Road Trip Coming Up

Justin with 2 fellow business PCVs in UB on the night before he left.












Ashley with the Ondorkhaan girls in UB.





I’m writing in the midst of a heavy and windy storm that has been here all night. Bear had enough of being inside and is somewhere in the midst of it. Heavy rain is fun to see and hear, as it comes so infrequently. I skipped puddles the entire way to the morning workout. Four of us showed up in the midst of the storm. That said, average attendance has increased from 3 to 35 over the past 4 months. I enjoy seeing people around town that I recognize from the morning sessions and I’m learning new names as well.

I walked home from work on Monday to find my neighbors slaughtering a sheep in the hallway. I
imagine they chose the cooler environment over the heat outside. I’m less shocked by this by now and I’m thankful that it is a relatively clean process.

On Saturday I will leave for a road trip to western Mongolia. I’m excited for the opportunity to travel and participate in a seminar there. I’ll provide an update upon my return in early July. I’m sure there will be some interesting stories to relate.

Justin has been spending most of his time in Pittsburgh with friends. He will be heading East shortly to do some more visiting with family and friends. Thanks for all of the support during our continued transitions.

May we all welcome summer wholeheartedly!

Big Changes

As we mark our one year anniversary in Mongolia, we have some changes to share with you. Many will remember that two months ago Justin discussed his potential work options for the upcoming year. In his last blog, Justin shared some of the physical symptoms that have been very wearing over the past months. Due to these symptoms and recommendations from a doctor in UB, Justin has terminated his position with Peace Corps and returned to America on June 1, 2011. This process has been longer for us then we have indicated within the blog and other communications. Together, we decided that I would stay in Mongolia for the foreseeable future. We both see potential collaborations within Mongolia’s initial embrace of physical therapy as a treatment option for elderly and pediatric clients. In many ways it has taken the past year of being present to bring about these opportunities. I was hesitant to leave at the cusp of these projects. Secondly, as this was a difficult time for both of us, Justin can leave more easily knowing that his departure did not impact my work here. We will continue to give thanks for the advances in technology that allow for frequent audio and visual communication at affordable prices! We understand that many of you may have questions or comments about our decisions and we encourage open communication about this. We feel we can live separately because our marriage is very strong and we freely communicate with one another. We understand that this decision may have lead you to other conclusions, but wish to clear the matter up.

As many of you re-unite with Justin in the next months, I am resuming my life/work schedule in Ondorkhaan after frequent trips to UB last month. My focus will be preparation of training material for an upcoming seminar regarding children with disabilities, their families and their physicians. As everything thus far in Mongolia, this will be an interesting venture from start until finish. Also, I hope that this opportunity in a western province will invigorate my collaboration at home in Khentii. In the meantime this is a beautiful and definitively warm time to be in Mongolia. The expanses of land and sky are breathtaking and the herds of animals graced by the baby goats, calves, foals and lamb are a vibrant sign of life. I use this energy and optimism daily and hope each of you can find that joy as well.

As I take the realm of this blog, may you have patience with this new voice and may you freely share your own thoughts, observations and experiences.

Brought to You by the Letter F

Festivities: This past week was one of our sitemate's birthdays. So, we had a birthday/Cinco De Mayo party. It was Mexican themed with regards to food/drinks. Tequila and cheese were purchased in UB, we made tortillas and chips and salsa. Someone from the embassy provided garbanzo beans, so Ashley and I made homemade hummus (not Mexican), but it was tasty. Anyways, we invited the other PCVs and some friends from the community over to our apartment. We had 4 nationalities represented (America, Mongolian, Korean, German) and conversation was often in 3 languages (English, Mongolian, Korean). Overall, it was a fun evening and everyone had a nice time. Many people tried new foods/drinks and we all ate well.

Fashion: This is an interesting topic in Mongolia and worthy of a lengthy summary. Most of the rural herders wear deels (traditional mongolian clothes), with big leather boots and large, brimmed hats. Many UB residents and business professionals wear suits, or business casual clothing. The intriguing fashions come when these two styles converge, or when other styles are incorporated. High heels (on leather boots) are a fashion and health requirement. (Ashley was warned that cold heels lead to frozen ovaries). It is common to see men in dress shirts and workout pants (windbreakers). However, overall, there is the sense that you can't be too dressed up. For example, we went to go pick-up garbage behind the apartment with some neighbors/coworkers and many of the people showed up in suits (or female equivalent). The men painting the curbs last week had on nice jackets and pants, though they were covered in white paint. The cleaning ladies at the schools often wear heels to work. The use of accessories and make-up is also required. There is a word here called "goe" (rhymes with boy). It can be used as a noun, adjective, or verb. It is similar to bling, though less metallic (more plastic) and equally as shiny. Women get "goed" up for almost anything, including aerobics. There is a woman that wears pearls and make-up with her track suit to the gym each morning to workout. Another interesting conversation was had regarding the British royal wedding. Typical comments were that they were disappointed with the gown and jewelry because there was not enough "goe". The women that we talked to expressed expectations for more bling (jewelry/colors/etc).

