Burberry Mayberry

That’s right. I own a Burberry coat! How, you ask? MONGOLIA! Mongols don’t like to wear second hand clothes – even though they probably can’t afford it. Which means that the second hand shops are chocka block full of awesomeness that hasn’t been raided by other people.
Why do I care? Because it’s COLD! And I only bought my kangaroo fur coat and jumpers. So now I’m fully stocked with another four coats. I put one back as I thought five was a bit over the top.
These are for you, mum:

Creamy yellow coloured leather jacket. 17000tugrik (50% off – so 8500tugs = $8AUD)

Dark brown detailed leather jacket with funky lining (most expensive at 50000tugs)

Burberry full length, wool lined (removable) cream coloured overcoat (half price; 10000tugs)

Plum-purplish coloured down jacket. Mmmmmmmmm warm! (half price; 8500 tugs)
Today was another big-ish day. After a big night last night (I must admit I piked early and was home – sober – by 12:30. Others were home at much more unfriendly hours after karaoke), we wandered all over town to supermarkets and department stores to check stuff out. The second hand shop was obviously the most popular event of the day. All of the above items for 79000tugrik which is equivalent to about $70aud. YAY!
I also had to cash up – we have to pay bond in cash tomorrow so I had to exhaust all card avenues with limits to get enough (would have been more organised but only found the joint yesterday).
Anyway, I’m excited to sleep in my BED and unpack my suitcase properly. Good news on that front – the vacuum bags worked a treat as they’re both inflated now and there’s no way I can even fit all the clothes in, let alone the shoes and other stuff I put in that suitcase. No wonder it was heavy! Sucky vacuum bags are now my new favourite thing.
I’m also excited to go shopping and buy STUFF to cook STUFF as opposed to eating at restaurants all the time. Apparently most people just do as it’s just as expensive either way. I’m going to cook. I don’t think I’d maintain my sanity if I didn’t cook!
Well, I’m SUPER tired – it’s our first NIGHT without things happening, so we’ve been in bed since about 7pm and intend on remaining a bed bug until at least 7am. Night
xox

Casual Friday

It was okay that my work clothes weren't properly ironed (because I had to iron on the floor as we don't have a board) because it was casual Friday.
Tsegi picked me up yesterday morning. She works at the World Bank. She has a permed wavy bob and speaks amazing english. She's probably a few years older than me and I think we'll be good friends. It was snowing yesterday - the temperature dropped due to that snow storm. It was quite chilly outside! I ended up wearing my new grey pants and my pink polo shirt. I felt like a boy because I am so used to wearing dresses and skirts, and at the very maximum jeans. So grey pants weren't amazing but it had to be done due to weather constraints.

The view out our hotel window on Friday morning - SNOW!

We got to work at about 9:30am. It's a 'normal' looking office building (as in, no different to any office building in Australia). Except I'll have to sign in and out every day with a finger print I think. The office is open plan and has a spectacular view of the mountains. It's a 2mth old building, so it's all lovely inside. Plants and all. My desk is smallish I guess and my computer screen is dismal in comparison to my massive two screens I had at Origin. Nothing to complain about; it's all lovely!

Everyone was excited to meet me. And they were apparently impressed that I was younger than they thought I'd be. For no other reason that I'll probably go out and get drunk with them more often, I imagine. In the couple of hours there yesterday there were multiple references to drinking, getting drunk, vodka, dancing and parties. The Mongols seem to love their parties!

The all speak fluent English. As in they studied in Australia or the UK. They're all great friends (so it seems) and they crack in jokes ALL the time (sometimes in English, sometimes in Mongolian).

The director has an ipad and chews gum but is impeccably dressed. She made a joke that she had no technical knowledge re: pastural management until she got the job (as she's a city girl, not a nomad) and now when she goes to the hairdresser she can chat to them about pastural management (as in, they have something in common to talk about now).

My role is totally set out. How I'll get it all done is beyond me. It's quite overwhelming but I'll take it as it comes and hope that I can do a good job! I mentioned something or other about something (yeah, details) and the director got on the phone and then told me she'd organise for me to go out to the eastern provinces soon when some people go out as it sounds like I'm interested in farming (they farm wheat out east I think). I said I'd LOVE to, of course!

