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...

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?

the 'spice girls' of summer

summer was in the air yet still chilly at times. it was the time for holidays and some of our fellow volunteers were somewhere in the countryside or abroad trying to make the most out of the season. for us who were still reporting at work in the city, it was another weekend to be together. so we did, by having supper at my place.

with the 'spice girls' (summer edition, the other 2 were on holiday)


fanning away the heat of summer...

i prepared spicy 'adobo' (stewed chicken in soy sauce-vinegar solution) in coconut milk, and pancit (sauteed noodles)

going to uvurkhangai for tsagaan sar

a colleague at work offered the trip to me at noontime, thursday before tsagaan sar. tsagaan sar is the mongolian lunar new year and this was happening on the coming sunday. it was like a spur of the moment invitation but having come to know how mongolians plan, that was but natural. i did not agree to it right away but told him i will have to decide after lunch. it seemed a very good chance to visit the countryside down south and see how local folks celebrate their new year, aside from the fact that it was also going to be a free (costless) holiday since i will be riding with them. so i agreed.

we left after 11 in the morning. the city roads were heavy with traffic because everyone seemed to be going out to their hometowns/aimags. we dropped by a grocery store to buy some food for the trip. there were ox tongue, sausage, bread, water and juice. we have brought some milk tea (suuta chai) in the car. it was sunny and cold. there was a light pouring of snow but it did not go on very long.

we had lunch inside the car as we drove through the snow landscape of the countryside. about 66 kilometers outside the capital, and at 1:30 pm when our car engine stopped. we just had a full tank right after the city proper so it must not be the fuel. the battery was working. but the car just won't start again. to call for assistance, my colleague had to walk to the nearby hill to get some signal for his mobile phone. it was getting cold and we tried going inside some gers (it happened that there were some around). i was told that they serve paid meals and truly once inside, we saw them slicing meat. i saw how they get water by bringing in some ice in sacks and thawing them by the stove. they served us milk tea and my colleague seemed to have observed my hesitancy of having one, so he advised me just to sip a bit. we did not stay very long although i must admit it was a lot warmer inside the ger. we went back to the car.

to kill the time, we started playing cards and eating some more. i introduced a card game we used to do in high school during trips: hide one card, distribute the rest and come up with pairs. the one who will end up with no pair loses. we did several rounds. then we dozed off as well.

our 'rescue' came about past 4. tried to fix and decided to tow the car back to the city. it was not very long while going back when the other car started overheating. we just had to stop again. it was colder this time since it was already late afternoon. not soon after my colleague and the mechanics started drinking vodka which we have brought a box of it. i was offered and felt obliged to accept. after three rounds i had to beg off. my legs were freezing cold. i was afraid that instead of the alcohol warming my body, it would eventually make it numb that there would be no way of telling the difference between the cold and alcohol. we started walking outside to have some circulation but to no avail i felt even colder that i have to go back inside the other car. it was getting dark.

there were two cars (my colleague's friend and the repair guys) that came and it was already dark. we immediately transferred to the car taking us back to the city. a lot warmer yet i thought i was beginning to feel the freezing cold from my legs creeping up. i really felt terribly cold.

we left the other guys to tow the other two cars. we started driving back towards ulaanbaatar. after one and a half hours of travel, we arrived. i was back in my apartment. with the warm interiors, it felt so good to be back home. the visit to uverhangai can wait...

getting locked out

this was the second time it happened among my volunteer friends.

we have agreed that i visit her for the evening to watch a dvd movie. she was in my block earlier and called if i can already meet her. i was in the gym at that time, and said i will just meet her later in her flat. as i was finishing with my workout, another volunteer called if i can meet with him as well, since he was in my neighborhood for some food shopping. i extended the invitation to him and asked him if he would like to join me and the other volunteer. he agreed to just meet me in front of the state department store so we can go together to where she was staying. along the way we got some drinks.

