We have an ice skating rink behind my apartment building at school. I decided on Friday to take my ESL class for a fun period. From left to right; Enkhdelger, Chandmani, Yumchigmaa, and Urin (pronounced Oohrin, not urine). Of course, the shadow is me. We had a lot of fun! I hadn't been in so many years and was worried about looking silly but it is rather like riding a bike, you don't forget. I was truly amazed at the girls' abilities. Three of the four had either never been or only skated once before and they were old pros! They contribute it to being really good at roller skating.

Unfortunately, not all of the class could go. This is only half of my ESL class. One's mom wouldn't buy her skates because she was worried she would get hurt. The other's didn't bring them because their parents said they were sick. Two of my girls actually cried because they couldn't come! They wanted to just come and watch but I said it was too cold out just to stand around for an entire period. This morning when I took the temperature it was -32. It usually gets up to around -25 during the day, without windchill factor. If you're moving it's not so bad. I found a pair of skates for myself last night but they are boys. I really like them though. I felt badly saying "I'm going to buy skates!" offhandedly because though they cost me 40,000 TK (a little more than $30) to them it's a lot of money. I have especially noticed it when Doogie asks me how much something I'm eating costs, like my granola bars. When I say I don't know she will make a face that says "of course you don't know, you have money". I have been giving her groceries though. Sometimes I will buy something to try it and end up not liking it or just realizing that I will never eat it and she is pleased. I did the same with my cleaner, Ganaa, who is so sweet! I gave her some potatoes I bought and told her that they were quite old and I didn't want to give her food that was going bad but also did not want to see go to waste. She understood and took them saying, "It's okay, I will use them."

This is my class during their swimming instructions. The pool isn't really large. When they swim laps together they are kicking and elbowing each other all the time. They seem to be pretty conscious about it though. They wear swim caps but they do nothing to keep their heads dry. The parents have been complaining about it being the last two periods of the day and the kids going outside after with wet hair. I tried to get it changed but to no avail.

This is our class trip to the International Intellectual Museum. I thought it was a bit cheesy but the wood carved puzzles were really interesting. The owner and founder of the museum managed to steal the show when he performed magic tricks for the class. Needless to day, those were mostly what the students bought at the gift shop. I bought a few items, including a puzzle that is traditionally given to potential daughter's-in-law. If they can't perform the task, they are considered unintelligent and not suitable to become one of the family. I was shown how to do the trick and of course when actually asked to perform it, couldn't. Just proves I'm not marriage material!

Things have been clicking along quite nicely here. The new principal is fun and nice and straightforward. I never leave his office more confused about the issue we were talking about than before. I appreciate that. My class loves him! They want to include him in all that we do and love to talk to and tell him things. It's not exactly the best photo, but the bald guy with the beard is Mr. Richard. The ones beside him are Dan and Tina Carr and then the Konowpaski's (I can never spell their name properly!). They are leaving soon due to her pregnancy. She is the school nurse and some of my student's ESL teacher. For some reason, they think we look alike! Tina is Phillipino but everyone here thinks she's Mongolian.

I am glad to say I have rediscoved my love of cooking. Initially I found it difficult here because everything looked so foreign and I could only discern what was in a package by the picture on the box. Now I'm much more comfortable buying groceries and love to cook Asian style cuisine. I have found that every once in a while one of the markets sells frozen calamari. It is whole and so delicious! I take care not to overcook it to turn it into rubber. This is one of those items, I'm sure, that if I mentioned it to Doogie she'd ask me how much and I can honestly say no idea. I just tried it one day and am now addicted. If it's there, I buy it. Once in a while I can find smoked salmon.

I have caught my first Mongolian cold. It's not as bad as I thought it would be. The weather is so harsh here you'd expect the cold to knock you flat and keep you in bed. I still worked and Doogie gave me some pills that are the equivalent to our Sinutab or Contact "C". They helped quite a bit. Still, it seems the cold here never quite go away. You always have a bit of a cough or a runny nose. I can't say I'm surprised about getting sick, with a class of 24 kids it's bound to happen. Hand sanitizer, anyone?

