the end of training!!!

August 13, 2008

Last night, I was at the internet place for almost three hours. There are a couple of you who were on at the same time (12 hours behind me, in time) so I had a chance to exchange a few emails with you. That was nice. I got to use the place here in Darkhaan that has wi-fi, so I had a chance to use my own computer. Not only is it faster, but it’s cheaper, too. The only downside is that since I don’t get on the internet with my computer that much, whenever I do, the first thing my computer does is download all the Windows updates that it’s not had a chance to get. That tends to slow down things a little bit. It’s worth it, so I don’t mind too much. Another thing that took so long is that I was downloading the new Nas CD from Amazon. I love new music; and Nas is pretty good at what he does. Amazon is fairly priced, though it is a bit slow. Does anyone know of any sites that are cheaper than Amazon, that might be a little faster? I don’t have an iPod, or iTunes, so please don’t recommend anything that has to do with those.

Every time that I’ve been away from Darkhaan for a while, I forget about the pollution. It’s the second largest city in Mongolia, and it has the pollution to match. I’ve gotten used to living in the countryside where the only pollution is random trash fires, dung fires, and a few cars. Here, it affects my sinuses some: I get those nasty black boogers, and I’m constantly “harrumphing,” because my throat catches when I talk. Yuck! That is one reason that I didn’t want to actually live in the capital. Do you ever see Asians on TV who walk around with those face masks? Well, it’s because of the pollution. Before I knew where I was going, I had already decided that if I was going to be in the capital, or another big city, I was going to invest in some of those face masks. That stuff is as bad as smoking. Worse, you don’t really know you’re getting it, and you can’t get away from it. Only a few more days.

Today’s sessions weren’t that bad. Some people find them to be a bore, but I never mind them. The longest ones are about an hour and a half, and then the subject changes to something else totally different. And there are always handouts on anything that we really need to know, so all we need to do is sit there and listen; or act like we’re listening. Being that I have the imagination of a 5-year-old, I find myself doing a lot of acting. But I usually have a good knowledge of what’s being talked about, so it’s not that big of a deal.

This evening, I went to dinner at a place called Nice Café. It is really close to our hotel, and it is the cheapest place in town. I had chicken fried rice, and I put plenty of soy sauce on it. I haven’t had chicken, fried rice, or soy sauce since I’ve been here, so it was extra good. That’s one of those dishes that I plan to make once I get settled into my apartment.

Oh, I forgot: when we swear in, we will get a Peace Corps issued cell phone. It will be ours, and we will have our own phone numbers; and we can call anyone, anywhere, that we want to. Whenever I find out what my number will be, I’ll let you know what it is. I have no idea how much it costs to make international calls, but I would love to hear from any of you whenever you might feel like calling or texting me. As I’ve mentioned before, I won’t be able to afford calling you, but all incoming calls and texts are free in Mongolia. That’s one good thing they have going for them. Too bad all cell providers in the U.S. don’t have that policy. But if they did, I’m sure they would have some other way to gouge you for money.

Earlier this week, we found out that taxi prices have gone up. Like everywhere else in the world, they say it is due to rising gas prices. This time, I think it might have to do with the Georgian/Russian war. Have you heard about it? I haven’t had much of a chance to keep up with international news like I did when I was back in the U.S., but I did get to read a news article about it last night. There is a major fuel line going through Georgia. Though the fighting is no where near the fuel line, it has affected the price. I won’t write my opinion about it, but “can’t we just all get along?”

There is partying pretty much every night when we all get together in Darkhaan. Though I’m not drinking, I still hang out with everyone. It’s about time for everyone to get started, so I’m going to go and check out the scene.

