9/27/09 I love getting mail

I've heard from several people about care packages, so I figured I would dedicate a single post to that subject.

My Address:
FPMT Mongolia Buddhist Centre
attn: Jim Damico
PO.Box-219
Ulaanbaatar-13
Mongolia (via CHINA)

Notes on best ways to send packages:

1. Always write VIA CHINA at the end of the address. I'm told that packages end up in other "M" countries. For some reason, no one knows where Mongolia is, expect for the Chinese, I guess.
2. Remove any unnecessary packaging before you place something inside the box (there's no reason to mail packaging I'm just going to throw away anyway).
3. Tape the box well! You don't want the chance that anyone could go through it easily!
4. Be careful about listing things like electronics or DVD's on the custom's form that goes on the box. It's an easy target for people to steal. Maybe put 'educational' or something like that. Be creative. [smile]
5. If you don't have much but still want to send it, maybe you can drop it off at my mom's as I'm sure she's already packing a box to send. Just look in the phone book, she lives on Madison.
   
6. Save yourself money! If it's over 4lbs, always use USPS FLAT RATE BOXES! I can't emphasize this enough! The other options (and other carriers) are ridiculous and astronomically expensive. Here are the USPS rates:

Priority Mail: (rates updated 7/10/09)
0-1lb $25.00, 1-2lbs $29.25, 2-3lbs $33.50, 3-4lbs $37.75
Priority Mail Flat-Rate:
Envelope (up to 4 pounds) $12.95 [12.5"x9.5"]
Boxes (up to 20 pounds) $41.95 [11"x8.5"x5.5" or 12"x3.5"x13.5"]
Large Box (up to 20 pounds) $53.95 [12"x12"x5.5"]

Yes, I know that's still pretty expensive, but remember I'm in 'Mongolia'! So it's best to pack it up to the weight limit making it worthwhile.

The following is a list of wants. I don't really need anything but care packages are GREATLY appreciated! Also, if you choose to send a care package, don't feel you must ONLY send these things. I like surprises! Most importantly, I love hearing from you!

• Whiteboard Markers
• Instant Hot Cocoa mix, etc
• deodorant (not antiperspirant)
  
• DVDs - movies, documentaries, etc
• Dead Poets Society
• Ground Hog Day
• Hard Days Night
• The Replacements
• Yes Man
  
• Someone Like You
• Notting Hill
• Earth
• Zen

• Dried Fruit - any kind
• Emails - I love hearing from you all
• Lotion - It's really dry here!
• Spices like oregano
• Gorilla Glue and Krazy Glue

Keep checking back as I will probably update this list from time to time. And really, don't feel you need to send anything. Just drop me an email and that would be greatly appreciated too.

9/21/08 Lama Zopa Rinpoche

This week has been very special at the center. Lama Zopa Rinpoche, the spiritual director of the FPMT, came for a week-long visit to Mongolia. Everyone had been working long days non-stop preparing for his arrival. The place was immaculate and the staff could breath a sigh of relief as he got out of the car late on Monday night. Even the chilly temperatures couldn't keep everyone away for a chance to see the Rinpoche. Although I stood in the back of the crowd, he reached over to bring me forward and asked where I was from. Watching him with his well-wishers all I could think of was his profound gentleness as he blessed each person individually as if they were the only person in the world.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche greets everyone

Lama Zopa Rinpoche, FPMT's Spiritual Director, is the reincarnation of the Sherpa Nyingma yogi Kunsang Yeshe, the Lawudo Lama. Rinpoche was born in 1946 in Thami, not far from the cave Lawudo, in the Mount Everest region of Nepal, where his predecessor meditated for the last twenty years of his life.

He began teaching courses on Buddhism to Westerners in 1965, along with Lama Yeshe. They founded several centers that eventually became the building blocks of the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition (FPMT). After Lama Yeshe died in 1984, Lama Zopa Rinpoche became the Spiritual Director of the FPMT and oversees all of its activities.

