Баяр Баярлалаа-Өгижийн мэнд!

That's my crappy attempt to say Happy Thanksgiving in Mongolian. Probably makes no sense, mostly because I never really figured out how to make a gerund, but it'll just have to do.

So whoa, it's been a while since I posted. I'm becoming quite the deadbeat blogger. And actually a fair amount of interesting stuff has been happening these past few weeks, at least comparatively. Let's see if I can list 'em out real quick.

• I went with Marg (an Australian VSO volunteer/all-around Wonder Woman) to a place the locals call Diviiz, which is their way of saying Division 5. It's an abandoned Soviet base of sorts about 10 km out of town which many of Dornod's poorest citizens now call home. After millions of livestock died in last year's devastating winter, many Mongolians lost their means of survival, so they moved into derelict buildings like the ones at Diviiz. When they arrived, there was no water nearby, no school for miles, no food to be easily accessed. With the help of people like Marg, they now have a kindergarten for the younguns (it's adorable! made of two gers!), a well, a greenhouse, a chicken coop, and many other awesome necessities. It was pretty inspiring to a lazy volunteer like myself.
• I traveled with some friends to a place about 90 km west of Choibalsan where there used to be a city which was built by the Khitan Empire. Nowadays all that's left is a single tower, maybe sixty feet high, and the foundations of a few walls. After living in a place like Egypt, this ruin was not all that impressive, but it was neat to see something a thousand years old in a country whose inhabitants barely built permanent structures until the last hundred years.
• We visited the local power plant, which provides electricity for three aimags!!! It was built by the Soviets and was actually quite interesting. We didn't know if we'd be able to get a tour, so we just showed up and asked. A moment later, we were donning hard hats and walking through crazy big boiler rooms and whatnot. I felt like I was in an episode of The Simpsons (even if it wasn't a nuclear plant), which, if you know anything about me, you'll know was a very exciting way to feel.
• I came to UB (in spite of some crazy Peace Corps flight arrangement mishaps... I had to take the bus instead of getting to fly... UGH!). Next week, we have a week long training seminar, as I may have mentioned before, but thanks to some very light work I've been assigned here for my school, I got to come in a week early. As luck would have it, Kaede found some similar work in the city, so we've been hanging out and cooking lots of delicious food together, which has been wonderful.
• I bought the warmest coat in Mongolia's largest black market, which is one of the largest markets in Asia. At least they told me it's the warmest. And since, standing around in single digits temperatures I find myself sweating even if I don't zip the thing up, I'm inclined to believe them.

I probably missed some stuff, although I'm sure it was on the boring side. Sorry I don't have any pics of any of this stuff with me. I didn't bring my computer to UB, so I'm at an internet cafe right now. Anyway, I should get going, but I hope you all have a very happy thanksgiving!!!

I don't like making blog posts without pictures, so here's what I found when I did a google image search for "Mongolian Thanksgiving." As far as I can tell, it has nothing to do with the holiday, but I think you'll agree with me when I say it's a pretty sweet pic.