Traffic, Tugriks, Treatments and Tsuivan: Our Mongolian Adventure Begins

Wow, what a week!

Mongolia and its people have welcomed us with open arms, and we couldn’t be more grateful. We’ve hit the ground running and are both happy and busy!

We arrived late Monday evening and spent our first night in a very nice hotel. The next morning, Batmunck—who oversees housing—picked us up at 9:00 AM and brought us to our new apartment, our home for the next six months.

To be honest, our first impression of the building was a bit skeptical. The exterior looked rough, and walking up five flights of uneven stairs (with no elevator!) didn’t help—especially as we passed a tangle of exposed electrical cords in the hallways. 

But once we stepped into the apartment, we were pleasantly surprised! It’s actually quite nice inside and we’ll be comfortable here. We’re especially thankful for the young missionaries who helped haul our six large bags up those five floors!

Our apartment overlooks the bustling city of Ulaanbaatar, which is far more developed than we had expected. From our window, we can see the grey building that houses the mission office where we will do much of our work—only a five-minute walk away, which is perfect!

We didn’t have much time to settle in before we were off to a 10:00 AM meeting with President and Sister Namgur, the Mission President and his wife. We spent much of the day with them and really enjoyed getting to know them. They gave us some assignments, and we got right to work—which is just the way we like it!

Wednesday turned out to be a medical day. First, we visited a clinic right across the street from the office so J.D. could have blood drawn—a requirement for his residence card. Since I’m listed as his dependent, I didn’t have to do it. The clinic felt clean and safe. While we were waiting, a young man approached and asked if we were from the church across the street. When we said yes, he told us he was interested in learning more! We were thrilled and gave his contact info to the junior missionaries.

Next, we visited the SOS International Clinic, about a 20-minute walk from our apartment. Somewhere during our last few days in Japan, I picked up an outer ear infection (swimmer’s ear), so I needed a prescription for ear drops. It was quite the Day 2 adventure, but also reassuring to know there’s a nice, clean clinic with an English-speaking doctor nearby.

Thursday and Friday were packed with hospital tours. We joined Elder and Sister Saunders, the Area Medical Advisor and his wife (who have become great friends in just a few short days!), along with Pujee, the director of Deseret International Charities. The visits served two purposes: evaluating medical care available to missionaries, and assessing potential needs the charity could support. The city hospitals we toured were quite nice, though we’ve been told that’s not always the case in more rural areas.

We also had the chance to do some volunteer work at the House of Mercy, a shelter for the homeless. We folded dumplings and sorted and ironed donated clothing. It was a rewarding and fun experience!

Here are a few things we’ve learned about Mongolia so far:

A large amount of Tugriks doesn’t mean a large amount in U.S. dollars. We exchanged $200 and got back 713,000 Tugriks!

We’ve discovered some local foods we really enjoy. J.D. loves khuushuur (a fried dumpling stuffed with meat and onions, similar to an empanada or piroshki), and I’m a fan of tsuivan (a stir-fry of noodles and meat). Our first homemade meal was curry—we saw something familiar in the store and went for it!  We took a taxi to BB Butcher Shop, a place that came highly recommended for meat. It didn’t disappoint—they even had some familiar products, which was a nice surprise!

Grocery shopping is a whole new experience. Thankfully, the Emart (a massive, two-story store) is only a two-minute walk away. That’s helpful, since we carry everything home—and up five flights of stairs! The language barrier makes shopping quite the challenge.  We’ve been using Google Translate, but when it gives us things like “Natural Fresh Slime, Old Recipe,” we know not to trust it too much. It’s a lot of trial and error, and when we find something we like, we take a picture of it for next time!

Parking appears to be an afterthought in city planning. We’ve seen some very creative—and questionable—parking jobs!

The sidewalks are crumbling in many places, so we’ve learned to walk with our eyes down to avoid tripping. Some of the sidewalks we’ve encountered would be considered construction zones back home!

It's been an exciting and eye-opening first week. We’re grateful for the warm welcome, the work we’ve been given, and all the little adventures (and misadventures) along the way. Mongolia already feels special, and we’re looking forward to the journey ahead!