a transitional note

it's the last day of october and and it's my last month as a volunteer. i am done with my final reports, exit interview and turnovers.

the last 14 months have made their indelible mark in my life. volunteerism, volunteer life, development. not to mention the very cold weather, learning cyrillic, and experiencing medical evacuation.

the mongolian people are a warm and fun-loving race. proud and brave. they are diligent when given proper encouragement. i, just like many foreigners, have acquired a liking for their kind.

the community of volunteer workers has a significant aura of difference. confident, fulfillling. entirely strange assortment of people, yet admirable. it is a purpose-driven organization focussed on 'sharing skills and changing lives'. we used to say it may as well be 'sharing lives and changing skills' - with the way we have to be adaptive and flexible in our work and lifestyle.

i will be leaving my voluntary status but i will still be in mongolia for the next six months. i got a 'proper job' as volunteers say. it means 'with salary' (volunteers thrive on allowance, not salary).

i have moved to a new office, a new flat, a new neighborhood. what other 'new' lies ahead? i don't know. i'm sure, only God knows.

a closer look at marmots

marmots or groundhogs or tarvaga in mongolian is one exotic delicacy the locals are proud of. it is cooked as a roast with hot stones inside and together with the skin. i got my first view of this dish at my workplace. i had a small bite but there was a different aftertaste that i was salivating a bit after a while.

first snowfall

it was the weekend. the night before, it rained a bit. as i was entering my kitchen to prepare for my late breakfast, i saw through my window snow falling - not much but it was all over. it was the first before winter and autumn has just started. the aspen trees near my flat have just started to turn yellow. again i say, this is mongolia.

i did my laundry as i was having breakfast. cleaned the flat a bit. took a shower and i was off on the streets - to do some food shopping later. i wished i had my cap with me though. my ears were beginning to feel numb because of the cold almost-winterlike breeze. i dropped by my office first to check on my emails.


there was a small ger district near my building. i saw some of the chimneys puffing out smoke. it seemed it has really started to get cold again.

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...

squash and squash

there was a farmers' market set up near my flat just beside the state department store. at this time this would be common around the city since generally the harvest season would be over soon with the onset of autumn. it usually starts to get cold during this season.

i went there and felt like being in the fresh market back home in the philippines. there was a variety of vegetables. i bought green tomatoes, carrots and potatoes. but most of all, i got hooked on the squash family. i usually buy the pumpkin variety but this time i tried the others which were not very frequent to see. it was a very good buy - two bags of vegetables for Tg 2,500!