It finally happened...

I was wondering when I would see 50 below. Well, it happened at 6 this morning when I took Bambuul out. Sunday started the 6th Nine; the 5th Nine is the start of warming. Hmmm...



Update: Not much change at 2pm. :(

Fire Cupping

I first learned of fire cupping in 2004 in the way most other Americans did: When Gwyneth Paltrow showed up to some event with weird marks on her back (Cupping on CBS). While it was something I never really thought a lot about, it was always somewhere in the back of my mind as something I knew I wanted to try. When my MBFF (that would be Mongolian Best Friend Forever, hehehe) started getting fire cupping treatments for a sore neck this last week, I asked if she'd hook me up with her practitioner and in in only three days time I had an appointment. And the best part: it only cost 3,000T, or about $2.50. 3,000 year old medicine for 3,000T. Helluva bargain!

Applying the first cups. Typically you'd lay down to get this type of treatment but since my MBFF was taking pictures she had me sit.

She started things by giving me a head and neck massage, hence the crazy hair.

Massaging my lower back before applying more cups. PS-The black is not my underwear but my leggings. We have to wear two pairs of pants all winter it's that dang cold here.

Adding more cups.

Yeah, that's the flame in the lower right.

All the cups in place. They stay on for 10 minutes.

So here's how it works: she dips a cotton ball into alcohol, lights it on fire, swabs it into the cup to heat the cup & air, then applies the cup to specific points. The heat causes suction, sucking your skin up into the cups.

I totally giggled when she removed the cups. The sound was hilarious!

She said the darker spots indicate a trouble area. She also said I had very soft and nice skin. :)

More massaging after the cupping.

I felt like Jello when it was all over!

Wiping off the excess lotion at the end. I was sad it was done so fast. I can't wait to go back in next month!

Foreign Language Teachers' Day

On Wednesday afternoon Khan-Uul school hosted the Foreign Language Teachers' Day party. A few pictures from the shindig:

The party started with a Khan-Uul teacher doing a traditional dance.

Me, Zoloo and Koty.

Me with Shine Khogjil's two Russian teachers and two of the five English teachers.

Me with the Kherlen, Dornod's Foreign Language Methodologist and some of my TOEFL class participants.

MИHИЙ TθPCθH θДθP

Celebrated my 28th birthday in the American style: multiple times and surrounded by some pretty cool people. Birthdays don't seem to be as big a deal here in Mongolia, although any reason to celebrate is welcomed.

Having cake with Deb and my awesome adult learners at the APDC.

Dinner with some of my Shine Khogjil teachers.

Dinner with sitemates. Clockwise from me: Pecaut, Kaede, John, Merrie, Koty, Su and Zoloo.

Karaoke! Pretty sure this was "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun!"

Takin' a break.

Ending the night with "Bohemian Rhapsody." We have our reasons...Hehehe.

On the 22nd and 23rd I played in the aimag-wide volleyball tournament. We did pretty well, winning 9 of 13. Not quite good enough results for the championship round, but fun none the less. We only played for 4 hours on the first day as the ping pong tourney went late, so we compensated by playing from 9am to midnight on day two! I got a little bruised and banged up, but nothing that won't be healed in a few days.

Because the vb tourney went so late on Monday I was unable to have my birthday party with my Access students like planned. We've postponed it until the 30th. Let the celebrating continue!

Finally, my birthday party with my Access students! We had cake, talked about our favorite birthdays (I told them about my Golden Birthday), then talked about major birthdays and the traditions that go with them in both cultures. A speaking lesson without them even knowing it! Hehehe. The girls gave me a very sweet card and a faux-pearl cell phone dangle charm, although it was a "C" not a "K." It's the thought that counts... :)

More on Mining

Here's yet another article about the mining boom here. Seriously, it IS that big of a deal. This article has a lot of really great information about what's going on here, and not just economically.

Booming Mongolia: Mine, all mine.

Here's a picture of the ridiculously long line that forms on "handout day" outside the banks. Outside every bank. Every month. Why people don't wait a day or two instead of rushing the banks is beyond me.

Mongolian BBQ

As I've said before, when you think you're eating Mongolian in America, you're not. The author's a bit snarky, but he's spot on when it comes to three of the main food types and their composition:

Conquering Authentic Mongolian Barbecue-In Mongolia

I'm thankfully spared from the mutton onslaught because when in the presence of Mongols I eat"tsagaan khool" (literally, "white food"), vegetarian. And because the smell of cooking mutton is...distinct...even Bambuul doesn't eat it.

It's a hard life...

For a brief look at the difficulties of life in both the XθДθθ (countryside) and XOT (city).

In Pictures: Life in Mongolia

Khentii Province shares a border with Dornod to our West. Baganuur is just East of UB.

A Happy Ending

On Monday my last afternoon class was being given a test so I was able to leave school early and run errands before my night class at the library. I had to walk right past a pile of trash/carcass, nothing unusual in that. When I glanced over, I noticed three tiny puppies huddled together, shivering and left to die. Someone put these sweet baby girls in a goat carcass, wrapped it in a plastic tarp and dumped them. I just stood over them and cried. I knew if I walked away they would freeze to death in a matter of hours.

After calling and texting all the American and Korean volunteers, we were able to get a lama to come get the white and brown girl, pictured top right. I decided to take the other two girls home, absolutely unable to leave them, and figure the rest out later.

My site mate and I fed Snow White and Brindle Baby milk from a syringe. Yes, I named them. After about two hours, when I was sure they had warmed through, I gave them a very soapy bath to get rid of the goat smell and blood.

Snow White was adopted later Monday evening. Brindle Baby spent Monday night with us and was adopted early Tuesday afternoon. My 'faith' in humanity was shattered when I first stumbled upon the pups but was fully restored by the compassion and swift work of my site mates to help get these babies good homes.

Of all the cultural differences, the treatment of animals has been one of the hardest things for me to "get used to." Although we were fully warned about "round ups" and "pupsicles" it's one thing to hear about it and wholly another to face it. My site mate D said she thought those pups were dumped there for a reason, in a high-traffic area (rather than at the river or outside the ger district) where someone like me might find them. Her translator said he was thankful for foreigners because we show animals compassion. All three of these pups were adopted Mongolians; a sign of hope in that.