Why Camels are the new Black

So - I have cheered up a lot since my little dark cloud week.  I did my sessions on tuesday, and the nurses were very receptive, they were interested, if a little nonplussed by the documentation session, but they loved the safe moving of the patient session.  I had one lovely lady who was "granny" and I was demonstrating how to help Granny get up out of bed, and to walk with Granny.  I showed very basic techniques, really just emphasizing the importance of keeping your feet apart, to create a stable base, and keeping your back straight.  I showed them how to use the patients limbs as a lever when turning in bed, and demonstrated how to help a patient to fall safely.

So, it was great, I was buzzing.  Then I went to a gig in the evening, that was king of a non-event.  I was told it started at 6.30pm, so I figured it would be an early night, by 9.30pm when I left, the band had still not showed up.  But hey ho, I had a very nice time chatting, and playing consequences.

Wednesday, wow, it was like I'd fallen down the rabbit hole.  I think some of the nurses had worked the night shift, only 6 of the 16 turned up, and one was fallign asleep, one was on her mobile, and two of them were having a chat, through my lesson.  I was mortified, and had to give a stern telling off, line by interpreted line.  I was so pissed off, but I made my remonstration very cam and reasonable, and they were contrite. 

I had told my work colleagues that I would be working from the VSO office thursday and friday, as they were holding meetings in the office that were distracting me, and they werent making lunch until 3pm.  But I was asked, please come in at 2pm on thrusday to have oyur photo taken.  So i came in, stupidly expecting to nip in, get the photo done and nip off out again, I had big plans to go get my hair cut, and then look in on an ill friend.  What was I thinking?  Of course it didnt play out like that....I was waiting for nearly 3 hours before they got the photoshoot together (I still have no idea what the photos are for, but I do know that I look very grumpy in them....).

Anyway, thursday evening was the pub quiz, which FINALLY my team won.  Woooo hoo.  But it goes on so late, that I was tired on friday, so worked hard with my interpreter making sessions on pre and post op care, with a bit about the importance of rationales in practice, and on special considerations when caring for the elderly.  After wednesday, I am not looking forward to the session....

Anyway, I had a lovely meal out with Kate on friday night, and got an early night, as I was off to the countryside early the next day, with two brits I met at the pub quiz.

They had a mongolian friend who was driving them out and giving them a bit of a tour, so I tagged along for the ride, and what a ride it was!

We were collected by Bat at 10am, in a land cruiser, and immediately offered beer - bit early in the morning for that!  Drove to a huge monument, a 40m high steel statue of Chinggis Khan, on a horse, looking frightfully serious, facing China.....

It is massive, and in the middle of nowhere,  it is quite expensive to go into the building, and climb up inside Chinggis, but Bat paid for us all,

So this is us standing on the horses head.

It was very cold up there.......

Then we drove further into the countryside, passing what can nly be described as the most random thing I have seen.  Ever. Take a look, imagine driving along the mongolian wilderness, lookng out of the window deep in thoughtful reverie, and then suddenly you see.....

Yes, it did give me a bit of a shock!

Further we went, and were taken up a hill to a little Bhuddist monastery, to get to it we had to go over this very very ricketly rope bridge....it was very "indiana jones and the temple of doom"

Up a lot fo steps to the monastery, which was cute.  There were buddhist paintings on the surrounding rocks, but my camera was too crap to capture them.

big climb....

Prayer Wheels

After the monastery, we drove towards the Ger parks, but on the way spotted some camels.  We were talking about how much we loved the idea of riding a camel, so Bat arranged it for us!!  We only got a short ride each, but it was ACE!

this is me on an ACTUAL CAMEL!!

Sooooo cool!

Then we went for luch at a very random restaurant, the food was really good, and Bat paid for it all, despite all our protests, but it looked so incongruous, a very american style restaurant in the middle of the wilderness.....there was a house next to the restaurant, which was maybe even more random than the dinosaurs...

Very odd.

Then we went to find a ger to stay in for the night, and after a walk we settled in for the night with a bit of vodka and a pack of cards.  We had to get up at 7am to go horse riding, which was cool, but quite sedate, the Mongolian man took my horses reins, and led me along, so it was more like going on a donkey ride at the beach than horseriding, but the scenery was stunning, and the horse was chilled, so it was a nice ride.  we rode up to the road, where the bus met us in impeccably timingake us back to UB.  Where I now sit, quite exhausted, as the fire went out in the Ger and it was -5, so not the best sleep....

ooh, this is our ger

from the outside,

aaaaand the inside.  it was cute. 

Right, my brain is dead, and I need to go to the supermarket, ciao for now lads.xxx