The FPMT is an organization devoted to the transmission of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition and values worldwide through teaching, meditation and community service. There are over 150 FPMT centers and projects in over 33 countries worldwide.

Sources:
Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition
Buddhist Masters and Their Organizations
Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia
Kadampa Center: Out Teachers

It sure was a crazy this week week. Lama Zopa seems to have the energy of a teenager. I don't even think he sleeps, that's how tireless he is. Not only does have have a full schedule of people to see and places to visit, but any free time he has is given to the many people who flock to the center's door every day, some waiting late in the night for just a glimpse or a blessing. Everyone is working hard to make the Rinpoche's visit a good one but I have to give a special thanks to the cooks, Naraa and Iveel (who also cooks for the Stupa Cafe downstairs). Both of them have really let their culinary expertise shine, making every meal a gastric miracle. But what amazes me is that they are busy in the kitchen when I wake up in the morning and still hard at it when I go to bed at night. They are truly saints to work so tirelessly for Lama Zopa, his attendants and the rest of the staff here in the center.

Naraa, the center's cook

Thursday after my classes, I had the honor to join Lama Zopa and some of the staff for dinner at the Puma Imperial Hotel. Our wonderful Indian dinner was provided by two very kind patrons, MK and Ming, students of the Rinpoche from Malaysia. Afterward, the Rinpoche told a few stories. He has a wonderful laugh and when he smiles, it lights up the room. We stayed long past closing but when I thought the restaurant staff might be upset since we had kept them waiting for us to leave, I was pleasantly surprised to see many of them waiting to receive the Rinpoche's blessing as we left.

And on Friday, the staff had a casual lunch with the Rinpoche. It was wonderful to talk to him on such a friendly and personal way. When I told him about my gold-leafing experience at Nalanda Monastery in France last year, he showed the breadth of his knowlegde included the fine art of gold-leafing. After the meal, Ueli introduced us all and described our jobs here at the center. Lama Zopa was so grateful for all the work we did here to help the Mongolian people but also to revive Buddhism here too. Then he gave us each a dharma name and a picture of him with His Holiness the Dalai Lama. He also blessed malas (Buddhist roseries) to give each of us.

Signing pictures for us all

Friday night, about 10pm, the Rinpoche invited a large group of Mongolians who had been waiting down in the lobby. When I realized he was giving them a teaching, I slipped in and sat in the back. Like I said before, Lama Zopa has a limitless supply of energy. He taught for over three hours, finishing after 1pm and even then seemed like he wasn't tired a bit. Again, when he was giving everyone a blessing I held back, preferring to give the Mongolians more contact with their Lama, the Rinpoche said "Let the shinny one through." referring I think to the glare off my bald head. Everyone laughed along with Lama Zopa.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche performs an incense puja

On Saturday, after doing an incense puja, Lama Zopa and a lot of the staff took a road trip to Darhan, a city about four hours away from Ulaanbaatar where we also have a small center. So, I spent part of the evening in the kitchen giving the cooks a lesson in the names of fruits and vegetables in English. If I understood right, most of the vegetables are imported from Russia and thus have Russian names because those foods don't grow here in Mongolia.

The next generation

On Sunday night, after the Rinpoche returned from Darhan, he gave a teaching at the Gandan Monastery. It was an amazing temple with close to a thousand people present. Again, with his limitless energy, Lama Zopa taught for over four hours, finishing late into the evening. I have been so fortunate to be here for this visit and all that went with it. It was wonderful to talk with the monks who accompanied Lama Zopa too. I wish Roger, Kunsang and Sanpo a safe return home (Lama Zopa's schedule takes them to Japan next) eventually.

Waving goodbye on the way to the airport

9/14/08 The Great Khaan

Today I got a surprise offer to join a few people on an outing into the country side. Even though it was chilly and overcast, I jumped at the chance. I have Lilly to thank for this opportunity. She has been in Ulaanbaatar to work with the Dolma Ling Working Group which helps local women improve their sewing skills and to gain experience in management in order to create independent working groups which can make a modest living. Her friend Ari, who works for the Mongolian Educational TV (EduTV) station, offered to take her and a few of us from the center on an outing.

