Saturday - Jasmin's last day

Today is Jasmin's last day here with me, so we decided to have an adventure and head for the Black Market. It's not as dangerous or illegal as it sounds. I don't know why it's called the Black Market - it's more like an outside wholesale market. From my reading (UB03) I had envisioned it to be like a flea market. You can probably find just about anything you need there: hardware, solar panels, clothing, carpeting, furniture, shoes, rope, housewares, plastics, etc. The list goes on. We started down an aisle and found, to our relief, that the whole thing is very organized. We knew when we were in the shoe department, and when we were in the food department. When I say "department" I really mean area. There are dozens of booths in each area with what is for sale. A typical booth is about 5' wide and up to 10' tall. Most of the stuff seems to be brought in from China. The most interesting things were to be found in the antiques department. There was even a horse equipment area. In the food area there were big bowls of raisins or unwrapped candies just sitting out uncovered in the open. The inability to ask any questions was frustrating, at times. I hope I can go back with a Mongolian speaker. It was very crowded, in spite of the weather, and the snow that arrived overnight. I can't imagine how busy it would be in good weather. We had fun just browsing the aisles, but it isn't the easiest place to go to shop if you are looking for something specific. There was one seller who seemed determined to get me to buy some traditional Mongolian clothing. We exchanged brief comments about a cute child's coat I was admiring, and after I turned away, she called after me "Woman! Nice Mongolian National Boot." So after that, when I wanted to get Jasmin's attention, I just called out "Woman!"

After the Black Market we headed back to the center of town to a store where Jasmin wanted to do some last minute gift buying. This time we were able to find a taxi and even communicate where we wanted to go. We felt so successful. After shopping, we walked back toward the apt. and stopped in at a German bakery (backerei) that Jasmin had noticed earlier. The shop was adorable, with natural pine panelling and furniture, embroidered tablecloths and (most importantly) beautiful German pastries and bread. We sat down, had tea and strudel, and I saw an obviously western girl sitting at another table. I went over and introduced myself and found out that she is from N. Ireland, working for VSO (Volunteer Service Organization) here in UB. I pumped her for information about making connections with other ex-pats and she was very helpful, as well as friendly. We exchanged phone numbers, and I expect to meet up with her soon. Jasmin talked with the store owner, who was originally from Munich, but has lived in Asia for 40 years. Next we stopped in at the Minii and headed home.

Later in the evening, we went out for pizza - an official goodbye meal - and then we headed home.