Hookie or Hooker?

This morning’s language class was a bit silly. It was more me being silly. I didn’t want to be there. We were doing sentence structure and I didn’t really care. Turns out I’m way more interested in words and the creation of words than I am of creating sentences. That’s not true, I like that too – I just really didn’t care if a sentence ends in yy, YY, Ho or Hoo.

Lunch was great – we got home and couldn’t get in again. The landlord came over, kicked the door three times and got in. Bugger. He filed away at the lock for a little bit and it’s a lot easier to open now, thank goodness. I also had to go to some crazy little local office to get a letter to prove that I live in the area. My landlord sweet talked them in to helping my friend, which was great. I got my letter – even thought they charged 5000T and it’s suppose to be free.

Afternoon was great. I spent a lot of money at the markets(Naruntuul). I got:

Clockwise from top: two pairs of second hand heels for 30000T (~30AUD); one cool buttoned handbag for 15000T(~15AUD); an entire tea set complete with six teacups, milk and sugar server for 15000T (~15AUD); one second hand feather sleeping bag. Note the feathers making their way out of the actual bag.

I also got a really cool jumper and tshirt, some sewing needles and a couple of other small things. The markets are amazing. SO many beautiful leather jackets, camel hair coats, deels (traditional costumes)…… Jeans, kitchen gear, shoes, food, bags, clothes. It’s all neatly organised into sections which makes it very easy to shop. It’s open air, which also makes it a bit nicer – so stuffy inside shopping. I didn’t take a bag or a phone with me as it was likely to get stolen. I certainly came out with extra bags!

Tonight was our official welcoming function. Pretty formal. I wore my beetle dress as I felt way too dressy in my pretty purple Veronika Maine dress. We had to quickly introduce ourselves and then I met a lady who works at the World Bank in a different division, which was cool. It’s all very fuddy duddy though. Actually. I don’t think that’s the word. Maybe I’ll figure it out as I go to more ‘aid’ functions.

Above: a self portrait. Of me. In my beetle dress, tonight. Self portraits are never particularly flattering, but you get the idea.

Early night – ish. It’s 11pm and I don’t seem to be able to get to bed much earlier than 11:30pm these days. I’m busy writing this blog or cleaning my room or something important like that.

The markets were cool – sorry I couldn’t take photos but it would have risked losing my camera. It’s a shame, there were some brilliant photos to be had. Maybe one day I’ll go and dedicate the visit to taking photos – that way I can keep a good eye on it.

This morning I burnt my fingers on the stupid kettle because it’s not like a normal kettle. I did make a yummy bacon and egg and cheese and onion omelette though. But then as we were walking towards the bus, about to cross the road this bloody van drove right past us through a bloody great big puddle and WHOOSHKA. Covered both Sarah and I in filthy water. Pooh. It was just like out of a movie.

Babies here are so adorable. Mainly because they’re wrapped in what can only be described and body shaped (legs, arms and head) sleeping bags. You can hardly see their face and they have to be carried as they’re spread like a starfish due to so much padding. By golly they’d be warm though. I bet I’ll kill for one of those come winter!

re: the title of todays blog. My work colleague picked me up today to get this letter for my visa. She told me she’s being a hooker today. I double checked what she meant. I told her what it meant – and she was adamant that’s the word she was looking for. What she meant was that she was just being naughty and telling work that she wasn’t going back because she was still with me – whereas she was actually going to do something else with a friend. I guess that’s kind of prostitution, right?!

Heading to Terelj (pronounced ‘terr/elg’) tomorrow to check out a traditional ger (round felt tent/hut) and family. We’re sleeping in a ger (hence the sleeping bag). Can’t wait to take some proper photos!! I’ve had my camera cooped up away from robbers but the ger will be safe – woo!

LOCKED IN

The most exciting thing that happened today was that we got locked IN the house.

I just wanted to scream like Bridget did at home 'YOU CAN'T LOCK ME OUT', 'LET ME IN, YOU CAN'T LOCK ME OUT'.

