Homestretch and Next Steps

It's bittersweet to announce that I'll be leaving Mongolia on August 2nd. I booked my flights last week after attending Close of Service (COS) Conference, the last official Peace Corps event of my service. That was the last time I'll see my cohort together in Mongolia. Hopefully, we'll organize some sort of reunion stateside in …

The Art of Letting Go

In one of those beautiful moments of serendipity that occur when you are reading a story so different from your own and yet come across a shared sentiment or experience, I read the following passage from Gregory David Roberts’ Shantaram (I highly recommend it!). I reflected on that particularly Indian custom of amiable abduction. … …

Tsagaan Sar

Цагаан Сар (Tsagaan Sar - White Moon) is the Mongolian Lunar New Year. It’s the biggest national holiday in Mongolia and officially lasts for three days. Mongolians celebrate this holiday by visiting the homes of family and friends and hosting them in return. Preparations begin weeks in advance as most households can expect tens of …

Eagle Festival

A bucket list item for many Peace Corps Mongolia Volunteers is Eagle Festival. There are three or four that occur throughout the year in different soums in Bayan Ulgii aimag. The one just outside the aimag center is the most popular, but I decided to attend a smaller one in my friend's soum. This was …

Space Camp

What is there to say about Space Camp except it was an experience. An all-consuming, stressful, incredible experience. Sometime last fall it was decided somehow or other (I might have begged), that I’d be the M27 to apprentice under my sitemate, Nik, and then take up the reins after he left. It doesn’t matter how …

First Year Superlatives

-I am totally stealing this idea from my friend Perrin. You can read her list of superlatives here.- Today marks the one year anniversary of my arrival in Mongolia. That's just crazy. So here are some moments that stand out for good or bad. Most Embarrassing: Forgetting half the words to Orchlong Hairlaarai at my …

Space Camp

Many Mongolians have asked me if I have children. Biologically, the answer is no, but in lieu of reproduction I have made Space Camp my baby. It's been a little less stressful and a little less messy, but it still means the world to me and I hope you consider contributing to the cause. Space …

Home Sweet Home

My parents have been hounding me for photos of where I live since I arrived at site a little over seven months ago. As I finally get around to taking some for them, I figured I might as well write a short blog post while I’m at it. So, here goes nothing. My name is …

I Survived Winter in Siberia*

*Ok, not actually Siberia, but we did have a Siberian front in January so it’s basically the same thing. My biggest concern when coming to Mongolia was the notorious winter. Ulaanbaatar has been invitingly nicknamed the ‘coldest capital in the world’ and the lowest temperatures average -40 across the country. In case you’re wondering if …

Second Western Regional Special Olympics

I believe I’ve mentioned in previous posts that I volunteer at the local Disability Center once a week. Every Thursday afternoon I hang out with the kids in the younger class. Usually this just involves playing with the toys and having a blast. Sometimes we sing and dance. The kids are great and they always …