Yum?

#21

So, this is not the first time that I've seen horse meat on the menu (#21) below - BUT it was the first time that I almost ordered it by mistake.  Here's the story...

A few blocks from the office is a lovely Thai restaurant which is one of the go-to places for lunch and/or take out for dinner (they are even open past 8:00 pm but so slow it's generally not worth waiting - but I digress).  

Now, I've been here enough that I feel like I have a regular order - #20 Gai Pad Met Mamuang (chicken with peanuts in oyster sauce).  But you can imagine that my Thai is about as good as my Mongolian so I usually say the number and point.  Today when I ordered there was a lot of questions back to me about "which."  Which what I couldn't quite figure until the colleague I was having lunch with got it and realized that the question was beef or horse.  The waitress thought I had ordered #21 Nam Tok (beef or horse meat in chili sauce with onion and garlic) - ugh no.  A narrow escape no doubt.  Although at this point, I couldn't guarantee that I haven't had it unwittingly.  If that's the case, ignorance is truly bliss because I never want to know.

Danger, Will Robinson! Danger!

I've mentioned that walking around UB can be a bit tricky.  I was trying to be subtle, so this isn't the best picture of the danger sign.  What you should know is that on the other side of this fence is a 30 -40 foot drop.  This fence is all that stands between you and that drop.  

 In addition to people popping out of manholes, you also have the manholes that seem to have lost their covers.  These are actually hard to see when you are walking along and at night the streets are quite dark, which is why you have to be very careful when walking - and it's always advisable to walk a path you are familiar with because you never know.

Don't think safety hazzards are just outside.  This is a utility box that is right outside my apartment door.  I'm not good with wires - so honestly - I have no idea what's all in there.  Still, it just doesn't seem quite right to me.

An evening at the ballet

So a group of about 10 folks went to the ballet on Sunday night to see Swan Lake.  It was a lovely performance and they even went with the non-tragic ending to the story.  That said, the building itself held just as much charm as the actual performance.

Pretty sculptures in the ceiling

The very ornate lighting in the theater

View from inside the theater

The Swans

Emma and Paul

Sain yavaarai

So this weekend we said good bye to James who is now on his way back to the US via Tokyo. 


Joe and James



James is a bit of a rock star in UB



Original art from the team



Adam and James - saying goodbye where it all began - Delhi Darbar

Millie's

One of the places that we end up going at least 3 times a week for lunch is Millie's.  It's not far from the office (especially if you cut through the back alley) but it has fairly straightforward traditional food.  One thing that I've learned is that deli meat doesn't really exist.  For example, I ordered a club sandwich the other day which included big cut up pieces of chicken.  I tend to get a burrito, but it's not a burrito like we think about it.  Again, it's cut up pieces of chicken or beef wrapped in a tortilla (or more like tortilla-like - it's a bit of a cross between a tortilla and very thin pastry dough) and that's it.  They also have burgers there which on the surface would seem like a good idea, but again, aren't quite the same.  That said, it's one of the best places we've found and we probably go there far too often.

The other day, a few of us from the office went for lunch.  According to our Mongolian friends the burger is the best and beats an American-style diner any day (I'd disagree).  The other thing that I noticed for the first time was the clarification of "real" (see photo).  It's not a comforting clarification for me - and I'm not still not sure if they are referring to the chicken or the pepperoni.



The burger.  The fries are pretty good.



Miguel and Batman.  Batman is all in on the burger

A little hard to see - the "real" reference listed under pizza

Mongolian Children's Aid Foundation



Getting some presents


So this post is lots of photos.  I spent last Saturday with Joe and his wife, Liv, at the orphanage that Liv has been working at since Joe(and Liv) have been in Mongolia.  It was a great fun day of celebration - from gifts to sledding - plus the live entertainment!

Panda chowing on some pizza

 Panda was rescued by Liv from two drunks who were using the poor puppy like a football.  Very cute and the kids love having him to play with.  Careful....  Panda pees when you try to pick him up.  But will happily accept offers of pizza.

Joe and Panda



The whole snow party

  Super cool party people!  There are about 65 kids who live at the orphanage.  Once they are a bit older (past 14) there is another facility that's a bit closer to town and the school.  For these kids - school is just the next building over.  It's been a huge project to build the new facility and everyone was thrilled to be able to show off their new digs.


sledding

  That hill is as big as it looks.  Probably a little steeper than it looks.


the catch crew

 Which is why you need the crew at the "bottom" of the hill.  


the view

  It's quite pretty and seriously a lot of space out there.  A bit hard to see in this - but there is a small town down there at the bottom.


More view shots

  A new playground and a lot of wide open space to run.


A little singing

  I quite enjoyed the traditional dress and songs during the program.  Unclear how well this young man liked it. 


loved her expression

  She was a hoot.  Totally a character who likes arts and crafts.  It had been a while since I'd tried to cross stitch anything - which she found hilarious.


A little dancing



Liv the hero

It's inevitable!



And don't you forget it!

 Loved how things got a little lost in translation on this sign.

Happy International Women's Day!



Bringing in cake for the ladies

 International Women's Day is taken seriously in Mongolia. Not only is it a public holiday, the men seem to take great pride in doing something nice.  The guys on our floor decided that cake, coffee and some live entertainment was the way to go.  I tried to video the serenade, but didn't quite capture it - so will have to settle for some photos instead. 


Ganzo and Batman



Mr. Burns and Smithers

Adam at his desk/conference table

I have been teasing Adam about this for a while.  Currently we share space in the office - he sits at the big conference table/his desk.  I sit at the little table in the corner.  We are starting to resemble Mr. Burns and Smithers.

* In fairness, it's me who doesn't want to sit at the  big table.  Adam has offered to share, but I can't imagine staring directly at someone all day. 

My table/desk

Getting ready for the big event

One of the first things I was assigned to do here was to help organize the company's presence at the Mongolian Economic Forum.  One of the benefits is that we got to go into Parliament early to see the set up.  Some photos...

Hot pot dinner



Hot pot dinner.  Good news - I didn't light myself on fire!

 Went for hot pot last night.  While quite tasty - I'm not sure I'm fully on board with cooking my own dinner at a restaurant.  Isnt' the point to have someone else cook?

Frogger vs. Whack-a-mole

I was walking home after a dinner function last night and made the unwitting choice between a game of frogger vs. whack-a-mole.  I believe I've mentioned that crossing the street is interesting here.  You really just have to dive out into the middle of the street and take your chances.  I thought about going back to the office and getting my computer, but that meant crossing three streets in the dark with a huge black coat.  So I figured it could wait until Saturday morning.  What I didn't realize was that by skipping the game of frogger, I ended up with a high-stakes game of whack-a-mole.

In the busier parts of the city, you'll get a few street lights and regular sidewalks.  That, however, was not on my way home.  Now, I have walked part of this route in the daytime so I didn't really think about it.  What I hadn't considered were just how many manholes there were on my side of the street.  You may recall, that people live in the manholes here (it's really a matter of survival with the cold, I can't blame them), but last night was a warm night (-15) and everyone was feeling a bit of spring - including those in the manholes.  Most of them had the covers off (figured that out when I almost stepped into one uninvited) but at least three times on my walk home (around 8 - 9 blocks) I had not one, not two, but three separate heads pop up just when I got to the manhole.  Seriously - I don't think it could have been choreographed better.  I'm sure that my yelping scared them more than they scared me - but next time I may just go with a game of frogger.