Advice
Firsthand knowledge of Mongolia from RPCV's, current volunteers, and others
Leland Rogers - Dornod Aimag
Clothes is a generallly common question. I would buy good and tough clothes. Good long underwear and very heavy socks (you may need to layer these). Good boots are hard to find in Mongolia, but warm ones are availablle and dirt cheap. You will want good gloves as well, but cashmire and camel hair is really cheap in Mongolia, so you can buy very nice scarves and hats for very little money. I brought glacier glasses, and have found them useful. They have heavy winter wear here, for very little money (and very little taste). I would bring hankercheifs, you'll find out why you'll need them later. Don't forget your towel. For the cooks out there, bring a good kitchen knife. I had my Henckle proffessional chef's knife shipped to me. Bring or have shipped a s**t load of spices. They ain't got anything out here except bay leaves, salt and pepper. A good can opener is a plus, and a good corkscrew is nice to have handy. If you are a tea conessuir, bring a lot of tea. The tea here is okay, but not great. Coffee here is nasty. Definitely get a Leatherman pocket tool. Swiss army knives just don't hack it out here, and you'll understand the exact meaning of that after you get here. For photographers: Film cannot be develped to any even partially professional degree out here, and shipping it back to the states for development is technically illegal (although you can sometimes get away with it). Bring a sturdy point and shoot camera. Mongolians LOVE to pose, and guerrilla photography may be needed to avoid a lot of silly pictures. Bring as much music as you can carry. They sell second rate cd players out here, which suffice if you are not an audiophile. If you plan on camping a lot, bring a good tent. You should be able to get a liquid camp stove here, but the tents here are poor. Bring a couple good notepads, more if you write. Bring good pens and a couple pencils. If you can get your hands on a 'Bawden' Mongolian-English or English Mongolian Dictionary, it will help. The dictionaries they give out here is okay for VERY simple communication, but I would honestly estimate that 20% of the words are just plain wrong. Bring a thick pocket English language dictionary. Almost everyone will be teaching SOME English, even iff you are not an English teacher. Well I can't think of anything else right now. Write back with any specific requests or questions and I'll do my best to answer them. I can rant for hours about Mongolian culture, heh heh heh:)
PCVs
We disagree with Lealand's advice about buying a new dictionary and bringing lots of clothes and music. The dictionary that PC gives is fine, don't spend your money on a new dictionary. As for clothes, good quality clothes will break just as much as the cheap clothes. The clothes here are cheap and unless you are a very large male you can get anything here. As for music there many chinese and russian bootlegs that cost 3 to 4 dollars. Good luck and don't worry. Get as many free drinks now as you can. People will buy you drinks if you tell them you are going to mongolia. Drink up the good alcohol now!
Sarah Aliberti
To bring: a good towel. towels here are not absorbant. pens, just plain old bic pens will do. I brought winter boots, but they weret very good. you can get excellent winter boots for about 5.00 here. my hiking boots have gotten tremendous use so i highly suggest bringing a pair. i used to wear my contacts every day, from the moment i woke up to the moment i wet to bed. some pcvs still do, but i havent wanted to risk an eye infection. if you wear glasses, have a second pair with you. mine got demolished while i was playing in a basketball tournement (basketball here is a full contact sport) and i am practicly blind without glasses, so had i not had the second pair, i would have been screwed. My biggest challenge has been homesickness. i miss my family, i miss my friends, i miss america. i miss the Patriots (I MISSED THE SUPERBOWL) so spend as much time as you possibly can with family members. if you have a hobby, bring it along. and bring extra cash if you have any. i had maybe 20.00 on my when i left for san fransisco. shopping prety much emptied my checking account (i think i have 30.00 left in there) but my bags were way under the weight limit so i made about 150.00 along the way as peace corps gives you money for over weight bags. (I thought they were too heavy but i guess i'm not that strong. if your bag has wheels, look out! those can get really heavy really fast.) i bought a cd player with that money, and i'm happy i have it.
