Ploofle

So today has been a very nice day thus far - I woke up and cleaned a bit, spoke a bit of Mongolian with my current roommate Suzie’s tutor, got to talk on the phone for a long time with Bonnie, chatted with Rongrong and some PCVs who wandered into this cafe - speaking of which, I am in a *coffeeshop*. With *wifi*. And I’m rocking the wifi (as people say here), not to mention the windows update (15 patches), virus scan updates, and collecting a few podcasts. There is a potluck tonight for those in UB, so that’ll be fun too I suspect. But I’m in a very happy place, with iced coffee, wifi, and a sunny window seat. Other than lingering cold and stomach issues (I’m taking it now that every time I make a major move I’ll have stomach issues) and the lack of a Bonnie, I’m good.

Maybe it’s the two (I splurged) iced coffees talking.

Next week I get to meet formally the UB officepeople at dinner, so I should prolly prepare to speak in Mongolian, sing, dance, or something. That’s common apparently for intro things - dance, monkey! I’m considering wearing my nice suit too, but we’ll see about that. Further info on Mongolian life…at least in the reality-bending area (read: aberration) that is Ulaanbaatar. For example, many many people that I encounter here in everyday situations speak English. Thus, I’m going to have to work pretty hard on keeping up my Mongolian. They also sell cheese here, as well as stuff like coconut milk, and they have actual flush toilets. Oh, and hot running water Living it up with the bathing and everything…

Here you have to be a bit careful about crossing the streets. It reminds me of Thailand, but they’re less likely to stop for you, even. It’s rather a bit of staredown during high-traffic times. I’m glad I had practice doing that from bike-riding, as eye contact is a good way to prevent squishing.

Speaking of bikes, I’m thinking of getting one when I get to site in a couple weeks. I may be able to only use it for about a third of the year, but I miss movement like that…though last night I got from another PCV video files of, erm, exercise tapes and yoga. To pass on to other Khovd people, of course…I also think I’ll get a basketball out there.

The day before yesterday was quite cold - by the early evening it was in the mid-40s I think, but now it’s back up to 70s or 80s. I have on my google homepage the forecasts for Khovd, UB, and Atlanta in Fahrenheit and it’s interesting to compare - as it’s near 100 in Atlanta right now. Man…how will I survive the cold?

Concerning clarification of what’s available here and not - we definitely have meat, most root vegetables, and dairy products (except nice cheese). We also definitely have vodka and beer. And ice cream. It’s hard to say what’s available in Khovd and not in the prime harvest time, where more than usual is available between the season and the relatively passable roads, but for now many things can be obtained here in some form or fashion. Instant foods in general are not available in any form excepting fairly iffy instant ramen, but staples are ok. Spices are iffy too. Concerning packages, don’t worry too much about contents - as long as you pack ok, it’ll be all good.

Oh, and I have a cell phone number and address now. I will be posting it shortly on Facebook and perhaps here - I’m not so sure about security, but I suspect it would be common knowledge where the office is located at least, so it’s not really a compromising disclosure. And people who want to drunk dial Mongolia? I’ll take that risk Updated photos from final training wrap-ups are coming along too…miss you all and hope I see you around online sometime…

Tags: food, mongolia, peace corps

I’m continuing to virtually live out of a bag (and a large laundry tub of from-America food) here in UB. I’m staying with a PCV though, and her apartment is quite nice and close to my office, plus she’s nice too and is an excellent baker. I’ve mostly been going through the usual administrative hoops one goes through in starting a new job - orientations, trainings, briefings, meetings, etc.

The security components of the briefings have been comprehensive and successful in making me appreciatively paranoid(er) about just about everything They take such matters very seriously here, and it makes me want to compare it to my experiences in the US. I don’t remember being too alarmed about walking alone at night, or taking shortcuts, or climbing dark stairwells. Maybe I was being a bit complacent in the US, as that doesn’t sound too unreasonable nowadays.

I’ve been given a lot of readings and information about Mongolia that is specifically UN or UNFPA-published to catch up and help decide what areas I’d be most interested in. I have some ideas already, but it’d be best to find areas that are already supported by my organization for a springboard. I’ve also been helping with editing of English translation of Mongolia technical reports.

Sometimes it’s weird to think of what I’m doing now - it’s so different from where I was before, and it’s unexpected even based on what I’d be doing only a few weeks ago. Wow, I’m (sorta) working for the UN. I’m (sorta) working for one of the largest international NGOs out there.

