a candlelit quiz, galloping through the steppe, and the best breakfast ever.

Over the last couple of weeks I have had a right old time of it.  The days after the music festival I took very easy, as I was so tired after the excitement of having Kate to visit, and staying up late so much.  I went with my good friend (now sadly departed, back tot he USA, sad face) to see "Salt" - I think my discernment about films is eroding out here, I just love going to the cinema so much that even this utter drivel I was entertained by, it was a fun watch, but ultimately frivolous, convoluted, and ridiculous.  Sorry Angelina, but I dont rate you one bit as an actress.

Anyway, so for the following week I was just staying in, eating healthy, going to bed early and generally being very quiet.  Went to the pub quiz on thursday and lost at the TIE BREAKER! Such a disappointment.

I even had a quiet weekend!  Although on the sunday I went to play scrabble and have dinner with my elderly friend George, and then I went off to the airport to meet the new VSO vols.

Then from Monday things got fun again..... My friend Naomi came over from JApan where she lives, and we had a really fun week together, all the phots that illustrate this fun time were taken by her.  I have given up on my camera.

So, she arrived on the monday evening, and as part of her travel package, she had a free night in the Byangol hotel, so we decided to sneak me in too.  She arived on Monday evening, and we went for a slap up meal and cocktails before trundling home to chat until we fell asleep.  The next morning I was so super excited to go and have a BUFFET BREAKFAST.  Surely one of the most amazing things imaginable.  OK, so breakfast is my favourite meal, taking time over breakfast, and eating a lot for breakfast is totally my bag.  I also like a varied breakfast. I was in seventh heaven.  Omlette, sausage, rice, fruit, rolls, jam, chilli sauce, mushrooms, coffee, juice, stir fried vegetables, ham, cheese, I had it all. 

the week was spent wandering round the city, looking at museums, markets, finding authentic mongolian cuisine and me making my debut as co-presenter on "strolling through the decades", a radio show that was sadly cancelled last week, helping film for voice box tv, the english language tv show shown on mongolian national television (which i have been on 3 times now, ahem).  We then spent the weekend at a riding camp in the countryside, galloping through the rolling steppe, stopping for a bowl of yoghurt in an old lady's ger, chasing the cows when they tried ot eat her washing, eating hearty grub and watching marmots bounce around.  All of this activity is now documented below in picture form.....

in the museum, we later saw one of these birds on the steppe!

owls in the museum, they make me think of me and my sister when we were young.

a display ger in a shopping centre....

me standing atmospherically by window in shopping centre

Some modern/traditional mongolians

Zolo and I running to lunch through thte rainGerUs riding through the steppe!Me "filming" (nb, this consisted of pressing a button.sleeping in the ger, i am not a "morning person"..my living room...me the radio star, video killed me....

inside old lady's gernewly wedsfilming from a different angle..ger campmy kitchenyou can see a couple of my students this time!laundry munching cooscanteen we often go for lunch intuftel, one of my favourite mongolian meals

the old lady in the ger

Sorry the photos are all out of order, it was an absolute nightmare trying to upload them, for some reason.

Anyway, Naomi left at 4am on the mondya morning, and i had ot go back to work - then my other friends came back from their travels in Urhangei, for some hastily put together supper, as I had to dash out for a leaving do.

We managed to have a quiet night in watching "Rachel getting married" which we took great pleasure in making fun of pretty much all the over inflated characters.  But all agreed that even thought the characters and actors were pretty wack, the film itself was well made and told an interesting story.

Weds another leaving do.  Thursday the PUB QUIZ, the last one for my dear friend Michelle (she who has recently returned to the USA).  It was a special one, as there was a power cut, so we did the quiz in candle light.  very atmospheric.  And then we WON!  Such a glorious victory.

This weekend, I went with two friends to Terelj, just to hang out in the countryside.  I got sunburned, and climbed some rocks.  I also got an early night, but was not impressed to be woken early early but kids playing football, kicking the ball against the side of our ger.

It is getting cold at nights now, and despite the warmish weather, we all know that Winter is on its way.  I have got so much new stuff for my flat, what with all these people leaving and donating stuf they cant/dont want to take with them, but because of the incessant leaving do's and welcome parties i am barely in my flat!

So - as August ends, I look forward to a quieter September, although I have a friend coming for 2 weeks at the end of september, so who knows when I shall manage to catch up on my beauty sleep.....

Thats not James, its James!

Wowee, what a week.  I had some days off as I had  friend come to visit me from the UK for a week.  I had to work some of it and as she is also a nurse she came to see me "in action".  Here are a couple of photos, from my lecture at Chingeltei FGP, and me in my training room at the hospital, looking very much like a GEEK!

When I wasnt having to work, I managed to take my friend out to the countryside, where she took some great photos, which I have shamelessly stolen.

This is an Airag stall, Airag s the fermented mare's milk.  A big bowl of it cost 2000₮ and we shared it, passing the bowl around, sipping and grimacing.  Airag is hard to describe, it is like tangy liquid yoghurt, it tastes kind of furry, a bit like desicated coconut, only sharp and also like sour milk....it is an aquired taste to say the least.  To me it tastes a bit "wrong" but I still wanted to drink it....

More camels, because, let face it, you cant have too many pictures of camels, they are the most wondrous beasts imaginable.

LOOK at it!  Its like a donkey only better!  I love them!

dude with a bird, he said it was just four months old....not sure how accurate that is, but it is definately a young;un.

me climbing up a rock

katie and I atop rock

mongoliaaaaaaa

birdie flying

Gollum? No - me squeezing through a crevice!

So, that was the trip to the country, it was really nice, although I did have to chuck a hissy fit that morning, seems to be happening more and more, I think it is jsut the hormones..?! Or maybe I really am just a bit of a highly strung madam.

Katie also took some good shots of the area where I live,

sleeping tramp

Ger district

me by my apartment block

So - that was Katies visit in a nutshell, walking, talking, eating, drinking, riding various animals, etc.

The day she left, I went to a music festival in the countryside, with my friends.  It was ace, at firt the weather was so nice, and the setting was stunning,

There was just one stage, a few food vans and a beer van, and about 400 people we guessed.  It was a very relaxed atmosphere, and the music was on the whole pretty good.

(spot the crusty)

It is quite funny, the mongolians, when watching a band, do not dance.  They stand solemnly still watching intently.  It was just us foreigners that were bopping away.

So, we drank beer and ate kebabs and danced and wandered and sat and talked and laughed, and watched the "Mongolian Choppers", the neo nazi's, on big motorbikes, dressed in full nazi regalia.  It would have been scary if it wasnt so ridiculous.  Plus they were jut not threatening, when it started raining we were all crammed in a tent together, and the nazi's were fine, they mostly just pretended not to see us,  but then there was one drunk and a skunk one who came and shook our hands!

I heard people talking about the fact that there was going to be a British act playing, and then I heard someone saying that James was playing.  Now, there is a band called 'James' and I got well excited thinking it was them, but when I looked up to the stage I saw this guy James up there.  I exclaimed, "thats not James, its JAMES!" to the hilarity of my companions.

So, that was the festie, by about 9pm we had kind of had enough, and then it started POURING with rain, as it has been doing quite often lately.

We commandeered a bus to take us back to UB, a bedraggled but cheerful crew

oh, yeah, so I have been complaining about the intense heat, but I take it all back now it is getting chilly....and keeps raining..........

Ok, enough for now, this week I will be working on more lectures, and proposals for measures to improve patient safety, and stuff.  New VSO's arrive over the weekend, then my other friend is coming from Japan to visit, so there will be another long absence and then another photo-filled post, so watch this space.