Heat Exhaustion: Mongolian Summers

Mongolia has an extreme climate; it is so far inland that no sea moderates its climate. Only in summer does cloud cover shield the sky but not by much; the sunshine is intense. Before arriving here, I had wondered why Mongolia was nicknamed the “Land of Blue Sky”. With over 260 sunny days a year, even during the 6-8 months of winter, the nickname is understandable.

Lately, it has been really hot. In the past week, the temperature has not dip below the 90F degree mark. Combined with the intense sun, it is no wonder that quite a few of us have been sick; the culprit, most likely being, heat exhaustion. In the States, one can escape the heat by ducking into the nearest building or public bus or moving vehicle, which most likely will be air conditioned. Here, there is no such luck. You would be lucky to find a fan let alone AC. Then there is the strange Mongolian phenomenon of eating hot food during hot sweltering days. There have been countless times I’ve come home from school for lunch in the peak of the hot afternoon to be greeted with steaming soup and boiling tea – right after my host sister comments on how hot it is outside (and in).

Cross-culture Buddhist Monastery Visit_Амарбаясгалант Хийд

Site Placement Announcements, Part I

With the official site placement announcement less than three weeks away, scheduled for August 9th, a crucial question on our minds is: “where will I be placed?” But more importantly: “who will we be sited next to me?” They tell us that these other 47 strangers in our group will become our good friends over the next two years; they tell us that the other trainees in our host community will become our closest friends; and they tell us that the PCVs sited in our site community will become our best friends. Statements like that make friendships [here] like a lottery, where proximity and chance dictate successful human bonding. Equally as important is preference of a particular geographic location, rolling off our tongues during our site interviews and survey questionnaires, pin-pointing particular providences (Khovd, Hovsgol) or cities (Erdenet, UB); our choices limited to what little we know about those areas.

Although I do share the same curiosity as my fellow trainees, I can’t help think how silly it is to waste such worries on something so minute. For me, my primary concern is not on where I will be living so much as what I will be doing. As a CYD volunteer, I wish to be setup with a Host Country Agency (HCA) that handles direct contact with children, particularly venerable children (i.e. orphans, shelter children, homeless children, children that already have been through the system or have been incarcerated). The PC application process and decisions up to this point were determined with little opinion from me; both the choice of host country and the job sector. If history dictates future, then I know my site placement will be determined based on need rather than personal opinion. Let’s hope I still have the same outlook come August 9th.

M18s: Group Description

It is time to make an introduction to the group I will be spending the next two years with: the M18s. My first impression of them at Staging in Atlanta can be summarized in one word: serious. On average, we are an older group, 48 people total: 5 married couples (one couple in their 40’s, the rest in their 20’s), 3 others above the age of 30 (2 divorcees and one Korean college professor, age unknown), a few hold an MA as well as a BA, a few in their late 20’s with job experience, and the rest recent college graduates ranging from 22-25). When compared to the earlier M17 group (as we were later informed through gossip), we are indeed a toned down group. The sinister tales told were enough to make even Madonna in her prime years blush.

Amongst us we have: a West Point Academy graduate, an experience horseback rider instructor, a published author of four books on Asian geopolitics, a mandolin musician, a certified massage therapist, a former snowmaker at a Maine ski resort, and a former employee on the Gerald R. Ford state funeral planning committee.

And we haven’t lost one yet, although there was a close-call on a medical evacuation; it turned out to be just a nice two week vacation in Thailand, the bastard. The PC worldwide statistics on Early Terminations (ET) (due to medical evacuation, administrative separation, or personal reasons), on average, is four by the end of PST and 20% of the total group before the end of the 27 month time commitment. With eight and a half weeks in country and a week left of PST, our group still retains all original 48 members. Maybe being ‘serious’ has its advantages.

Correspondence Match Program - Know of any teachers?

I am thinking of joining the Correspondence Match Program run by Coverdell World Wise Schools program that sets up correspondence matches with an American classroom teacher with a current serving Peace Corps volunteer. The program aims to educate US kids on learning about another culture – the people, food, music, language, and atmosphere – through the experience of a PCV. I can either be set up with a teacher I already know or through a random match. I currently do not have an educator in mind (that teaches primary to high school
level) and was wondering if you or anyone you knew that was an educator would be interested in participating in this program? All I would need is their name and contact information before I swear-in – August 18, 2007. For more information, please go to the Peace Corps website at: www.peacecorps.gov/wws/correspond

Sainnii Hutul Peak National Park

Host Family Trip: Eej Mod (Mother Tree) and Elements of Shamanism

My host family has a habit of planning ‘cultural’ family weekend trips for myself and a fellow PCT, Jason, who’s host family is family friends with mine. Such weekend days are usually told to us at the last minute and, thus, involves a bit of kidnapping (on their part). The last family trip was a fourteen hour adventure to the borders of Mongolia-Russia, the khodoo, and a picnic at Saihnii Hutul (Саихны Хөтөл) National Park. This time, the rendezvous was to Eej Mod (Mother Tree) and basin where the mighty rivers of Orkhon Gol and Selenge Gol meet.

Eej Mod is place where Mongolians often come to seek solace and advice, and make offerings of vodka, milk, and khatag (a blue ceremonial silk scarf symbolizing the bestowal of blessings and good-luck wishes upon those who receive it). Mongolians revere the milk of the five domestic animals (sheep, goat, cow, camel, horse). They wish all things, especially human feelings, would be as white as milk. The color white is the symbol of all things beneficial – happiness, purity, and frankness. Like the ritual preformed when one encounters an ovoos (the large piles of rocks found on mountain passes, repositories of offerings for local sprits), pilgrims ask for a wish to be granted and circle the tree clockwise three times. Legend has it that a pregnant woman, seeking shelter from a heavy rain storm, sought refuge under this particular tree and gave birth to her child, hence the name, Eej Mod (Mother Tree).

Eej Mod (Mother Tree)





Where the mighty rivers of Orkhon Gol and the Selenge Gol meet.