The Final Countdown

A week from today we’ll get our site assignments.  The speculation amongst trainees reached fever pitch a week or two ago, but it has now subsided into a dull roar in the background.  Most of us are tired of talking about it.  As clues and rumors have trickled through, not much has been clarified, and Peace Corps trainers/employees constantly remind us that things can and do change up to the last minute (even for couples, who presumably have less wiggle room than individuals).

I decided to pull out the Lonely Planet Mongolia book and look up some of the cities/provinces where I suspect Katie and I might be headed to.  The only positive result of this is that I’ve become slightly more informed about some places in Mongolia.  It was particularly satisfying when it helped me answer a trivia question.  There’s a Mongolian TV game show called “AXA” (pronounced a-ha), which stands for “question answer question.”  My host mom was watching it the other day, and the kids were downstairs.  She yelled down to them, “Which province was Chinggis Khaan born in?” and I piped in from the other room with the (assumed) answer, Khentii.  I then proceeded to pat myself on the back both for understanding the question and knowing the answer.

Right now I’m hoping that I’m reaching the end of a days-long bout of intestinal disorder.  Mongolia seems to get a kick out of putting newcomers through this twisted brand of hazing.  Despite my general lack of appetite, though, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to eat some pizza and onion rings yesterday.  We had a “host family appreciation day” wherein the trainees cooked American food, and I’ll tell you what, we did a damn fine job.