she met us downstairs by the main entrance since we did not know the security code to the gate. we went up and as she pulled down the doorknob to her door, she started to realize she cannot open it just like that since this kind of doors are set to be manually opened from the inside, and with a key from the outside. and that she did not have her keys with her. then we tried our luck with our own keys which might work on her door (which was very remote to happen). now the doorman has to be sought if he has a spare key to the flat. he did not speak nor understand english but we were able to communicate the state of our predicament. he came up with us to validate (i guessed) his understanding of what we were talking about. he did not also have the key. he went down (we reckoned that he was going to find a way to get a spare key). as we were left, we began wrestling with the door.

i called my mongolian translator and referred to him the situation (asked him in particular to talk to the doorman, and what the doorman said). this time the doorman had a phone number which we tried calling but unreachable at that time. my translator advised us to just call a locksmith and so we did. however, when the locksmith arrived, the doorman has told us not to proceed because they (he and another building staff) were able to contact the landlord and that he will be coming soon. we were asked though to reimburse the locksmith for his taxi fare.

the landlord was an old, short, and a very relaxed man. we introduced ourselves (of course, we did not live there so he did not know us). now my friend was just too happy and relieved to have seen again the interiors of the flat. she checked where her keys were. and at the end of the night, she made sure, the key was placed near the main door so she would not miss it when she goes out.

well, we still got to watch a film, had a few drinks. but, what a night...

2006 in retrospect: arrival in UB

as we got out of the airport, the cool summer breeze gave me a little chill despite the very sunny weather. it was already late summer.

we got on a toyota land cruiser. we were told that the trip going downtown would take about 20 minutes. inside the car, i started looking around - and truly, what can be bluer than mongolia's infinite stretch of blue skies? it was quite a contrast seeing the green steppes on a background of blue, so still and peaceful. we passed by small communities - with ger tents and wooden houses. ulaanbaatar was really dry and seemed dusty.

we went first to the program office where we met the accountant and who gave us our allowance for the month. we were asked if we wanted to leave our passports and other valuables, which the staff then recommended for security reasons. we were taken for a brief tour of the rooms and offices. the office was located in a three-floor building with a basement. there were also other foreign organizations who occupied.

we were treated to our first mongolian meal. it was in an english-named restaurant. i ordered a greek salad and fish. it was quite a lot. the fish came with rice and side salad as well. after lunch which was actually midafternoon already, we headed for the hostel where we will be staying for the next five weeks while doing our in country training.

the hostel was located near the state department store. it was right down in the city center. our flat was on the first floor. there were two rooms with double-deck beds, and i was the only man. i shared the room with three female volunteers - a french, a finnish, and an english. the other room had five (i think) ladies - one filipino, and four british. also everyone had just arrived earlier during the day. we got introduced to each other. my volunteer life in mongolia has just begun.

1 celebration: financiers' day and my birthday

venue was at ulaanbaatar hotel.
financiers' day (more associated with accountants) is annually celebrated on the second week of december.
tickets to the affair were sold at around $45 per person.

the band was playing traditional mongolian music

the celebration hall for around 500 guests

appetizer and drinks upon arrival.

an unusual skill of the waiters holding 6 to 8 dinner plates for serving

























awarding of outstanding accountants


dancing followed after dinner. beer, vodka, whisky and wine overflowed...

volunteers' conference: the checklist

this was the last day of the conference.

it started with the checklist.

talked about the checklist.

listened about the checklist

still about the checklist...

IT WAS A LONG DELIBERATION ABOUT THE-----

WELL, THERE WERE OTHER THINGS DISCUSSED. and it was OK after the -----....

Indian meal for lunch and 'twas great!

after lunch - 'twas about World AIDS Day...

a farewell party for a volunteer

one of the filipinos - a lady volunteer had already spent more than two years of service in mongolia. now she has decided to go back to the philippines. this was a send-off party for her. we had filipino beefsteak, lumpiang shanghai (fried spring rolls) from scratch (wraps and all), fresh lumpia, vegetable salad and steamed rice.

the supposed buffet table with candles. however after all have taken servings, we started swarming around and just ate on it as well.

dance time!

opposite directions....why?

singing duo

karaoke time

go! feel!

watched tv too (or was it a movie?)