There has been quite the scare here this holiday season in regards to alcohol, specifically, vodka. Apparently some Mongolian made vodka poisoned a bunch of people and they died. There was some sort of mix up with the methanol/ethanol ingredient or some such problem. They just stopped selling all alcohol in general, including beer and wine. I hadn't noticed. Well, I did notice when I went shopping that all the bottles were covered up but I had assumed it was due to the fact it may have been considered too early in the day to sell it. Poor Dan, all he wanted was a beer. It makes me even more glad I have a self-imposed vodka ban on myself. Dan was saying that at the school Christmas party he was terribly ill and wondered if it may have had something to do with that.

Just a small correction to one of my earlier blogs. I had the directions wrong, I always get zoon and barone mixed up. Zoon is left and barone is right. John gave me a good way to remember. Zoon has the same number of letters as left. You can tell he's a primary teacher!

While John and Christina were in Korea they had an ultra sound done. The medical treatments there are much better than here. If you have a serious illness here it is not uncommon to head to Beijing for treatment. The doctor said it's 80% a girl. Christina said it was funny because people had been telling her that no one in Mongolia finds out what the baby is before it is born. She said it's really because the ultra sounds here are so bad you can't see anything anyway. They are heading back to Canada to have the baby there. I had forgotten you can't fly in the 3rd trimester so they'll be leaving in a few months. I told her the kids were going to be devastated because they love her so.

I am just getting ready for my first PD day. I'm feeling good. My cleanse is over and I broke my fast finally on the night of the 4th. I've decided to go back to being a vegetarian because the meat here is gross and makes me ill. Aside from just learning how to fall asleep at a decent hour, I'm doing pretty good! I have been trying to upload more photos but my camera and computer are not cooperating with me. Soon!

I almost forgot! Tina and Dan are a married couple here. Dan was adopted and they have been considering adopting a Mongolian baby. I had to tell them they needn't worry about all that paperwork and whatnot. You can just walk the streets and be offered a baby! As I was leaving Charming Beauty after my facial and massage (ahhh, hot rocks!) I noticed a middle aged woman walking with a baby. She made a bee-line for me and I assumed she would try to sell me something or pan handle. Nope, she offered me her child. I looked at her like she was crazy and walked away. It's one thing to take in a stray puppy, but a child! We figure she must be in dire straights to feel she had to do something like that and that she probably had many babies at home too. Dan said I should have taken it and named it Gobi II or Gobi's Little Helper.

Seeing as how I live in such a harsh environment I decided to have a pamper day. Facial and hot rock massage. I'm in love with the hot rocks! I have a bad feeling I'm going to be hooked! I really wanted the massage because I put lower back out again by carrying too many heavy grocery bags. It did help a bit but I'm still in some pain.

Yesterday I treked to the air line office to get my refund for my defunct vacation. They said they'd credit my card. As I was returning back to the bus stop I ran into John and Christina. They were heading to the natural museum and invited me to join them. I had nothing else really going on, so I went. It was a bit hokey but really interesting. Especially the dinosaur floor. There are actually some animals to be found here same as in Canada. Moose, lynx, northern pike fish, raccoons and beavers. Who would have thought!

Tonight those of us who are here are going for dinner with the new principal. I still have yet to meet him. We are going for Indian. I love Indian! I still can't believe school starts again so soon. I'm ready though. I have done enough shopping!

Another year has come and gone here in Mongolia. You back in North America have another 8 or 9 hours to go, so Happy New Year to you all! I spent the evening quietly, just watching movies and enjoying the new coffee press I found today at the UB Mart. Plus, all the exquisite tea there is to be had here! I discovered this amazing Korean tea that is ginger (my favourite!) and for some reason has peanuts added to it. I initially thought them to be bits of ginger but after drinking quite a few cups and crunching on them discovered I was wrong. Who puts peanuts in tea? Koreans, I guess. Never would have thought of that.

There was the usual display of independent fireworks here. Randomly going off and any given time. I had a man behind me this afternoon at the checkout who was so impatient to get past me and while I was walking out with my bags of lemons and apple juice he was pouring out some of his apple Fanta and pouring in some vodka. No wonder he was so impatient! That's one of the major reasons I have decided to stay home today. Those vodka drinkers can get, well...I guess I should know. That's why I have a self imposed ban on myself in regards to vodka!

I caught a ride home with an unlicensed taxi. Those guys are nice. The only issue is if they try to ask me for my phone number and then I just pretend I have no clue as to what they are talking about. We usually just give up talking at all as most have little to no English. I know enough to give myself directions home. I can't spell the words proplerly, this is phonetically speaking, but chiggora is straight, barrone is left, and zoon is right. At least I can tell them if they're going the wrong way. And, I think NO is a universal word. Still, when people ask me if it's okay I automatically resort to French, then for some reason Spanish. Then, I just shake my head and say "za".

