Work, Countryside travel, and other odds and ends:

 

Its hard to believe that time goes by so quickly when at the same time it feels as though I’m at a standstill. Work here has always been touch and go, I never really know what to expect. Thus far this is the hardest aspect to adapt to, that and the fact that Mongolian language is extremely difficult and many times I’m still speaking like a three year old. Nothing is consistent making it extremely hard for me to make plans for my ideas. The one consistent thing I did have was teaching English. Twice a week, although it wasn’t my favorite activity it did allow me to have something to do. However English class came to an abrupt stop before Christmas, this was to due to the fact that everybody was just to “busy”. I was under the impression that after the New Year things would quiet down and my fellow coworkers would have more time to work with me on projects. Well this was true, for about a week. I was just recently finishing up some info for a nurses training. Things were actually getting done, a date was set, and attendants were informed of the upcoming training. However in Mongolia you always have to anticipate the unexpected. The counterpart (CP) I was working with first informed me that they could no longer help me with the translation. Oh and the fact that the training was moved a week forward. This was somewhat frustrating for me. I was trying to stay positive, hoping that I could find someone else to assist me in the translation. The following day my CP told me she would be leaving for about a week (which by Mongolian standards could be anywhere from one day to a month) and that we would not be able to do the training. Well at least I won’t have to find a translator. Just yesterday my primary CP and supervisor (the people I share an office with) informed me that they would be leaving for about a week. I didn’t even ask why. So what does one do when they have the office to themselves and no work to do? I don’t know I’m still trying to be creative to help fill in the gaps of my day. Besides the fact that my work situation can be very frustrating I am still enjoying my time here even with the bumpy road that I have been traveling lately.

This previous weekend I traveled to the countryside. The countryside is pretty much anywhere outside of where I live. It can be a little as twenty minutes away. However where I went Õàòãàë (Hatgal) is 60 miles directly north of ̺ðºí. In any country that has paved roads 60 miles can be traveled in as little as 40-60 minutes. However this is not the case in Mongolia. Mongolia only has 500 miles of paved roads. These roads are primarily stretch north and south of the capital. Anyways there are no paved roads in the area that I live. Traveling 60 miles can take anywhere from 2 ½ to 7 hours. The five hour gap is for the expected/unexpected. Expected thing include; stopping at random peoples Gers for tea. The unexpected list is much more extensive including; any form of car trouble (luckily Mongolians are fairly mechanically competent) most popular being flat tires, and running out of gas. Others include weather, Mongol time, and other miscellaneous unfortunate (and many times inconvenient) mishaps. So once you find a car and driver is really when the fun begins. Sometimes finding a driver isn’t an easy feat. Once you do find one you have two choices, one; wait with the driver until they leave (drivers will always tell you that they are leaving “now” but really “now” is any unspecified time in the near future), two; you can try and explain where you live so that the driver can come get you when he actually does leave. Explaining where you live can be thorny especially when Gers and houses don’t have addresses. The best way to do it is to explain the closest store or water well. Not only will the ride be bumpy it will most likely be crowded. Drivers like to make as much of a profit as they can so they pack they’re cars full. One of the most common vehicles used is a Russian van called a “pargon” most similar to a VW van. The van is made to “comfortably” fit nine passengers, with comfortably being the key word. My last trip there was 18 passengers. At any given point I could have easily been touching five or six people. It’s amazing to observe how used Mongolians are to being uncomfortable. Cause honestly it wasn’t the most comfortable ride I had and judging by the looks on other people faces I don’t think it was theirs either. Don’t forget to take into account the cargo. Mostly food people are bringing to the countryside; flour, bottled water, beer, vodka, fruits…and yes goat and sheep carcasses. Luckily in the winter it’s not too bad because the carcasses freeze. I couldn’t imagine how it could be in the summer.

I think I have written enough. I don’t want to bore you so I’ll save the odds and ends I was going to discuss for a later time.