Би монгол хэл сурч байна!!!

That's pronounced "bee mongolh khailh surch bane" and it means "I'm learning Mongolian!" It's true, but that doesn't mean it's easy. Host family life has been quite the reality check after the relative ease of living with a bunch of other PCTs in Zuunmod for five days. But my family is really wonderful (that's them up top... they're much more cheerful than they look), even if I can't communicate with them, and there are ten other PCTs here in town that I get to see pretty often. Nevertheless, I've done several things for the first time in the last few days which have all been quite... interesting, to say the least. I've...

• pooped in a nasty outhouse, although actually it smelled better than some that I've used in the states
• washed my clothes by hand... and that's a lot of work!
• seen my host sister breastfeed about twenty-five times a day
• bathed my entire body while standing in a tiny bucket... I got water EVERYWHERE
• heated my ger with dried dung
• eaten a fucking goat's head!

Actually none of these experiences have been that unpleasant. And this town is so beautiful. I admit that there are moments when I retire to my ger and stare off into the vast emptiness and wonder what the hell I'm doing, but as soon as my sister (Purevesuren) or father (Gankhuyag) come and ask me "tsai oh?" which means "do you want some tea," I remember all the good will around me and the struggle becomes totally worth it.

Also, clearly there is internet here. It's incredibly slow however. I'll try to post once a week just to let you know I'm alive and how things are going. When I get to Zuunmod in July for Mid-Summer Days, you can expect a longer, more comprehensive description of what I've been up to. Maybe some pictures too!

Biggest surprise so far? Burning animal poop doesn't smell bad. In fact, it really smells quite nice. You probably won't believe it, but maybe I wouldn't have ten days ago either. Holy argalin it's only been ten days!