"Fat": Recently, a few of the Americans have been asked by their friends/coworkers if they are pregnant or just fat. Speaking about being fat is a common discussion topic. It is not rude here for people to inquire about your weight or to tell you that you are "fat".

Futility: Recently, there have been 2 occupations in our town that have drawn my attention. The first is the street cleaning crew. There is a large group (maybe 20-30 people) that clean the streets each day. However, you have to keep in mind that there are only 3 paved roads and we live in a VERY dusty area, with high winds. Also, the members use hand-brooms to sweep the street, which requires excessive bending. Unfortunately, as soon as they finish a street, they have to start over again due to the dust and wind. Secondly, I was informed that there are 18 people that work at the local airport. Interestingly, the airport is closed for commercial traffic (domestic and international flights don't land here), so only emergency or private planes would land. Since this is a poor area and there are no large businesses (or mines), we have no private air traffic to our aimag. We live probably 2 miles from the "airport" (which is a dirt runway) and I have never seen or heard a plane in the past 9 months. As a matter of fact, both the prime minister and president of Mongolia drove to our town on recent visits from UB.

Health Update: The past 2 weeks I have been ill with persistent headaches, intermittent nausea, fatigue, joint pain, and lethargy. I am going to UB for blood tests and consultations with the PC medical office on Monday.

Interesting Notes:

- Bear caught a bird (it was low flying and Bear was right behind it until the end). Another dog carried it away. We were disappointed with her success.

- We had an english-speaking visitor for 24 hours. A tourist from Belgium (Elisa) was on her way through and needed assistance, so we helped her on her way.

- A restaurant can now make pizza in our town. It required pre-ordering 2 hours ahead and we went with our aerobics coach and foreign visitor. The pizza was good, but a little heavy on the meat products. Next time, we will request no meat. Also, the conversation was interesting because our coach speaks no english and the visitor speaks no mongolian, so we were translators.

- Ashley received two last minute requests from Mongolian friends in college to write their final papers for English literature classes. Ashley declined to write them, but offered to edit when they had produced a draft.

- A co-worker/neighbor went to Cambodia and came back with a lot of jewelry for sale. Ashley bought a nice silver ring. The funny part is that this "collection" traveled to multiple workplaces and people stopped working for many hours to try things on. This type of "sale" happens fairly frequently, such as this week, one of Ashley's co-workers opened an Esprit "shop" in the health department for 2 days. It seems as though many people are involved with different types of sales, either cosmetics (Oriflame), supplements (Herbalife), or clothing/fashion. Her co-workers joked that the stores come to them, so there is no need to go shopping.

Spring is Sorta' Here + Hard Choices

1) This is a group picture from a hill in Terelj. I am not in the photo because I was the photographer.

2) I am in this photo (bottom right).

It appeared as though Spring had officially arrived, then somewhat retreated. 2 weekends ago, I went with the World Vision staff to Terelj National Forest for a retreat weekend. The focus was spiritual development and relaxation. We left Friday and returned on Sunday. We stayed in a hotel that was surrounded by tourist gers. On the way through the park, I noticed small green “pools” on the sides of a few hills. After we arrived, I walked over to one and discovered that it was an artificial turf green for 2 local golf courses, the only 2 in Mongolia. The courses were short (par 3’s were ~100 yards), but they were courses. Unfortunately, it was too early in the season and they were closed. The park is beautiful and we took a short hike up a nearby hill. The park is full of mountains and a winding river, which is surrounded by trees. It is a popular destination, which is reflected in the number of tourist camps (gers, cabins, hotels) along the road. Funny Story: To enter the park costs $.30 for Mongolians and $3 for foreigners (gadaa hoon). I was in a van with 10 World Vision employees and I pulled out my $3 (which is a lot here), but the driver argued on my behalf and I only had to pay $.30! It was nice to spend quality time with my co-workers. Unfortunately, logistics were a challenge and a 4 hour trip turned in 12 hours...including a 3 hour wait at a gas station in the middle of the countryside waiting for a bus to van to pick us up (it never showed and we got into a different car).

