I AM NOW A PCV! M

07/28
Here we are, about to try and get down to some business.
Or so I am trying to tell myself; after nursing the prior evenings physical and liquid based activity, I am trying to reflect on what the last few months have been like. I have now been in Mongolia for just over two months and feel free enough to admit that I still love it tremendously. Of course, everyone has good and bad days; that is part of the routine of changing everything about your life and moving around the world. However, despite some language issues and frustration at the lack of activity and disposable income, it is safe to say that things are fairly tremendous. With a wonderful family who are patient enough to tolerate my below par abilities in Mongolian, excellent site mates and some other people I won’t go into details about, life in Mongolia “aint so bad”.
However.
I miss some aspects of being back in the UK, a some friends and family in the USA. There are some wonderful things there that I hope to see again, Brighton itself being one of them. However, things can change and they in fact do, so it is important to get on with things and look out for new possibilities that will create something new and interesting. Being somewhat of a nomadic person, I continuously feel the need to move around, but I think that’s because I have really been able to go anywhere, and I feel ready and confident enough to get out into Mongolia and try to get on with the job I came here for. Now that I’ve said my piece, time to get down to the actual theme of this entry. I might add my apologies for the spelling errors in the last two entries, I had 20 minutes to get it done and post it before heading back to the land of no internet but I will ensure it gets better. Also, if Julia’s Mum is reading this, don’t worry she’s fine and enjoying herself. And of course, she says hello. In fact, I will personally take this opportunity to say hello to all the family members of M-19 Javflant, but in particular I just wanted to make sure Julia’s mum knows she is missed.

So, after two months I am ready to get on with work and get to site, the problem is that I don’t know where that is yet. Now I have an interesting and somewhat annoying 2 week wait to find out. I could be in the Gobi, surreptitious channels have mentioned that I could be in Choibalsan, which is the far eastern region. Who knows, I have only one request and it likely won’t be something they will consider, so I am ready to see a bit more of this country and get down to business.

So, after having had Nadaam, camping out at the biggest monastery in Mongolia and generally trying to find things to keep one occupied, we M-19’s are nearing the end of Peace Corps Training. I am not the biggest fan of acronyms, but I might have to start using them more often as it’s a pain to keep writing things out. So from on, PST equals training, and soon I will be a Peace Corps Volunteer (PCV).
Hopefully.

Peace Corps has these various tasks we have to fulfill before we become volunteers, and most are pretty good. For example, we have our community development project due today, which is supposed to be a field day complete with games and English speaking. However, A.) it is not the sunniest weather, and B.) Trying to get 10-15 kids to play games in English can be difficult. I’m not too worried though, the best thing we can do is keep people entertained, which has been pretty easy; 10 foreigners walking around a village of 1-2000 people makes for particularly juicy gossip. Also, there is a sports hall which can be used to it will be fine. I would like to think we are all excited about getting these things done so that when we get to our sites in August, we will have more of an idea about how to go about settling in and becoming a member of our communities. I’ll deal with that in August, because right now I have no idea what is going on. As much as Peace Corps helps out, they do love to keep us in the dark sometimes. Fair enough, I can’t fault that, if we knew more we would just ask more questions. Pardon me for being inquisitive. So life in the steppe continues to wind down; we leave our Javflant early August and will be leaving for sites mid August, I will know my site address by the 12, and will even have a phone! The ability to communicate globally returns to my fingertips, considering how much I relied on my phone prior to Mongolia, I am amazed the withdrawal symptoms have been that bad. Let me know via email if you feel like sending dried fruit, or some photos of what you’re doing, or just a little card saying hello. I will also need your phone numbers, because texting is fairly cheap. Phone calls might not be so cheap, but I can certainly receive calls cheaply and send a text or two. Anyway, I hope this entry finds you well, I am ready to begin another chapter of work and see where it takes me. Hopefully the next time you read, I will have a clearer idea of where and why I have come to Mongolia. Cheerio.

11/08/08
It’s the evening before I leave my host site for Darkhan, I’ve just eaten a ridiculous amount of food and have just been told that because I am leaving, my family has slaughtered a goat for my departure. Where I will fit any more of this food is a whole new question. This does not bother me at all because as one does in all types of situations, one assimilates and enjoys the moment for what it is. But seriously though, if you’ve never smelt the inside of goat, you are not missing a thing. Unpleasant stenches aside, I would like to say what a great summer this has been. Sure, I’ve had no material things expect this little computer and my IPOD, but that is more than fine. Classes have been tough but hopefully I have gathered enough skill in Mongolian to at least not die freezing on the steppe. And finally, I have met some truly wonderful people, both Mongolian and American and am in good spirits for the next week. If you are not aware of how Peace Corps works, then you should know one thing: PC tells you nothing at all about placements, site location or your job description. I suppose I can understand, you don’t want any volunteers to have preconceptions about places but honestly, tomorrow I am going to find out what I have wanted to know all summer; where I will be for the next two years. I’m not ner ner ner nervous at all…not really, just apprehensive about what is going to happen, since I am still unsure what my occupation is going to be. Whatever it may be, I’m sure I am going to love it. Starting tomorrow morning at 7, we have five days of final checks, probing and security issues before we swear in on Saturday as actually volunteers. At a grand total of “very little” in the way of salaries, I’m pretty sure I will start to relish the idea of vegetables, abundant salads, tofu and Guinness. That’s alright, I didn’t come here to live the high life, so as apprehensive about how things will go as I am right now, I am more than ready to start. Well, after a really nice hot shower, a sit down toilet and food that doesn’t alleys include salt, I’ll be ready. Hopefully by the end of this week those of you who I know will have received an email with my new address and phone number , feel free to say hello when you get a chance. Okay, I am of to eat some goat liver and intestines, I’ll catch up with you soon. And for the record, I think I will be in ether Choibalson or a large city in the Gobi.