Mongolia here I come

My grandfather, as part of his grand "hiding in third world countries to avoid Nazis" tour was invited to Mongolia for an education conference. I never met the man- he had a heart attack when I was a baby- but am sure he would be thrilled to know that I'm planning to go to Mongolia between August 8 and 15- having been granted a week of liberty from my employer.

The closest I have ever come to this land was a booklet from the Peace Corps which detailed about thirty destinations, including Mongolia. (I thought about applying with the Peace Corps but their "evaluation process" is ten months long- besides which they can, theoretically, assign you anywhere in the world. Can you imagine? "Hello there Asiatown. We at the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia welcome you. Please hold on for a few moments as we sharpen the blade on this excellent guillotine. It's of French vintage and remarkable resillient after decades of heavy use.")

Still, come on it's MONGOLIA. Mare's milk. Deserts. Fatty dumplings. Camels. The Gobi desert, which I plan to hike until I get lost and become dehydrated and even more deluded than I am now. And yes, teaching jobs can be had there too, for the scrumptious salary of 900 American dollars a year.Wow! 900 bucks! That's a lot of camel puckeys.

Fresh fruit update: After a brief, near-orgasmic encounter with fresh peaches and apricots, I am left unfullfilled once more.