Just Some Pictures...

UB At Sunset

Just A Girl and Her Cows

Is This the Main Road Out of Town?  or  We Should've Taken A Left At That Last Yert.

Life Can Get Mundane. Even in Mongolia

I know I need to update this thing, but don’t really have too much to talk about right now.  I have been here for about 3 months and have found my routine.  My work is going well and have, in some ways, found my place here.  I know my way around the city and things don’t really stand out to me as being unusual or too different anymore.  I have a good social network and am meeting a lot of interesting people.  I guess I have found my stride.  While this feels like an accomplishment, it doesn't really lend itself to writing an interesting blog post.  I've actually been feeling a little bit down lately.  No longer is it “Wow look at this, I’m going to work in Mongolia!” Now it is just “Ugggh gotta go to work.” 

This isn't too unusual and have kind of been expecting it.  It seems like anytime I spend an extended period of time overseas the three month mark usually gets me.  Just the natural cycle of things I guess.   

Winter is coming and the temperature is dropping.  I expect this week to be the last week we will have warm temps.  It has been getting chilly in the evenings, but warms up quickly during the day.  This end soon and winter will be upon us.  One volunteer fully expects snow by the end of the month.  We’ll see what happens.  There has been some debate about when the city will turn on the plant that provides heating for the entire city.  When the plant fires up the smog roles in.  YEAHHH COAL!!! Tell me again how coal is clean and I’ll tell you you’re full of shit.  In a few months I’ll have some good pics to show too. 

So I will keep this one short, but I haven’t forgotten about the blog.  I also have a tendency to only write if I feel like I can fill up a page, but maybe I’ll just start putting up some quick posts that don’t take so much time. 

Winter will be here soon and with a whole bunch of new experiences to write about.

Asian Drivers...

You guys are doing it wrong.  

wut?

Nope

nope

nOpe

Almost got it, but not quite

So many horns...

If there is one thing that cuts right through me and brings about instant rage in this country it would be the traffic jams and the car horns.  They don't just beep once or twice.  They will lay on the horn for a solid 30 seconds then take a break only to lay on it again for another 30 seconds.  I don't know what they are accomplishing and it just makes me want to pull my hair out.  If I could I would take out every horn from every vehicle.  Your car horn is a privilege.  Not a right.

There is such a high demand for cars here that they come from all over.  Some have the steering on the right side, others on the left.  Nobody can see anything and the only rule on these roads is that there are no rules.

Oh and all these pictures were taken on the same day.  Its like this   All.  The. Time.
I have seen people get run over trying to cross the street and the cars just keep going.  I saw a little girl get run down and lay in the street until the ambulance came for her.  She survived, but was not in good shape.  Right around the time I got here a little old lady was hit by a bus and killed.
 I don't know why or where these thoughts came from but, ever since I was very little I always thought that was how I would go out.  Just get hit by a bus one day and that would be it.  It makes me nervous knowing that it is very possible here because there is no separation between the street and the sidewalk and the buses drive close enough to sidewalks  that it is totally within the realm of possibility that they would get close enough that a side mirror could clip you as you are walking down the street.  Also most of them have less than functional breaks.

Gastrointestinal Bug or Just a Case of the Mondays?

I woke up Monday morning feeling a little bit ill.  Not flu like so much just drained.  It reminded me of how I often felt when I was suffering from amoebas in Africa.  For about half an hour I thought maybe I had picked something up, but quickly came to the conclusion that it was just Monday morning.  

So my trip to the Gobi didn't happen over the weekend.  I was a little bit bummed out, but still managed to have fun in UB.  The weather has been very nice here, but it seems that no matter what activity you are doing there is a cloud hanging over it because everyone knows that in a few short weeks winter will be here.

So many conversations summed up.

Whether its the miscarriage causing pollution, the icy and dangerous sidewalks, -40 temps, or the fact the sun doesn't come up until 8:00 or 9:00 a.m. and is fully set by 5:00 p.m. there is so much not to look forward to about winter here.  Part of me dreads it, but part of me is looking forward to the challenge.  If this was easy then it wouldn't be worth it.  At least that's what I keep telling myself.

