September 2009 Archives
I know. It's been too long between posts. I've been loading lots of photos onto Facebook because it's so much easier. I wish I could load a few on this website faster. But I can't complain, I guess. I have a forum for my views here, much more than the few lines allowed on Facebook. And my friends won't get bombarded with notifications every time I post an entry.
I've been in Mongolia now for 3 and a half months. I guess I'm adapting okay. I get frustrated at times because I will learn Mongolian words then I'll forget them shortly thereafter. And when I'm really tired or am suffering horribly from allergies, my mind goes blank. Fortunately, there's a Peace Corps volunteer here, Amber, who started taking language lessons with me. At least that way I have someone else to motivate me to study and attend lessons.
Speaking of Peace Corps, all of the new volunteers have arrived so there are 5 of them and 5 VSOs. Two have partners and one's partner is coming next month. Another new VSO volunteer's partner will arrive next month. So that's 7 people associated with VSO. Up until Monday there were only 2 of us. Some Peace Corps volunteers might be a little jealous of VSO because we are allowed to bring partners (boyfriend/girlfriend), as long as they pass the VSO training, but Peace Corps only allows volunteers to bring their spouse to whom they've been married for at least 2 years.
On Friday all of the VSO and Peace Corps volunteers will meet for drinks, which will be a good way to bond a bit. I think we all want to make Mongolian friends but as an expat you need to be around other expats at times.
The variety of fruits and vegetables here is very limited. Very limited. There are about 7 to 8 vegetables that are readily available. The fruits are apples (I'm sick of apples), grapes sometimes, watermelon, and plums. I just ate some cantaloupe yesterday that a farmer grew and is planning to sell at the Arvaikheer market. He participated in the Agricultural Department's farming project and is now reaping his harvest. He brought a cantaloupe into the office to give to my counterpart who oversaw the project. So we all had some and loved it. When I see such great results from government programs, I really appreciate my counterparts and the work they do. After all, I will definitely benefit from their work.
I have been vegetarian for about 4 years but never knew how to cook tofu. So sometimes I had a difficult time getting protein, other than from dairy products. But a few weeks ago a friend, Eva, fried some for me in Ulaanbaatar (UB) and it was really delicious. So I buy it often and fry it in olive oil (which is really cheap here for some reason). Eva is so sweet. She's not vegetarian but always prepares me wonderful vegetarian meals whenever I go to her place. Now I stay there everytime I go to UB and I eat her wonderful food. Of course, there are so many more fruits, vegetables, and goods of all sorts available in the capital but she's a good cook regardless. Eva even serves me breakfast in bed, partly because she doesn't have a table but also because she's just really kind. When I was there last we always had other friends staying the night as well, so I raved to them all about Eva's hospitality. One friend, Vicky, couldn't believe it so she snapped some photos of Eva serving me. Hee Hee. I recently dubbed her apartment Eva's ABC - Alcohol, breakfast in bed and couch/chair. The C part refers to the fold-down couch that serves as her bed and the 2 chairs that serve as another bed when pushed together and folded down. That's a typical Mongolian situation, in case you're wondering.
I've been in Mongolia now for 3 and a half months. I guess I'm adapting okay. I get frustrated at times because I will learn Mongolian words then I'll forget them shortly thereafter. And when I'm really tired or am suffering horribly from allergies, my mind goes blank. Fortunately, there's a Peace Corps volunteer here, Amber, who started taking language lessons with me. At least that way I have someone else to motivate me to study and attend lessons.
Speaking of Peace Corps, all of the new volunteers have arrived so there are 5 of them and 5 VSOs. Two have partners and one's partner is coming next month. Another new VSO volunteer's partner will arrive next month. So that's 7 people associated with VSO. Up until Monday there were only 2 of us. Some Peace Corps volunteers might be a little jealous of VSO because we are allowed to bring partners (boyfriend/girlfriend), as long as they pass the VSO training, but Peace Corps only allows volunteers to bring their spouse to whom they've been married for at least 2 years.
On Friday all of the VSO and Peace Corps volunteers will meet for drinks, which will be a good way to bond a bit. I think we all want to make Mongolian friends but as an expat you need to be around other expats at times.
The variety of fruits and vegetables here is very limited. Very limited. There are about 7 to 8 vegetables that are readily available. The fruits are apples (I'm sick of apples), grapes sometimes, watermelon, and plums. I just ate some cantaloupe yesterday that a farmer grew and is planning to sell at the Arvaikheer market. He participated in the Agricultural Department's farming project and is now reaping his harvest. He brought a cantaloupe into the office to give to my counterpart who oversaw the project. So we all had some and loved it. When I see such great results from government programs, I really appreciate my counterparts and the work they do. After all, I will definitely benefit from their work.
I have been vegetarian for about 4 years but never knew how to cook tofu. So sometimes I had a difficult time getting protein, other than from dairy products. But a few weeks ago a friend, Eva, fried some for me in Ulaanbaatar (UB) and it was really delicious. So I buy it often and fry it in olive oil (which is really cheap here for some reason). Eva is so sweet. She's not vegetarian but always prepares me wonderful vegetarian meals whenever I go to her place. Now I stay there everytime I go to UB and I eat her wonderful food. Of course, there are so many more fruits, vegetables, and goods of all sorts available in the capital but she's a good cook regardless. Eva even serves me breakfast in bed, partly because she doesn't have a table but also because she's just really kind. When I was there last we always had other friends staying the night as well, so I raved to them all about Eva's hospitality. One friend, Vicky, couldn't believe it so she snapped some photos of Eva serving me. Hee Hee. I recently dubbed her apartment Eva's ABC - Alcohol, breakfast in bed and couch/chair. The C part refers to the fold-down couch that serves as her bed and the 2 chairs that serve as another bed when pushed together and folded down. That's a typical Mongolian situation, in case you're wondering.
