Dancing Salsa to a Phillipino rock band singing cheesy pop covers at a mongolian night club
on Catherine Dupre (Mongolia), 26/Mar/2010 07:47, 34 days ago
So - that week was a bit of a write off, I graduated languge school, and had the worst sore throat I have ever had.  SO by friday I was ready to party.  four of us went to this club we had heard of called Strings, where there was a resident band.  We pid 8,000 MNT (a lot) to get in, and found a table.  The music was fun, the band was energetic and E taught me salsa so we danced all night.I had to move house the next day, and I dont know what time I got to bed, but it was late, and I had to take E along with me to the apartment for moral support.  The place was empty and grubby, and the bed made me literally shudder, and I almost cried.  However, I pulled myself together, bought some bleach, and some colourful material and I girlified that pace right up.  Check it out.So - settled in to the flat....next step was starting work.  I had met my interpreter at a work shop the previous week, we had arranged hat she would meet me at my flat and take me to work, as I had no idea where it was.  5 Minutes before she was due to meet me, she texted me saying she couldnt meet me.  Uh Oh.  I went out and jumped in a taxi, but couldnt rememeber the mongolian name of my hospital, i could only say hospital, so the taxi driver took me to a hospital....the wrong hospital....I rang my boss and asked her to tell the taxi driver where to go, and I eventually made it to work.I LOVE my work.  I LOVE IT!  I am so lucky!  I have a lovely desk, in a lovely office, with lovely women.  My interpreter, Z, and I spent the week bonding, and I love her too, even though she dropped me in it that first day - its water under the bridge now.  I also LOVE my boss, she is amazing.  I admire her very much.That first week, not a lot happened, oh, except for being asked to make a small presentation about what nursing is like in the UK to give to "some nurses".  I duly wrote the presentartion, and as I was being hustled along a corridor to give it, asked, um, exactly how many people am I presenting this too....oh, about 250 came the flippant reply, just as we turned into a huge room, with the 250 nurses sitting bored and chattering.Well, I just had to take it in my stride, walk confidently up to the lectern and tell 'em about myself and nursing in the UK.By friday I was exhausted, I had not anticipated how draining it is to be trapped in a language bubble, its a struggle every day to understand what is going on and to make myself understood.  Although I love Z, she was not so good that first week about interpreting....a rapid conversation would happen in Mongolian, and I would look pleadingly at her throughout, waiting for a scrap of information as to what was going on.  "what did they say?" I asked. "oh.....yes." would be the reply.  For the first few days "yes" was the answer to every what, why, where and when question.  So I arranged an informal meeting with another volunteer and her interpreter, a more mature woman (Z is very young and this is her first job) who has been a health interpreter for several years.  I engineered a conversation betwen her and Z about therole of an interpreter, and the particular challenges of working in healthcare.I also spent most evenings during the week at various social events.  This is the week that all the VSO's working in diferent Aimags were leaving, so it was a leaving meal out every night!  I was sensible though, and would have no beer and go home early.  Mostly.