Worky Work

My desk (where the lady is sitting)

Frustration is imminent.

Not really. It's already here.
- I am not doing anything at work. I was employed for my personality, not my technical knowledge. Which renders me essentially useless
- I still haven't received parcels sent from home and I'm worried they're lost in the mail
- My sheets I spent all day yesterday making are made with a poly-blend material which will make them itchy to sleep on (my fault, but I didn't realise at the markets when I bought the material)
- I want to go somewhere but I just can't do it by myself and it is annoying

Above is a photo of my office. There are 20 people in the office - mostly finance people but there is a group that works in agriculural sustainability. That's the group I'm working in. But no one seems to want/need my help with anything. So I sit at my desk and look pretty. I drink lots of tea. I email people. I attempt to do some reading of journal articles. I attempt to plan some conversational english lessons until I get annoyed that I'm not here to teach conversational english.

I must regularly remind myself that Mongolia wasn't going to be all shits and giggles - and that things happen slowly. I'm not here to do anyTHING in particular, I'm here to immerse myself and hope that at some stage I can help a few people.

Some interesting facts I have forgotten to update you about along the way:
* Whilst in the field, at Tsaagan-Oboo soum centre, one the group member's grandfather died. She was very upset. Mongolians wanted to know the situation - how old he was, whether he was sick, where he was. He was a 90 year old man who had been sick for a while. He passed away and she found out during an interview with a Herder Group. There was no sympathy from any Mongolians. He was old and sick and that's just the circle of life. She handled it well but I tell you what - if that had have been me, I would have been out of there and back home in a flash.

* I tried milk vodka in a ger in Bulgan. It was actually quite drinkable! It tasted like rice wine a little bit

* Mongolian powerpoint presentations are boring. They are entire chunks of text displayed in size 8-10 font. You can't read them but you know that's got the good information in it so you squint for as long as you can manage to get a little bit of information.

* When I asked if it was safe for me to go to the Black Markets alone, I was advised I am a 'fresh fish' and that I would be a target because I am young, pretty and white (I always go with someone else, don't worry)

* My job is much easier to explain if I explain is as an 'internship'

* In presentations, with a room full of worldly people, I am the only 'native' english speaker. Yet we communicate in english and everyone in the room communicates in english. It makes me feel bad but it also makes me extremely grateful to be an english speaker.