August 14, 2008

After we swear in as official Peace Corps Volunteers on Saturday, most of us will go to the capital, Ulaanbaatar (UB). The city, as may be expected, is the biggest one in the country, having a population of 1 million-plus people. Also, as may be expected, it has the highest crime rate in the country. The city is a whole different world. The first part of our day consisted of a session intended to scare us about walking around the city like a tourist. It was a fun session, consisting of pick-pocket demonstrations; but it was also a scary one, consisting of stories of random foreigners getting beat up just because of who they are. Throughout all of our training this summer, it has been pounded into our head that the idea of the police here is totally different than what we are used to in the U.S. You can’t always expect help from them. So, you have to take your own safety and security into your hands and be aware of everything around you. This is one of the reasons I am glad that I’m not placed in the “city.” I put it in quotes because in Mongolia, there is only one city, and that is UB. (By the way, only foreigners call it UB: Mongolians almost always say the full name.) At dinner tonight, with PCVs who live in UB now, those of us who are to be placed there were made to feel a bit better.

Today, we were to meet our directors. Usually we are dressed very casually for the sessions, in t-shirts, shorts, and flip-flops. I, like everyone else, was sure to wear my suit today. On the walk to the school this morning, the temperature was still cool. It’s still summer for another six weeks or so, so it was as hot as can be before we were to meet our directors. I think I’ve told you there is nothing like air conditioning here. Sometimes, there will be one oscillating fan in a room that holds 200+ people. Most times, I don’t mind sweating, but when I’m dressed up, I absolutely hate it. As I’ve written many times before, there is no humidity like in Alabama, so I wasn’t sweating like I would have if I’d been there; but I still did. That had me irritated, and on top of the anxiety of meeting my boss for the next two years – who speaks as little English as I do Mongolian – I was having a time of staying calm. When it was time to meet our directors, they did it much like they did when they announced our sites and jobs: we were all on one side of the room; the directors were on the other side; and they randomly called out the matches. Every time that it sounded like it could be me, I would tense up. Finally, there were six of us left, and no directors. We were told that our directors were still on the way. So, here I was with all this built up anxiety, and no release. Immediately after that, I had to walk back to the hotel for lunch, sweating more and more with every step. Grr! I rushed through my lunch so I could go back to my room to cool down and calm down. That didn’t get to happen, though. As soon as I stood up to leave, my director walked through the door. I had to sit there, sweating, and have an awkward conversation with her. She was late because the taxi she had taken had some kind of troubles. That is by no way unheard of here, so there was nothing to be done about it. She seemed really nice, but I was irritated. After that, we had to go through a meeting concerning our money matters, and it was all I could do to pay attention. Even worse, my irritation was aggravated by the fact that I am considered a part of UB, but I will not be on the same pay-scale. UB people will get paid approximately 180,000tg per month; I will get paid approximately 130,000tg per month. The reason that UB gets that much is because things are more expensive there. That’s cool, I totally understand that. The reason that my pay sort of bothers me is that I have to go into the capital to buy some of the things I will need. Oh well. I’m sure I’ll find some way to work around it. I’ll let you know how it turns out.

I asked my director when she expects me to show up to work. She told me Monday morning. I’m really going to see if I can’t talk her into letting me have at least a few days off before I have to be there. After two and a half months of a rigid schedule, I need some time to detox and settle in.

This evening, the CYD group went to spend about an hour at the orphanage. It was cool to see some of the kids again. I didn’t spend much time with the boys, though. I’m still mad about them stealing my money. I still haven’t been reimbursed for that. I’m working on it. Yeah, it’s only 5,000tg, but that’s a lot of money.

Oh, I figured out how to write in Cyrillic on my computer. Did you know that you can go to the Start menu, All programs, Accessories, System tools, and Character map, and then be able to type in different languages? I didn’t, but someone told me and I figured it out. So, I have that ready for you. Some people also got their cell phones today, since they won’t be going through UB to go to their site. In their phones, they had everyone’s number in there. I got my phone number. I won’t get my phone until Saturday, though. So, when I send you my mailing address, I will give you my phone number, too. I will most likely give it to you before I have my phone, so wait until Sunday before you try to call or text me. The number that I give you will have the country code on it.

I thought of something to tell you that I told you I would tell you when I could. During my training, I was in a city called Sukhbaatar. It is a town in the very north of the country, in Selenge aimag, right against the Russian border. Just thought I would tell you. Maybe you can find it on some map on the internet. It’s not the same as Sukhbaatar aimag, which is to the east of the country. Now that I’m going to my site, I won’t have my address posted on my blog. As I said, I’ll be sure to send it to every one I can think of who might want it.