Weather: A few weeks ago, the weather took a turn for summer. It was in the 50s/60s during the day and 30s at night. Then, last week, it dipped down again and we had a freak snowstorm on Friday. We received about 2 inches of snow and a lot of rain, but north of UB, a foot of snow fell in a few hours. The rain/snow was nice, but it turned our usually dusty town into a literal mud-pit. The lack of sidewalks and grass meant walking through mud wherever we had to go. Most of the mud has dried up, but there are still a few pools lying around.

Exercise: We are still going to the gym very early 5 days per week (5:30am for Justin, 6am for Ashley). The group of participants has increased to about 25 people, though many are part of a volleyball league that must play around 7am. The coach makes us keep a daily log of exercise, heartrate, food, sleep, and anything else important. It is good motivation to eat well, because it will be included in the log (the log is in Mongolian). I'm still doing 3 classes per week of taekwondo and we are doing 2 aerobics classes per week. Essentially, we work out everyday except Sunday, which is a much-needed break. Yesterday, due to a reschedule, I had morning workout, then back to back taekwondo and aerobics last night, with another morning workout today. Needless to say, I am exhausted and my legs ache.

Bear: She is doing well and we seem to be in a good pattern. She leaves with me at 5:30am and meanders around the school/gym/yard until we return, then she eats breakfast and promptly goes back outside. Then, she stays outside (usually rolling with other dogs) until Ashley leaves for work at 8:40. I put Bear on her leash and we accompany Ashley for most of the walk. We go back home and I put Bear inside the kitchen from ~9:15-12:30 (lunch break). She goes back outside until ~2pm when I go back to work. She stays inside until ~5pm when one of us return home. Then, she stays out until ~8pm, then comes inside and we play for a bit before we all go to bed at 9pm. On a good note, we were informed that there will be no "dog kill" campaigns this year in Ondorkhaan. So, we feel more comfortable with letting Bear roam free outside. She spends most of her time playing with the junk dogs or chewing bones while laying on dirt piles beside the apartment. She has the best of both lives (freedom of stray, food/shelter of pet). Unfortunately, on Sunday, one of our neighbors (while he was very drunk) informed us that his children (teenagers) are afraid to play outside because of Bear. Let me give you some background into the dog situation and attitudes. Bear is about 25 lbs and fairly small (especially compared to most dogs here). However, she likes people and doesn't run away when someone gets close. In fact, she often walks up to people to smell/lick/whatever. Sometimes she barks at people, but she is very non-threatening. On many occasions, I have seen grown men/women freak out at Bear (yelling, screaming, hiding behind things/people, throwing objects, etc), especially when we walk her out of the apartment or when she walks back to the door by herself. The reactions are so extreme that they are hard to comprehend. Some people won't even come into our apartment if Bear is in there, even if she is uninterested or in the other room. Ashley and I are starting a public campaign to educate kids (primarily) on how to interact/behave with pet dogs (not guard dogs or strays). In the meantime, we are not letting Bear play "free" outside during prime kid-playing times. She will either be chained to a tree behind the apartment or inside during those hours (6-8pm).

Hard Choices: This is a very difficult topic for me to discuss, but I want to be open to all of the readers about our experiences. Unfortunately, this has come front and center to our lives here. To be honest, I'm having a very frustrating work experience. My original NGO officially shut down a few weeks ago and the staff has scattered (1 went to WV, but is pursuing other opportunities). The people at WV are great, but it is a very bad fit for a Peace Corps volunteer. What I mean is that WV is very structured and driven to deliver projects/outcomes that are specified by the central office, using predetermined methodologies. The purpose of a PCV is to build capacity, assist on projects, teach co-workers, etc. The WV model does not have a place for me to fit in, particularly capacity building or project assistance. Essentially, I have very little work (basically none). The little work that I do have requires translation assistance from WV staff, who are already over-committed. WV needs someone to take a project, on their own, from start to finish using the prescribed methods. I can't do that because of my limited language skills...and most importantly, that doesn't build capacity or teach my co-workers new skills. Since they are down a few staff, the interactions between myself and others is very limited (they are often traveling or in seminars). Unfortunately, the lack of work/training has made me (and Peace Corps) very frustrated. I've talked to the PC program managers and essentially, there are 4 options:

