Summer in the City

It has been forever since I have updated anything on here because my summer has been all over the place in a very good way! I was able to come back to America for about a month visit during June which was amazing! I had such a good time spending time with friends and family and just doing things I enjoy in America that I haven't been able to do here. Eating hummus, salads, pizza, bagels, Mexican food.... ahhhhh, America, it was a beautiful month at home! So my first few days back in Mongolia felt a little strange. I was kind of surprised by that, as people always had said, "oh will you want to go back to Mongolia after being in America?" to which I was always like, "Of course, I love it there!" And being back now is fabulous, but those first couple of days were a little strange. So I am glad to be back in the swing of things here and feeling good about my next year of Peace Corps service. I start teaching the new group of volunteers this next week, which I'm really nervous about right now. I hope after the first few lessons I will know what they are like a bit more and what works when facilitating their lessons and what doesn't and planning for everything will get easier. These past few days have been a little stressful trying to get everything ready for lessons just because I have no idea what to expect when I go into the classroom with them. At this point I am used to teaching kids who speak minimal English -Not American adults who can understand all of the words coming out of my mouth! So my hope is that they are not too tough on me and our lessons go alright and are enjoyable.

Living in the city in an apartment has been really nice. I am living the high life with running water and all that these days. It has allowed me to go running more because I can shower after. Usually I even see a few Mongolian people out running in the morning when I am. I always see cute older men and women walking for their morning exercise. I don't think running here is a big thing at all so it is always kind of surprising and cool when I do pass those one or two people out for a run when I am. The other really nice thing about the city is all the food options. I can buy any fruit or vegetables (for the right price) but still it is an option here! Fruit and vegetable stands are set up outside too so I can just grab what I need on the corner right by my apartment. I am sitting in a coffee shop with wireless right now, another amazing perk of living in the city. As great as the city is, I think by the end of summer I will be ready to go back to my Soum life. It's awesome to get a taste of living here, but where I really will want to be for the next year is my Soum. The break in America and my time in the city this summer I think is going to give me great energy to get things done in my school next year. At the end last year I was pretty tired out and needed a break, but now I am getting really excited about everything this next school year has in store.