http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/LinzTrotter/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from LinzTrotter en-us Sun, 23 Nov 2008 08:57:02 UTC Sun, 23 Nov 2008 08:57:02 UTC So tomorrow morning I leave for home I haven't had hot water in three days so advance warning to my peoples back home. If I smell it's not my fault Working and living in Mongolia has been an experience of monumental highs and lows. Although it was difficult to imagine that I would ever adjust it is now difficult to imagine leaving. Part of Mongolia returns home with me and I feel that I hav http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Mongolia/Ulaanbaatar/blog-284266.html SundayWe left the Golden Gobi in high spirits. We have a guy from Israel a guy from Slovenia a woman from German a woman from Australia and two women including me from the US. Beautiful landscapes stretch out all around us. The vast distances between blips of civilization are astounding. We saw lakes and lots of grazing animals sheep goats cows and herds of horses. The horses are half wi http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Mongolia/Gobi-Desert/blog-283563.html Hello my peoples Just got back from 9 days touring the Gobi Desert and Central Mongolia. In a word AMAZING. There is nothing that I can mentally compare to the astounding beauty and mutability of the Mongolian landscape. We experienced forests lush grasses bleak plains flaming cliffs ice glaciers golden sand dunes and the more atypical desert landscape you might expect. All in all the Gob http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Mongolia/Ulaanbaatar/blog-282794.html This Saturday has been one of the best days I've enjoyed since being here in Mongolia. I piled into a microbus with Carrie and some of the school kids and we headed to Terelj. Along the way we instantly blew a tire and the experienced drivers flat tires are notoriously common on Mongolian roads had the tire changed in 5 minutes. Then we spent an hour winding through the beautiful countryside http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Mongolia/Terelj/blog-277678.html So a couple of stories just to update my life in the recent weekWalking to work on Thursday I was suddenly accosted by a Mongolian man walking with his family. He grabbed me quite insistently by the hand and said ldquoSain bainuu Hellordquo As I was getting ready to say ldquonordquo to whatever it was he was planning on selling me I was in for a surpriseldquoYou are Canadardquol http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Mongolia/Ulaanbaatar/blog-275283.html So last night I had the distinct pleasure of attending a traditional horsehead fiddle morin khuur concert. It was really really awesome and I was impressed by how the fiddle has the ability to sound native american at one stroke and then distinctly mongolian in the next. There was even a musician from the United States who played a melody about horses he was very VERY good and he ended his http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Mongolia/Ulaanbaatar/blog-273684.html So last week we had a morning of snow I also heard from the International Studies Coordinator at Evergreen that they got an inch of snow on April 19th setting a record for latest recording of snow. Quite amazing to think how our climate is continuing to change. It's only going to get more intense from here on out I think. Here are some pictures of our snow day. http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Mongolia/Ulaanbaatar/blog-272977.html Having just watched the Democrat speeches in North Carolina I feel that I need to take a minute to talk about the the elections.First of all I am so excited and I feel so privileged to be alive in a time where an African American and a woman can run for President of the United States. Both democratic candidates spoke with admirable conviction and there's no doubt that they both are excellent publ http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Mongolia/Ulaanbaatar/blog-272976.html Okay so the visa thing worked out. Finally.My boss offered to take the train with me across the Chinese border for a day and then head back but in the end the organization just paid the fines. This trip to immigration an extremely crowded and saturated with a general sense of what the fuck do I do was far less traumatic as this time I had a translator so I actually knew what the hell was happ http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Mongolia/Ulaanbaatar/blog-271732.html Now I must admit that I am absolutely furious with my host organization right now. They decided today to check my passport and then take me to immigration where I found out that because I did not register within the first 7 days of my arrival I have to pay 200 plus a per day visa extension fee bring it all to about 350. Problem If I pay that 350 that means for the next month that I am here I http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Mongolia/Ulaanbaatar/blog-270752.html Today i would like to tell you a story about what happens when you undo the sink plumbing of a Soviet era building.Imagine if you will... a daycare. A daycare filled with brighteyed happy children. Now imagine this same daycare is suddenly struck with THE STOMACH FLU. We're talking both ends ladies and gentlemen. Yes that's exactly what it was like. My sink has been clogged for over a week now an http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Mongolia/Ulaanbaatar/blog-269116.html Hoo DANG Though I had planned on checking out some new places today venturing out to retrieve groceries completely flattened my desire to do so. The weather which had been so hot the past few days took a definite turn for the cold. The air outside feels at least 20 degrees colder and the wind. Oh the wind The chill of the wind feels as though I just brushed some giant glacier on its way in. http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Mongolia/Ulaanbaatar/blog-268473.html So a summary of my weekend so far.FridayI took off for Naran Tuul the large black market after work and soon after I got into the taxi the wind began to pick up. By the time I got there dust was kicking up but it wasn't too bad within the market walls. The market itself was indeed interesting. A WIDE variety of cheap import goods are available but there was a corner featuring Mongolian antiqu http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Mongolia/Ulaanbaatar/blog-268470.html Yesterday UB got to experience one of the dust storms that I've heard about but until now had yet to experience. The entire sky was yellow and hazy but by the time I got home things had cleared up a bit and it wasn't visually interesting enough to take a picture. That being said the entire walk home was pretty miserable sand gritting in my teeth and dirt getting in your various crevices I had http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Mongolia/Ulaanbaatar/blog-267532.html So today was a good time. Had lunch with some coworkers which was interesting and a good chance to get to know them a little better. Then I struck out early and went to Sukhbaatar Square and it was quite impressive. It's a good size square to begin with and its surrounded by a lot of good looking and interesting buildings. I couldn't seem to find the museums I was looking for though I have a snea http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Mongolia/Ulaanbaatar/blog-267207.html Everyone will just have to turn their heads and talk amongst themselves as I proceed to embarrass myself like an incontinent 80year old racist in the NW.I am effing irritated with how this day went. I got home and was completely ready to go to the central black market naran tuul according to the guidebook. I looked in my little phrasebook and looked in my guidebook and finally plucking up the c http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Mongolia/Ulaanbaatar/blog-266911.html It is Friday. I'm sitting in my apartment alone and for the first time since I've arrived I feel a twinge of loneliness. I have no radio no TV and no one to really call. I went to the State Department Store and spent too much money. I will have to be careful. I won't be going back there it is very overpriced even in American dollars. I'm tired of reading and staring at my computer screen but http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Mongolia/Ulaanbaatar/blog-266568.html So today was an eventful day. After rising early to meet Carrie I waited on the side of the road for some time fretting that I had perhaps missed her or that I was in the wrong place. She did show up and apologized for running late. I liked her instantly. Turns out horses and the farm will be next Saturday and this Saturday we went to a yard sale of sorts where I bought some hand towels and then http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Mongolia/Ulaanbaatar/blog-266219.html Heh. Okay I have to share this small story because well... uh gross.So I had Korean food for the first time... First of all the place was grossly overpriced well for Mongolia that is and so I ordered a simple bowl of soup. They brought TWELVE little dishes of bite sized portions of various stuffies some of which looked like it was from the OTHER side of the earth and it was nice cuz you can t http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Mongolia/Ulaanbaatar/blog-265267.html Ahh I feel much better today than i did yesterday after waking up with extreme nausea which progressed into a migraine at the end of the night. But yesterday was quite enjoyable even tho I wasn't feeling at my top. Zaya and I had arranged to meet up for dinner so as I waited for her out in front of Nomads a tourist and expedition company I saw this tiny girl clutching the railing outside of a Ko http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Mongolia/Ulaanbaatar/blog-265210.html