Overall, though, I’m as well as can be reasonably expected, though for the past few days I’ve had a head cold. Plenty of fruits and veggies here in UB, which is probably exaggerated by it being actually summerish. Not sure about winter, but I won’t be here for much of that anyway…

Tags: mongolia, peace corps

Let’s pretend this is a mad lib of sorts. Actually, I’m using a real mad lib story generator (thanks, the Interweb!) and editing from there. Here goes:

An amusement park is always fun to visit on a hot summer Khovd. When you get there, you can rent a UNFPA and go for a swim. And there are lots of chilly things to eat. You can start off with a hot dog on a Charlene with mustard, relish, and watermelons on it. Then you can have a buttered ear of frito pie with a nice fantastalicious slice of boiled sheep guts and a big bottle of cold fermented mare’s milk.

FYI, I can’t say I enjoy sheep’s guts much, but I can eat a few pieces of the liver that comes along with it. And I’ll help clean/prep the guts. Apparently it’s an acquired taste and many eventually come to like it…

Also, here’s a google map of Khovd.

Tags: food, madlibs, mongolia, peace corps, silly

First full day of being in Ulaanbaatar is coming to a close. I had a way too expensive for my means of living dinner last night (Indian food, Chicken Tikka Masala, where rice came as an extra, and that wasn’t as good as Bengal Tiger) at 9000 tugriks. We’ve visited several health organizations based in UB so far plus gotten a few more administrative tours. We also got a survival tour that included stores that had coconut milk, instant japanese curry, dashi, and other things asian, so that is verrry nice to know. I’ll probably spoil myself food-wise for the next month, but man, what can you do when you see instant sloppy joe mix??

I’m adjusting back to city stuffs, too - it was pretty disorienting to see 4-lane traffic, plus traffic lights and congestion. Any single food store in this city is better stocked than 3 of them put together back where I was - I saw a pound bag of dried cranberries for $16, though, so that can give you a sense of how much things can cost. But man, there are sooo many flush toilets here! but given the condition sometimes, I rather prefer the outhouse I had out in the countryside.

I’ll post links next time I’m online concerning Khovd, my organization, and other stuff, but for now I have to run - have to walk in groups when it gets closer to nightfall, and I have exorbiant Indian food leftovers to eat…

Tags: food, mongolia, peace corps

so, here I am, back in Darkhan, for my final training days. This morning’s leaving was a bit rough, as was the packing last night. My host mom helped me pack my items and I don’t know how I’ll ever get it all back in the bags again if I open them. She also finagled from me a conference tote bag that Bonnie had delivered my winter boots in before I left Atlanta. She was very impressed with its construction and I finally gave it to her. I figure Bonnie collects em, so hopefuly my favorite person (wink wink) can send me another one, perhaps full of books, eventually :D.

My host mom sent me off with a jar of excellent homemade pickles - with a peppery kick - and homemade preserves. Both are tasty and I hope they keep a while as it’s just me digging into them. This morning my host mom and sister both cried as I was leaving, and I was crying some too. My host mom threw milk on the microbus and its interior as good luck and was sniffly, and it went from there. I worked really hard with my family, both as a member of the household and with my Mongolian language, and I think we were a good match and liked each other a lot. So, it was kind of like leaving again for the big wide world after being taught a lot and (in my case) corrected a lot I will miss them and I’ve been told to call a lot and especially once I get to UB to let them know I’m ok. I’m also not supposed to wear my Birkenstocks on the Host family appreciation day event with my nice Deel that they made me, because it’s not pretty. Hmph.

Today was also the day of our permanent site announcements. I learned that I will be working in Khovd aimag with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Mongolia Western Regional office. Khovd is indeed western and known for its distance from UB as well as its excellent watermelons. The first month, though, I will be in UB working at the UNFPA main office - most everyone else is leaving for Khovd mid-August. It’ll be an interesting next few months. I will have a flatmate for the month in UB before I’m on my own again. It will be nice to experience the city life a bit.

I also surprisingly got a package today from my Uncle Emmitt and Aunt Glenda - relatives on my dad’s side of the family - full of nice treats and a few photos of my cousin’s wedding in Jamaica. It was a nice treat and I’m enjoying (literally) the nuts and fruits of its labors now. Also kinda funny, but I got a absentee ballot from Seattle for primaries. So apparently I am set up properly for voting, though I still haven’t gotten my Voter ID card, which I’ve been craving like nobody’s business.

Concerning news, I was saddened to see the broadening of warrantless wiretapping by Bush and heartened to see the rule of law and the judiciary strengthened in Pakistan. That’s about all I remember from the past month or so…

Also, another M-18 here who was in Thailand for medical leave has a copy of a Thai-language movie that he didn’t know was dubbed that I will likely get, as I’m the only one here (I think) who understands enough to enjoy it. That’ll be a nice brain-bending exercise - watching an English movie dubbed into Thai in Mongolia. I think I’ll be up for it.

Alrighty, I better run now to make other communications and prepare some photos to give to my host family. I’m hoping over the next few days to check up on other UW IHP PCMI’s (wow, the acronyms!) statuses.

Tags: mongolia, peace corps