But of course it would have fallen on deaf ears. We were locked in, with no way of getting anyone's attention. I was ready to go to the gym and Ryan was about to head out for a run. To no avail. I thought the lock was just being tricky (we have to lock the door behind us when we come inside as it's too dangerous to have it open). But it wasn't. It was practically broken.

We would have spent about an hour trying to unlock it. We called people. We racked our brains. Nothing worked. Ryan and I had a half-assed attempt at doing some cardio work in the lounge and then we gave up. Then we made some choc chip biscuits. With no milk or vanilla essence, stinky margarine (it all smells a bit too much of animal fat) and semolina flour (that wasn't fine enough). They taste just as good as they sound.

Anyway, so after hockey the other night, an ex-volunteer's boyfriend walked us home- because he conveniently lives next door. I got her phone number, called her and when she got home after work I threw down my key and she came upstairs (3rd floor, too far to jump) and spent about 10mins fiddling and then............. WOohoO! ENTRY WAS GRANTED!

*relief!*

She came in and had a cup of tea and a crappy choc chip biscuit (how embarrassing) and then headed off. What a saviour!

The other amazing thing today was my lunch. Just downstairs is a '5 star Restaurant' (that's it's name). It's TOTALLY five star. For Mongolian standards anyway. It's bloody amazing. I ordered Korean yellow chicken curry. It was amazing. There was FLAVOUR! I was in heaven. I'm pretty big on flavour in food at the best of time, so having been deprived of it for a good 1.5weeks meant that it was probably the best dish I've ever had.

Language class was okay; today we just revised stuff we've learnt - it was a bit slow and we didn't seem to revise much. The class is getting a bit trying - we obviously all learn very differently and it's not working for some people and then attitudes change and the aura isn't amazing. Occasional rudeness as well, which isn't too much fun.

Nevermind, I'm actually really enjoying the lessons. I mean, they're not super thrilling but it's great to be learning stuff again. Something so different.

What else........... We had a visitor last night! Sarah went and had dinner with a Mongolian we met in Canberra at training - and he came back to our place and stayed for a bit. He's lovely and has a great sense of humour. And has a wealth of Mongolian experience - which has already proved very useful.

So no gym for Sally today. It obviously wasn't meant to happen. Oh yeah - and to prove we're living in a cosmopolitan location: I was watching (briefly) the Mongolian news this afternoon and there was a good two minutes dedicated to OUR BUILDING as we've got roadworks going on out the front. They've literally dug up the entire road to a depth of about 2m so they can replace some pipes. It's making traffic even more chaotic.

I did get some photos tonight though:

SNOW! The view from our kitchen balcony + snow on the railing

L: The view from the kitchen balcony R: View from my bedroom balcony (Lunar Bar)

Both: view from kitchen; Mongolian uni

L: kitchen view R: bedroom view

Both: view from my bedroom

Contortion

I don't like to hype things up much.......... But this contortion show is pretty freaking world class. Makes me feel like a sloth but it's too amazing not to share.

xox

Trust the dentist?

Above: the dentist we walked past on our epic walk to get internet yesterday. Interesting.

Last night we played hockey. About 16 expats altogether. It was a LOT of fun. It was a small indoor court - 4pax per team. Very few rules (can touch your feet; can catch the ball and put it on the ground; can bounce the balls off the wall; basically anything goes). I probably got a bit too into it as per usual but it was still super fun. We used plastic ice hockey looking sticks and a plastic ball with holes in it. Very different to what I'm used to doing but I stuck to the basics and managed to do okay. I'm sure I looked like a retard playing like I had a wooden stick in field hockey, but it worked for me.



Indoor hockey (perhaps floorball?!) at School 6, UB


Yesterday it was plain ole' jumper weather. Today it's snowing. It's so beautiful. Rain is always lovely but snow just totally trumps it.

I don't want to start work just yet. I'm too busy just being here. Language classes (well, the three that we've had so far) are great. I mean, they're confusing a little - but it's really quite simple. Like reading a recipe. You just have to be patient and start from the beginning every time. I'm not sure how patient I'll be, but it's not AS bad as I imagined. Maybe I've grown up enough to be able to stand my little failures (which are common when you're trying to roll your r's, or remember that a H is actually an N and a Y with a wiggly leg isn't a Y, it's a UU).