I'm a little disappointed because what I thought was going to be a town made of ice is actually an ice skating rink with a few clear brick of ice to mark the parking lot. Rats! It was labeld in English "Ice Town". There are quite a few sculptures around town though and you know they will stay! I can't remember the last time it got above -20! I still have to wear two pairs of pants and sorely wish I had some boots, decent boots to keep my feet warm.

My house keeper today was asking me about how in North America people really hate people who wear fur? I said yes, but they have never lived in a climate like this and could never understand how necessary it is to stay warm. My down filled jacket is frozen all the time! When I walk it sounds like the snow crunching under your feet. That can't be right. It's actually kind of tough to stay warm because you're cold, you get on the bus and you get hot due to all your clothes, and a bit sweaty because there are so many people around. Then you get off the bus, and are kind of wet, so you are freezing because while the sunlight is there, it's fleeting during your walk to your destination. Then you get to where you're going and you're boiling! You end up kind of stinky at the end of the day, no matter what you do.

The people here do have a distinct smell. I can't say it's bad because I am, or used to be, one of those earthy types, and to me it smells like the outside here. The people from the country side do have a more pungent aroma than the people from the city, but that also depends on what they do here. You also can smell the difference between families that use dung for fuel or coal. That depends on where they live. If they live near a coal mine, they all use coal. Otherwise, it's dung. The thing I don't get is the whole tooth decay thing. Most people's breath, well, I can't lie, it's bad. It seems the parents wait for the young teeth to fall out before they make any efforts towards oral hygiene.

I have begun to hate and love this place. Did you know that on every sidewalk here there is one strip dedicated solely to "skating" on? People here are so ingenuous and hearty. Nothing gets them down. There's always an answer to everything and they are always smiling no matter what the weather. While I can get a bit irritated due to the space issue, everyone is here to help.

Happy New Years! Have a fun night and try to manage to keep those resolutions this time!

I was robbed! For my first time here in Mongolia I got robbed. I had had a very strenuous day. I missed my bus stop and then got stuck in a traffic jam. I got off that bus and boarded one heading the other way. We were still stuck in traffic in an area I have never been before. The bus soon turned into a travelling sardine can again and I decided to just get off and walk, no matter where I was. As it turned out I got off at the correct stop and made my way toward the State Department Store.

I had to head to the Happy Shop to return a movie that was marked as other than what it was. They exchanged it for me and I got some more to tide over my evenings here. I then headed to the department store. I had a few errands to run which of course took me to many different floors. I thought I was done and headed to the grocery store there. After waiting in line for what seemed an hour (everyone is stocking up for New Years) to purchase four items I remembered I needed something back up on the third floor. I found what I was looking for (an extension cord) and went to pay. When I went looking for my wallet it was gone! I frantically searched high and low on my person and in my bags for it. It was no where. I decided to head back down to the grocery store to see if I left it at the cashier. As I was heading my way back downstairs something was lobbed through the air, down the stairs and laned at my feet. It was my wallet! I grabbed it and looked inside. All the money was missing (over 250,000TK, about $300) but my VISA and Canadian driver's license was there. No doubt the jerks were watching me look for my wallet and were waiting for the opportune moment to return it to me. I feel a bit grateful to have it back with my credit card but still. I was robbed!

I was forced to take a second trip to the bank machine in order to pay for my cord and decided I'd had enough and it was time to go home. After one quick stop at the Korean store I flagged down a driver and headed home where I was safe and sound. I have now decided to keep my wallet not in my purse, but my jacket pocket with a zip. It astounds me that I didn't feel a thing and wonder if I'd been cased. It is always busy in the store and people are constantly bumping into you. My camera was safe though!

Cat, or rather Miss M, has taken to refering to herself in the third person. I have a new found respect for my mother and the work she does. I have been crying for four day due to the death of my puppy. I can't imagine the life of women who do the work my mother does, dealing with death in such a profound and real way every day. I haven't touched or felt a real dead body until Gobi. I'd always been sheltered from it. Wow. Bless all you who deal with that on a daily basis. You truly do so much for us. Love you!