 No Time To Think

A friend of mine recently linked this article in the NY Times and it really got me thinking about my service in the PC.  Basically the article talks about how uneasy people get when they have no distractions like the internet or cell phones and they just have to exist in their own heads.  Some of the subjects would even go so far as to self administer electric shocks instead of having to exist in their own minds.

I think for a lot of volunteers there will inevitably come a time when you are out of distractions.  No more books to read.  No more battery left in your MP3 player.  No more text messages or people to call or those you have tried to reach don't respond.  Whatever the case may be at some point (and I can really only speak from own experiences) you will have to spend a lot of time in your own head.  It can be very uncomfortable.  

There are times when I look back at my 2 years in Africa and wonder if I was ever really in a stable place mentally.  Not only are you dealing with the heat, the parasites, the language, the culture, the bad food, and all the other physical things that make life so hard, but then you have to learn how to exist in your own head for hours on end.  And that can be the most challenging at times.  There were even times when I would have up to 5 or 6 guys sitting around my concession making tea and I still felt very alone.  They are speaking in a language you don't have a firm grasp on and as much as you try to engage you can only go so far.  I would sit there and chain smoke cigarettes because at least I was doing something with my hands that I could focus on.  I wonder if this is one reason why Peace Corps volunteers form such tight bonds with each other during their service.  I can't speak for every volunteer, but the group I served with in Mali are still some of my closest friends.  When you are all going through the same thing there is an understanding that forms and maybe you don't talk about it so much, but you all know and you help each other make it through.  And when you go off the rails a little bit hopefully they will be there to help you get back up and keep moving forward.  And volunteers do go a little nuts sometimes, but the people you serve with will help you when you need it most or at least be there so you aren't getting into trouble alone.  I remember the story that broke a few years ago about the marines who were caught urinating on the dead bodies of some people who they had just been in a fire fight with.  I am in no way condoning what they did and am not saying anything I went through was on that level of stress, but I couldn't condemn them either.  Maintaining your mental health can be one of the most difficult things even in the least stressful of environments.  And it can lead to actions that you wouldn't even consider doing if you were back home leading a normal life in a normal frame of mind. 

I also think this might be why Peace Corps volunteers who served in different countries can come together and get along so well.  We don't often talk about the mental challenges we faced.  Conversation usually tends to drift towards the weird things we ate or the physical maladies we faced, but for me there always seems to be an understanding about the other things that you go through.  There are many things that can be hard to reconcile mentally when you are faced with extreme poverty.  You may not want to bring them up in general conversation, but you know and they know and I always felt they understand more than anyone back home.  

Which brings up readjusting once you get back.  It took me a very long time to feel like I was fitting back in.  I feel like you are expected to just fall right back into life and the very small sum of money that you receive as a readjustment allowance doesn't give you much time before you have to find a job and get on with your life.  I haven't had this conversation too often, but there are volunteers who have told me that they go through the motions that are expected of them; finding a job, going to grad school, getting an apartment, hanging out in bars with friends etc... but no matter how normal they looked to everyone else, they were still feeling out of place.  And I'm not sure you ever get back 100%.  Peace Corps service is something that stays with you forever.  There is a lot of good that comes with it, but there is a lot of negative baggage as well.  It one of the reasons that for so many volunteers it is a major event in their life and stays with them as part of who they are forever.  I've talked with people who served in the 60's in the very beginning of Peace Corps and can tell that they still see it as a time in their lives that defined who they would become.  

I feel like I have started to ramble a little bit, but when my friend posted that NY Times article it really made think about the mental challenges I faced in the PC and a lot of volunteers face both during their service and after.  Living in these places away from your friends and family can be extremely rewarding, but out of all the challenges that come with a Peace Corps service sometimes the hardest ones are in your own head.             

