In this interview, we hear from Alex Erdman. Alex is working as a Peace Corps Education volunteer in Mongolia. What Alex shares gives us a better understanding of the work volunteers do. We learn about the challenges, rewards, and personal growth that happens from volunteering in a new place. Alex talks about living in a different country, working with local people, and dealing with surprise situations. Join us as we learn about Alex’s journey and see how volunteering with Peace Corps can change lives.
Table of Contents
- Volunteer Experience and Motivation
- Living Arrangements and Cultural Integration
- Surprises and Challenges
- Advice and Support
- Practical Tips and Language Learning
- Final Thoughts
Volunteer Experience and Motivation
1. Can you tell us more about serving as an Education volunteer in Mongolia?
I lived in Ulaanbaatar, the capital city of Mongolia. I had a schedule with roughly forty hours a week of work. In theory, I planned lessons for ten hours a week, co-taught for ten hours a week, worked with clubs at school for ten hours a week, and volunteered at local community organizations for ten hours a week. I took language lessons with a local tutor, played a lot of folk music, went to summer camps in southern and western Mongolia, and attended a variety of events around Ulaanbaatar.
2. What motivated you to join the Peace Corps and choose Mongolia?
Out of college, I found that my International Affairs career plans failed to launch. I worked at a local health office to help with their COVID vaccination campaign, and I worked with LIDAR measurements for a utility company for some time. I wanted to try something different, so I started teaching abroad on short notice.
When I applied to the Peace Corps, I was already teaching in “Teach and Learn with Georgia”, a local educational program in Georgia. I thought I would be able to go to Georgia in the Peace Corps, but in 2022 it was still closed due to COVID. My interviewer told me to select a country with an upcoming departure date or to reapply, and I selected Mongolia, the country in which the Peace Corps interviewer had previously served.
I felt a degree of impostor syndrome when I came to Mongolia. While many of the volunteers were really exhilarated to finally make it to Mongolia, I missed my host family from Georgia.
Living Arrangements and Cultural Integration
3. Tell us more about your home situation
I lived on my own in an apartment in an urban environment. My apartment was close to my school. It was larger than I expected, with plenty of room for my bags and various belongings I collected in Mongolia, such as my del (robe) and musical instruments. There were flooding issues from the upstairs apartment, but the water damage was limited to a small area in the middle of the bedroom. The washing machine and one sink also leaked, but I was able to call a plumber recommended by my landlord. I did not pay out-of-pocket for any of these repairs.
The Peace Corps staff gave me an air filter. Following a respiratory health issue, they also gave me a humidifier. I recommend both for PCVs in Ulaanbaatar, and most aimag centers (provincial capitals). Ulaanbaatar is well-known for cold weather and smoke, but there is also coal smoke and dust in other large settlements in Mongolia.
4. Any memorable experiences or interactions you’ve had?
I met a lot of interesting people in Ulaanbaatar, including Russians and Buryats fleeing conscription, a number of folk musicians, paleontology students, and a super-editor of the Mongolian-language Wikipedia.
I was interviewed by the national radio at a national jaw harp convention, and I appeared in B-roll coverage describing the rollout of new textbooks and the lengthy renovations at my host site. I learned khoomei and the tsuur with a music professor who was preparing to attend a conference in the United States.
Surprises and Challenges
5. What has surprised you most about challenges in Mongolia?
I think that I had a generally comfortable site; I was very close to the American Corner, I lived in a good apartment, and my counterparts were generally not overbearing. Education is considered important in Mongolia, and although teachers are not paid well they do hold higher social standing than their counterparts in the United States.
Although I was not able to cook some foods from home, my site was within walking distance of a well-stocked supermarket with plenty of alternatives. Although food was generally not bad, I got significant food poisoning a few times. I recommend that volunteers avoid airag, as it is made from fermented mares’ milk. It can be a source of food-borne illness.
6. What challenges did you face while working on Education projects?
I had some communication issues and planning challenges at my school for the duration of my time on site. My school underwent a lot of construction, and I sometimes had to move club meetings off of the campus because no rooms were available.
Some of the clubs my school described in their plan to the Peace Corps were inactive, and I had a wide range of counterpart enthusiasm. Some teachers really wanted to plan lessons with me, and other teachers were generally not able to plan with me. I was able to make progress by prioritizing the areas where I found local enthusiasm. Students from my school wanted to practice for IELTS, for instance, and many community members came to events at the American Corner.
I was able to describe some of the specific challenges of my site during the Program Managers’ site visit, and the program managers were able to designate changes, such as designated planning periods with each teacher and a reduction in my weekly classes from 19 to 13. I think that calling for help from the Peace Corps is worthwhile for volunteers facing organizational challenges at their site; I was able to plan with counterparts more, which gave me time to prepare higher-quality lessons.