August 15, 2008

First of all, from my good buddy The Craziest of Carls:

So the most people fit into a car or motor vehicle is 42. There were only two cars with 42, and I couldn't figure out what they were. Like the fifth most people fit into a car was the one I would most relate to being like a VW Bus. It is a Renault Espace, and they fit 34 people into it, probably not too comfortably as they were going for sheer numbers, not to travel anywhere. The two that were the most, one a 56 seater double decker bus the other a Mercedes Benz bus with a normal capacity of 144 people. The 56 seater fit 354 people on it and the Mercedes fit 438. Hope that this was informative and close to what you were lookin fer. Peace Trip. Two fingers nickel.

Today 1 US Dollar = 24.32156 Russian Rubles, which 100 Kopeek = 1 ruble
another site said 1 dollar = 24.4225 rubles, basically 1 ruble = 4 cents. So a 20 kopeek piece would be 1/8 of one cent, 8/1000's of a dollar. 1 kopeek would be 4/10,000's of one dollar.
in 1961 I don't know what the exchange rate would've been, but I did find out that in 1991, the ruble was revalued at 1 ruble now equalling what 1000 rubles once equalled. "The Russian term "kopeika" is a diminutive form of the word "kopio" and it means "a spear"....At the end of the fourteenth century, certain coins circulated in Russia upon which was the design of a spear and Russians simply applied the term "kopeika" (="little spear") to such coins." You can also buy a 3, 5, 10, 15, and 20 kopeek coin on ebay for $1 plus 2.95 s&H. Others have slightly higher prices, up to 3.99. A 20 Kopeek coin from 1824 is 500 dollars! I hope this was enough and informative.

Thanks for the info, Crizzle.

So, now for me. Today has been full, but not bad at all. The first thing we sat through was a spiel by the Federal Officer of the U.S. telling us to not break Mongolian or American laws. We are subject to both and can be prosecuted in both countries if we do something wrong.

After that, everyone met with their directors. There, the Mongolians got together and wrote a list of their expectations for us, and we got together and did the same for them. Surprisingly, our lists were very similar. That was refreshing. After lunch, we met with our directors individually and went through a checklist for dates to have particular things done, and a work plan form. My next two weeks is going to be extremely busy. I will get to my site on Monday afternoon and settle in to my apartment and relax. The next day, I will meet my neighbours and some other random people. Wednesday will be my first day at work. A regular work day is from 9-6, with a lunch hour from 1-2. My apartment is right across a courtyard from the governor’s office, so I can go home everyday if I like. I’m sure I will. You all know how much cheaper it is to eat your own cooked food, instead of buying it elsewhere. Ha, not like there will be many restaurants, if any. After that, I will spend different days meeting different people and being shown different places that are important. On Aug. 29 and 30, they will have their district’s Naadam. In the countryside, places move their dates so they can celebrate the national Naadam. How exciting that I get two this year! I think I will try to wrestle again. Maybe I can redeem myself from my earlier loss. I’ll let you know. Also, I will get off of work on those days. September 1 is the first day of school in all of Mongolia. There are always Celebrations of Knowledge at the schools, and our office has been invited to attend the one in our community. That will be cool. Other than that, my work plan shows a tentative 12 hours per week of work; but I’m quite sure that I will be working much more than that.

After we had finished our day, we walked over to the theatre and practiced our swearing in ceremony. Tomorrow, at 10 a.m., the ambassador to Mongolia will swear us in as official Peace Corps Volunteers. We are all excited about it. Afterwards, there will be a reception. Some people will leave tomorrow afternoon, but the rest of us will leave on Sunday, for UB.

I’ve been able to exchange a few emails with some of you again tonight, since it’s not too late here. As before, that has been nice. I hope you are all good. Everyone is getting together to celebrate tonight. Some of us might not see each other for several months to a year. I’ve sent my new address and phone number to most of you. Utilise it when you like. Talk to you later. See ya.

P.S. The picture is of some pigeons roosting in a tree. I have never seen a pigeon in a tree in the U.S.