Beginning to paint the stupa yesterday

So, after working all morning to put finishing touches on the stupa, Ari arrived around noon to pick up Lilly, me and two Buddhist nuns, Ani Tenzin and Ani Digi. As we drove through the city, the gray clouds gave way to a beautiful sunny day but still cold compared to the wonderful temperatures we've had all week. Along with us was Ari's wife and 4-year-old daughter and a driver from the TV station. Ari pointed out some of the landmarks as we drove, like the abandoned Soviet military bases but also an astronomy observatory which he said was a wonderful place to visit.

When he said we were going out to see a Chinggis Khaan (Gengis Khan) statue, I had no idea what he meant until it appeared over the crest of a hill. As we drove closer I realized the thing was huge, I mean HUGE. It's over 130 feet high and sits on a building that will house a museum.

40-meter high Chinggis Khaan

Impressive

The statue is built on Tsonjin Boldog hill, 53-km (33-miles) from Ulaanbaatar. The hill is located next to Chinggis Hairkhan, one of Mongolia’s sacred mountains. The site of the monument has special significance in the history of Mongolia. In 1177, Temuujin (Chinggis Khaan’s given name), was on his way back home after meeting Tooril, the ruler of the Hereid region. As Temuujin rode home he came across a horse whip lying on a hill. According to Mongolian customs, the horse whip is a symbol of great luck, especially at the beginning of a venture. Having just forged a partnership with Tooril, Temuujin saw the discovery as an auspicious symbol of the future success of his efforts to reunite the Mongol tribes.Temuujin named the hill Tsonjin Boldog, recognizing it as a place where one could literally see their future. This was the beginning of the career of Chinggis Khaan. Chinggis even became known as the “Whip of Heaven” by Rashid Ad Din, the famous Arabic historian.

Official Tourism Website of Mongolia

Being Sunday and a beautiful day, all sorts of people had come out to see the statue. There were a few enterprising families giving horseback rides and there was an eagle hunter with an adolescent eagle on his arm. After that, Ari took us to a site of a BBC movie set where they had built a replica of the Great Wall of China. The set is used from time to time for other things, recently for a Ford commercial. Because Ari was friends with the security guard, we had a chance to step into his ger and meet his two darling little girls. And from there we walked down to the Tuul River.

The wall continues on with the help of computer graphics

A typical Mongolian ger

Inside the ger

The nuns sit on the bed in front of the stove

Fall colors along the Tuul River

Saw these camels on the way back to UB

I think we were all a little tired once we got back to the center. But then Lilly generously offered to take the nuns and I out for dinner. We stopped off at a Korean restaurant for a great meal. Maybe I can help Lilly and her sewing group at Dolma Ling somehow so as to repay her for her kindness and generocity.

9/12/08 My 1st week in Mongolia

Wow, I've been here a week already. In some ways it seems like I just got here yesterday and in other ways it seems like I arrived here ages ago. [smile] Well, this is going to sound like a rambling journal entry, but I wanted to show you the kaleidoscope of experiences I'm having here.

First, I couldn't be happier with everyone here at Shendrup Ling, the Buddhist meditation center where I live and teach. Everyone from the director to the guards have been so welcoming. Tsetsgee, who teaches the Beginner English level classes has done a lot to help me fit into my role as a teacher. This place has such a great energy about it. But that's not to say it's like Shangrila here, the needs of the community are so great that sometimes it seems overwhelming what should be done to help and that can be very stressful for all involved. In only a few days, I have already been approached to expand my English teaching to include even more people. Even if I was ten people, I wouldn't be able to scratch the surface of the need. For now though, I'm content to do the best job I can with my current students and let the future take care of itself when it arrives.