1) continue to work at WV, hope for things to get better

2) become an English teacher in our town

3) move to UB and work at an economic ngo (Ashley TBD)

4) leave the Peace Corps (Ashley TBD)

The lack of other options in our community leaves me in quite a predicament. Also, Ashley is working well at her site, so I don't want to disrupt that. Ashley and I need to discuss these options and figure out what makes the most sense for us. If I move to UB, she would stay here, which would be very difficult. Also, if I leave the PC, she may or may not leave. However, since I missed all grad school deadlines for Fall 2011, I have no definitive options for when I return. This is weighing very heavily on me and Ashley. We will talk to others over the next few weeks and hopefully have a decision in June.

Enjoy Spring!

Vacation and Re-Integration

Picture 1: An example of the produce in a Barcelona market.
Picture 2: Ashley and I standing on Las Ramblas.

We are back to Mongolia after a wonderful European vacation. We went to Spain, Portugal, and Morocco on a cruise with our families. The cruise left from Barcelona, went to Casablanca, Agadir, Las Palmas, Funchal, Malaga, and back to Barcelona. We also had a day of rest in Barcelona on either side of the trip. The vacation was much appreciated for multiple reasons, the first of which was seeing our families (siblings included). Next, the warmer climate and exotic food much desired. My favorite destination was Funchal (Madeira) because of the amazing topography of the land, and lushness of the flora in the area. Overall, Funchal is just a beautiful city. One of the things that amazed me was the old districts in the cities. Most of the cities had an area that dated back hundreds (or thousands) of years. These areas were usually full of cafes, narrow cobble-stone streets, and the iconic plants or laundry hanging from balconies. It was great to wander these old streets and see where they took us. It is interesting to compare of the old cities in Europe with our location in Mongolia. Many of the Mongolian “towns” that we have visited are hundreds or thousands of years old too, but the nomadic lifestyle and lack of permanent structures (until the 20^th century) has not left the same old districts to wander through. Prior to our trip, we traveled to UB (Ulaanbaatar) for a day of preparation and spending time with friends. Our flight from UB to Moscow was 90 minutes late and we missed the connection to Barcelona, so Aeroflot rerouted us through Paris, then to Barcelona. It was a nice trip, except that our luggage arrived a day late. The next morning, our families arrived and we spent the day seeing the city. Barcelona is very beautiful, particularly the Las Ramblas area, which is a wide pedestrian thorough-fare flanked by shops, restaurants, and hotels. It is a very touristy area, but still fun to visit. We introduced our families to tapas, which had mixed reviews. Our return trip featured a 24 hour layover in the Moscow Airport, terminal D. With only 1 flight to UB each day and no Russian visa, we were stuck in the airport for an entire day. Overall, it wasn’t that bad, but not an enjoyable day. There are no couches or long benches in the airport, only individual seats separated by metal armrests, so we had to contort ourselves into a sleeping position. The food was INCREDIBLY expensive ($10 for a small sandwich, $3 for a very small bottle of water) and there are no drinking fountains. The saving grace was free WIFI and the use of a friends’ computer. Her computer (an Apple) stopped working in Mongolia, but there is no Apple repair store in Mongolia, so I took it with us to Barcelona for repair. It was fixed in Barcelona, so we had a computer to use in the airport. Needless to say, I watched MANY episodes of Colbert Report and the Daily Show.

Transitioning back to Mongolia was not too difficult. We arrived in UB at 7am and nothing opens until 8:30am (including coffee shops), so we sat on the front steps of our favorite breakfast spot until it opened. Then, we dragged our luggage to a guest house and passed out for a long nap. We had spent the previous night on a red-eye flight from Moscow to UB and the previous night to that in the Moscow airport. We needed to sleep. The rest of the day was spent running errands around town and meeting friends. It was very enjoyable. The bus ride home was uneventful, but we returned to apartment problems. While we were gone, a few PCVs lived in our apartment due to the conveniences of water and good windows (sunlight). There was also an English competition, so the countryside PCV teachers crashed at our place for a few nights. It was no problem for us. Unfortunately, the apartment decided to “act up” while we were away. As I had mentioned before, we had a leaky main water valve. About 3 days after we left, the valve burst. The kitchen was flooded, but it was graciously cleaned by a fellow PCV and a Mongolian neighbor. The water company was called and they attempted to fix it. Rather than put a new valve on, they wrapped the entire section of pipe (including the broken valve) with rubber and taped/tied it tightly. This stopped the leaking. However, 3 other leaks sprung-up in the bathroom (water heater joint, toilet, bathtub drain). The water pressure was causing these places in the bathroom to leak. The water company solution was to leave the water running in the sink (all the time, full on). Well, this “solution” lasted until we got home. Upon inspecting the situation and finding the solution unacceptable, the water company was called out the next day and a new valve was purchased for them to install. It was installed and the water is working properly with no leaks. Also, one of the electrical outlets “blew” while we were gone, the main door handle came loose, and the ceiling in the bedroom is becoming dis-attached. The landlady has been called and we have received some of the necessary items, but are still waiting for others.

