Fear and Loathing...At Home

I know…I know. This blog is many many months overdue. However, in my defense I’ve been “busy”, with home leave and moving sites. So, I’ve been unable to find the time to sit down and flood your mind with all that’s new and great. Also, keep in mind that it’s difficult for me to keep you updated with the “weird” and “crazy” aspects of life here, mostly because I don’t find them to be “weird” or “crazy” I come across them everyday.

Thinking back, these last few months have been a blur, it’s nice to finally be grounded and have a daily routine. At the beginning of July I finished up my work at the Murun Health Department and took a month trip to America…the land of the unnecessary and extreme. It’s a bizarre experience stepping off the plane in a place such as Aspen. Life in America is already crazy enough…Aspen doesn’t even seem like reality. I’m not saying I didn’t enjoy myself because I did. I had two years of indulging to catch up on and became the epitome of a consumer whore. I ate, drank, enjoyed time with friends and relaxed in other words for the span of an entire month I embraced everything and said no to nothing.

Being home made me appreciate the modern conveniences that are available such as running water…hot running water, coffee makers, swimming pools, stop lights, paved roads and restaurants that have everything on the menu plus the special, which isn’t even on the menu but changes day to day…WHAT!? Just to name a few. I could go on believe me!

I’m sure I’m not the only one who experiences the cosmic selection that grocery stores have to offer. I know this because I’d heard other people talk about this who have spent a lot of time out of the states. I never fully understood what they were talking about until I returned home. Grocery stores are seriously food Mecca’s where no matter what season it is you can get a clean ripe avocado, you can select cheeses from all around the world, and no matter how much snow is outside there is always spinach. I thought my local grocery store was overwhelming enough until I made the mistake of visiting a Costco in Denver. If you want to see some ridiculous stuff and be completely overwhelmed after you return to the states visit a Costco. There is seriously no where else on the planet that you can buy a car and a 5 gallon container of mayonnaise, I mean who the hell needs that much mayonnaise anyways? Talk about a culture shock that was one thing I was certainly not prepared for…don’t even get me started on all the Costco employees screaming about free samples or the people that take two or three of the same sample…purely ridiculous.

All ridiculousness that encompasses American culture, I had a great time being home; above all I loved spending time with friends and family. Most people will talk about how they miss sushi, cheese, and vegetables, I’m not saying I don’t miss these things but I’ve come to realize that food is such a temporary satisfaction. It only lasts until you’re fool and then you have no desire at all. Even though as I’m writing this I’m thinking about how good lox’s and bagels would be!

I returned to Mongolia almost a month ago and I’ll admit I was relieved to be back. Since then I’ve been staying busy with my move to Hatgal (my new site) and helping my replacement settle in at the Health Department. However, there was about a 10 day gap where I didn’t do anything but catch up with Mongolian friends and hang out by the river. I felt as though I was in limbo, my work was finished and Murun and I was waiting to start work in Hatgal, so I did what any resourceful PCV would do…I relaxed.

Anyways, by now I’ve moved to Hatgal and have started my new assignment at the local health clinic. Hatgal is about 90 KM north of where I used to live, although it takes about 3-4 hours by car to drive, and is conveniently located on a huge lake. The clinic is small and consists of only 5 doctors, 6 nurses, 1 lab technician, 1 cook, 1 driver, and 4 herders…yes as in they herd animals.

I’ve only had a couple of full workdays since I’ve been here so I’m still trying to get my bearings. I’m really looking forward to this next year, as I’ll mostly focus on the development of the clinics community outreach program to increase the public’s knowledge on a variety of health topics.

I know I haven’t been the best at keeping things up to date. However, I’m finally settled in again and will hopefully have more time to keep you more updated as to what I’m doing. Also, I’ll try to get some pictures posted of my new place.

More to come soon…I promise.