I have to be honest, my first day of teaching was exhausting, mainly because I was so anxious. Each day brought highs and lows but by the end of the week I think I can see that I can really make a difference and that I have the ability to 'do this job.' My students range in age from 8 to 49, they are pretty evenly spread out from high school through college to professionals. I even have a few medical doctors in my classes and a few monks too. Some students actually have a great grasp of English, both in speaking and in writing. Sometimes my exercises really bomb (my textbook is British and written almost 20 years ago) but at other times the students really get into what we are doing. I know that as I go through each lesson, I will learn more about my students and what works best for them to learn the best English.

My classroom

So far in my classes, the Mongolian names have been tough for me. The Mongolian alphabet has 36 letters but our English alphabet only has 26. So, there are not enough English letters. For example the English letter 'u' is used for three different Cyrillic letters used in the Mongolian alphabet. The use 'tse' alot which sounds more like 'tz'. And 'kh' sounds like you have a hot potato in your mouth. Maybe soon I can start some Mongolian language lessons. For now, some students have taken pity on me and I can use their nicknames or shortened given names.

I spend a lot of my day in my room working on my lesson plans. I have a huge window that overlooks the courtyard of the school behind the center. The school has every age, from grade school to high school. Every day, maybe more so because the weather is so nice, phys-ed teachers bring out the kids to do drills and play games like soccer. I like hearing them. I think I'll miss that once winter arrives. Plus, I found a great patch of land below my window that has a lot of potential for a garden next year. That could be nice, yeah!

Kids during exercise class

Naraa is the cook. She can't weigh more than 75lbs dripping wet and is very tiny. But she seems a lot larger because of her energy and enthusiasm. She doesn't speak much English but that doesn't stop her from chatting away with me in Mongolian. Maybe once I start taking some Mongolian lessons, I learn even more from her. She cooks lunch for most of the staff during the work week. Being a Buddhist center, it's all vegetarian. It's been good food but I have noticed a total lack of green food, mostly whites, yellows, browns and reds. Naraa said she's very happy that I've eaten everything she's put in front of me. It's been different but very good.

I read somewhere that if you wanted to change US dollars into Mongolian currency, they should be new bills, printed in the last five years. That recommendation was a bit incomplete as I found out going to several money exchangers and banks. What they failed to mention is that the bills needed to be in crisp condition and preferably of higher denominations like $100 bills. Today's exchange rate was about $1=1140tg since I didn't have anything larger than a twenty and they had gotten crumpled up in my wallet (so looked old). A crisp hundred would have gotten me $1=1155tg. Just to give you an idea how much a tugrugs is worth, a cup of tea in our Stupa Cafe costs 300tg, a slice of pizza costs 1000tg. I haven't had a chance to buy anything elsewhere but I'll keep ya' posted on relative prices here in UB.

My schedule is a little off kilter. Lunch can be anywhere between 1 to 2 and my first class starts at 4:30pm. So it's almost too early to eat anything for dinner. But then I don't finish till sometime 7:30pm. By then I've been up all day and almost too tired to fix anything to eat. Evenings can be a bit lonely too. There are only two of us living here at the Center right now. Roy overseas the Dolma Ling Community Center where they have a soup kitchen for the poor and a health clinic. His responsibilities also include the Dolma Ling Nunnery. So, besides the guard down at the reception desk, the center seems very empty when compared to the energy it has during the day-time hours.

I'm still taking cold showers, which isn't really that bad when you consider the outside temperatures are in the 60s. Lately Roy had been working on getting individual electric water heaters installed in all the rooms. The installation had just been completed on the first one Monday, so Roy and I went to check it out. I think he was going to volunteer to be the first to test it out (He said he really misses long hot showers). Only when we turned it on, it tripped the breaker. No matter what he did, every time he turned on the hot water, the fuse blew. Oh well, no hot shower today. Guess they'll have to go to plan B (yes there is a plan B) so I know we'll have great warm showers before the cold weather arrives.