Shawn Montgomery
Ok, Ok.....I'm not going to give you tedious, repititious information about what to bring/not bring, etc....By now, you all should of gotten the PC Handbook with chockfull of advice and information which is a good, reliable source to go on....So, what now....Well, for starters, you all have about a month left before boarding that plane and heading out to Mongolia...How do you all feel? This time LAST year, I was just starting to buy my stuff, go on weird day-trips with my friends, and spend some quality time with my family. So, I suggest that you do something....EVERYTHING...that you enjoy to do....If you're one to enjoy a nice cocktail or quality(COLD) beer from time to time, by all means, endulge(but don't drive afterwards)...If you're a person who truly appreciates a good, meal...eat your favorite foods EVERY DAY OF THE WEEK!!! I remember thinking to myself last year, 'Should I really go the Wendy's AGAIN TODAY for another double-stack with cheese?' I'm glad I did. Don't worry, most of you will lose a few pounds over the summer, healthily, as your body adjusts to the new diet here...So, yeah, have your cake AND eat it too....If you like to go to the movies....Go to the cinema EVERY day(if you can afford it), or go to Blockbuster and rent your favorites and watch them with somebody....I haven't seen a decent movie in a year...So, I guess the point of my rambling is to not worry....Peace Corps will take care of you this summer, and all will be fine and sunny....But, DEFINITELY do the things that you like to do back home....Spend LOTS of time with your family and friends, and go crazy.....You'll thank yourself that you did....In short, if you like music, bring your CD's....Some people brought their whole collection with them, and some people brought their favorites and had the rest sent to them this summer....your choice....but, you can get a decent CD/Cassette Radio here in Mongolia for about $90.00 or so, sometimes even cheaper....So, bring some extra cash with you for those shopping adventures on your daysoff this summer...How much to bring? That's up to you. But, yeah, Ok, enough....Have fun this last month, do strange things, eat lots of good food, go to some concerts, take lots of pictures to bring with you, and be decadent!!! See you in June! Take care, and good luck!
Michele
Well, I was given advice from Joni an m-9 and have been thankful for two of her suggestions. One bring long skirts with elastic waists. For your weight will change here some seasons you will be thin others slightly puffed up. Plus with skirts with elastic waists can also hide many layers keeping you toasty in the winter. The other thing Joni told me was almost anything can be bought in UB so bring money. She was so right. The Mongolian people have been living in this harsh climate for many generations and so clothes, coats and shoes can be obtained here for costs much smaller than in the US. I am very happy I packet good shoes for both play and work. My size is 40-41 and I can not buy shoes at sight for the size is to large for womens shoes. Plus comfortable shoes keep my mind on life and not on my tired feet while I walk everywhere I need to go. The other thing is winter is very long and many hours are spent in doors I am happy I brought a yoga book and mat. So, bring your winter escape with you: excercise, crafts or books. I also agree with most of the input above, enjoy everything about your life family and friends now for you will miss them. Good Luck packing- Oh yeah almost forgot hand washing clothes is a bitch- I love to wear my jeans but hate to wash them.
PCVC's: Chris, Chris and Alina
Hi guys! Chris and I (Chris) have been PCVC's (Peace Corps Volunteer Coordinators) for the past year. The two of us will leave in June (just after y'all arrive) and Alina will take over as your volunteer coordinator for the next year. But all three of us are looking forward to meeting you guys at the Buyant-Ukhaa airport in UB on Friday, June 14! We'll see you then--yea!! Ahem! And now for some ADVICE...tee hee hee. Well, I (girl-Chris) have lived in Mongolia for three years, and quite honestly, there's nothing I feel I really miss about America. He he, that's not really true. I miss my family like nuts, and I miss my friends. But as for the creature comforts and worldly delights of our great country, I feel quite content without them. ("That's cause you're a freak who's lived here for three years!" says Alina.) (Chris retorts, "Just wait, girl, just wait!") There's an exchange here for all that American nice stuff. The way of life, for one. The simplicity in living. The lack of silly distractions.. the RAWNESS of it all--it's tasty! Okay, now Alina has some words for you after my goofiness.... Alina: I understand your concerns about leaving, but really you don't need to flip about the little stuff too much. You're not going to America, right? It's going to be DIFFERENT, and that's why you're coming. Ultimately, bring things that you will miss and that you'd kick yourself for for forgetting on an overnight! Chris (boy): Okay, after a year in the city, most of the wild countryside look has left my eyes. I shower every day so I smell better. And most of my native English vocabulary has returned. Whatever advice I might give you I probably already wrote down in the welcome book. But having recently spied your countdown, um, I would just like to reassure you. Tegeed, geeze, I don't know what else to say. Fuck, what I am supposed to say? (girl-Chris again:) So, there you have it, folks. Some excellent words of wisdom from your beloved PCVC's. ("Dude, we're so not helpful!" -Alina) Yeah, we're really not. I guess we drank too much last night. But we love you, even though we haven't met you yet. But we will--and we can't wait to see you! You're gonna have fun--and it's gonna be hell too. Truly the time of your life, so get psyched. Za za. Sain Yawarai! ("have a good journey!") yippee!
miga
Hey! Shawn Montgomery from Binghamton! I'm MIGA from Sukhbaatar! Do you remember me? If you want to connect with me here's my e-mail adress. m_humanities@yahoo.com.
