Correction

I realize that I should have described the corn on the cob at the market as vacuum-sealed, rather than shrinkwrapped. It was in heavy plastic, rather like Canadian bacon might be.

Odds & Ends

Today the temperature dropped a bit. It is the first day when I've been able to tell that it is very cold outside. I've been very comfortable & haven't felt cold walking to school or home since I've been here, but today there was a discernible difference. It's still not the bone-chilling temperatures that I had imagined, but some tears did fall from my eyes & freeze on my cheeks as I walked along the street. At home I had imagined that it would be too cold to breathe comfortably, but it hasn't. I've only needed my long underwear pants, not the tops, & haven't needed gloves at all, believe it or not. As soon as I enter a building I have to pull off my scarf & unzip my coat, or I'll overheat - especially as soon as I begin my ascent of 4 flights of stairs, whether to my apt. or the school.

This morning a new dog joined the 2 who are regulars outside the school. This one is a puppy who looks to be about 8-10 weeks. I hate to resort to stereotypes, but I haven't seen much evidence that shows any love for dogs in this country. The dogs are all submissive, as I reported earlier, and I haven't seen any wagging a tail: they all keep them tucked between their legs. I saw a man go after one of the school dogs with a large lump of ice (or maybe it was concrete?), ready to throw it at him. I could only leave the area as quickly as possible. I didn't want to see what was going to happen. The only thing I can say is that I heard no yelping or cries, so maybe he was just going to scare it away from him, although it certainly wasn't coming near him to begin with. The dogs' submissiveness even extends to each other. They don't seem to growl at each other, or try to steal food from one another. They're not a pack, they're just 3 individuals who are hanging out in the same parking area. I don't even see them trying to huddle together to keep warm.

Anita's friend, Duba, came to see me this afternoon when I had a break between classes. She works on the 3rd floor of the same building the school is in. She apologized for not visiting me earlier, but she is the accountant for her company and has had to prepare the taxes for the year that ended in December. On top of that, she is going on vacation to Germany next week for 2 weeks, so she's had to work ahead so that she can take off. She promised me that she will take me around when she returns from her trip & we will go into the countryside. I'm looking forward to that.

One of these days I'll get some photos posted. Until then, I'll just describe my "foyer-kitchen". There's only 1 electrical outlet in the area, so if I want to plug in the microwave, I have to unplug the fridge. One of the teachers brought me a hotplate that uses small propane canisters, so as soon as I can get some matches, I'll be cooking. There is one outlet in the living room for the TV and one in the bedroom, but that one is hanging off the wall by its wires, so I'm not going to touch it. There are no outlets in the bathroom. I may try to move the microwave to the livingroom. At least then I won't have to move the fridge to unplug it and I can put the microwave in a more convenient place than on top of the fridge.

More later. Love to all!

Traffic, Fashion & etc.

Traffic in UB keeps you on your toes. Pedestrians cross at their own risk; Walk/Don't Walk signs seem to be suggestions, rather than rules. I stay close behind other pedestrians when I'm crossing a street since I'm not quite sure when it is the best time to do so. Luckily I only have to cross twice on my way to school. Lanes of traffic are apparently only suggestions, too. Sometimes there are 2 vehicles across; sometimes there are 3. It's just a matter of fitting in wherever & whenever you can.
Young women in Mongolia (or at least in UB) are very fashionable. They wear stiletto-heeled boots with fur trim, very new & fashionable clothes, etc. Everyone seems to dress up. I've seen no one in sloppy, casual clothes, including the young men. Women on the street wear fur coats and beautiful fur hats (they couldn't be considered politically-incorrect here, right?) and carry up-to-date purses, etc. Every once in a while I'll see a man in his 40's or so wearing a del, the long, heavy, traditional Mongolian brocade coat, with a belt covered with brass medallions, soft leather boots and the traditional cap with a finial at the top (don't know how else to describe it), but these sightings are rare. There are probably more older women wearing dels than men.

My first Saturday

I arose at the normal time this morning & made my way to school, because my schedule showed that I would be teaching 3 classes today, as usual. In fact, I had spoken to several students yesterday & they had confirmed class time w/me for today. I got to school an hour before class was to begin so that I could check my email (my lifeline!) and prepare in general for teaching. The door was locked & the school was dark, but I figured that since today was Saturday, maybe everyone else's schedule was different, so I would wait a while. Luckily I had my knitting w/me, so I sat down on the stairs & knitted away contentedly. The hour passed & still no one arrived. After another half hour passed I decided to leave & treat myself to a session at an internet cafe, since I couldn't go until Monday w/o checking my email!!

As I was descending the stairs, I recognized another teacher coming up, so I turned around & followed her back to the doors. She explained that only 2 people have a key to the school, but I never understood why neither of them had arrived yet. She called one of them & about 20 minutes later that person arrived & let us in. Gradually other people arrived, but only 1 of them was a student for the class that was already over by that time. I asked about the schedule for the day & was told that since today was Saturday that most people were sleeping in.

Ah well, that's just one of the little problems that arise when you can't speak the language & people can't speak enough to explain why something has happened, if there even is an explanation to begin with. Maybe scheduling isn't as big a thing here as it is at home. Maybe attendance is more "optional" here than it would be stateside. I don't know & I probably won't know, either. Anyway, my day is not wasted because I have access to this computer & the internet & I got some knitting done, as well!