The week we came back was PC site-visit week. The country director, regional manager, and translator visited each of us at home and tried to meet with our co-workers/boss. My work visit was unsuccessful (World Vision meeting came up). The site-visits are nice and allow for candid conversation about what is going well and what isn’t. Work has been up and down for me. I was informed last week that World Vision has a policy that prohibits non-employees (volunteers) from participating in certain meetings, functions, trainings, etc. I am trying to determine how I can help and be part of the team when I am limited in my abilities. Right now, I am working on advanced trainings regarding smoking and alcohol. The trainings are for health professionals (countryside doctors) and explains the biological mechanisms that occur. Ashley was asked to provide advanced trainings for a new gerentological division (old people) of the ministry of health in UB. Specifically, she was asked to create training regarding osteo-arthritis exercises and targets for older populations. She may go to UB next week to present the material. This weekend I am going to a national forest with members of the WV team for a devotional retreat. The speaker is Mongolian and I’m not sure if any of it will be translated, but I am going for the relationship building aspect and because I will be able to spend some quality time outdoors. I am hoping to go hiking during our free-time.

We are back into the exercise regimen of early March, but with some minor modifications. I met with my taekwondo coach and now he wants to meet with me everyday. My biggest issue is flexibility. I stretch every morning and evening, but it’s still not enough. So, I have started meeting him at 5:30am during the week to stretch and practice taekwondo, then I join the group exercises at 6am (which includes Ashley). The 6am sessions have become popular and there are now about 8 people that participate, including one of my co-workers and one of Ashley’s. It is nice to see community people taking action to improve their health. We have started discussing potential community projects with our coach regarding health in the community. More to follow on this later. Also, my coach is leading a training series and taekwondo competition in a nearby town in June. Coaches from Korea and Russia will attend and he asked me to accompany him. I am planning to go (dates TBD).

The weather has been really nice since we came back. The daytime highs are in the 40s and 50s, with nighttime lows in the teens (sometimes lower). I think the heat to our apartment has been turned off, but it is still very comfortable inside, especially with the south-facing windows. Ashley replanted our herbs/lettuce/spinach because much of it died over the winter. We also purchased a few colorful plants from a local vendor (no idea what they are).

Last night I did the voiceover for a Mongolian commercial. Our local aimag government branch put together a really nice 5 minute tourism video/commercial and they asked me to do the voiceover. Hopefully it will be posted online and I can share a link. Our M20 (previous class) of sitemates are getting ready for their close-of-service conference at the end of April. They will be leaving in June, which is only 6-8 weeks away. Prior to them leaving, the new class of M22 will arrive. We are planning to head to UB to greet them at the airport (similar to what the previous class did for us). It’s scary to think that we will be the “mature” and “knowledgeable” volunteers in this country. It’s almost been a year since we arrived already. Neither Ashley nor I applied to be summer trainers, so we will be staying in our city and working for the most part. We are planning a few outings, maybe a short hiking weekend in May to a neighboring mountain. I’m also planning a rafting weekend with some of the fellow PCVS. More to follow on that later too.

Purchasing Differences

Even the common practice of shopping is different in Mongolia. For one, this is an entirely cash based society. Most people have an ATM card, but that is only used to get cash from the bank. There are 2 ATMs for our bank (Khan Bank) in our town, but often one or both of the ATMs are not working or out of cash. Most stores, especially in the countryside, do not take credit cards. However, many of the local stores do give store credit. For example, if I need to purchase food but don’t have cash, the store owner will log the purchases in a notebook and I can pay for them later. I don’t know if there is any interest or what the repayment terms are. Often, the ATM gives out 20,000T bills (about $17). Many of the stores won’t accept 20,000 bills unless your purchases are large. So, it means that we have to “queue up” many small items so that we can break a 20,000T bill. For example, we may wait to buy eggs, milk, bread, peppers, onions, and hyam (sausage for Bear) at once so that we can use a 20,000T.