Wednesday night, Roy told me about a 'cultural night' being held at a Cafe Amsterdam, so we went along with Nikki, an East Coast artist who has fallen in love with Mongolia while she's been here. It was a packed house of mainly westerners there to listen to National Geographic photographer David Edwards. His slide show and talk was on Shamanism in Mongolia. It was a fascinating presentation that spanned some 3o years of photographing Mongolia, it's culture and people. I'm looking forward to going back to more 'cultural nights'.

Young Kazakh Eagle Hunter by David Edwards

Well, the weekend is here and I'm hoping to go out shopping tomorrow. Not sure what I'll get but it should be fun exploring.

9/7/08 Taking a walk in UB

Yesterday, Tsetsgee quickly went over the coursework for my classes, giving me several of the teachers manuals so I could prepare for my lessons. While there are lesson plans already made for my Pre-Intermediate and Intermediate 1 classes, I am using some hand-written lesson plans from a previous teacher for the Intermediate 2 classes. I have 134 students at three levels in five classes that I teach twice a week. So, needless to say, I have been busy pouring over the manuals trying to grasp what it is I am teaching - tomorrow!

Bodhichitta helping me with my work

After spending countless hours last night and this morning, I decided to get out of the center and go for a walk. Ueli gave me a map with directions in English and Mongolian in case I got lost. That way all I had to do was show someone the map in order to find my way back. Ueli told me that when one visiting nun arrived, she got lost for four or five hours on her first walk out into the city. So, with the map firmly in my pocket I set out to 'see the city'.

Shendrup Ling, the FPMT Buddhist Meditation Center

My first surprise was to notice that the building right next door is a Mormon Church. I definitely didn't expect that. Across the street is the Zanabazar Museum of Fine Arts. I definitely want to take a long walk through there some day soon. And if you walk due east, you pass the National Museum of Mongolian History. Then I crossed the street to walk alongside the Parliament (Government) House, a very impressive modern building. Turn left and you can see the seated bronze Chinggis Khaan statue. I've been told that westerners pronounce the name wrong, it should begin with a 'ch' instead of a 'g' sound. And the statue looks out over Sukhbaatar Square. There are a lot of new buildings mixed in with the old. Almost all the people I saw were young and wearing jeans just like any American teenager. After that I retraced my steps back to the center. The weather was beautiful and I need to remind myself to get out more, especially before winter weather moves in.

Parliament House

Chinggis Khaan

Then it was back to books to prepare my lessons. This week's menu has me teaching about "the use of SHOULD", "Reported Speech", "IF statements", and the "Near Future Tense". But I still need to work on a few more. Being a teacher is a lot like being a student again.

9/5/08 Ulaanbaatar Mongolia

The plane to UB (short for Ulaanbaatar) was full but I might have been the only westerner. The 3-hour flight seemed to take forever to me. I think I just wanted to be finished with all the sitting. [smile] Even for such a short flight, we still got a snack, then a meal plus the inflight movie.

Went through airport immigration quickly and I was very happy when I saw that my bags did arrive with me in Mongolia. Grabbed a baggage cart and wheeled it out into the huge crowd waiting for the arrivals. And low and behold, there is someone with a sign that says 'Jim Damico'. I'm already embarrassed that I can't remember everyone's name but I was picked up by Tsitgeng who is the other English teacher at the center. As the driver negotiated the heavy traffic back into the center of the city, Tsitgeng and I chatted for a bit.

Traffic was an 'interesting' experience. Can you say traffic jam in Mongolian? There were policemen directing traffic but I didn't see where they could go, it was that crowded. Tsitgeng pointed out many of the city landmarks as we got near the FPMT center which is almost in the heart of the city.

Once at the center, I finally got to meet Ueli Minder, the director of FPMT Mongolia, with whom I had been corresponding with for the last six months preparing to come to UB. I was instantly put at ease with his open welcome. I will do my best for him and the center. And I can't even begin to name all the Mongolians I met who work at the center but everyone was excited to see the new English teacher. And once I got a chance to sit down, I got acquainted with the center's cat, Bodhichitta.

