Horses, camels, cows/yaks, goats and sheep
By Charlie This year has given Rachel and me lots of time to reflect. We talk about our life together and how much we are looking forward to the years ahead. We talk about what’s important in life and we’re making plans. Most of our friends already have children. And just about everyone in Mongolia […]
Continue Reading
By Rachel I am sure many of you were wondering when we would get to this point. A low or a high, I don’t know, but we will now say publicly that we miss them. We talk about them everyday. We look for them at the foot of the bed. When we eat dinner, we […]
Continue Reading
By Charlie I’ve done another Mongolia story for NPR. You can hear it on the NPR website. It’s about Ella Beavers: Albanian Banker and Mongolian Boxer. Learn how to say “Left, left, right!” in Mongolian!
Continue Reading
By Rachel Today was grocery-shopping day. I have noticed that shopping seems to be a recurring theme in these posts. I hope it is a window on how life here is different, or the same, as life wherever you happen to be. I left the house with 43,000 tugrugs and a backpack with another bag […]
Continue ReadingBy Charlie Today was a day like any other, which makes it a perfect day to be chronicled below. 7:00 AM — Wake UpThe alarm goes off and it’s not pitch dark. What a relief. The crick in my neck feels slightly better after being worked on last night by a Mongolian masseuse who basically […]
Continue Reading
By Charlie Despite its shortcomings, MIAT is a strong Mongolian institution with loyal employees and a rich 50-year history. Many of the pilots have worked for MIAT since the 1970s and they talk wistfully about the glory days of Mongolian aviation. These conversations are aided by hundreds of pictures that decorate the gigantic room that […]
Continue Reading
By Charlie Last Monday was cold. It felt especially bad because I spent about 20 minutes waiting for the bus and another 30 minutes riding a bus with no heat. Here’s what the inside of the bus window looks like on a cold morning. And yes, all that ice is on the inside of the […]
Continue Reading
By Rachel Faithful readers might remember our neighborhood dog, Lightning. In the fall we entertained the idea of adopting her, and saving her from a miserable winter on the streets. Heartless misers that we are, we did not, but she managed anyway, surviving the cold and the dog catcher (read, dog slaughterer.) Different dogs have […]
Continue Reading
By Rachel Views from the afternoon of January 30: Here is some equipment in a neighborhood playground. The snow gets packed down into sheets of ice covering streets and sidewalks. On some streets crews of people break up the ice and shovel it to the side. Other streets are left alone. The afternoon light is […]
Continue Reading
By Charlie We could be spending this year eating our way through Asia. From Thai, to Vietnamese, to the many tastes of Chinese food, there is a great variety of delicacies on this continent. Sadly, the good food never made it to Mongolia. There is no other way to put it: Mongolian food is just […]
Continue Reading