Still rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I stumbled out onto the platform of the Ulaanbaatar station. It was between 6 and 7 AM. I searched all up and down the platform, but I couldn't find anyone from Projects Abroad. Lucky for me, Ola had gotten in touch with her teacher, and I bummed a ride with them to her dormitory building. I got a chance to play tour guide by taking Ola first to a bank where we could change money and then to the Mobicom building so she could get a local SIM card. Finally, after rattling around for a bit, we ducked into the expat-friendly, wifi-providing Cafe Amsterdam so that I could look up a way to contact the folks I hadn't been able to locate at the train station. They suggested I take a taxi to their headquarters. I couldn't just abandon Ola without any idea of how to get back to her dorm, so I dragged her along to the office and she sat outside while I tried to figure out what to do next. Eventually, we picked up my stuff from Ola's building and brought it to my new apartment.
Here endeth the dry-as-dust account of my arrival in this dry, dusty country.
Nobody was there to meet you? The more I hear about Projects Abroad, the more I think the founder was indeed using the American interpretation of the word "scheme" when he described his initial Projects plan. Did you mention the lack of transportation to him? I bet not. You're too nice. "Oh, that's fine, I'll just walk. It can't be more than 10 or 15 miles, and it'll be good exercise to carry 70 pounds of luggage. Just as well someone stole my backpack; that'll lighten my load."
ReplyDeleteSeriously, imagine if you were some green kid just out of high school without a knowledge of the city or of enough Mongolian language to direct a cabbie. The experience could have been unsettling, to say the least! They shouldn't let that happen.
In spite of her awful luck in some respects, Ola was fortunate. What are the odds that she'd fall in with someone who has had training in crisis/abuse counseling and who knows her way around UB? (Here's to you, my dear!)
It's nice to see another entry in spite of your time being limited. I'd strongly suggest going current with your blogging, especially for this weekend, and coming back to fill in the blanks later. You have so many gems of stories. I hate to think of you forgetting to get them down!