Everyone seems so scared of the director! I think bosses are SUPER important here. Nothing like sitting next to Grant and Jamie at work and giving them shit all day. Hashaa has a massive office with a round table that no one likes to enter - they all cower as they knock on the door. I'm not sure why; she's amazing! She's very similar in character to the lady we met the previous day. Apparently she's very bossy. I'm happy with that, because that's what bosses are suppose to do!

We had a staff meeting that I was introduced at - briefly and then they all started chatting in Mongolian. I was given a 100page report from last year's findings in Mongolian - and told that I should be able to read that by next week. Yeah, RIGHT!

I start work on the 9th May, half days. That week we have language training in the morning so they want me to work in the afternoon. Eek. I'm going to be so tired! Language training is pretty full on.

My contract says I'll be going out field either 3-7days/month or 7-10days/3months. Sounds great to me. I'll just have to get over my fear of no showers, sleeping on the floor and eating offal and fat.

That's kind of all that happened at work. I left for lunch at 12:30 and we had vegan. Again. Nevermind. After lunch we got our phones unlocked. Mine was obviously locked to Australia. It cost me about $30 to get it unlocked - they took it apart and hooked it up to a computer, read the locking code, entered it and it was all mine. So now I've got a Mongolian phone number. We went downstairs and managed to get internet put on it too. I realise it'll get stolen but I hope it's not for a little while because I do really like my phone.

Anyway, post lunch we had a look at ONE more apartment. It was a 3br place, with a little bit of potential. We walked in and were suitably impressed. The main bedroom (mine now) has a massive bed and a tv. The other two rooms are big enough and the spare room is big enough for another bed anyway. There are 2 bathrooms (rare), an open kitchen (big thing here as most are separate rooms), a double door fridge/freezer (the deal was sealed) with an ice machine, an 8 person dining table, massive, super comfy couches......

blah blah. It was great.

It didn't have a lot of things we needed. So I started a list. Moral to that story is that Sally's an awesome negotiator and we're getting a fully decked out kitchen and house with a spare bed and desk - just because I asked (maybe slightly demanded).

The landlord is the best part. He's Israeli and is a photographer. He's got a very dry sense of humour, speaks perfect English and Mongolian (big deal as things go wrong a lot here, so it'll be easy to contact him)....... Once we'd decided, Sarah (new housemate) and I went downstairs to the French bistro and had a coffee with him. He talked for about 2 hours about a. using Mongolian elders to gain knowledge and increase sustainability of pastures because they know shit (aka the indigenous Australians that are only just starting to be recognised as having legit knowledge of the land) and b. about Israeli military.

I didn't stop smiling the whole time. That guy knows his shit! As in, he totally understood everything we said, cracked jokes, made reference to things, used analogies and just totally knew how to captivate his audience (me) and tell me in the exact way I like to learn things - and exactly WHAT I need to know/learn for this role I've taken in Mongolia.

Oh man, once we left I couldn't stop bouncing up and down with excitement. Literally. It's always a bit embarrassing when I get that excited but I didn't even care!

We finished coffee and walked to the house we were meeting people at. Said hi, tried to watch the Royal Wedding but couldn't as the channels were down and the electricity off.



Chinese for dinner - our own private room!

Had Chinese for dinner, walked to an open mic night at the Xanadu gallery and had a lovely night! It was the majority of UB's expat community in one room with lots of smoke, art on the wall (eek, I'd die if my artwork was in there getting smoked on) and a microphone + guitar. People everywhere. I was sleepy but so happy to people watch. I'll start getting roudier once I know how things work, once I've organised myself and can iron my clothes.



Open mic night at Xanadu



All in all, a freaking fantastic day. My job - as I see it today, is freaking amazing. The World Bank, the European Union, some Japanese aid agency and the Mongolian government seem to have their head totally screwed on. I'm sure I'll find faults or whatever, but at face value - what they're doing, and what I'm now a part of is SUPER freaking EXCITING.

Today is a shopping day. I also have to manage to get me 1.6million tugriks out of the ATM to pay for our bond tomorrow. Not sure how I'll do that.

Oh yeah, the third person moving in to our house is the American geo that I was so excited to meet. He seems really nice.