Swear In

A friend of mine sent some pictures of my swear in ceremony so I thought I would put them up here.  When I first arrived in country there was a whole lot of admin activities to get through and at the end of it I was sworn in as a Peace Corps Volunteer.  There just happened to be a class of Mongolian English students in the building at the time so our Country Director thought we should use the opportunity for a little bit of a cultural exchange.  We all gathered in a conference room and these students were able to see what Peace Corps Volunteers go through in order to serve their country.  Darlene (the Country Director) took some time to explain the oath that we take and what it means for a volunteer to raise their hand and say the words.  So as I raised my right hand the Mongolian students brought out their cell phones and started to record the whole thing.  It actually was a neat experience.  I was afraid I would flub the oath, but when the audience doesn't understand English all that well I guess it isn't such a big deal.

Explaining the Peace Corps and the what the oath we take means

And then translating...

Officially a Volunteer

I think I'll be off to the Gobi this weekend.  Stay tuned for some adventures in the desert!

Naadam...More like Naa Damn That Was Fun!

Over the past weekend here in UB Mongolians celebrated their annual festival of Naadam. If you want to read up on Naadam You can go here but I won't go into too many details on the cultural significance here.  Basically it is a weekend full of archery, wrestling, horseback riding, music, and fun.  A good summer party.

I was also introduced to salsa dancing here in the city by another PCV (Laura) who has shown incredible tolerance while this white boy from the Midwest learns how to move his hips.  So far I'm about as stiff as the tin man without his oil can, but I have high hopes that by then end of my year here I'll have that two step down.  Keep with me Laura, I'll get there.

So I have a few pictures and a few videos for your entertainment.

Chinggis Khan approves of these festivities

Light show/concert on the square

Those kids did not seem too happy about being marched across the square in those wrestling outfits

Pooper scoopers

 And since I have the technology, some videos

On Sunday I ran into three British guys who we had met earlier in the weekend.  They had bought a large van and converted into a camper with bunks and a shower and are driving from Europe through Russia and are spending the next few weeks bumming around Mongolia.  They asked if I knew of a better place for them to park and I told them there should be space in the parking lot outside my building.  This turned into them staying with me for the next three nights.  I thought about being a jerk and just making them sleep in their van while I enjoyed my humongous apartment all to myself, but they seemed like stand up chaps and not really the murder you in your sleep type so I let them in. It was a lot of fun having them around and I didn't have to buy, cook, or wash anything while they were here.  They had a mountain of laundry though, and by the looks of it they hadn't seen a washing machine in awhile.

If you want to follow their adventure you can find them here
They are on a massive adventure as they plan to go from Mongolia through China and Nepal to end in India and then turn around and drive back on a whole new route.  Pretty epic.

They forgot they're forks here too so I think I came out ahead on this deal.

Its been an eventful few days.  Got some culture, met new friends, drank vodka.
Life was good.
I don't have to be back at work until Monday so I think I might take the rest of the week to relax and catch up on a few things.  Maybe give myself a haircut that I will thoroughly regret immediately after I do it.

May Hay While The Sun Is Shining

I went out to the countryside for a few days to help with a silage training. There isn't much for the cows to eat during the winter so they become less productive and don't make much milk.  There are a few groups who are starting to store silage and therefore have seen their milk production remain higher in the cold season.  It was great to get out of the city and spend some time in the country.  Doing things like this really made me feel like a Peace Corps Volunteer again.

Best mascot for a public toilet ever!

On the road

Getting the pit ready.

A small tractor like that is called a "putt putt"

You mean you haven't been instructed by an expert in his boxer briefs?  What's wrong with YOU?

Chop Chop

Wouldn't be Mongolia without the Mare's Milk.

The views you get in this place....

Almost done?

Getting dinner ready.

They thought this would make me squeamish, but little do they know this ain't my first rodeo.

Not quite done.

But we're losing daylight.

Finished

There is also a lot of weed chopped up in this silage.  Gonna have some happy cows come winter.

Meat, Vodka, Fire, Full Moon.  Not too bad.