Internet -- Woo hoo!

I finally found an internet connection -- woo hoo! Sorry it has been so long since my last post, but Ashlee and I have been placed in very remote villages for our pre-service training. I'm in the town of Gachuurt, just outside the capital city of UB. It is a gorgeous little town -- a little valley surrounded by big green beautiful mountains with a little river just outside my khasha gate.

I'm living with a wonderful young family in their khasha compound -- I'm set up with my own ger. Although I don't have running water and the toilet is a hole in the ground, it's much more comfortable than I anticipated. The weather was freezing the first day, in the 70s the past few days, and freezing again today.

Ashlee is a few towns away, but she's actually visiting this weekend. I've got to go for now, but hopefully since I've found this place I can make some regular updates. Take care!

Sainbaino!

Sain Baino! That's "how are you" in Mongolian...sorry, we've only had three language lessons.

We made it safe and sound to Mongolia. We're currently staying in Zuumod, a small town just outside the capital city. We're staying in a dormitory with all 68 volunteers plus our trainers. We've got classes and meetings all day long -- things are going extremely well.

We leave tomorrow for our actual training sites. Ashlee and I will be about 100 miles apart, but the Peace Corps will allow us to visit each other every other weeked. All told, we'll be apart for about 7 weeks. I'll be in the town of Gachuurt and Ashlee will be in Ulzitt. I've heard that Gachuurt is the vacation destination for those who live in UB -- it's supposed to be beautiful. We'll see how that goes.

So far the weather has been great -- plenty of sunshine and maybe low 70s during the day. It has gotten quite windy at times, but still enjoyable.

The food has actually been excellent. I think the Peace Corps does a good job breaking you into things so they are slowly upping the ante with each meal. The food we have eaten has been mostly fried and meat at every meal. We've also had lots of bread, rice, and tea cookies. Not very many desserts, though...

So yeah, we'll learn tonight what our living situation will be like for the next 9 weeks. Approximately half the volunteers will be living in their personal gers in the compound of another family. The others will be in apartments or houses with their own lockable rooms.

For the next 9 weeks, we'll have language lessons 4 hours every weekday and another 5 hours or so of "technical" training. In my case, I'll learn how to be a teacher here in Mongolia.

I've got to get back to class for now -- the Peace Corps Medical Officer is giving a talk on diarrhea. Wonderful.

We love you all and hope to talk again soon. Take care!

Almost There! (Scott)

Well, we're 75% of the way to Mongolia! We just stepped off the plane here in Seoul, Korea and we are waiting for our connecting flight to UB, the capital of Mongolia. The airport here is extremely nice -- it even has free wifi! Ashlee and I still have some stipend money burning a hole in our pocket, and we are wondering if the smoothie stand just down the row accepts American dollars.

Sorry if this post sounds a bit delirious. Our flight was 13 hours and although it is 4:40pm in Korea, our bodies are telling us that it is 2am! The flight itself was pretty uneventful -- which is good for such a long flight. I was very impressed with Korean Air -- comfy seats, great movie selection, and very kind staff. Each passenger even got a "comfort bag" complete with sleeping mask, toothbrush, and socks.

So yeah, so far our little two-year adventure is off to a great start. We've got quite a big group here and everyone is extremely friendly and we are all getting along well.

I'm off to take a look at that smoothie. Bye!

RICK STEVES! (Ashlee)

Time Magazine article, in case you have some time on your hands (no pun intended...)

2 Days!

Ah, packing -- we both started out so organized. Ashlee, the pro packer, seemed to zip right through, and before I knew it, she was sitting on the couch watching Oprah with a cup of tea while I was just taking the above picture. Obviously, I'm having a bit tougher of a time. To be honest though, my clothes are twice the size of Ashlee's so it's really no wonder why I've run out of room. Well, that and I seem to be packing everything but the kitchen sink...

So I guess this is the part of our blog where we should be recording these profound thoughts -- you know, our hopes for the future and that sort of thing. To be honest, however, it still doesn't feel real. I think part of it is because the application process has been so long and fraught with snags -- and we have been told repeatedly to not get our hopes up -- that it probably won't feel real until we hit the ground in Ulaanbaatar this Saturday. Even then, though, it is still 10 weeks of training before we are officially sworn in as Peace Corps Volunteers.

We are definitely ready. We did hit a little snag this morning, though. We both tried on our work pants and found them to be a bit snug -- I guess these past few months of eating and lounging around have taken their toll... No worries, however -- my mom said she'd take us over to Kohl's tonight.

Back to packing...