Jan 29 2008
I think I’m getting a cold
The internet still doesn’t work at my work computer
I will go soon to remove the stitches of Jason’s dog with Doug, as I am dogsitting said dog and the word has gone out that it needs to be done.
I may have a thesis topic
I have tuna fish!
Jan 22 2008
Back in Khovd and of mixed feelings - it was really nice to be in the US to visit Bonnie and talk to many friends and family, but it was a pretty rough first few days back here. I probably should have given myself a little more padding before getting back into the grind, but it was literally 24 hours after getting back from Philly I was en route to Seoul, then a 7 hour layover there, then overnight in UB and out from the guesthouse at 6am to catch the 8am flight to Khovd. Bleh. But! I am better now and dislike fewer things in the world compared to 72 hours before.
So, random things here - for example, my eyelashes freeze and stick together when I walk the 5 min or so from home to work. However I’ve been told by another PCV that January is the coldest month so I know I don’t have to expect more than this. A teacher I know told me that it was -35C overnight (morbid curiosity trivia: the C and F scales converge at -40) and I haven’t quite picked up my space heater yet for my house. That will definitely be remedied tomorrow. In the meantime I have worked on pseudo weather stripping some of my more ginormous drafts and nailed the equivalent of outdoor carpeting to the inside of my balcony door. I have also taken to the habit of sleeping early - as it’s coldest it seems right about 8-10pm and I’m definitely warmer if I wake up at 6am.
Other random thing - drinking vermouth and pretending it is both tasty and wine, which it sure isn’t. Once again, the requirement that you leave no bottle half-empty has punished me. Also random - currently vodka is not available due to over a dozen people dying during the new year from poisonous vodka. Some joker thought they could use wood alcohol in lieu of, oh, alcohol for human consumption, and thus many people became ill. Apparently at first you couldn’t buy any alcohol, and in some places still you can’t, but in Khovd the beer and vermouth/wine are selling well. This also means I can’t attempt to freeze vodka then take a picture sadly looking at it (or, I suppose, attempting to shoot it (ugh)) to show how cool it is here.
Finally, the stainless steel water bottle substitute for my dearly departed nalgene is working like a trooper. I’m not using it for drinking water much, mind you, but it makes a hot water bottle bar none for when I go to bed lately - it’s just a smidge away from being too toasty/burning when I have all my layers on in my sleeping bag. It’s also done well at rolling out biscuits and generally not getting easily lost.
Speaking of biscuits, looks like my biscuit-covered mutton stew is done. This is course #3 of stew, as I accidentally made too much. I meant to take a picture of my horrifically large carrot but was hungry and thus just chopped it up. It was about 2 1/2″ radius at its largest point and dwarfed the 3 potatoes it sat next to (malevolently).
Dec 03 2007
Since about thanksgiving or so it’s been awful hectic out here. First off, a few random observations:
I really like how so many songs, in particular men’s songs, focus on talking about how much you love your mother. Even the modern rap music mostly is about loving your mom. That and men in general seem to sing beautifully. And women, but the men sound very full and round, almost operatic, and this is men of all ages.
Secondly, I do not like how when I first go outside now I have to not breath in too deeply at first, cuz the cold air makes me cough.
I learned how to properly play poker (texas hold’em) last weekend. I haven’t won any pots yet, but I have to admit my yahtzee experience is helping bigtime in figuring out hands. Unfortunately my first successful poker experience involved me also eventually falling down and putting a hole through my jeans and long underwear, not to mention scraping my knee pretty thoroughly. It’s still purple now, but I hope it’s good by Monday as that is the first day of the indoor soccer league Jason here is organizing. It can’t be any worse than volleyball, and I need exercise, so I’m looking forward to running around.
Thanksgiving dinner was awesome! I didn’t kill the chickens but I helped pluck and gut them. Overall I would say that it’s not worth killing and eating chickens here if it takes at least an hour to prep them. We had everything I said we’d have and more…in particular we ended up making a banana cream/pudding pie with a decent meringue and shredded coconut. Meringue should only be made by hand if you have at least 5 people present so that you can share the beating job. Anyway, we ate by 7pm and then rested a bit, then ate again, then ate again the next day the remainder of the leftovers, so we’re following some of those Thanksgiving traditions, like being so full after the first round that I had to lay on the ground and rest a bit. Jen makes buttermilk biscuits that are awesome, so I need to watch her some more to improve my rolled/cut biscuits. I’ve been told that we’re technically high altitude, so maybe that’s why my biscuits don’t turn out well, but that’s always been the case regardless of altitude.