More interesting are the local purchasing habits. In America, we are used to bulk purchases, the 50 roll toilet paper pack from Costco or 5lbs of cheese from Walmart. Well, here, the exact opposite is done. People typically only buy what they need for that day and will stop by the store everyday. For example, people often buy individual cigarettes or individual feminine products (1 days’ worth). The buyer will tell the clerk what they want and the clerk will remove the number of desired items from open packages from behind the counter. The most extreme case of individual purchasing that I have witnessed is individual pieces of gum. I don't think there is anything that can't be broken down for purchase. Also, if a store or restaurant doesn't have exact change, they will supplement the difference with pieces of gum. It is not uncommon to get a few pieces of gum with your change at a restaurant.

Similarly, purchases are not planned ahead more than 1 day, so there are mad-rushes for items the day before a holiday or major event. For example, yesterday was Women's day and most stores were closed, so there was a rush on alcohol/vodka/cake/flowers the night before. I don't know the rationale for daily purchasing, but it would be an interesting topic for an anthropologist.

Hot Springs Trip

This a picture of the tops of the hot springs huts with the temple in the foreground. The mountains in the distance are in Siberia.

This is the entrance sign for the Khan Khentii Protected Area (similar to a national park).

I was excited to be invited along on a trip to Northern Khentii a few weeks ago. We left in utter darkness at 5:40 AM to drive along tire tracks for 5 hours to reach the soum/town of interest. We were greeted warmly at the soum hospital with soup, berries and vodka. The berries were frozen from the summer crop of wild mountain berries. There were three varieties, all of which I’ve never seen before. Thus, I could not provide their English names. After lunch the real adventure began, as we entered complete wilderness, the closest I’ve come to tundra, or maybe that’s what it was. We drive off road, over frozen streams, on steep grades and over bumpy grasslands for six hours. I was truly thankful for the Land Cruiser I was in. We had to disembark once when we slid off an icy overpass and later were briefly stranded on large chunks of ice and water in a stream.

Just before dusk we arrived at a small cabin on a ridge overlooking the flatlands we drove through. This was surrounded by the largest mountains I’ve seen thus far in Mongolia, and Russia, as we were just South of its border. As we arrived there were comments about the 6-7 vehicles already parked. Turns out you don’t make reservations where no cell phones work. It would be a cozy night. We arrived to offerings of milk tea and hard cookies and had a tour of the area. Walking down the ridge brought us to six small wooden huts that sat along the natural hot springs. Each hut had a ‘bathing’ pool to fit 2 people and there was a well to drink the water from. After returning to the cabin a large bottle of vodka emerged. I slipped away to the other side, as this was the fourth offering of the day. Instead I spoke a mix of English and Mongolian and shared dinner and card games with the members of the other room. They happened to be the family of a coworker that was vacationing there. I slept next to ‘Grandma’ that night, toasty warm in my PC issued sleeping bag on the wooden plinth.

The next morning some of the group went to bathe, but I deferred, as it was nude bathing. I did have my swimsuit (on the top of the Land Cruiser), but in a cabin of 25 and the brisk wilderness without an outhouse, I deferred changing. So, I wandered around, enjoyed my first time back in a true forest with tall pine trees and a thick blanket of snow beneath. We left early due to limited sleeping space, driving along the frozen river for the first few hours. We stopped for photos and to collect natural mineral water, formed between two layers of the river’s ice. At three o’clock we stopped at an eight by ten foot cabin set up for cooking along the drive. After a filling lunch of bread, meat, veggies and milk tea, they announced the nine of us were staying there through the night. There was time for another jaunt and there were no wolves to be seen, though my coworkers were sure I’d be eaten. Time for relaxing, singing and more vodka led to an early bedtime followed by a long, extra cozy and uncomfortable night.

The next day we made our way back to the soum, stayed a bit, and eventually drove back to Khentii. We drove in the dark again. This time, there was more indecision regarding which tire treads to follow. At one lonely ger our director departed for 45 minutes when asking for directions. There is the custom of staying for tea and often dinner. This is another opportunity to be present in the moment, not worried by frustrations or delays. Sometimes I think, “what will be, will be,” is an apt phrase for this culture, for better and for worse. We arrived home safe, sleepy and dirty. I look forward to more unexpected adventures.

-written by Ashley