Burengiin Nuruu Mountain Range

Burengiin Nuruu Mountain Range

History of the Peace Corps Program in Mongolia

Peace Corps began its program in Mongolia in 1991, the same year the US Embassy opened in Ulaanbaatar, the nation’s capital city. Since then, over 600 Peace Corps Volunteers have served in Mongolia as English language teachers trainers, English teachers, community economic developers, environmental educators, and health educators. I will be a member of the 18th group of Volunteers to serve in Mongolia and the 3rd group of Community Youth Development Volunteers (the 1st CYD Trainees came to Mongolia in June of 2005).

Country Assignment

  • Country: Mongolia (Outter)
  • Program: Youth Development
  • Job Title: Life Skills Trainer (also: English teacher, Child Caretaker, Fund Raiser, Events Organizer, and IT Trainer)
  • Orientation (Staging in Atlanta, GA): May 31-June 2, 2007
  • Pre-Service Training (in Darkhan and Sukhbaatar, Mongolia): June 3-August 18, 2007
  • Dates of Service (in Darkhan at Sun Children formerly "Asian Child Foundation" - a non-profit, non-government Japanese funded orphanage of 37 Mongolian children opened since 8/25/2005): August 19, 2007- August 18, 2009

Location and Nature of the Job

CYD Volunteers are placed in provincial centers with population between 15,000 and 70,000. A few CYD Volunteers are placed in Ulaanbaatar, where the population is reaching 1 million. I will work with youth-focused NGOs, children’s centers, schools, and civil society organizations to address major challenges confronting Mongolian youth today, such as education, life skills, employability, and leadership. In addition, the work will involve workshops and presentations at schools and community agencies and will entail traveling to other outlying communities that have less access to information and training. Given the vast distances in Mongolia, these visits will often require overnight stays.

Friday, June 1, 2007

27 Hour Layover in Seoul, South Korea

I write to you in Incheon, Korea – in route to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Staging introductions were made downtown Atlanta, GA for the past two days…a 27 hour layover in South Korea, two nights in a ger camp in Ulaanbaatar and a two hour van ride north later, I will arrive to the provincial center of Darkhan, where I will begin my 11 week
pre-service training.

My training group is a large group of 48: four set of married couples, two middle-age gentlemen, and 38 mid-twenties youngsters – all here for a variety of reasons. They are a great bunch and I'm excited about the prospect of getting to know them in the next two years.

I'm not in Mongolia yet but I miss you all already. Below are how I spent my layover time in Korea.

1. Korean barbecue, popular dish
2. Downtown Seoul, South Korea
3. Billiard advertisement in down Seoul
4. Gyeongbokgung, the main palace of the Joseon Dynasty; the Changing of the Guard
5. Buddhist temple, Seoul





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Recommended Books on Mongolia

  • “Dateline: An American Journalist in Nomad’s Land” by Michael Kohn, 2006.
  • "Ghengis Khan and the Making of the Modern World” by Jack Weatherford, 2004.
  • “Riding Windhorses” by Sarangerel, 2000.
  • “Twentieth Century Mongolia” by Baabar, 1999.

Recommended Mongolian Movies

  • The Story of the Weeping Camel (2004), Die Geschichte vom Weinenden Kamel
  • Mongolian Ping Pong (2005), Lü cao di