The week just gets bigger!

 

Wholey dooley. It is HARD being in a group! Especially when you’ve all come together from different backgrounds. I mean it’s great – learning about all these different things, but it also makes it hard.

Never mind. It’s also hard being with ANY of the same people all day every day, even when they’re pretty cool.

Today was full again but NO MORE house hunting, thank goodness! (still haven’t sorted it out though) We started at the SOS clinic to learn about where we go if shit hits the fan. They’ve got an emergency room, western imported drugs/vaccinations and a dentist. It was the nicest doctors surgery I’ve ever been into. I also want to be friends with the girl that showed us around but that would have been a bit weird straight up, so I’ll wait til we run into each other somewhere else. I was particularly stringent with the quality of my form-filling-out as it’s the form they use when you’re unconscious and need to be helped. They need the approval of your health/travel insurance before they do ANYTHING even if you’re dying. Hence the need for super accuracy. I also made them photocopy the cards they need and put them in my file just in case someone has trouble reading my writing. I did forget to write down my blood type and passport number even though they didn’t ask. Oops.

Below: The government building at night ( Sukhbaatar Square); Walking to the performance; the National History museum

THEN we went to the National History Museum that was SO well run. The things in there are fantastic. And written in English (as well as Mongolian Cyrillic). I enjoyed it but my tummy was pretty rumbly by the end.

This is a photo of the statue out the front. It’s been there 10 years, to remind people that the death penalty in Mongolia still exists and that they don’t think it should.

 

Lunch was at another popular western style pub. It seems that western style pubs aren’t western style for the westerners that come through town. The locals love the joints! We met with the honorary Consul to Australia who was super helpful and really knowledgeable. He is a very successful lawyer who studied in Australia for a couple of years. He studied Australian business law because it’s more advanced than Mongolian law – so that he could bring the knowledge back to Mongolia and help evolve Mongolian law.

We also had lunch with a lovely lady from the Mozzies association. She was SO great! Mozzies is a large group of Australian and Mongolians living and working in Mongolia who have lived or worked in Australia. She chatted all afternoon about the difference it made to her – having studied in Australia, and the craziness of the change from a communist lifestyle to a market economy. It was so amazing to hear. (below: us at lunch today)

Post-lunch we sat in our room for an hour to match my apartment notes with Claire’s apartment photos. It was quite fruitful and we got yet another shortlist.

Post-fruitful shortlisting, we headed through the city to a SPECTACULAR display of Mongolian traditional dance, singing and contortionism.

It was colourful, well choreographed, well performed and to the point. Nothing went for too long and everyone genuinely enjoyed themselves. The throat singing was amazing as I expected (the guy was also pretty cute). The dancing was great. I never knew anything about traditional Mongolian dance. Not that I imagine it’s anything but a Mongolian tradition, but the dancing was very graceful and light footed – with ballet arms and legs. There was a bit of highland dancing feet, some amazing indo-china based movements and facial expressions and then the part that didn’t seem to be related to anything – shoulder jiggling. It was amazing. It was just like shrugging your shoulders, except very fast – and made to look like it’s suppose to happen.

We went to a pub for dinner. I ordered a lasagne. They didn’t have it. Then I ordered a Greek salad. I didn’t get it. Lucky I wasn’t hungry anyway. It wasn’t an amazing dinner; group dynamics were given a bit of a shake up which is never fun. Anyway, we wandered home through the square (video below) and it was lovely. Laughing in the cool (but not cold) air, crossing roads and just chatting all the way. NOW, it is bed time. But first, videos below for those of you interested.

Awesome dancing

The cover band at the pub–playing covers of western songs. I can see myself having a LOT of fun here!

Oh yeah. We got an email tonight warning us of a storm tonight. There’s suppose to be a snow storm. Seriously. It was 17 degrees today. Tonight we’re having a storm and tomorrow snow. It’s amazing. And when they say storm, they MEAN storm. And I know because for the last half hour I’ve listened to the buildings almost be ripped away by the gusts of windy blowing through. It’s on the way and it’s pretty exciting. A Mongolian storm!

