Tracy becomes Peace Corp volunteer in Mongolia

    Shane Tracy, of Sangerville, recently completed 12 weeks of training in Mongolia to be a Peace Corps volunteer. He left Maine on May 29 for Mongolia where he will be serving as a Peace Corps volunteer until Aug. 15, 2015. On Aug. 17, Tracy was officially sworn in as a volunteer in Ulaanbaatar Mongolia. He has now traveled to his final destination of Ovorkhangai Aimag Guchin-Us Mongolia where he will spend the next two years.

Contributed photo

    FROM SANGERVILLE TO MONGOLIA — Sangerville resident Shane Tracy recently began a two-year stint with the Peace Corps in the Asian country of Mongolia. On the other side of the globe the PCHS and UMaine-Farmington graduate will work as a guidance counselor/social worker and English teacher while living in a ger, or tent, by himself in the northern end of the Gobi Desert.

    Part of the training was to learn the language of Mongolian, and the Mongolian way of life which is quite different than living in Maine. Tracy is working at the Guchin 12 school where he is a guidance counselor/social worker and English teacher. He is living in a ger (tent) by himself in the northern end of the Gobi Desert.
    Some experiences that Tracy has had so far are living and working among wild cows, horses and dogs in the streets; having to get milk from a wild cow and then boiling it before drinking it; eating sheep’s head; having to take a shower from the rain, a stream or heating water and putting it into a small tub. He says there are “a lot of ups and downs, but a lot more ups than downs. A lot of adjustments but the country is so beautiful and the people are so nice, it’s hard not to love it.”
    Tracy is a 2007 graduate of PCHS, where he played soccer, basketball and baseball. He received a bachelor’s degree in Business Psychology from the University of Maine Farmington in 2012. He also was a member of the UMF men’s basketball team for four years.
    Tracy is the son of Russell and Julie Tracy of Sangerville. He has three brothers: Tyler, Josh and Cody. He is the grandson of David Pratt of Dover-Foxcroft. He is a member of the Guilford United Methodist Church.
    Tracy wanted to become a Peace Corp volunteer because he wanted to make a difference in someone’s life that was less fortunate.
    If anyone would like to send him a card of encouragement and support, he would love to hear from people “back home” and would appreciate it. His address is Ovorkhangai Aimag Guchin-US Soum 01-322 4th  Bag Burgas 1, Mongolia, via China.