I do have to say that the students here are exceedingly polite & deferential. If they are late for class, they stand at the door & ask permission to enter. Yesterday my dry erase marker was running dry & I was having trouble writing on the white board. A student left the room & came back a few minutes later with a new marker for me - unasked! I told him that he was teacher's pet, but I don't think anyone caught what I was saying.

The market

The market I visited the first day was VERY interesting. It was like a farmer's market, except that most of the stalls had packaged goods, instead of the fruits & vegetables like Cleveland's wonderful West Side Market. There were some fresh items, but the carrots still had mud on them or there were things I couldn't identify, or they were unusually displayed - like shrink-wrapped corn on the cob! They had tangerines in 4 different sizes, the smallest was only 1" in diameter. Meat was displayed just sitting on the counter top, rapidly turning dark red, as the blood drained away. (I didn't buy any "cow", as it was described to me.) The chicken legs were frozen, so I felt safe buying them. They had an "American" label on them. I suspect that these are US surplus due to our demand for white chicken meat stateside. However they got here, I was glad to see them. I bought tangerines, juice, milk, cheese, raisin buns, rice, sugar, salt, eggs, detergent, bananas and the chicken legs. After I got back to the apt., I realized that there were no towels, so I put that on my list for shopping in UB. I will also need cleanser and some paper towels. It's hard to guess what a "furnished" apartment will have.

Police Dept. in UB

Here's my confession: I got lost on my first day to school. As I was walking around I saw a police station and I figured I would stop in - because surely they would know where the school was, right? I knew I was very close, within a street or 2, and thought it would take 5 minutes or so to get directions and be on my way. Ha!

First, they had to find someone in the station who spoke English, which really didn't take long, but it turned out that he had no idea where the school was. He called one of my contacts whose name Anita had given me, but to my distress, he told me that she was coming to get me & would drive me to the school. Now, I really didn't want that; I certainly didn't want to inconvenience anyone (I just wanted directions), and I was afraid waiting for Batsukh would make me late, but I couldn't leave now since she was on her way.

The most interesting part of the story is the police station itself. First of all, they had an aquarium in the detectives' office and a tv on the wall. They were showing Jurassic Park in Mongolian. There were 4 boys in the office, who evidently were being detained for something, because every so often the detective I spoke to would bring one of them into his private office, talk to him for a while & bring him back to the group. The boy would then join the others, sitting on the floor with their faces to the wall & heads bowed. The 4 of them were lined up perfectly. They never moved (except when called) and never talked. I could never imagine teenagers in the US acting so submissive. I was thinking of Jo the whole time, trying to imagine her English police friends interviewing such compliant subjects. It would probably be a wonderful change of pace for them.

Anyway, back to the boring part of the story: Batsukh came & drove me back to where my journey began near my apartment. I found out where I had gone wrong (I'd actually gone too far down the main street before turning right), recognized my building & hopped out of her car with an embarrassed thanks & got to school. It really is an easy walk. I don't know how I missed my turn.

Oh, another interesting difference: stray dogs in Mongolia are very submissive & shy. No roaming packs or aggression for them. I don't know how they can survive the winter outdoors, but I guess breeding and acclimatization account for everything.

UB at last

After 32 hrs & 17 mins., I arrived in UB. Things have changed since my last posting, so I'll correct things now. At the last minute, I found out that the university in Khovd had not submitted my visa information & they were reluctant to have me arrive & try to fix the tourist visa to a worker's visa, so Anita got into action & found me a position in Ulan Bataar with a professional computer training school. The software they are learning to use is all in English, so the students are motivated to learn English for their careers. I teach 3 classes a day, Monday through Saturday, but the students in the classes are all mixed in abilities, so that makes teaching a bit difficult. I'm starting out trying just to learn some names & get people introduced to each other, relaxed about speaking English & having some fun.

As far as UB goes, it is a wide open place. Bldgs are mostly concrete block & plaster - crumbling & not very attractive for the most part, but every once in a while one is painted pink or yellow, so the overall effect is not at all typical of what you'd see chez nous. Luckily my apt. is only 2 blocks from the school, so the walk is easy & actually things have not been as cold as I'd feared. My apt. is quite unusual, but very reminiscent of the apts. I'd seen in Prague. The outer door is steel & the stairs are concrete. The risers on the stairs are not equal, so there is often a 2" step at the stop or bottom (or both!) of a flight of stairs. The lights in the halls & stairs are motion-detected & I have a huge steel door into the apt. with 2 double bolts. The "kitchen" is part of the foyer: a small cabinet & a jerry-rigged sink at the end that moves everytime you touch the faucet. The fridge is in the foyer, too, and a microwave, but no stove. I've been told I'll get a stove, but I don't know when or who is going to get it for me. I really don't have room for one, unless it's just a hot plate. After the foyer there are double doors going into the living room, where I have 2 arm chairs & a tv. The bedroom is to the left of the living room & has a queen-size bed & a large wardrobe with drawers. It's all very "art deco", but luckily the heat works & there's plenty of hot water, so I'm comfortable. I was esp. worried about the hot water. I was concerned that I wouldn't be able to finish a shower, or rinse my shampoo out, etc. Everyday when I come home I immed. wash out my underwear, socks & shirt & they're dry by morning - that's how good the heating is. All pipes & wiring is on the inside of the room (outside the walls), so nothing looks "finished" to the western eye. There are holes in the walls where the pipes come through, w/no attempt to enclose anything.

I have another class in 10 minutes, so I'll sign off now & say Hi & Bye to everyone. Please email me whenever you can. I miss you all SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much!