ALSO I get to meet my host organisation tomorrow – which is who I’ll be working for and with for the next year. I’m pretty excited. I think I know what I’ll wear. It’ll have to be WARM though!

Ready for a rest....

Goodness gracious me. I am very grateful re: everything being organised for Mongolia for us, but today - we just need a rest! I'm getting sick (bleeding nose this morning, sore throat and headache. Boo), we're all getting irritable and we just want to do our own thing in UB! We can't, of course, because we can't go anywhere alone because it's too dangerous. But BOO!

We're checking into the doctor's clinic this morning in case of future use and then heading to a museum and traditional performance this avo. At least we're not looking at bloody houses.

Yesterday we racked up our 13th apartment. I took notes and at the AYAD dinner last night with all Mongolian's, some very lovely and diligent AYAD's scrutinised my notes (which, I might add, were more than adequate and were summarised and prioritised anyway) - we crossed out all but three. The remaining 3 apartments are all 'good' according to everyone. I'm happy with that.

Now we just have to figure out who goes where. I didn't sleep last night because I was worrying about it. Boo Boo Boo.

We headed to the state department store and I got some shampoo - WIN! They have a LOT of cool clothes.
Might I add they also sell Australian Woolmark products. Proof:

A lovely wool skivvy in the State Dept Store made of Australian wool

I don't even know what we're doing tomorrow but on Saturday we're heading to the Black Markets where I am a. very likely to lose my cool and b. very likely to have everything flogged.

Apparently everything is crazy cheap though. I don't want to take any money because I don't want to buy shit I don't need - I tend to impulse buy and overspend. But apparently it's worth it and I need to buy stuff because we won't be going again soon. Bummer.

Hanging out waiting for instructions for the day in UB

The building I would have been working in (World Bank head office) if my group hadn't moved to the ministry of finance a couple of weeks ago (but I'll still be running meetings and courses here)

Don't get me wrong - I'm still grateful and excited to be here. I'm just not 100% happy about it all today. but that was to be expected. And it's only really because looking for a house sucks balls. Nevermind. I could have to live in a cardboard box, and that would suck. It would also probably freeze to me and I'd have to wear it all day too. So I guess I'm lucky.

The view from the apartment we had dinner at last night

Running in a sea of Mongolians

Claire (my roommate) and I woke up at 7 this morning and went for a jog/walk around the place. We're not allowed to go alone - luckily Claire and I both like to get out and do stuff.

We didn't blend in so well. It was still below zero outside but the sun was out (as per usual) and the air was crisp. Everyone's on their way to work - they all wear black! I kind of knew that already. I got a photo of my workmates and they're all neatly dressed in black, black and black. And I guess I don't always blend in at home either. But we stuck out like sore thumbs! I felt SO silly. But no one jeered or laughed or pointed, they just kind of looked for an extra second and that was it.

The paths are practically non existant so you have to be careful where you step. There's snot and gollies of spit all over the ground. I was wearing my brand new awesome sneakers so I made an effort to go around them.

Breakfast is a bit different, but totally do-able. The toaster is a grill but it works eventually (albeit slightly burnt). The bread is pretty stale. There was salami, tomato, deep fried eggs and cucumber that very closely resembled yesterday's spread (we stayed away from that!). Milk tastes like milk and the cereal had bits of dates. I am totally open to eating things other than weetbix for breakfast. I mean, this morning I had cereal that looked like sultana bran and cornflakes. Big step.

We're house hunting again today. I'm kind of over it, mainly because it's too tricky to figure out what to do. There are too many options of two or three bedroom places, and then the people you're going to share with for the year - can I imagine living with them; will they be tolerant of my mess I make in the kitchen and my lax attitude towards tidying up in general.

We're also heading to the State Department Store which is where everyone shops for 'stuff'. Maybe the equivalent of BigW but in Mongolia?! Will update you on that one. I need soap, shampoo (haven't washed my hair since Sunday), writing books, adapters, a bag to carry on the front, gloves and whatever else takes my fancy. I also have to remember I'm not earning money - which I know is going to be a massive shock to the system!!!!

And no - gma and Wendie, I didn't eat the shaved sheep head brain salad last night. I'm not that brave. I'll save it for the field when I have to eat it or I'll die of starvation/be ridiculed for not accepting offerings of food.