7. Could you share some of the secondary projects you have been involved?
I worked with the Institute for the Study of Mongolian Dinosaurs for almost the entirety of my time in Mongolia. The ISMD organizes camps during the summer, and goes on tour in a museum bus to host paleontology exhibitions in aimag centers around Mongolia. The ISMD also works with students in Ömnögovi during the school year, as it hosts weekly science and paleontology calls as part of its Young Scientist Program.
I also worked with Devshliin Garts regularly. This organization focuses on IELTS preparation and the improvement of the Mongolian-language version of Wikipedia. It primarily hosts sessions on weekends, during January, and over the summer break.
I assisted with the Competitive College Club, which focused on college preparation for students interested in studying abroad. I described academic writing and the common app. This club meets at the American Corner, which also hosts speaking clubs and debates.
Advice and Support
8. What advice would you give to someone considering serving as an Education volunteer in Mongolia?
Mongolia is cold, but the people are warm. I think I was less enthusiastic than the rest of my cohort when I first arrived, and I faced unique challenges at my site. However, I was able to make positive changes in my immediate surroundings and reach out to a lot of great opportunities around Mongolia. I had no background in paleontology, but my experience with the ISMD was the best I had in Mongolia. I also found it fulfilling to help with English speaking clubs and IELTS preparation, even though it was not what I was expecting to do in the Peace Corps.
9. How has the Peace Corps training helped you during your service?
I think Pre-Service Training helped me learn Mongolia’s language and culture. I also became relatively close to the other volunteers in my cohort. This was important because I learned about community organizations and events from other volunteers for the remainder of my time in Mongolia.
The training periods are an opportunity for reflection, planning, and improvement, but volunteers also need assistance from their host sites. During IST, several of my counterparts were not able to come on short notice. The counterpart who did come was very enthusiastic. During the end of IST, the Peace Corps worked with principals and managers on long-term project design. However, my training manager was unable to attend, so my teacher continued to participate in the project design sessions in place of my manager. Unfortunately, the enthusiastic counterpart retired roughly one month after the IST training. I wish I had been able to bring the training manager and another counterpart.
There were some plans that did not ever pan out, but I am glad that I was able to gain cultural and social knowledge during the Peace Corps’ extensive training. Although VRG, the Peace Corps’ activity-measurement portal, may not be interesting to use, it serves an essential purpose. Likewise, I was able to hold lots of Peace Corps enrichment activities during summer camps, even though my everyday experience at school was not very similar to the activity-planning sessions from PST.
Practical Tips and Language Learning
10. Anything that you packed or didn’t pack that you’d like to tell future Mongolia volunteers?
I packed too much clothing, and only a small number of reusable hand warmers. Some of the volunteers in my cohort did not use handwarmers, but I wished I had brought more. Although one of my electric handwarmers stopped working due to the cold, I still think that they were better in general than reusable gel handwarmers.
Some volunteers brought school supplies, but most goods available in the US are also available in Mongolia.
I brought two pairs of boots, which was one too many. I did wear a blazer a few times in Mongolia, and I brought a traditional Mongolian deel home with me.
I went through many USB-C cables in Mongolia, but some of the cables available in Mongolia were not reliable. I recommend bringing extra charging cables for phones or other small electronics.
11. How has learning the language been?
I tried to learn as much Mongolian as possible before staging, and I think it was very useful to have a head-start, even though I was not the fastest learner once I arrived in Mongolia. During PST, I devoted a lot of time to studying Mongol bichig, the traditional Mongolian script. Mongol bichig is an important part of Mongolian culture, but it is challenging enough that I do not think it was a worthwhile alternative to studying vocabulary or grammar.
I think that studying pronunciation online is also worthwhile. Mongolian is generally pronounced in a style that is not exactly the way it is written. Even though I did not study the most vocabulary, my pronunciation was excellent. I had a hard time matching the vowels with sounds during PST. Some of the teachers focused on describing the shape of the mouth and I was more used to reading IPA glyphs. I think that reading about pronunciation helped me, but I’m not exactly sure why some volunteers struggled more with pronunciation.
Final Thoughts
12. Any last comments you’d like to pass on to future Mongolia volunteers?
The Peace Corps did a good job preparing me, looking out for me, and advocating for me. I had a lot of doubts when I first came to Mongolia, but now I am happy that I came.
What are you waiting for? Opportunities like this don’t come often. If you have a passion for service and an adventurous spirit like Alex’s, apply to the Peace Corps today. Expand your horizons, push your limits, and create positive impact as a volunteer. You never know how serving as a Peace Corps volunteer could change your life.
The content of this post does not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Government, the Peace Corps, or Mongolia Government.
