Another bad day

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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 sand in my ear!) I had hoped to go to naran tuul (black market) that day but with the weather being what it was... yeah.

When I got home I was pretty desperate for a radio of some sort and so went back out into the miserable weather to try and find one. Not only was the sand kicking up every few minutes, but it was HOT, and so walking around was very unpleasant. I also was very disappointed as I cruised several stores and found NOTHING. No usb thing for my mp3 player and no radios of any kind. I was in a pretty foul mood, not to mention dirty and sweaty. I did however, find a place that sells "English books" and so picked up another book to read in my leisurely time. This is good as I'm beginning to run out of things to read. Damn my quick paced reading!!

So discouraged by lack of success, I headed back toward the apartment and saw "London Pop" a beer and whiskey place. I caved and went in, if only to get out of the weather and to have some whiskey. An interesting side note: Mongolians in general have been very surprised when I tell them I love whiskey. Tulga called me a "serious drinker" when I told him I liked whiskey. This was also repeated in the bar where they kept trying to offer me Baileys Irish Cream before I had to quite firmly insist that YES, I did want some Johnny Walker (Black Label) Whiskey. I don't know if they were impressed or worried but I made myself comfortable at the back of the bar. I was touched that they spent some time fiddling on the radio, choosing an English station where they played nothing but extremely bad pop music from the states. Nonetheless, it was music and I was happy to hear a bit of home.

Three rounds later and half a pack of cigarettes I was pretty wrecked. I was letting time drag because I was really dreading returning to my quiet and empty apartment. I also let lots of sad thoughts swirl around and I thought about people that I haven't really talked to in a long time. I also thought about the future. It was all very depressing especially with Kelly Clarkson and Celine Dion crooning in the background. I finally decided to go home because 1) I was drunk and didn't want to drink anymore, and 2) because I was filthy, sweaty, and probably reeking of booze. I'm surprised homeless people weren't giving ME money. It was pretty sad though the people at the bar were quite happy to keep taking my money (and treated me even nicer as Johnny Walker is NOT cheap booze.)

I got home, sat down and wrote a letter to my cousin, and then laid down. I thought about just going to sleep and then realized I should eat. So I got up, ate, and felt better though I slept very fitfully through the night.

I'm going to go ahead and include more pictures because my brother told me to :-)

OH! And for his benefit, I will take a moment here to explain what I am actually doing in my volunteer work.

1) Developing project assessments of their Environmental Policy, Community Outreach, and Human Trafficking departments. This essentially consists of going through their 2005-2007 Annual Activity Reports, compiling information and then determining how many people they have been able to effectively reach in the community/government. Also hoping to help them develop projections for growth.

2) Developing job descriptions that will help them in future hiring decisions and in training programs for their current employees.

So basically, it's all stuff that is within my reach and ability. So this is good.

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Photos

Temple Artifacts
Some great artifacts from the Temple museum I went to.

Temple Artifacts 1
They had many variations on this particular figure but his eyes made him stand out from the rest.

Inside the temple
Lighting was very dark and it was FREEZING. Likely to keep preservation of the artifacts, some of which were not behind glass (though most of them were, which is why you'll see a glare in some of these pictures.)

Painted horses
There were a few of these sprinkled over the grounds - an art project by local students.

Stone work
Some great stone work outside of the temple museum.

Angry
"What an angry little pot!" I thought to myself.

Doggie
The dog said "MY POLE!" and guarded it quite fiercely. I thought it best to leave him to his duties.

Kitty
Kitty says "meow." I actually really liked this kitty and amused myself by spending time with it. Made me think of the kitties back home.

Temple
Beautiful artwork.

Chinggis Khan
Can you see his face scripted on the distant hillside?

Sad monkey
Also liked this particular one though I'm pretty sure they'd notice me trying to stash this one under my shirt!