Sleep was amazing; I still don't feel 100% but never expected to. Still defo packing my VitB stress tablets for the day, just in case. I am totally missing my pillow but will find one soon that does the job. My current pillow is about 10yo and has no structure - the bed is concave and the doona cover is covered in hair (not my own). Not complaining - any bed is a welcome rest at the moment!

Cops on segways, mining demonstrations and shaved sheep head brains (day one in UB)

 

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.

Day 1 in UB VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

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.

A very fancy video of Sukhbaatar Square

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

My room–for the next few days

Stuck in Korea

It’s not a bad place to be stuck – Korea’s pretty cool (for the 12hours we’ve seen of it). The cherry blossoms are out and the weather is crisp but not cold.

.

Above: in Singapore airport departing for our second of three legs of the journey; outside Seoul airport

They got one point straight up for being 5mins early on our flight arrival time. After finding out pickup location, Korea gained another point for beautiful cool weather. Another point scored for the windfarms on top of all the street lights.

Our hotel was a 10min drive from the airport; Seoul was an hour drive so we didn’t make it in. We had three separate naps, a shower and two walks around the park.

Above: Incheon; pathway in the park; Claire getting some jetlag-freeing exercise in the park

Above: the view from the very steep bridge to the park

Above: the same park, but watching some guys play soccer
Lunch was in a Korean soup restaurant – they gave us a special ‘English’ menu with 4 options. I very bravely chose the vegan option. I guess I’ll become more outrageous as my sleep catchup improves and I get more accustomed to eating food cooked with bones in it (eg, casseroles, chicken wings, ribs etc) and seafood. Oh. And offal.
EW
Nevermind; lunch was really interesting. Lots of sizzling and extra condiments.

We made our way back to the airport to find that our flight has been delayed by at least 11hours. So we’re camping out in the airport. A much easier solution would have been to find out if our flight was on time before we left the hotel. Unfortunately the 6 of us were way too tired and excited about finally making it to UB that we didn’t think to call ahead. So we’re currently dozing/playing dominoes/talking/eating sour skittles here:

UB will be an amazing place. Right now I just want to punch it in the face. Stupid unpredictable, uncontrollable weather uninfluenced by oceans thus making it so variable the temperature ranges at the moment from –15 to +20 degrees; snow to wind to rain to super windy to spectacular picnic weather.
Bring it on, UB.

I’m on my way……

I packed my toothbrush this morning and then we were off. Scary time; I wasn’t sure if I packed everything. Never mind. Too late now – I’m at Changi Airport.

We stopped over the Blue Mountains for some apples that were pretty average. Shame. It was probably my last decent apple for a long while.

It was pretty horrible at the airport. Well, not horrible – just really sad. The lady let me get away with 34kg in my luggage but I had to take stuff out of my hand luggage. No more Lonely Planet guides or reading magazines. I had to take out my PJ’s and my white clogs. That too was devastating.

Well, not devastating. I know I’m doing the right thing – the decision to work in Mongolia isn’t the problem. It’s just always so sad saying goodbye. It definitely wasn’t as bad as saying goodbye when I moved to Canada – and that was only for 6months!

I think I’ve either a. grown up a lot in the last 6months or b. chilled out a buttload due to high amounts of vitaminB in my system. Either way, I wasn’t worried as much on the plane – I actually had 4 babies in front of my seat; the one directly in front screamed the whole way. And I hardly cared.

I watched an awesome movie – the name escapes me but it’s set in the ‘60’s (with the awesome fashion to boot). The story line followed the revolution re: equal pay. What a cool period to be a part of! I can’t complain – I’m not a part of the 2011 era where it takes only a few (okay, a lot) of hours on a plane and you’re in a totally different country.

Speaking of – it still totally weirds me out that this morning I was eating breakfast at home. Now I’m on my laptop in Singapore and later this evening I’ll be in a hotel in Seoul. The romanticism of travel is kind of obsolete – it doesn’t take much effort to get anywhere so it doesn’t really mean AS much. It’s still super amazing though.

I am definitely not looking forward to the days where I may have to travel with my own children. Bugger that. It’s annoying enough with my camera bag, let alone a screaming child.