A Heart-breaking Goodbye

Well, it has been quite a long time since last we posted anything here. It's certainly not for lack of interesting things happening. It's more because of being so enmeshed in projects, Peace Corps stuff, and, especially, wanting to spend all of our time and focus "right here, right now."I (Julie) spent 4 wonderful days in a tiny town in the countryside with my 4 "sons," Turbold, Muundii, Huujii and Hatnaa (in that order in the photo), and Turbold's lovely family.


















Then, Jimmy and I went with Turbold and his family back to the same tiny town for a fantastic Naadam experience. His mom and dad were wonderful hosts, and made sure to help us experience all of the best things about this ancient Mongolian holiday. (In the photo, Turbold's mom, Baterdene is on the far left, his little brothers Onobold and Ganbold are next, then his dad, Tumersukh, then some of the extended family). The highlight was one of the horse races, where we got to ride in the car that follows the racers to the starting line, and then drive like maniacs across the open steppe as we follow alongside the horses racing back toward the finish. It was exhiliarating! And we beat the horses to the starting line with just enough time to lay out a carpet on the grass and polish off a bottle of vodka (among 8 of us), have a toast or two and eat some candies before the horses showed up. Never a wasted moment! (Notice in the photo that some of the riders [all kids] rode bareback, and many had no shoes. I swear some of these kids can ride a horse before they can walk!)

In addition to those 2 extended countryside visits, my counterparts took us out for a day, and Jimmy's did later, both of which included lots of great food and great laughs. Jimmy's, of course, was a little crazier, since he works with several men who LOVE to strip down to their skivvies and get in the river, and who love even more to throw the women (fully clothed and kicking & screaming) in afterward. This is a ritual we have observed several times before: the men get in, women say they're not going in but stay next to the river anyway, then the men grab the women and take them into the water. (That's Jimmy with Boogii and Enkhee in the water, and my teachers are in the next picture: Otgo, Saranchimeg, Uyunga, Zoloo, Sarantuya and Chimgee.)

I also attended the nicest high school graduation I've ever seen. It was Turbold and Muundii's class, and it was filled with energy and hand-clapping and kids all standing and holding hands and singing together, and teachers singing songs for the kids, and just a huge celebration. It was wonderful to see so many of the fantastic kids I've gotten to know celebrate such a special day. We followed the ceremony with a Chinese dinner and then karaoke. And if you've only ever seen/done karaoke in America, you have no idea what fun it can be! Folks here LOVE karaoke, and these kids, singing on their graduation night, sang with every ounce of their energy and heart.
Throughout all of this fun and frivolity, Jimmy has been working like crazy on the Anna Home expansion project. With the help of financing and planning by a Dutch group, Anna Home is expanding. Prior to this summer, there were 2 small bedrooms, a small living room and kitchen for 25 kids. In a few months, there will be 3 large bedrooms, a woodworking shop and computer/sewing room, a bathroom with running water (there is no bathroom now, only an outhouse), new electrical and heating systems, and an expanded living room. While Jimmy did not initiate this project, he has put in hours and hours of time and effort into making it happen and monitoring/training the construction crew. The kids are, naturally, thrilled about the whole thing, and are helping with whatever aspects they are allowed to help with. During our last week in Cho, Boldsaikhan, the director and our friend, invited us to Anna Home for a farewell gathering. The kids and their teacher made us a delicious meal, sang us a special song, and gave us loads of homemade "thank you" cards. When we left, they all insisted on individual photos with each of us (that's about 50 photos!), then followed us out to the car, where they surrounded us, blowing kisses and reaching in to grab our hands one last time, and then chasing the car to the end of the street (one little boy holding my hand as he ran next to the car). It was so darned SWEET!!!

As the days counted down to our departure from Cho, we squeezed in as many visits with folks as we could. On the two days before our departure day, we had an "open house," where we made lots of food (chili, cornbread, potato salad, apple cake, brownies and sugar cookies) and said thank you and goodbye to about 50 wonderful friends, co-workers and students. We gave away everything but what our luggage could carry, packed everything else, said long goodbyes, and ended with a champagne toast to two amazing years and especially this group of amazing people.

Then, we went outside to find that 4 cars (about 20 people) were loading up to follow us to the airport, 20 minutes away! It was overwhelming and wonderful, and I cried all the way to the airport. All of our counterparts (the man in the photo with me is Zoloo, one of my teacher counterparts), 6 of my students (in the photo at the end is my 4 sons, Gantuya and Elberel, all from a class I taught during my first year here), 2 other PCVs, Boldsaikhan (PCV Sarah and Boldsaikhan are with Jimmy in the photo), and several other friends came and stayed with us
until our plane took off. We had two rounds of toasts, first with Jimmy's Ger Sanachilag counterparts, then with my teachers, did lots more hugging and crying, then went inside to board. The hugs continued until the security folks finally insisted that we come through security to the boarding area. I'll never forget all those beautiful faces, crammed together in the little entryway into the security room crying, my "sons" hugging and consoling each other as they said one, two, three final goodbyes.

I will remember that day for the rest of my life. Jimmy and I both felt so utterly honored and appreciated and loved. Saying goodbye was almost unbearably painful, and at the same time, we both felt like the luckiest people alive to have had the kind of experience that led us to this point. It's so cliche, and yet it couldn't be more accurate: it's not the place, it's the people. Thinking back to our first impressions of Cho, we realized that falling in love with our neighbors made us fall in love with our dusty brown little town. Tan Soviet block apartment buildings actually became beautiful. Avoiding open manholes over unlit walking areas after dark became a fun game. Even listening to the wailing in the karaoke bar outside our apartment at midnight was no longer an annoyance. We knew that we shared these buildings, these "danger zones" and these Mongolian songs with some of the sweetest people on Earth, and being all in it together made it all worthwhile.