Wednesday, 10 April 2013

The Year That Was - Nearly Over


Well, we have done it, nearly. We have been here for a year, nearly. We have started packing up our stuff, selling some off and giving away the rest in an attempt to make sure we are within weight limits for our flights home.
I had someone ask me today why I came to Mongolia. My standard answer is that I wasn’t listening properly to James when he suggested it. But being honest, it was voluntarily with full knowledge of what I was getting myself into. While I wasn’t naive to what to expect, I have to say that actually doing it was a bit of a culture shock.
And again being honest, the cold wasn’t as bad as I anticipated. In the middle of winter when I would check out the forecast and see that it was expected to be in the minus 30’s, I would cringe. But the layer upon layer always did the trick until I was indoors again. The wind would be cold and sting my face and my fingers would feel like they were going to explode some days, but generally, it wasn’t too bad.
I was prepared for bad weather, what I wasn’t prepared for was the amazing natural beauty that is this country. I don’t feel we saw enough but what was laid out before us on our limited travels was just stunning. This country is so diverse in what it offers and with changing seasons there are new dimensions. So much of it is untouched and unhindered, it is there to soak up as the nomads have been doing for thousands of years. I hope that never changes and in truth, because of the harshness of the landscape, I think that most of it will remain untamed for a while yet.
Part of me is a little bit sad to go, part of me wishes I had seen more, but another part of me is more than ready for home and ready to bid farewell to the long drop toilet. Things are winding up at work, and that is where I will be sad, to say goodbye to the gentle staff who always greet me in the morning with a smile. We don’t share language but it has been easy to have a joke now and then, I think they understand all my sign language and if that fails I have my dictionary app on my phone.
Over the next week, as supplies in the apartment diminish, we will be eating out and I plan a few last traditional Mongolian meals. I think when we get home we will be avoiding meat and cabbage for a while. But again, things weren’t as bad as we had been led to believe before we left home. It wasn’t all meat and dairy, fruit and veggies are easily obtainable here, some perhaps a little dearer than at home. We did notice things disappear from supermarket shelves during winter, like ground coffee, frozen peas and soda water. But we learn that if you see it there, buy two. Mind you, we have ended up with an excess of lasagne sheets.
We look forward to home, to being able to just grab a bag before setting off out the door and hopping in the car. I look forward to hanging clothes on the line, taking a walk in the garden, having a good choice of places for Sunday breakfast, seeing the ocean, being able to throw the window open, a soft mattress. I will miss the security guy downstairs who is always smiling, if I catch a bus, I will miss automatically having a seat vacated by traveling students, I will miss the cleaner at work who giggles when I sneak chocolates into her pocket, I will miss looking out the window on random evenings and seeing firework displays exploding in the night sky.
We have had some truly wonderful experiences and some that make us question why we are here. But I will always be so grateful with the realization of just how lucky we are.
So as a closing chapter I have put together some of my favorite photos to share with you.  I might have used some before but some are new ones. After our little holiday we will be home and ready to bore you all with stories of our exploits. And then, who knows where the next chapter will take us, somewhere warm I hope.
Excuse me




This is what I need to keep warm

One foot in Mongolia, the other in Russia



Mmm, yum?


New friends


Easy Rider


Lantern Festival, fantastic experience

I felt like a kid







Gangnam is everywhere





One of the family

Lenin, out of fashion and now removed


Milking a goat, a skill you never know when you will need

Blood Donor Day



Never know if I 'm on the right bus

There goes Lenin

Nice n warm

So what's all the fuss about

Another bad air day

I Love you in Russian, actually grown into the apple

Beatle Street with State Department Store in the background

A bit of culture, cheap and every weekend


Rough ride



There is always a way

Hanging out with his camels

I love camels


"Quality" roads


felting wool




Just nipping down the shops

Keeping feet dry

Everything has 2 uses

Australian Bush in the Mongolian Bush




Mongolian breakfast


Mongolian lunch


Local gatecrashing team photo

Some new friends

Mongolian dinner




Old shadowed by new





Don't ask!

High Tea on a Sunday Afternoon

Someone had to bring up the standard

Buddha has big feet

Opera House

Opera House

Bit of ballet

Monument to the Russians

On top of UB








The Big Guy - Chinggis

the land of the eternal blue sky




Big Boot at the Big Chinggis statue

Chinggis is everywhere - introducing Sue to Chinggis beer

Yeah - Circus.

Would you believe - trained cats, now I 've seen everything

yum

My workmates and the beautiful Deels (Mongolian coats) they gave us

Camel Polo

Head nurse Oyungil and head doctor Mungusteen


Polo lunch



Tsagaan Sar delights