Well, the rest of today was very interesting. I babied myself all morning and had a nap. There was quite the dust storm and I'm hoping that is what is causing my throat, but my stomach isn't happy either. I was just hanging around when Dan and Tina came by and asked if I wanted to go for a walk. I, of course, said yes.

We walked to this monument near the school. We were trying to figure out what it commemorated. The most we could figure out from the pictures what that the cycle of peace and war is cyclical and comes full circle. After this we ran into an elderly gentleman who

is an artist and has children who are in acrobatic school. At the same monument there is also a man who handles an eagle. This eagle caused quite a stir as while the trainer was not looking a man came up and pretended he was going to take the eye cover off. Next thing we knew, the trainer came out of nowhere and started punching the man. We hightailed it out of there and one of the ever present security guards stepped in. We now know you don't touch the eagle. As you can see from the photo it is an extremely large bird.

After this excitement we decided to walk over to the giant golden Buddah statue. One thing you should know about Mongolia is that it stinks! There are feces most everywhere, two large factories near us spewing dark smoke, and garbage all over the place. There also are goats, dogs, and other animals roaming the streets. I saw a goat today eat a cigarette butt.

The statue was really neat to see. Aside from these sights we saw a man sleeping in a very strange place. We were unsure if he was alright but no one else around seemed to pay him any mind. On the way back to the school we checked to see if he was still there and he was gone. I very nearly was run over by a crazy driver, as all Mongolians seem to be, and we saw another man hanging out his car door doing what may have been vomiting. We realize what priviledges we enjoy compared to the rest of the country. The Mongolians work so hard it seems for many hours a day. We can't even begin to know what their life is like. We are so lucky simply to have been born in a different location and be able to offer them a service otherwise unavailable. Does or should that award me a special status? I can't help but feel guilty.

I am currently heating up large pots of water to try to warm my bath up enough to actually sit in it. Still many days with hot water ahead. Tomorrow Dan, Tina, and I plan on hiking up the mountain on the other side of us. Hopefully my stomach and throat will cooperate.