My room is on the third floor of the center and I couldn't be happier with it. It was wonderfully prepared for my arrival by the center's manager. She even made up a small Buddhist shrine/alter for me. I have everything I need here, a desk, an armoire, dresser and bed. I have my own private bath but right now it doesn't have hot water. Usually the hot water comes from the central heating system (which isn't on yet) but they have plans to convert all the rooms to individual heaters. So, cold showers for a bit, but that sure wakes you up. [smile]

Nice firm mattress, just the way I like it

Even though I was tired, I didn't really feel like going to bed so I spent the evening unpacking. Later the women at the center invited me down to the dinning room to join them in having a piece of birthday cake. Looks like I am again in a work environment surrounded by women (like my years at the hospital). Listening to them talk, I realize learning Mongolian is going to be tough, but I so want to be able to listen and join in the discussions. Most everyone speaks wonderful English here at the center so I shouldn't be too lost, but learning even a bit of Mongolian will go a long way.

Once I was done, I started to write in my journal but by 8pm, my body finally said enough. One minute I was fine, the next decided I needed to go to bed right now. The end of a good day and the first of a whole new adventure to come in the next year.

PS: My plan isn't to post entries every day but maybe once every week or two. But when there is a lot happening, like now, I will try and post more often.

9/4/08 Seoul Korea

Well, it's not really the fourth of September because I lost that day when we crossed the international date line.

Before boarding the 1am flight to Korea, I met Kristin, a high school junior from Wisconsin who was headed to Russia on a Rotary Club international exchange. She was an interesting girl, so sure of herself even at that young age. Later we also met Elliot, another Rotary exchange student doing his senior year in Russia too. With the Republican National Convention playing on all the airport TV screens it was inevitable for the conversation to spill over into politics where I took a middle path between their two divergent views.

Kristin

I was impressed at how much they were informed about the issues in elections that they can't even vote in. But that shouldn't surprise me since they were traveling halfway around the world to go to high school in a country where they don't even speak the language, just for the experience of it all. I know I wouldn't have had that much courage at that age.

I had thought to talk to them more during the flight since they didn't sit too far from me, but the plane was completely full and I had a window seat. I felt guilty for asking the two people sitting next to me to get up every time I wanted to use the bathroom, that I didn't get up any more than I had to. And unfortunately, once in Korea, my connecting flight was in a different terminal so I didn't get a chance to see them during our long layover.

I flew on Asiana, an airline I had never heard of before. It was actually very nice. The stewardesses were very nice. Before meals we were presented with steamed towels to wash our hands. And the meals even had real metal knives and forks. Actually, the meals seamed a lot higher class than I was used to on previous flights. We took off in the middle of the night and stayed in darkness the whole trip up over Alaska near the Arctic Circle before following the Aisan coast down to Korea. The flight took 12 hours but we landed an hour earlier than planned.

While at O'Hare airport in Chicago wanted $7 to use the Wifi, it was free in the Seoul airport. So, sent a quick email to my mom and then to those picking me up in UB. It was kind of weird being in an empty aiport terminal at 4am. My flight didn't leave till after noon, so I had a long wait. I was afraid to sleep on the benches as I didn't want my snoring to alert security. [laugh] I was a little worried that my bags wouldn't make it to Mongolia since they wouldn't check them the whole way when I was in KC. But the helpful staff at Asiana said it was all taken care of.

So, getting ready to get on the MIAT (Mongoloan Airlines) plane for UB. Can't wait.

9/3/08 Chicago USA

These couple of weeks between trips have been a lot harder for me than before previous trips. Or maybe I just don't remember well. So many people are so used to me saying 'good bye' that they are used to it, like I'm just going out of town for the weekend. I understand it. In their world, I'm just a little piece. But it never gets easier for me because I leave everyone behind. Again and again.

Today I waited patiently for the airport shuttle to arrive. Mom passed the time by knitting. Her church group is making wool hats and scarves for the homeless and the poor. Mom looks good, in her element. It's raining outside. I wonder how much I'll miss the rain, miss the green, miss the trees.

