Thing #7

What's not to love about these fruit and food posters you find in most kitchens?

A word from the cat:

Tom said he wanted in on the posting action--especially since I hadn't done a new post in at least a week... I was out of commission for a couple days because of my back, and then after that I was packing up and moving, and now I'm in a state of living limbo for the next month or so.

Tom says: I'm going to miss my Russian cat grass--a plant all my own that I'm supposed to eat. Right now I'm missing Sarah. Since I was unable to get along with her friend's cat, I've been sent to live with Phil for a while. It's cool to have the male bonding time and all (we watch TV shows that Sarah would never let me watch), but I worry that Sarah isn't keeping her face as clean as when I wash it for her.

Thing # 6

For graduation, the girls decided that they wanted to go to a photo studio where you dress up. It was actually fun. I am disappointed though, that I didn't get any fake hair like the other two teachers. Anyway, I'll miss crazy schemes like this...

Thing #5

I'll miss being invited to friends' homes for birthday parties where I (or my teammates and I) are the party... This is from our friends' one-year old daughter's birthday. Isn't she adorable!

Thing #4

I'll miss the sense of accomplishment I get from fixing the toilet with nothing but a (green) paper clip...

Thing #3

It's fun to buy butter by the kilo in a plastic bag... but what's even more fun is asking to taste it first. Rancid butter is a no-no!

The Shop

In case you haven't checked it out lately, there are a couple new designs over at the Mongol Mama Shop. Stop by and have a look.

Thing #2

I'll miss having a hot bath be such an event! Really, when the water comes out of the tap icy cold, and you have to heat the tub overnight, a hot bath is truly something special.

Things I'll miss...

Since my time here in Mongolia is winding down, I thought I'd start posting again--mostly about things I'll miss.

Thing #1: Padded doors. Rather insane assylum-esque, don't you think?

Time fillers

There are many ways to fill one’s time here in Mongolia. (If you recall, last year I was accused of spending my time filling my radiator with sand and sludge…) One of the more recent ways I’ve spent time is by dissecting my stove. I was having problems with the breakers for my apartment (ie, they would trip five million time when I was cooking which would require me to turn off the stove go out into the stairway, undo the zipper that was tying the electrical box shut, and flip the circuit back on). Turns out the breaker wasn’t the only problem with cooking. After asking a few people about my situation, one of them concluded that part of the problem was the stove—it was having mini-fires and melting a key part. Ugh! So, since my stove vocabulary isn’t so hot, I removed the two problem parts and took them to UB to try and find replacements. Turns out no one has the one I really need… So I called my director, since the stove actually belongs to the organization, and he said he’d send someone out to have a look. The would-be repair person requested that I send some pictures so that he could fully understand the problem. For your entertainment, here they are:








All that was a couple weeks ago. In the meantime, the repairman had to go into the hospital and required surgery, and so I’m reliving my life of four years ago when I cooked on a little two-burner hot-plate on my living room floor. This time though, it is a two-burner graciously loaned to me by my fiancé, and it’s on my kitchen table. I’m moving up in the world! Really though, after a period of not being able to cook anything, I feel like I’m living the high life right now. Warm food is an amazing thing!