Good Weekend! (Scott)

It's Sunday morning here in Olgii and I'm sitting across from a crackling fire while Ashlee is bustling about preparing a breakfast of home-made biscuits topped with honey and pan-fried cinnamon-coated apples. It has been a good weekend.

This past Thursday I was given the privilege of flying into the big city of UB for a Peace Corps meeting. During our last days of training I was one of three members in our group to be voted onto the Volunteer Advisory Council (VAC). Basically VAC is a group of PCV representatives that meets two or three times a year to bring any volunteer issues to the attention of the Peace Corps Mongolia administration. We had a couple of long (and hopefully productive) meetings on Thursday night and Friday morning, and it was all worth it due to the fact that I got a free trip into UB to stock up on some supplies, eat some good food, and meet with some friends from training.

I came into UB loaded with a large shopping list -- and not just from Ashlee either as my sitemates jumped right in with their requests. I was happy to oblige them all since I would have done the same thing in their places. I spent pretty much all of Friday afternoon scouring UB's American-styles stores for supplies. For Ashlee and myself I got pinto beans, corn meal, tabasco sauce, powdered sugar, maple syrup, garlic salt/pepper, toothbrushes, peanut butter, taco seasoning, popcorn, a plastic spatula, and even a few large Reese's peanut butter cups! For Laura I picked up a bag of frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts, bread crumbs, and some brocoli -- she will be using these items to make such delicious meals as orange chicken, chicken parmesan, and brocoli and beef. I helped Matt by visiting his UB travel agent to purchase his ticket to Thailand in December -- I also picked him up some peanut butter and Korean hot pepper paste. Yep, when I flew into UB my backpack weighed only 8 kilos and when I left it weighed 18!

Also during my stay in UB I treated myself to some fine dining. Some good Mongolian friends of mine picked me up from the airport and we ate lunch at Altai BBQ. It's this really touristy place that offers American-style Mongolian bbq where you pack your own bowl of meat and vegetables, top it with your own combination of sauces, and then have it cooked right before your very eyes. It's an all-you-can-eat joint and I completely gorged myself -- they had chicken and fresh brocoli!

After lunch, I met up with a fellow M20 VAC member -- he and his wife live in the northern metropolis of Darkhan -- and together we continued the food marathon. We started at a German bakery where, since neither of us had our wives along to be the voices of reason, we spent almost 20,000 tugriks on jumbo cappuccinos and two desserts each -- even though I was still full from lunch.

Friday morning we had breakfast at a French bakery (ham and cheese croissants!) and then at the VAC meeting someone brought some fresh-baked goodies: banana bread and berry muffins. Naturally, I couldn't restrain myself. For lunch I joined some PCV friends at a local Irish pub for a bacon cheeseburger, fries, and a nice large Gem draft. Hmm, some of you must think I'm a jerk for living up the UB life while Ashlee was back home in Olgii, but I think I made it up to her. On top of the supplies I picked up, I also happened to acquire something that she has been waiting to see since early July. Without getting into the details since I don't want the FBI to come knocking on our door, let's just say that she really enjoyed it and, in Ashlee's words, "God speed, Dumbledore."

So yeah, it was a great trip, but I'm happy to be back home. When I flew back into Olgii yesterday, I was greeted not only by my loving wife, but by two care packages sent from our family in California! Since pictures are worth a thousand words, I'll let you see the appreciation on our faces. Thanks Mom & Dad Riggins, Grandma & Jon, and the Hawleys!

YESSSS!