I can't believe its already July!
I have finished my part on the PfCC document. I wrote up the entire section on the national society programs, plans, and partnerships. And also the executive summary and conclusions. I have been trying to get them to read it for about a week. This has not happened. Then today Zoloo said we should talk about it and finish it. Therefore I finished it. And even now that it is done, I really need them to revise and adjust it. Because while I have read and learned about MRCS for three weeks, I most definitely do not know everything. They need to expand and provide more details. But I can only push them so much. I have also finished the project proposal, of which they have not read either. Which is also important for us to work together and revise it so that hopefully it can be sent out to to get some funding. Today I started to work on some IEC materials also. I talked to Zoloo about what she thought was needed. I am working on a pamphlet about what is climate change and then we will develop some posters about specific disasters.
I finally had a meeting with the Under-Secretary general. Apparently this was very important for me to do, but not incredibly useful. I think it was more of a formality. I just told him who I was, why I was there, and what I have done so far. He was really nice to talk to and very supportive of what I was doing. Actually everyone here as been very supportive and very interested in climate change, which is great.
Three of the Australian Red Cross people left this morning (Micheal, his wife, and Donna), and two (Tanya and David) are still here.
Today I was wearing a long dress. It was quite windy, and as I was walking my dress got caught on a fence and ripped :( Time to break out the sewing kit.
7/2/2010
I have not had much luck with my hotel recently. On Wednesday I woke up around 5 to go to the bathroom...no water. I was to tired to deal with it so I went back to bed. By the time I got up at 7, still no water. So I called down to the front desk, and it was fixed just long enough to take a shower. I went to wash my hands before breakfast...no water. Luckily they were able to fix it after breakfast, but it was a bit much to deal with early in the morning. Then on Wednesday night...no internet. As if the internet in my hotel isn't slow enough, having none is much worse. Now today, I woke up at 340am, gross. I could hear my neighbors talking a bit loudly, but there was no way that was what woke me up. It took me a minute to figure out. My fan was off. Now the power has gone out a couple times before, but only for 30 seconds or a minute. So I waited, nothing. I uncomfortably went back to sleep. Wake up time, still no power. At least its light enough to see in my room. Apparently no power, also means no hot water. So I took a cold shower in the dark. Now I'm no baby, I have had much worse showering situations. But when you are used to something, it is quite unpleasant when it changes.
I developed a first draft for a climate change pamphlet today. Just some basic facts and info. I have my plane ticket in hand for travels! So we did a bit of planning for the trip and I got a MRCS vest to wear :)
Also trying to figure out my life plan, and I have never been more convinced that I do not want a "real job."
Party times for the World Cup. Apparently in Mongolia, bars can only stay open until midnight, which is not conducive to World Cup watching. They somehow found this loophole, that if they set up giant tents, they can do whatever they want. The one that we went to was run by the owner of Боргио Gold, a popular Mongolian beer. The owner was there, along with the president of Mongolia. It was totally random but so funny. We were not allowed to sit at the table we reserved because the president was coming. I am no particular fan of soccer, but it was a great game and the atmosphere was awesome!
MRCS Crew
Giant beers
Huge tent to watch the game
Celebrations for the Netherlands!
7/3/2010
Nothing very exciting today. I ate at this European restaurant for lunch. While at lunch I realized that I eat at western places when I am by myself. I have attributed this to the fact that I really cannot tell what Mongolian food is most of the time, so I need someone to help me. I have been wanting to buy traditional Mongolian boots, but they are pricey and not worth the price for as much as I would wear them. So instead I got some slippers that have a similar fashion for crazy cheap. I also got some cashmere today. I wanted to go to the Gobi Factory store, but its about a 3km walk away and its a bit outside city centre. I was told when I got there to not wander far outside city center and I thought it best to heed that warning. I could have taken a cab, but its not very easy to do so since I don't speak Mongolian, there are no meters, and I really don't know where this place is. But I was able to find a Gobi retail shop right on the Main road. Most of the stuff was stylish, but there were a few things a bit off. Gobi is a Mongolian owned company so I wanted to make sure that was the cashmere I bought. Prices aren't cheap, but way cheaper than they would be in the US. Here you pay about the price for a poor quality item in the US, but get the best quality.
Tomorrow I leave with Zoloo to go to Khovd, one of the western provinces, to work with the local RC branches to help distribute relief items to the dzud disaster victims. So I will be off the grid until the 7th.
This is will be my third Independence Day in a foreign country, in a row. Two years ago I was in Australia, camping on a horse farm, sitting around a campfire, shooting of party poppers and sleeping under the stars. Last year I was in Honduras, enjoying the day at base camp eating hamburgers. So lets see what Mongolia has to bring! Happy Independence Day!
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