Zieak and Pepper

(Note: As usual, I'm in the process of backposting. We've arrived back in Tanzania which means extremely slow and interrupted internet. Due to this, there will only be sporadic posting of photos. I apologize for not being more visually stimulating.)

Scott and I lucked out big in Ulaanbaatar. On our first night there, I found myself talking on the phone with Zieak McFarland, a close friend of a friend from Southeast Alaska. Zieak spent several years in Petersburg, both long before I was in neighboring island town Wrangell and after I left. Over a year ago, Zieak, his wife Pepper, and son Jordan moved from Petersburg, Alaska to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia where Zieak and Pepper are both international teachers (Pepper is a seasoned international teacher, while this was Zieak’s first go at it).

Back in early May, Scott and I and Zieak and Pepper were all in Bangkok (far, far away from Alaska), but we never, unfortunately, met up. A few days before reaching Ulaanbaatar, I emailed Zieak, and even though my email ended up in his junk, he still found it. Which is a good thing for Scott and I because connecting with Zieak changed the dynamic of our whole time in the capital city of Mongolia.

Zieak, Pepper and Jordan were, themselves, jumping on the train for Russia soon after Scott and I arrived. For the few days we overlapped in the city and even for after they left, Zieak and Pepper generously offered their apartment to us, which allowed Scott and I to take a break from hostel living and have a home base for sleeping, cooking, doing laundry, and storing stuff while camping.

Zieak, Pepper, and Jordan were amazing hosts. Pepper made me an amazing mojito with homegrown mint, invited Scott and I to join in on family meals, and left us homemade cookies after they left; Jordan whipped us up the best milkshake ever; Zieak lent us his camping stove and always made sure we were comfortable and had everything we needed while there; they even lent us a mobile phone. Have a mentioned that before UB I’d only met Zieak a few times and only for very brief encounters? There’s something automatically comfortable about meeting up with someone you know (regardless of how well) on the other side of the world.

Plus, Scott and I got a small glimpse into expat life in UB. Zieak and Pepper introduced us to their friends, took us to see a great live Mongolian band, invited us to join them for delicious dinners with friends, and, in conversations, painted a more thorough picture of living and teaching in Ulaanbaatar.

A big thank you goes out to fellow travelers Zieak, Pepper, and Jordan for welcoming us warmly into their home and city.