Well, tomorrow morning bright and early I leave for my new home. I've spent the last week in Ulaanbaatar, swearing in as an official volunteer (see above picture), saying goodbye to friends, and getting to know the city. I'm surprised by how much it's grown on me. It's definitely dirty and run-down, and pickpocketing is rampant to say the least (a friend of mine nearly got his money stolen right in front of me!), but it has a certain charm that's hard to define. It's also been very nice to eat cheeseburgers and pizza and Mexican food and all sorts of other things I haven't had in a while. A couple days ago, I ate probably the closest thing Mongolia has to a Buffalo wing... these breadstick type things stuffed with Buffalo chicken served with a side of bleu cheese dressing. It wasn't the same, but I'll be damned if it didn't taste good. One of the really unique things about this city is that, every now and then, you'll hear what sounds exactly like an ice cream truck melody. Your inner monologue will immediately stop whatever it was rambling on about and scream "ICE CREAM!" You'll follow the noise like a moth to a flame, only to find... A GARBAGE TRUCK. That's right, to alert people to put out their trash, the garbage trucks play very pleasant little diddies of the exact same style as American ice cream trucks. It's cruelly hilarious, or hilariously cruel. Fortunately, I'm not much of an ice cream person, so it doesn't irk me as much as some.
It's been very, very sad to say goodbye to all the friends I made this summer (see pic below for the last gathering of my fellow trainees, plus one of our language teachers), but I can't wait to get settled in my new apartment. I'll write something when I get there. With my new home, I also have a new address and a new phone number, but Peace Corps prefers us not to post those on our blogs. Most of you who read this have probably received an email with those items included. If you haven't and you want them, send me a request, and if you're cool enough, I'll forward it along.
Oh, and here's Jefferson Airplane's "Volunteers," cause it's just appropriate.
It's been very, very sad to say goodbye to all the friends I made this summer (see pic below for the last gathering of my fellow trainees, plus one of our language teachers), but I can't wait to get settled in my new apartment. I'll write something when I get there. With my new home, I also have a new address and a new phone number, but Peace Corps prefers us not to post those on our blogs. Most of you who read this have probably received an email with those items included. If you haven't and you want them, send me a request, and if you're cool enough, I'll forward it along.
Oh, and here's Jefferson Airplane's "Volunteers," cause it's just appropriate.
Soooo Coooool. I haven't gotten the e mail yet wiht the new numbers,etc, that that is cool. Way Cool.
ReplyDeleteThe garbage truck thing is worth a smile. Cool.
hey Johnny, I think Ron thinks you are cool. So, I can't wait to see pictures of your new place. And, I know you will make great friends wherever you go. Your nana woulf be so very proud of you, just like me.
ReplyDeleteJohn - good luck on this new stage of your adventure!! I love reading your blog posts and I miss you dearly. Thinking of you all the way from Ohio.
ReplyDelete