Hey pals. So I went to UB last week for the VAC conference, which was pretty cool I guess. It definitely was a lot like a student council meeting, which had me hearkening back to my high school days. There were some interesting issues on the docket however, chief amongst which were why Peace Corps can't give lady volunteers extra money to pay for feminine hygiene products (equal rights?), details of taking days off during the school year if you're TEFL (no more than five), and potentially changing from a 27-month Peace Corps country to a 25-month one, though this too was TEFL specific. It looks quite likely, that last one. You see, since school ends in late May, many TEFLs have to make up bogus projects to hang around Mongolia for their last summer until they COS in late August. So we're probably gonna change that. Which means there's a good chance I'll finish up in late June 2012 instead of late August. Cool?
The most interesting part of the trip, however, came during the mind-numbingly long ride out. About an hour or so in, the bus came to this enormous tent with a bunch of medical vehicles parked next to it. We were unloaded, divided by gender, and shuffled into tents where we were handed a coat hanger each. A little confused, I watched as all the Mongolian men started taking off their clothes. I tried not to let my shock get the best of me and quickly began removing mine as well. We didn't have to strip naked (nor were we searched... it just made for a flashy title), but most of our clothes were taken away from us and, well, I don't know what they did to them. Sprayed them for foot and mouth disease I presume, though they smelled the same when I got them back. While we waited, a woman came in and gave us cotton swabs with which to wash our hands. Said swabs reeked of vodka. Too perfect. Finally, she came in with a spray bottle and sprayed some mediciny fluid into our mouths which we were then instructed to spit into a cardboard box in the middle of the room. All the while, the Mongolian guys are talking a lot about the gadaad khun ("foreign person") and laughing themselves silly, perhaps partially because I was just about the only guy who'd neglected to wear long underwear, so while they were all sitting there mostly covered up, I had my hairy, pasty whites exposed to the cold, breezy tent, as well as to all of them. Amazing.
Because of the delays associated with the quarantine, it was looking like I wasn't going to make it into UB until nearly midnight, so I decided to hop off the bus at Bayandelger and surprise my host family for the night. They were so pleased. They lit a big fire in my old ger, made me some meat soup, and put me to bed. The next day my mom and I walked around the town and saw all the people from the summer. It was great to be back, though nearly impossible to believe that only eight weeks had passed. It was especially strange to be there without all my American buds, most of all Kaede. Everyone asked me about her and smiled to hear that we are still together.
Friday in UB happened to be consolidation, which is when Peace Corps tests its emergency evacuation policies. As a result all the people from the towns surrounding the capital had to come in for the weekend, which was really nice, as I got to see even more friendly faces than I'd anticipated. We had a jolly good time, as the pic above demonstrates.
The most interesting part of the trip, however, came during the mind-numbingly long ride out. About an hour or so in, the bus came to this enormous tent with a bunch of medical vehicles parked next to it. We were unloaded, divided by gender, and shuffled into tents where we were handed a coat hanger each. A little confused, I watched as all the Mongolian men started taking off their clothes. I tried not to let my shock get the best of me and quickly began removing mine as well. We didn't have to strip naked (nor were we searched... it just made for a flashy title), but most of our clothes were taken away from us and, well, I don't know what they did to them. Sprayed them for foot and mouth disease I presume, though they smelled the same when I got them back. While we waited, a woman came in and gave us cotton swabs with which to wash our hands. Said swabs reeked of vodka. Too perfect. Finally, she came in with a spray bottle and sprayed some mediciny fluid into our mouths which we were then instructed to spit into a cardboard box in the middle of the room. All the while, the Mongolian guys are talking a lot about the gadaad khun ("foreign person") and laughing themselves silly, perhaps partially because I was just about the only guy who'd neglected to wear long underwear, so while they were all sitting there mostly covered up, I had my hairy, pasty whites exposed to the cold, breezy tent, as well as to all of them. Amazing.
Because of the delays associated with the quarantine, it was looking like I wasn't going to make it into UB until nearly midnight, so I decided to hop off the bus at Bayandelger and surprise my host family for the night. They were so pleased. They lit a big fire in my old ger, made me some meat soup, and put me to bed. The next day my mom and I walked around the town and saw all the people from the summer. It was great to be back, though nearly impossible to believe that only eight weeks had passed. It was especially strange to be there without all my American buds, most of all Kaede. Everyone asked me about her and smiled to hear that we are still together.
Friday in UB happened to be consolidation, which is when Peace Corps tests its emergency evacuation policies. As a result all the people from the towns surrounding the capital had to come in for the weekend, which was really nice, as I got to see even more friendly faces than I'd anticipated. We had a jolly good time, as the pic above demonstrates.
Love reading your adventures my johnny. Don't forget to get your package! I love you
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