When I got accepted to Peace Corps Mongolia, I was convinced it was because I mentioned in my interview that I have a wood furnace at home… that I am used to making a fire and keeping it going to maintain a warm house. I thought that my ability to live in the country and grow foods, harvest foods, and be without the city’s resources was what made me a good candidate for Peace Corps Mongolia. I could picture myself thriving in an isolated ger… I thought Peace Corps Mongolia could, too. I envisioned myself going on this list titled, “Fit for a Ger.” All throughout training, I paid attention to how my host family cooked all of their food on a wood stove. I remembered to bring toilet paper everywhere for using outhouses. I looked forward to gathering enough water for my ger to get me through snow storms and long periods of cold.

Then, Peace Corps placed me in one of the largest cities in Mongolia with heat, running water, a stove, oven, refrigerator, and even a king-sized bed.

There is no way you will ever catch me complaining about this. I am so excited to have these resources throughout my service, but at the same time, it presented quite the personal conflict.

Before I left home, I told everyone I was going to Mongolia, a place that could rarely be correctly identified on a map, where I could live with limited resources and be just fine. Everyone told me how brave I was to choose a lifestyle like this for myself and it made me feel both nervous and excited for my journey. Now, I’m telling everyone about my beautiful apartment with a grocery store closer to me than ever before in the United States.

To put it simply, I felt like a fake Peace Corps Volunteer. We sign up to live at the level of the locals, teach English and American culture, and bring the experience home two years later to teach about the Mongolian culture. It took a few days for me to remember that I am still doing all of those things in my city apartment, the same as other volunteers are from their small soums and gers.

Living with less resources does not make you a better or “realer” Peace Corps Volunteer.

Many many Mongolians live in apartments in the cities. Nomadic life does not encompass all Mongolian life, not even the majority of Mongolian life anymore, although it remains central to their culture.

We were told repeatedly to have zero expectations about where we will be placed. Foolishly, I just didn’t even entertain the thought of an apartment, even though that is where many of us PCVs were placed.

So, here’s to my new life. I am neighbors with one of my CPs, a 30 second walk to the nearest store, a two minute walk from my school, and within a 20 minute walk from three other PCVs. The school that I am teaching at has a very high level of English. This city in general has many residents who speak English very well.

I talked to one of my Regional Managers about my placement after finding out. She never mentioned my interview or even my home life. She spoke solely of my resume. My school has a psychologist who I can run Psychology Club with–I was a psychology major. My school has a great foundation in speaking English, but they would like to increase their writing abilities–I was a writing minor. The fact that I played volleyball was just the icing on the cake for my placement. Many Mongolian schools enjoy participating in volleyball competitions, especially the teachers at my school.

I guess wood furnaces aren’t that big of a deal.

This is why we were told so often not to have expectations when it came to site placement. There is so much more going on behind the scenes that is meant to not only give us the best experience possible, but to enable us to make the largest impact possible for our communities, too.

September 1st always marks the first day of school in Mongolia. A ceremony is held, even on the weekend, to celebrate the beginning of learning for the year. I cannot wait to not only teach, but continue to learn, too.

Emilie

P.S. Here’s a few pictures I took of my apartment a day or two after settling in. 🙂