Communication

I have been asked a number of times how easily I will be able to keep in contact with everyone back home. I am provided internet access both at work and at home. For those of you on facebook, I'll be checking regularly. I will also be making regular use of MSN, although bear in mind that there is a 13 hr. time difference between Ontario and Ulaanbaatar. I will also be sending on the periodic e-mail updates, mostly for the family, but for select others as well. Communication will be hindered the most by work and my need to be out experiencing the "Land of the Mongols" as I have come to call it. There is still the option of snail mail, but that can be a little complicated.

My address will be:

Colin Attwood,
American School of Ulaanbaatar
Post Office Box 2365
Central Post Office
Ulaanbaatar 211213
Mongolia

If you decide to mail me anything, please address the envelope in the Cyrillic alphabet, as such:

Colin Attwood,
Àìåðèê äóíä ñóðãóóëü
Төв Шуудан Ш/Х –2365
Улаанбаатар хот- 211213
Монгол улс
Mongolia

This is VERY important, as most Mongolians will not be able to read the English writing. Only my name and "Mongolia" should be written in English. Also, and equally important, mark any and all mail with "airmail". Airmail will take anywhere from 1-3 weeks to arrive. Groundmail can take as much as 2-3 months to arrive.

The school has provided me the following advice about receiving mail (I've already mentioned some of it):

Mail to Mongolia generally takes one to three weeks to arrive, and some mail may never arrive. Occasionally, letters may arrive with clipped edges because someone has tried to see if any money was inside; also, some boxes may be opened by customs officials to ensure nothing illegal is being shipped. Advise your family and friends to number their letters and to include the word “Airmail” on their envelopes.
Packages sent by surface mail normally take two to three months. Foreigners have found that letters and packages have a better chance of arriving if correspondents do not use a variety of interesting stamps; write the address (with the exception of “Mongolia”) in the Cyrillic alphabet; use sturdy, well-taped boxes for packages (to discourage tampering); and use padding for breakable items (including cassette and CD cases).

It is much less difficult for me to send mail back, since I can mail it through the school.

Visas

So... the visa process is well underway, but has to be the most complex process possible.

First, I had to do the whole "passport" deal, which wasn't so bad. I just had to stop in London and wait at the passport office for an hour on my way back to North Bay for graduation. Thankfully, I was able to persuade my dad to leave bright and early so the line wouldn't be any longer. The passport finally arrived in Sarnia today, but forced me and my mom to suffer through yet another setback as they didn't want to release it to her.

I also had to send scans of the obvious documentation:
- both university degrees
- criminal record check
- passport pages
- HIV test results (that's right)

I am now left with only a handful of things left to do to secure my visas (yes, I need 2 of them). I have to send my HIV results, which I have yet to receive, then courier my application and passport to the Mongolian embassy in Ottawa. I also need to make a visit to my neighbourhood Chinese consulate to obtain a multiple entry visa. Now you think that sounds like plenty, right? Not so much. The Mongolian visa is a single-entry visa, which the American School of Ulaanbaatar will change to a multiple-entry visa for me.

This will only leave the issue of packing my life up, getting vaccinated, finally flying away.

Tickets Booked

As plans are starting to be finalized for my depature to Ulaanbaatar (UB) I have been notified of the travel arrangements. Originally, I was supposed to arrive in UB by August 15, but because of delays caused by my passport, my departure has been pushed back to August 22.

I am scheduled to depart from Toronto's Pearson International airport at 6:25 AM on Wednesday, August 22. For there I will fly to Chicago, arriving at 7:07 AM central time. I then have the pleasure of waiting until 12:40 PM at the lovely O'Hara Airport, before taking off to Beijing, China. I will arrive in Beijing at 3:00 PM the next afternoon (local time), causing me to lose almost an entire day as I cross the International Date Line. I then get to wait around Beijing's airport until my flight leaves at 9:10 PM that night. I hope it is still light enough outside to get a picture of the Great Wall of China as I fly over it. Finally, my journey concludes at 11:25 pm on Thursday, August 23 at Chenggis Khaan International Airport in Ulaanbaatar.

The closer this gets, the more excited I become. Only a few more things left to do before I finally fulfill my dream of living in a Country that isn't Canada.