A little family crossing the road across from the Nayra Cafe (that serves pretty good {and HUGE} chai tea)

 We got internet connected today - after a massive expedition yesterday. Turns out we've got a business antennae connected to our apartment as the guy here before us ran a business from home. He went through a small service provider. We had to find the service provider (took us 3hours), and then actually tell them what we wanted. It was tricky to get their attention in between playing with their new dart board. Interestingly, the manager spoke english but insisted on talking through one of the women in the office. We also got roped into helping another girl with her english.

It seems to go okay - I just uploaded a photo almost instantly in comparison to a good half hour wait. Hmmmmmm.



A typical downtown view



The view from our very Soviet vehicle - it's SNOW!

Contact details

email: salberries@hotmail.com
skype: salberries
blog: (you're on it)
snail mail:

Munkhtuul Sodnomtseren

Sally Mayberry

Central Post Office

POB 2935

Ulaanbaatar

Mongolia 211213

Early morning (9am) language class. I'm not sure I'll ever get it. Nevermind. I will try, none the less. It's a very gargle-y language. I envy those who have learnt a language prior to Mongolian - although I guess at least I don't know how comparable it is to anything.

STINKY mutton. Stinky, stinky mutton. Why can't they kill the younger sheep? I'll learn all this kind of stuff in due time - when I head out to the 'countryside' for work. It's definitely on my list of things to ask. Eg. Why don't you create a niche market for younger Mongolians/tourists and sell young sheep meat instead of stinky old meat? Why don't you use rotational grazing methods as much anymore? Why don't you grow hydroponic mushrooms for the tourists so they can have mushrooms on toast on the weekends?

I'm going to make it my mission to learn the alphabet asap. I'll make some flash cards this afternoon. And rope learn. I remember the last time someone made me rope learn though - I'm quite certain it was in year 4 when I still didn't know my times tables because I think it's ridiculous to waste brain space and time on learning something that you can use another tool for (ie calculator). I was wrong - it has been very useful to know my times tables (even though I've steered clear of rope learning since then). But it's going to have to come back out of the basket.

I'm sure I can make it fun though. For example, I have one packet of nerds left. Maybe every time I remember a letter and it's pronounciation, I will reward myself with a nerd. YUM.



Spag Bol–Mongolian style

Sally’s first home cooked meal in Mongolia

This is a short video - that I'm sure you will find quite entertaining. It has no plot but the purpose is to show you the ingredients I used tonight to make the spag bol that's simmering away as we speak. What I didn't show you, or mention, was that I had to use stinky mutton mince that reminds me too much of when dad made his first round of sausages and the mince was very course and it must have been quite muttony from memory. Sorry dad. The sausages were probably better than the quality of the meat I'm about to eat BUT it's my first home cooked meal and I am SUPER excited.

Today was our language course; maybe I'll take my camera one day and film the ridiculousness that is the Mongolian language. Today we learnt how to say the alphabet (but not memorise) and how to say three sentences. Seriously. This shit is serious!

Another supermarket shop this afternoon proved fruitful - I got socks, dried herbs (albeit 1/2 a kilo of them) and vodka. I'm about to crack it open. The sun's not set and it's 8:30pm - it's pretty tricky to remember that you should almost be in bed. It feels like 6pm.

I got a hot shower tonight too- BONUS! Last night it was cold. This morning it was cold. My bed is also very comfy - king size. And the pillows aren't lumpy! Sarah bought one yesterday that has a lot of green tea in it (?!?) and she reckons it's pretty awesome. I'll stick to my free pillows for now.

Oh, and I got some vitamin E tablets. Wholey dooley, this dry air is a killer! I've currently got a plastic bag over my hair (not head; I'm not that silly) with some conditioner in it to try to revive it a little.

Right. Off to eat mutton spag bol and drink Chinggis vodka (which costs $13/litre and actually tastes WAY better than any vodka I’ve ever tried).

Daraa Oldsie (that's my phonetics anyway; it means 'see you later').

My house in UB

The early sleep last night was amazing. I woke up at 6:30am and starting packing, and felt so much nicer than the last week – just because I got a proper, full sleep. Phew!

