone calls: For any parents or friends of volunteers interested in calling here, my parents found a site where you can buy calling cards for 5 cents a minute. It’s at www.mongoltown.com. It’s written in Mongolian, but there is a phone number and e-mail address to ask for help. I’m told it’s pretty easy to tell what each card is worth. You have to purchase the cards through paypal. They last for a certain number of months.