UB: The Land of Milk, Honey, and Smog

This past week I was in Ulaanbaatar (UB); the land of milk, honey, and… smog! It was for our in-service-training which meant that all the expenses were paid for by the Peace Corps. So instead of 16 hour bus rides, I got in to UB with my teaching counterpart (CP) in a mere one and a half hours. It was the first time that my CP (Tumee) flew in a plane, which is not surprising because the fare ($375) is equivalent to 2 months of her salary. I can see that it was an interesting experience for her because she was looking out the windows the whole flight from her aisle seat.

We landed at 11:50 on Monday morning and headed straight for the Peace Corps office. The place was teeming with volunteers and their counterparts. People from all over the country consolidated at this one single point. It was a reunion of hugs and more hugs. People were chattering about, sharing stories of hardship and triumphs. But as I had errands to run, I left my CP at the office to acquaint herself with the place and meet other people. She was also waiting on people to come to pick up meat, yes meat, transported as “extra baggage” on the plane. Mongolia is quite an interesting place.

Tuesday morning we left early (7:00) from our guesthouse to catch the morning ride to the hotel where IST was to be held. The bus was suppose to leave at 7:45, but as this is Mongolia, everything runs late. My counterpart who is usually reliable and on time didn’t make it until 8, and if it wasn’t for this “Mongol time”, she would have had to pay for her trip out to the hotel. We drove through the UB smog and in 20 or so minutes reached our destination, a suburb on the mountains with pine trees and snow peaks. The Nukht hotel as it is called came with all the convenience of modern life. The room was clean, the beds were spacious, the bathroom! Oh my, the bathroom was so nice that I actually took a bath in it. After we registered for our room, it was on to the seminar right away.

Wednesday, as with most days, we started out with a three course breakfast. At 9 we moved intro a large conference room and began the day. We were broken up into 3 groups and had 1 and a half hour sessions throughout the day with topics ranging from team teaching, classroom management, and games for the class. Occasionally we break for tea in between sessions, and at 12:30, it was time for the 3 course lunch, delicious salad, soup, and then the main course. Lunch was the highlight of my day! After lunch we had more sessions until 6:30. And at 7 we had dinner, which had only 2 courses…boo. As you can tell by this paragraph, food is very important in my life.

During the day we had our seminar, but at night we had our сэмнайр (semin-nair = secret party.) The beer, vodka, and drinks flowed very easily. There were small dance parties all around, we had one in my room, and since there wasn’t that much room to begin with, the beds were even used as dance floors. To my surprise, everybody was up Thursday morning and ready to work. So it was another 9-7 routine. But Thursday was a special night as we had our talent show. It was good times all around as PCVs and our counterparts sang songs, read poetry, and told jokes. Much was lost in translation, but that didn’t matter since everybody was having fun. After the show, it was on to the dance floor and we all got down to techno and hip hop.

Friday we had a mini session and then it was time to pack at 2 and say good bye to the good life at the hotel. We took pictures and said our good byes to people that were leaving that day, and then we drove back to UB. At this point, it is the end of the Peace Corps sponsored IST, so if people wished to stay, it was out of their own pockets. And here I shall end part 1 of UB days. Look forward to Oasis, locked doors, freezing cold and Irish pubs in the next installment.

-

The Beginning of Something New...

As the name suggests, Final Center Days were the last of our training exercises before our actual field work as a Peace Corps Volunteer. As with all our training sessions, the days were packed with information and training materials. But there was much anticipation going into it because our LPI scores and site placements were to be announced.

The training kept us busy from morning til 6 @ night everyday. Some sessions were useful, while others were nothing more than snore fests. One of the highlights was when we me our director/supervisor for the first time. We were announced pair by pair, up to the point when there were a couple of volunteers left, but no supervisors around. Because of the unreliability of the transportation system, people coming in late were by no means an odd occurrence.

I did finally meet my director when she came in for an impromptu Peace Corps talent show at the hotel we were staying at. She is a tiny lady in her forties, but beautiful and showed no sign of aging beyond her years that afflicts so many other Mongolians. She is really easy to talk to, and so energetic. I think we will work well together.

The FCDs culminated with the all important swearing in ceremony. 59 Peace Corps Trainees became Peace Corps Volunteers after being sworn in by Ambassador Minton. As typical of most PC ceremonies worldwide, there was also a host culture performance by the new PC group, the M19s. Dances, songs, and instruments were played. All the performances were spectacular, it far exceeded my expectations.

After the ceremony, the good byes quickly followed, and of course the tears started flowing. For the people that were living close by, they had to leave the same day, which in my opinion is quite shitty. For those of us that had to travel further away, we loaded our goods and headed to UB, the capital. Logistically, the whole experience was a nightmare. But we did get to the city and I finally had the chance to indulge myself with delicious Korean food! After three months of mutton and fat, bulgolgi was nothing less than foodgasm.

I had one night in UB, well not even a night since I had to get up by 4 to catch my 6 o’clock plane for Choibalsan. So a group of us just decided to stay up. Had crappy Reisling, followed by some beer, conversation and music, and finally goodbyes @ 4. I couldn’t as for a better night and send off.

-