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.