a transitional note

it's the last day of october and and it's my last month as a volunteer. i am done with my final reports, exit interview and turnovers.

the last 14 months have made their indelible mark in my life. volunteerism, volunteer life, development. not to mention the very cold weather, learning cyrillic, and experiencing medical evacuation.

the mongolian people are a warm and fun-loving race. proud and brave. they are diligent when given proper encouragement. i, just like many foreigners, have acquired a liking for their kind.

the community of volunteer workers has a significant aura of difference. confident, fulfillling. entirely strange assortment of people, yet admirable. it is a purpose-driven organization focussed on 'sharing skills and changing lives'. we used to say it may as well be 'sharing lives and changing skills' - with the way we have to be adaptive and flexible in our work and lifestyle.

i will be leaving my voluntary status but i will still be in mongolia for the next six months. i got a 'proper job' as volunteers say. it means 'with salary' (volunteers thrive on allowance, not salary).

i have moved to a new office, a new flat, a new neighborhood. what other 'new' lies ahead? i don't know. i'm sure, only God knows.

a closer look at marmots

marmots or groundhogs or tarvaga in mongolian is one exotic delicacy the locals are proud of. it is cooked as a roast with hot stones inside and together with the skin. i got my first view of this dish at my workplace. i had a small bite but there was a different aftertaste that i was salivating a bit after a while.

first snowfall

it was the weekend. the night before, it rained a bit. as i was entering my kitchen to prepare for my late breakfast, i saw through my window snow falling - not much but it was all over. it was the first before winter and autumn has just started. the aspen trees near my flat have just started to turn yellow. again i say, this is mongolia.

i did my laundry as i was having breakfast. cleaned the flat a bit. took a shower and i was off on the streets - to do some food shopping later. i wished i had my cap with me though. my ears were beginning to feel numb because of the cold almost-winterlike breeze. i dropped by my office first to check on my emails.


there was a small ger district near my building. i saw some of the chimneys puffing out smoke. it seemed it has really started to get cold again.

the early days

it seems like not very long ago when we first set foot on mongolian soil. vso batch 2006 was quite a mix of personalities yet we got along well during the past 12 months. yes, it has been a year passed and only a third of us was left together with the new arrivals this year. old and new. come and gone. what else? i am looking forward to mixed feelings as i am about to finish my placement. what is next? it remains to be seen. who knows? i might still be around...

squash and squash

there was a farmers' market set up near my flat just beside the state department store. at this time this would be common around the city since generally the harvest season would be over soon with the onset of autumn. it usually starts to get cold during this season.

i went there and felt like being in the fresh market back home in the philippines. there was a variety of vegetables. i bought green tomatoes, carrots and potatoes. but most of all, i got hooked on the squash family. i usually buy the pumpkin variety but this time i tried the others which were not very frequent to see. it was a very good buy - two bags of vegetables for Tg 2,500!

the sendoff treat

i was told before the weekend that we will be heading off to the countryside as a farewell treat for those who will be leaving soon. that included an american trainer for a wb-funded project, a colleague going for masters education in south korea, staffmembers leaving for a 2-week training in japan, and me finishing off my 1-year placement.

the gathering was set at 8 am, that sunday and departure will be at 810 am. i even asked jokingly if it was mongolian time (knowing that if that is the case, it will be much later). a colleague assured me it was going to be on time. at that sunday morning, we left at about 915.

first stop along the way was at an ovoo. offered some vodka to the sky. and some for us too.

it was a clear and sunny day

we visited a herder family. and that's where we stayed.

guard dogs of the family

some of the horses grazing the nearby hills

lunch starter - rice with milk - budaatsai

my boss serving of course the classic local drink - chinggis vodka

the herder's wife. used to be a schoolteacher but had to stop because of sickness. she helps in the management of the cattlestock. she never had experience of doing it. hard at first she said. but learned to love it.

tsetsegmaa - she is leaving for south korea to do further studies. behind her was the herder who also works in the academy of the ministry of defense.

more appetizers - boiled liver

taking a rest from hillclimbing with suzy, the american accounting trainer, and one of the guard dogs

khudree - my translator

just up on a horse

after lunch, we gathered under the trees for songs, poetry and more vodka

the whole group for a souvenir pic

the affair was for leavers. there were display of emotions - happy and sad. i will still be around for a few more weeks. i cannot feel it yet but i know it is forthcoming. well, i will keep my eyes dry and my heart light until then.

flowers of tame and wild

they add color to the concrete monotones and common ger district settings of UB, and to the predictable curves of the steppes in the countryside. at least, some time in the summer and autumn i got to see flowers intentionally planted and others just prompted by the late rainshowers for the year.

in the philippines, this is commonly known as vietnam rose, and we only got purple and white varieties of this kind. but in the ger districts of UB i was able to see a wider range of colors.

a zinnia

i have seen these flowers growing near a residential building. wild and floriferous.

the flowers of the steppes...

edelweiss

these flowers and plants just thrive in patches along the troughs and crests of the mongolian terrain. in one of my walks, i even saw some herbs and chives - their scent filling the air.

leaving party for zoe and maija

it was held at the women farmers' cooperative in the ger district - one of maija's placements

maija saying something about the food

zoe scooping punch from a bucket to a bowl

the place was transformed into a picnic ground

some of the women from maija's placement

zoe with naraa - her counterpart in her placement, biyamba, dean and me

waiting for food

saying goodbyes

maija & zoe


we all arrived in mongolia a year ago. first time to have met each other. yet having to part after a year, we did not know how it was going to be. good people, good friends. how can we not miss each other?

terelj revisited

went to terelj on a saturday with the newly arrived batch of volunteers. there were 3 of us old-timers who joined the group. almost the end of summer, yet it was raining the whole night before our departure, and still was until late morning. david, gek and i walked to the office, through the rain and puddles. we reached the office with half-drenched trousers, which is why when we arrived at the ger camp, david and i had to wear improvised blanket skirts as we hang dried our pants by the fire.

with marielle, a dutch volunteer who just came back for a short-term placement. she is a nurse.

with the new volunteers by the river

two women (leslie and gek)

one hour from UB

the ovoo - buddhist practice is to get 3 pieces of stone, walk around it and throw one as u make a wish. recommended to do it 3 times.