Mongolia, Day 2

So today is actually day three, but this is my update of what we did yesterday! I can't believe today is already Wednesday - the time is flying by, yet each day seems like 2... if that is possible.

Yesterday we got to sleep in, but seeing as I fell asleep at 9pm, I was up and wide awake at 6! It was really nice though, I got to have a nice, relaxing morning. OH - I need to tell you about the place where we're staying! We are staying in a guest house for visiting missionaries and groups like ours. It's very nice - I'm staying in a little suite with the other girls (there are only 5 of us, and 11 guys). We have a kitchen, living room, two bedrooms, bathroom (with a shower - I've been surprisingly clean, I wasn't expecting to have the ability to be!). It has a big fenced in yard (apparently, you can "own" a piece of land, have a place built on it and everything, but if you don't have it fenced in, it's not yours... as in, anyone can build a fence around it, and it is now theirs! So obviously, there are fences around everything, and most of them are really crooked... seems as though they were built pretty quickly just to make sure nobody else got the land), it's two stories, and it has WiFi!! It's amazing that we can be so connected here - everything else around is really run-down and pieced together, it feels very strange to be sitting here in our nice guest house, updating my blog.

We went to the bank first thing to exchange some of our money - and that was an experience... not the bank part, but the crazy traffic part! The drivers here are seriously insane - honking all the time, almost side-swiping everyone, little wrecks all the time, people running across the street and almost being hit by cars... a few times I almost had to just close my eyes. And then we became the pedestrians that had to cross 4 lanes of traffic - luckily it wasn't too terribly busy, but a little scary nonetheless. Crosswalks are non-existent. Then we went to a department / grocery store. We all got carts and filled them with things we would want/need to eat throughout the week (whatever we don't eat or drink, we're leaving here to stock the place up for the next group). It was crazy to see all the different things they had, and to go shopping in a place where you don't know what anything says! I did find me some Pepsi and some of my favorite Twinings Lady Grey tea, so I'm good to go. :)

After that, we drove around to the other side of the city (it took forever, the roads are really rough, and it was soooo dusty - Tim's and my allergies have been quite insane). We visited one of Mitch and Baljmaa's feeding centers - this one was close to the dump. The center is very small, low ceilings, peeling wallpaper, pretty dirty... but it is definitely a place of refuge for the kids that live around that area. Just like the last feeding center we visited, the meal they get there is often the only one they get all day. Most of the kids actually work all day at the dump, sorting trash and recycling - it's so sad how dirty they are. They work all day and earn about $1, all of which they give to their parents who most likely drink it away. It's a terrible cycle, and without getting to go to school to get an education, I don't see how they're going to break it. The little ones are so sweet and precious, but you can tell that the older kids are already getting pretty hard. I guess you would have to be to live the way they do day to day. We met one boy who looked like he was about 10 (at most) and later found out that he was 15, and was so small because he was so malnourished. Unbelievably sad. The little kids ran out to the fence when we left and waved and smiled as we drove away - it was heartbreaking. I wanted to take them with me. We went to the actual dump site after that, and it was pretty bad. People live there and live off of the leftovers that get dumped there.

After that, we went and had lunch at a Japanese hot pot restaurant. It was incredibly good - but with all those boiling pots in an upstairs, un-airconditioned room, it was sooooo hot. We were all sweating like crazy. It was worth it though - very yummy.

We went back to the English class, but it was a little more awkward this time. We didn't break into little groups like we did the day before, it was just all of us on one side and all of the Mongolians on the other side... both sides were having a hard time with what to say or ask. Singing seems to be a good way of communicating for them, so one of the Mongolian guys (one of only two Christians there) sang "My Redeemer Lives" for everyone - just belted it out! He seemed really nervous at first, kept wringing his hands and saying things to the Mongolians and laughing... but when he started singing he seemed like he was right in his element! Then they were like, "okay - now you guys!" We all just kinda looked at each other... and eventually someone started singing "Amazing Grace" and that went over well. :)

** Time out: I just drank horse milk... it is sooooo sick!!! It tastes fermented and acidic and not like any kind of milk whatsover! agh!!! They're making everyone try it, haha.

We came back to the guest house after the English class and everyone just hung out - both sets of missionaries and their kids came over and we all just talked and laughed and the little kids were just having a crazy (seriously!) good time. Mitch (who, just to give you an idea of what he's like, is a big burly kind of guy with the thickest Tennessean accent I've ever heard - he's awesome!) made everyone a HUGE pot of chicken and sausage gumbo. I was so exhausted that I went and took an hour nap while it was cooking, came back out to eat it, said goodnight, and went back to bed. :) Jet lag is a killer! And I've heard it's even worse when you fly East (apparently they say "East is the Beast" - but I already knew that, hehe).

Today we are going to drive out to the Gobi desert. We're not leaving til 11, so that's really nice. We're going to drive three hours (probably with dust masks because the dust is bad, and will just get worse when we go to the desert), then stay in a Ger (not sure how you would spell that, seeing as they have a completely different alphabet than we do, but you pronounce it like "Gear" - but you say it pretty quickly and with a slight roll on the r). We thought they were called yerts, but apparently they're only called that in Nepal. Tomorrow we'll get up and drive three more hours to get to the village where Manna has another feeding center, and we'll be staying in a hospital... though we've been told it will challenge our definition of what a hospital is.

I so wish I would've brought my camera cord so I could be uploading pictures of everything I'm writing about!! :( My pictures from my phone on Facebook will have to suffice, but I promise I have some really good ones on my camera! The kids are so pretty and precious - Tim and I wish we could take one home. Seriously.

Okay, so there's my day two recap... I'm going to go finish packing my overnight bag for the Gobi and hang out with the group. Oh, and no sick travelers so far - YAY!! :)

The Gobi trip is going to take 2 or 3 days, so probably no more blogging for awhile... I know you all will be on the edge of your seat! :)