This past work week has been amazingly hectic. I’m editing a 100+ page report, finishing coding the qualitative responses to a DV survey, turning in a UNFPA distance ed adolescent sexual and reproductive health course, random other normal work, and had two Mongolian lessons to boot. With this being a 4-day week (but really more like a 6, as I’m working today with supporting a training, and tomorrow with the disabled children’s society) I’m already pooped. And last night we had a MDG (Millennium Development Goal) contest amongst college students, and I didn’t know what I was getting myself into. This was no mere quiz contest – there seemed to be three “events,” including musical/dance show about the MDGs, dramatic interpretation of MDGs, and a quiz section. Each team competed in each event and it ran from 4 to 8. I’m sure there was the usual drama about ballot-stuffing, etc 
but the judges were prominent local people so it looked very legit.
World AIDS day is today, but due to logistical shenanigans here Stacey and I (and others) are making it into a World AIDS month…at least yesterday all the invited guests, judges, and announces were bedecked with the ribbons Stacey made, and a couple people are wearing them at the training today too. Bleh.
Anyway, gotta run – going to now post this at the post office, then run back to do more work and maybe eat lunch. Pictures of dinner, etc., really are coming eventually when I get a chance to breathe.
Nov 12 2007
For most of the weekend there was no power which more than anything hindered my playing of Pirates! Gold (on an old Sega Genesis emulator, no less) and finishing the Battlestar Galactica DVD that Amy and Jordan sent me. Speaking of which, I will need to email em to find out whether that was the movie or the series - the special effects were very good and I can’t imagine such nice explosions through a several year-long project.
The other thing I determined is that I think the dvd drive on my laptop is wonky. It’s given me I/O errors for several cds/dvds I’ve used with it, and the DVD viewing has been stuttering/jerky to the point where I couldn’t even watch the last 8 minutes of the aforementioned sci-fi series. When I bring it to work, though, no I/O errors when copying or anything…so that may be something else I need to remedy when in LA. Bleh.
So, my feeling on the DVD-sans-last-8-minutes - gritty version of Star Trek with a more Buck Rogers feel and more gratuitous parts (you know, for those who watch scifi for the attractive alien women) So it’s been quite good. I remember as a kid switching off Battlestar Galactica if it came on because all I wanted to watch was Buck Rogers. Ah, how times have changed.
It’s been nice to do some super geeky things…normally I don’t have time for it…but I’ve also been working on learning guitar chords too. I figure that if I know enough of em, I in theory can play a tiny bit more than I can already. So far I know all the basic key chords (C, G, F, etc.) and the relevant minor/dominant chords for C, and some of the alternate chords for C. Maybe this will improve my concept of theory by osmosis as well.
Not having power isn’t too big of a deal. In Khovd generally speaking no power also means no heat and no water. I have candles and matches, and Peace Corps gave us propane stoves and I have fuel canisters, and I have a 15 liter water barrel full of water. The apartment walls are very thick, so it doesn’t get too cold, and the heavy-duty sleeping bag helps a lot. What suffers most is my laundry and my hair, as I’m down to about weekly baths (and twice-a-week hair washing if I’m lucky) and I don’t want to waste my water reserve on either. Besides, I draw the line at cold water bucket baths. It needs to at least be warm.
I also tend to put off cooking - but maybe that’s due to all the reading I’m doing instead. I got a delicious meal of imported red beans and rice where I contributed what was supposed to be corn bread but due to circumstances became hoecake - sort of. Still tasty and all, but not quite what was expected.
We’re gearing up for Thanksgiving - or at least talking about what to cook. Cranberry sauce is out, as is turkey, but we’re discussing the mechanics of finding and killing chickens…
Oct 08 2007
Lost power for a bit, did absurd amounts of stairs and walking for dog-peeing exercises, damn 6am…made bread, climbed a small mountain/hill with people and puppy, generally pooped. Oh, and winterized (aka sealed windows) apartment. It’s quite cold in the office today 
