Nayra Cafe: Don't judge the store by the storefront

Or, in this case, the cafe by the building.

Nayra Cafe (outside), originally uploaded by Wanderings.

The truth is there isn't much in Mongolia that looks good on the outside. And I still haven't adjusted to that. Maybe I place too much value on appearance. I enjoy attractive storefronts and well-designed window displays. I'm picky about my book covers. I think the presentation of food matters almost (almost!) as much as its taste. So it's a good thing I have friends like Christine and David who somehow keep themselves in the cafe loop here in UB.

Not only had I never heard of this cafe, which is a favorite among ex-pats because of its wi-fi and real espresso, I probably would never have braved ("braved"? really? yes, really!) walking into it had I passed it on the street. (I've discovered or perhaps been reminded that I am a wimp when it comes to trying new places. Places, not things. The distinction is important. Something to do with walking into an unfamiliar building. Apparently I need to know what I'm walking into. Apparently I like to feel confident about my surroundings. Apparently I'm slightly neurotic.)

Thank goodness for Christine and being treated to breakfast. The omelettes were fairly tasty, the muffins amazing, the coffee rich and dark, the interior bright and cheery. It's almost enough to make me wish I lived in the center of the city. I'm not willing to give up my happy home in the 13th district, but if I had to -- I'd want to be within a few blocks of this place (or this place).

Nayra Cafe (inside), originally uploaded by Wanderings.

It may not be much to look at

but I got new pages added to my passport in less than 20 minutes at the U.S. Embassy yesterday. There are bonuses to living in Mongolia. This, I think, is one of them.

On the way home, I got to practice my oh-so-impressive Mongolian language skills with a chatty taxi driver. It was going well -- all the usual questions: How long have you lived in Mongolia? What kind of work do you do? Do you have children? And then my favorite one: Would you like an American husband or a Mongolian one? (Tell me, please, how you're supposed to answer that one without giving offense when your vocabulary doesn't top 300 words.)

I couldn't quite understand the last thing he said to me, but he was miming holding a bow and arrow and my friend Sharon pointed out that he was probably trying to communicate that Mongolian men are manly (since archery is one of the "three manly sports" in Mongolia).

And then he tried to rip me off. Classic.

Spring = Mud

Spring = Mud, originally uploaded by Wanderings.

Learning something new

The parents of the co-op declared the day after Easter to be a school holiday, so Mike, Carol Beth, the younger kids, and I were able to join our friends from the co-op for an afternoon of skiing. With Mike and CB's encouragement, I decided to go and try it out. Though I moved to Colorado when I was 13, I never learned how to ski. (It's really amazing how many people who call Colorado home don't ski. None of my friends did. My parents didn't. So I never learned.)

I didn't want to take a lesson from an instructor. A bunch of the other kids had, with mixed reviews, and I just wasn't sure it would be worth it. Carol Beth was willing to show Linden and me some of the basics and then we spent a good amount of time on the bunny slope practicing. It was a lot harder than I thought it would be -- I could never quite get my V strong enough to actually stop myself from sliding slowly down the hill. But when you're practicing with a little 6-year-old who keeps crashing into the fence, you have to figure something out!

I'll confess that there were a number of times Linden was crying and screaming while I quietly giggled at the absurdity of the situation and tried to extricate her skis from the plastic fence. What can you do but laugh?

She proved to be a little daredevil, though, and it if weren't for those fences, might've gone on "flying" down that bunny hill.

After our fear of falling was sufficiently squelched and our desire for speed sufficiently stoked, we made for the lifts and the green slope. (Yes, yes, I know all you pros out there are thinking that speed and the green slope do not belong in the same sentence, but it was speed enough for me!) I almost fell a couple times getting off the lift (once, because a man had crashed right in front of me -- yikes!), but managed to ungracefully right myself and ski on past. I liked the breadth and length of the slopes. I liked having all that space. And -- to tell you the truth -- I liked the feeling of that cold wind in my face and the snow under my skis. Me! Who knew?!

I took this little video at the top of the green at the beginning of my last run. I probably should've had someone take one of me, but you'll just have to take my word for it that I was on skis, too.

First Goodbyes

I had to say my first goodbye a couple weeks ago. My friend Melissa was getting ready to go home for a few months and won't be back until after I leave for Colorado. More than a couple times since she left, I've found myself thinking about calling her up to see if she wants to hang out over the weekend.

Two nights ago I said goodbye to my teammate Lisa who is going back to the States with her husband and daughter for a couple months and comes back to Mongolia the night before I leave. It was one of those, "

Well, I wouldn't be surprised if we meet again, but if we don't, Someday" Goodbyes.

