Arrival in UB

So our first two weeks here have been pretty entertaining. We made it here in a solid piece with all of our luggage. I'm not really sure where to start, but I'll randomly delve into observations and encounters we've had.

The first week already seems like a blur. So many new things happening, our body's clocks still adjusting, it was sort of odd. Most of the first week I'd wake up at 3am wide awake, and then come 3pm in the afternoon, want to crash. We're both starting to feel more settled in here though, after becoming more physically adjusted, getting our apartment, internet, bank accounts, etc. setup. It was quite stressful at times. We're going to be headed out to the "countryside" soon, so we're really looking forward to that. I've heard its quite the opposite of this town. 

Some general things I've noticed is that this place is growing, and fast. There seem to be dozens of 20+ story skyscrapers in the process of being built. Sometimes walking to work is like trying to find your way through a maze. The sidewalk that you took the day before is suddenly completely ripped up, with a 5 foot deep trench dug out overnight. Mongolian women, dressed provocative, yet with expensive designer clothing on, seem to be absolute pros at walking on uneven, tilting topsy turvy textured tiles (aka sidewalks) in platform stiletto high heels, or, hooker boots.  Today, I witnessed people lined up on the sidewalk waiting to cross a 5 foot deep ditch going across a 6 inch wide metal pole...it was kind of hilarious.  On a typical walk down the city streets, one is inundated with billboards and advertisements of skinny white first-class fashion models wearing the highest brands. Someone had a good point in mentioning that it seems like UB got MTV before they got infrastructure. In a restarant, it seems quite typical to hear American or other english music being played (one night we heard Neil Young the entire time, the next night Eminem). In general, the city culture here seems to sort of mimic/admire the Hollywood America...I am unsure of whether most Mongolians know that this doesn't represent most Americans. 

Getting around town is getting easier, however it took some getting used to. There are many many cars and the road infrastructure is sorely lacking for the number of vehicles. Pedestrians most definitely do not have the right of way, and crossing the street can be hard at times. I usually wait until cars are stopped at a red light and hurry around them, or cross as a big herd helping to make cars stop. Mongolians in general seem to be obsessed with their horns, there is almost nonstop honking on the streets throughout the day! Sometimes it seems like really? the car in front of you obviously cannot move either, so that honking isn't getting you anywhere. why are you still doing it? maybe if you honk long enough the universe will hear you and magically make the cars in front of you dissappear! I think you must just be really proud that you have a horn to honk and aren't a pedestrian! Here I am, honk honk, Here I am!

We've recently discovered the simplicity and ease of taking a taxi. Here, getting a taxi simply involves holding your hand out, and waiting for anyone looking to make a quick buck (typically, you can get a couple mile ride for a dollar or so). It kind of boggles my mind how cheap it is, and how Mongolians can even make a profit going out of their way to take someone across town considering the price of gas. Its kind of fun taking a taxi anyway, especially trying to say words in Mongolian such as left (zuun), straight (chigeree), right (baruun) and stop (zogs). Mongolians really don't seem to have a tolerance or understanding either if you are not pronouncing the word exactly correct. They just sort of give you a blank stare and look confused. Luckily calculators and hand signals work well for trying to get what you need/understand what you bought and how much you owe. 

What else interesting has happened? Let's see...Miranda had a college-aged man attempt to get into her backpack, but luckily she heard the zipper open, so she immediately turned around, and he quickly looked away as if nothing had happened. Another night, we randomly met a Mormon from Utah, a very friendly guy with a Mongolian follower with the book of Mormon in his hand. Because he was being so friendly, I offered to give him my number, if he wanted to give me a call sometime....and then there was sort of an awkward silence and he replied with uh...well....if you guys want, I could arrange for you to go to a meeting with us and we can talk about our beliefs....at which point I awkwardly replied....uhmmm, you know, I think we're actually going to be in the field really soon and we're going to be gone for a while, so I don't know. Anyway...good meeting you. Haha. We've experienced several random power outages, one that lasted for a good 4-5 hours during the evening....and our internet seems to be very inconsistent as well. If you open up the windows to try and get a little "fresh" air, within a day or so, you're left with a fine dark gray-black coating of who knows what. Yuck! We also recently met at a restarant a very nice Jewish man from Israel who works as a security guard there. However, he has been mostly traveling for the past 11 years, and is in his final month before he goes back home. He spoke very good English, but wanted our help with specific words and pronounciation...it was a lot of fun helping him! I think I would like teaching English. This past Friday night was a blast, we went out with a few people from work and they took us to dinner, then we went bowling, and then we went to a packed and wild nightclub...gotta remember we're used to Timbers (small town bar).

Now for some pictures of the last several weeks:

After a long flight from LA, here we are in the Beijing airport

Here is the 747 we flew in on. 

Some nice lounge style chairs in the Beijing airport. 

The airport was pretty clean and refreshing. 

Getting close to Ulaan Baatar....here we come!

This is going to be our new home...okay...hard to comprehend. 

So many bills floating around, thing is most of it is pennies, nickels, and dimes (1 USD ~ 1200 tugrik)

Typical "under construction" view in the downtown city streets near our apartment. 

The entrance to our apartment. The inside is much friendlier looking than the outside. 

Miranda after a long day. 

Looking around in the square outside our apartment. 

It is interesting how they trim their deciduous cottonwood-like trees here (median). 

Haha, typical traffic scene. 

Our first intial hike outside the city on a cold soggy day. 

This guy looks warm, sleepy, and content. 

Buddhist/Shamanistic prayer flags. 

Gers near the trailhead. 

Sukhbaatar Square (the center of the city)

Hey Annie, you could eat here. You should get the ying-yang soup, that looks good. 

An attempt to communicate with our landlords to get the internet working. 

Really, really good Indian food. 

Inside the 7 story State Department Store, where you can find whatever you need...almost.

Oh look, coffee is only 56,750. I guess that's a pretty big bag though.

Trash cans don't really apply here...

Again, lots of construction.

The beginning of a very fun night.

The first nightclub we've been to.

Our apartment living room.

Our bedroom

Looking at Larch trees almost ready to turn green. This was on a hike right outside of town.

The snow up here is melting quickly.

Spring flowers

On a hike near the city.

A testament to the ingenious placement of the numerous coal-fired power plants: directly upwind of the city

Overlooking a larch forest.

This hike was starting to feel more like the Mongolia we had imagined.

Well, that's all I have for now. We're headed off into the field for the next week or two in the near future, so we're really looking forward to that. Let me know what you think!