My First Week in Ulaanbaatar

In front of the UN gate

My first day at work in Ulaanbaatar started on May 26, 2025. I woke up early and still slightly dazed from the 12-hour time difference between New York and Mongolia. I then set out for my new office. The walk only took 10 minutes and it was a surprisingly peaceful commute through streets I was still getting to know.

The UN office in Ulaanbaatar is a 7-floor building, with each UN unit on its respective floor. The UNDP office has around 50 people in total, not a lot in terms of corporate offices, but still the largest UN unit in Mongolia’s UN building. I am working under the big team of Diversified, Inclusive, and Green Economic Transition. Specifically, I am working directly with my supervisor, Baigalmaa, helping on projects for the international just energy transition framework for Mongolia. The team also has one other Research Assistant, Shure, who later on becomes my lunch-buddy bestie at the office. My first week at the office was a blur. Half of it I was honestly still jet-lagged. I worked on ad-hoc assignments to help the team, but I got my proper briefing from the team at the end of the week. I also thought I was the only fellow in the whole office, but at the end of the week I met other interns: Jingyou, an international fellow from China, and Kristy, a UN Volunteer from Australia.

Waiting at the local bank

One of my biggest stresses that week was also finding a new apartment because I was still living in an Airbnb and I found out I could not extend it. I spoke to real estate agents, but they were not very responsive. Luckily, I met Sodka, who works on the first floor of the UN building at the International Think Tank for Landlocked Developing Countries. Her uncle was renting an apartment right across from the UN offices and I ended up taking the room. Another small adventure was trying to make transactions in the local banks to pay my deposit and rent for the next 12 weeks. The first two banks that I visited were unwilling to help me, but luckily I found kind workers who guided me using Google Translate at the third bank. Thank God.

After settling in, I finally got to walk around the city during the week. I went to Sükhbaatar Square, which is the city’s main central square and just a 5-minute walk from my new apartment. It’s always full of people: taking graduation photos, meeting for reunions, or celebrating personal milestones with some even wearing traditional clothing. Kids run around and ride bikes, and people carry giant bouquets to take pictures with their loved ones. Some even do wedding photoshoots there.

My friend told me that since it’s summer, many reunions take place in the capital, and people always take photos in front of the square. Even in early summer, I was surprised that the mornings and evenings were still quite chilly (it still dropped to under 5°C), so I was glad I brought my jacket since my main mode of transportation here is walking. A lot of people in the city also use eco-bikes and electric scooters to get around, so we have to be mindful of them while walking on the pedestrian paths.

Luckily, I am not the only one from my program doing a summer placement in Ulaanbaatar. My friend Grace Marr is also here for her internship. We met at the coolest jazz bar, called Fat Jazz Club, on Friday night, which was my first proper meal out in the first week, other than cup noodles and microwaved meals after all the settling in. Thank you, Grace, for taking me to this place.

It was a busy week of adjusting to a new place and settling in. I enjoyed walking around downtown, taking mental notes of all the little things that are different from places I’ve lived before. The people carrying big bouquets, children going out with friends in the coolest outfits, and the genuine excitement in the air as people celebrate summer.