Packing didn’t take that long. It is SO weird having all my worldy possessions in ONE suitcase. I never thought it would happen – and I guess it hasn’t – I still have lots more stuff at home in different houses and boxes. I haven’t missed it yet but I would probably like to be typing this in my red slinky lounge instead of my bed.

But it’s MY bed. Oh yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeah. Sarah and I had to duck down the street and withdraw another 800000tugriks to cover our bond – one month’s rent deposit + 3mths rent in advance. We were late to meet the real estate agent but made it eventually.

We signed the lease and the dining table was covered in tugs (money; all in notes – the largest is 20000 which means we needed a LOT of notes). We handed over the money and our landlord – the Israeli guy, made sure everything was okay for us and that we knew how to use everything. THEN he took us shopping. He definitely didn’t have to – he just wanted to make sure we knew where the supermarket was, and wanted to drive us there. So we shopped and I got about $65 worth of stuff. Not exciting stuff, I might add. The prices here are same same as Australia. I just got some butter, bread, jam, toilet paper, onions, cabbage, sweet potato (all the vegies they had), tinned tomatoes and tinned apricots (for a fruit fix). And other small stuff as well.

Once we got home we had a bit of a chill out; our house is pretty comfy. I had a rest on the couch and then my counterpart (who I work with) dropped round to pick up my passport to get my visa fixed up. She had just spent the day in the countryside (what everyone calls ‘the country’, or outside of UB') to go and ‘beg’ to a rock that ‘looks like the shape of a human’ because Mongolians are very superstitious. I’m going to have to see this rock – it sounds great. Apparently every Mongolian wants to go to this rock at least once a year. So Tsegi went today.

We shopped again this afternoon. I had to grab some PJ’s. They weren’t cheap! We found a set for about $35 and I reeeeeeeeeally hope they don’t shrink in the wash. Oh well. It was kind of fun getting them. The girls in the shop were so cute. To buy things you have to ask, get them to write out a mini receipt and take it to a cashier. The cashier takes your money and gives you a bag and a receipt and then you go back to the original girls and they check the receipt and you get your stuff. Phew! I also got some purple and black tights.

There’s a big supermarket there as well so I grabbed about $65 more of stuff. Cheese (Jarslberg chunks the size of a double fist for 40c), kidney beans, dodgey looking mince, pasta sauce……. I think I’ll be eating a lot of plain pasta with plain-ish sauce, and a lot of omlettes. Although I’m hoping tomorrow my pancake making will be successful and they’ll be suitable delicious breakfast.

Actually, I should learn how to make potato pancakes like dad used to make. Potatoes are about the only sure thing around here and I don’t go much on them at all. I just bought prunes because we haven’t had any fibre at all for the whole week. (maybe a little, but not much)

Tomorrow I’m hoping to make a mini video of my house to show you. I think you’ll be impressed. It’s way better than I ever imagined.

Tomorrow is our first language session – we have two weeks of it. I hope I’m okay at it. Oh yeah. And I got homesick today for the first time. I guess moving into a new house instead of just being in a hotel makes things more official and means I’m here for a whole year. I already miss everyone SO much.

A totally retarded photo of me – with LOTS of Tugriks

In the supermarket with the BIGGEST bowl I’ve seen

Why I couldn’t buy celebratory vodka today. It’s Sunday

The supermarket checkout

Walking to the supermarket (our apartment is in the middle of UB)

Man-sized holes that go to no where – ALL over the city!

Roadworks on a Sunday – hardhats but NO other protective gear

ALL the trees are pruned to the max!

STOP! Sign

UB – concrete city with a view of all the spectacular hills

More hill views

Standard issue soviet apartments (like ours; built in the 50’s)

You see older men and women in traditonal deels (‘del’) – the full length dress, all over town

Police enforcement. Police are everywhere! But don’t make you wear a seatbelt.

Oh yeah. And I had to have breakfast with about 30 Koreans smoking at the table beside me. On the radio today they were saying China has just banned smoking inside and in public places. Here’s to Mongolia following that change of heart ASAP!

Goodnight; sleep tight. xox