We left Korea at 3:35am. That took our entire transit to 50hours. I got maybe 4 hours sleep. Needless to say I’m wrecked. Anyway, as the plane was descending the landscape became clear. Wholey dooley. This place is amazing. How the hell people can make a living is beyond me.
The landscape was dusted with snow that looked just like cornflour. The mountains are uneroded and the ridges are all angular – the mountain peaks just rise from nowhere. The tree line is inverted – and even those trees are hidden in the most sheltered crevices.
The landscape is unbelievably sparse. Brown grass. My job will definitely be interesting. The road from the airport is such that 20km/hour is too fast. There have been futile attempts at planting trees. The poor little things; they’d be better put out of their misery than being coaxed to life in the few months of the year that allows growth. I was kind of excited about seeing some stratigraphy – to no avail. There is just enough soil on the ground to prevent most rocks from poking through.
Above: chilling out in the Korean airport – getting on to our 10th hour in the airport and night 2 of no proper sleep
We’re all pretty tired – okay. REALLY tired.
We had a quick sleep this morning and then headed out for lunch and then house hunting. It’s always tricky trying to figure out who’s going to live with who; how many bedrooms you need etc. etc. – especially when you don’t know everyone particularly well. Never mind; no big deal. I have to grow up and become a semi-easy to live with person at some point in my life.
Apartments were great. $600USD/mth for a 2br apartment with a new kitchen, fully furnished. The outside’s something your mother would never let you step foot in. The hallway is worse. The garbage is kept inside the front door and kind of stinks. The steps are so worn that they’re on a negative slope. But the apartments are great! No stove though – so I guess no baking for Sally.
There’s a bunch of photos in the album above – I can’t figure out how to caption them individually, but that’s my day in pictures. Photos of dinner (the big meat tray), Sukhbaatar Square (the 6 of us lined up with the statue of Chinggis in the background), the view from the plane, the cops on segways.
Have I mentioned I’m epically tired? Wholey shitballs. So much happened today. Maybe I’ll just dot point for a bit:
* cried a little behind my glasses at the demonstration in Sukhbaatar Square at the Mongolian herders and their gers, trying to make their point clear that mining is making their lifestyle impossible. Sometimes I hate that I’m a part of it, even indirectly in this case. There’s method to my madness but sometimes I wonder if I’ll get past the madness of earning awesome money to the real reason I studied what I did
* ordered a blue cheese and something else salad and was given a salad that was actually shaved sheep head and capsicum (I didn’t eat it)
* Ate huushuu with meat and mini chunks of cubed fat (I picked out as much as I could)
* Drank the largest chai latte I’ve ever seen
* Almost keeled over from tiredness
*Sucked in awesome fresh, crisp mountain air
* Talked to our convenor about my position. Apparently the staff are all quite young Mongolians, friendly and super excited to meet me. They have planned lots of trips to the field – but were worried I wouldn’t want to go because I won’t shower for two weeks at least. They were told that of course I want to go, for as long as possible. Which of course I did. Until I was plated the shaved sheep head salad for dinner. Shit shit shit. I can’t eat that stuff. And I hate going to bed dirty. And there’s NO privacy in a single room ger for me to bucket bath. I can’t eat boiled intestines filled with coagulated blood and onion (I was assured the onion makes it taste good). Moral to the story is: I’m going to have to. It’s only a different part of the animal. I just wish I had a pocket sized Lai Lynn Choong so I could feed her my unwanted offal without anyone knowing.
* Learnt that there are a lot of ‘incidents’ of people getting punched, groped, blah blah – and that I can’t even walk to the gym by myself.
* Loved my kangaroo fur coat more and more every second
* Squealed with excitement at the sight of a Mongolian baby wrapped in blankets so heavy she had to be belted in to them, with only her eyes and nose visible. SO cute.
I think that’s all. I mean, there’s MORE. I guess. But there’s not because my brain is fried. Love Love Love to all; this place is freaking awesome – I can’t wait til tomorrow when we sort out housing a bit better and I have enough energy to show excitement rather than just feel it inside. xox
1 comment:
Actually intestines and coagulated blood are my two favourite foods. I think the onion would gave been holding it back.
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