Mom knitting a hat

When the shuttle arrives, it's as if I'm shot out of a canon. I dash outside handing my bags to the driver. I turn and mom is standing on the porch. I run back through the rain to hug her goodbye. Later I realize I don't hug her enough, I should hug her every time I see her.

Only this time I feel how small and fragile she is, as if I could crush her if I squeeze too tight. I can't talk because I'm going to cry. I let go of her, too soon, and run back to the van. I don't even look back, I can't or I'll let out the flood gates of tears.

Even at the airport, I still feel a little choked up. All those crazy thoughts arise like 'what am I doing?' The only thing I really know right now is that I love my mother, my brothers and all the rest of my family and friends. But I don't tell them that enough, if ever. So, not even one day into my year overseas and I've already learned something.

Now my plane is boarding for Korea, then on to Mongolia.

9/1/08 Leaving for Mongolia

For those of you following this blog, you know I just finished my 2-month bike tour across Canada but I'm leaving again. Through my volunteer work at Nalanda Monastery last year, I offered to volunteer to teach English for a year at a Buddhist center in Mongolia. So, I startt teaching next week. Most of my preparation and packing was done before I left for Canada, so now I'm just trying to relax, waiting to leave..

I am fortunate to have this opportunity to teach ESL (English as a Second Language) at Shedrup Ling, a Buddhist Center in Ulaanbaatar (pronounced oo-lon-bot-AR), the capital city of Mongolia. I leave for UB in a few days via a flight through Chicago and Seoul Korea.

The Shedrup Ling center offers classes in Buddhist teachings and meditation techniques to Ulaanbaatar residents and serves as the FPMT Mongolia (Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition) headquarters for all of its projects throughout the country including the Dolma Ling Nunnery and the Dolma Ling Community Center. Shedrup is where I will live and tteach.

Within the center there are classrooms, the gompa (teaching and meditation room), a technology room used for translation of Buddhist texts and prayers into Mongolian, as well as accommodations for our teachers and western volunteer staff. The center is very busy with the Dharma program, the Publishing program and the English Language program and Shedrup Ling also has the Cafe which is open to the public 7 days a week.

Click picture to explore Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

English classes will start on 8th of September 2008, a week from today. I will teach three hours per day, two classes, five days in a week. My classes are scheduled to start at 4:30pm and end at 7:30pm. My five classes, three intermediate classes and two pre-intermediate classes, each will have about 20-25 students.

Besides my background in Mechanical Engineering and Physical Therapy, I now have a TESL (Teaching English as a Second Language) certificate from Oxford Seminars.

Below are links to some Mongolia info sites plus a few blogs:

Links:

World Fact Book: Mongolia
World Atlas: Mongolia

Shedrup Ling Center is where they teach English
Dolma Ling Community Center: Soup kitchen and clinic
FPMT Mongolia website

In order to better understand what it's like living and working in Ulaanbaatar, I have been following a few blogs of Peace Corps Volunteers currently in Mongolia.

Blogs:

A Thousand Voices Talking Perfectly Loud
Cassandra is teaching English in high school
Roughing it in Mongolia
Emily is a community economic development volunteer
Cady and Peter in Mongolia
Peter is teaching English and Cady works in Economic Development
My Peace Corps Adventure
Robin works at the Aimag Children Center
Advance Humanity
Travis is a new Peace Corps volunteer in Mongolia
And so it begins...
Trinh Thach is a new PCV too
Leslie & Nathan in Mongolia are new PCVs

Mongolia:

The Mongolia Messenger: Mongolia's First English Newspaper
UB Post: Independent Weekly News in English

Mongoluls.net: A passion for Mongolia
Mongolia FAQ: about Mongolia and Mongolians

Lingua Mongolia: promotes the study of the Mongolian language
Mongolian Language: Introduction & Tutorials
The FunkyMongolian: interactive Mongolian tutor
English-to-Mongolian online dictionary
Bolor Dictionary for Mongolian<->English