I'm not looking forward to more of these in the months ahead. Even though I didn't come with the intention to stay long-term, I couldn't help but put down some roots here. I have met wonderful and inspiring people and I'm reluctant to say goodbye to them.

Easter Egg Hunt

The location:

Spring View, originally uploaded by Wanderings.

The hunters:


originally uploaded by Wanderings.

The hunt:

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer

March Madness (a little late)

"A little late." That'll be the theme of my posts this week. I am determined to do some catching up and get some pictures posted, which means most of what will be coming is at least a couple weeks old.

Every year, Mike gets the entire school involved in March Madness. Everyone -- and I do mean, EVERYONE -- fills out a bracket. Mike plasters them all over the library and highlights the winners each day, keeping a running tally of who has the most points. It's always amusing to see who's on top: one day its the German teacher who picked randomly; the next, it's the 7-year-old whose older brother filled it out for him; after that, it's Carol Beth's mom! It always ends up being fun for those of us who don't have a clue and are unexpectedly near the top of the pack.

Mongolian Winter on BBC

Some friends of mine emailed me this link to a piece BBC did on the harsh winter we've been experiencing   in Mongolia. I've heard that it's been the coldest winter in 10 years. Some say the coldest in 30. Many people in the countryside are barely surviving it and even when they are, their animals -- their main source of income -- are dying by the hundreds and sometimes thousands. According to the report, over 4.5 million animals have died thus far.

If you have a couple minutes to spare, the BBC video will give you a glimpse of the countryside, a bit of the Mongolian language, and a typical herder family and home. 

See also this post I did back in February.

ice tracks

Spring has made its presence known in every corner of the world except Mongolia. Or so it feels. Although the ice has mostly melted, it was cold and windy outside today, which means its more than appropriate to post this video my friend Rachel and I made back in January. Right? RIGHT?

with love, Mike and CB

While I was home, Mike and CB had a cabinet and shelf made for my kitchen. I've been wanting some more shelving to replace the ugly and awkward table I'd been using for appliances. I looked at the Zax a few different times: nothing. Mike and CB checked out a couple furniture stores: nothing. So, they called up the folks at one of the ministries here in town, told them what they were looking for, gave them some specs, and -- voila! -- I have a place for my rice cooker and toaster oven!

*edited to add: The rice cooker and toaster oven mentioned above are tidily tucked away in the cabinet. A friend pointed out that the visible appliances are actually a hot plate and an electric kettle. Just wanted to clarify.

dzud (rhymes with "dude")

Imagine living in a place where the local language actually has a word for winters that are harsh enough to kill millions of livestock.

From wiki: A zud or dzud (Mongolian: Зуд) is a Mongolian term for an extremely snowy winter in which livestock are unable to find fodder through the snow cover, and large numbers of animals die due to starvation and the cold. 

One of my friends linked to this brief article in the New York Times about this year's winter. Similar conditions in 1999 and 2000 caused hundreds of thousands of herders to abandon their nomadic lifestyles and move to the city. Since livestock is the only source of income for most of the people living outside of the city, it's likely we'll see another influx from the countryside this summer and fall.

Over half the population of the country is already living in Ulaanbaatar and there aren't really any jobs to be found. I can't help but wonder how much longer Mongolia's fragile economy will last in these conditions. There's a great deal of money to be found in the country's natural resources, but because of corruption in the government, that money never finds its way to the Mongolian people. Likewise, any aid money sent usually ends up in someone's pockets.

It's the same old story, I suppose: The rich get richer; the poor get poorer.

I've been a little sick

Which means I haven't left the building since Tuesday. But I did complete this awesome bug puzzle that my mom sent me last year!

Oh, yes. Exciting things are happening here in Mongolia.

February 14th

For those of us living at the Ascom building in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, February 14th was a triple holiday: Valentine's Day (in absentia), the beginning of Tsagaan Sar, and Casey's 9th birthday.

Casey, originally uploaded by Wanderings.

As you can guess, Casey's birthday took precedence (although the decorations had a Valentine's theme). We started the day with a family breakfast, then relinquished the lunch hour and afternoon to a rowdy group of boys only to reclaim it again for a family dinner that evening. Since Caleb was in charge of games and general party management, the rest of us had a fairly relaxing Sunday afternoon.


Casey & co., originally uploaded by Wanderings.

I've said it before, but each time there's a new birthday I'm reminded of how much I love the energy the family pours into celebrating birthdays. They make sure to celebrate the person through decorations, favorite foods, gifts, and words of encouragement. I hope to carry these traditions into my own family.

picture = 1000 words

So does that mean 58 pictures would be the equivalent of 58,000 words? I sure hope so, because that would more than make up for 6 weeks of blog neglect.

Created with flickr slideshow.