Sludge in the Pipes

So last night at 3:30 AM my alarm went off- I stumbled out of bed, eyes still blurry, and made my way over to the kitchen. I took a glance at the sink, couldn't see much, hmm- turned on the light and sure enough the sink was almost full, I had timed it perfectly..got to it just in time before the overflow...You see in the last 24 hours, we have had a clog. It seems that there had been a collection, a buildup, a stockpile of waste that had headed down the drain of despair and collected in our pipes. Yesterday, about 2PM, the buildup was complete...now the funny thing about living in an old Russian Apartment (or maybe just some ghetto apartments) is that the pipes for the drains all run together. (Luckily we were on the fourth floor- I can only imagine what would have happened if we were on floor one...) So I noticed the clog, in fact there was a pipe leak that caught my attention...and then I noticed the water wasn't going down the drain anymore... I called my co-worker, and he sent over the security guard. The security guard tied a plastic bag over the leaking pipe- good to go- and then unscrewed one of the pipes under the sink and sure enough an explosion of black sludge water shot out- alright- now at this point you would think that the pipes were unclogged, especially after seeing how much junk came out- but after he screwed the pipes back together, he turned on the water and it still seemed jammed- at this point he went back to work and came back about an hour later...now we will save the rest of the story for tomorrow- because it gets better, and I am not sure how it will turn out...:)

Transportation

So, Mark wanted to know all about transportation in Mongolia...I thought- yes this would be a great quick topic...We often take the bus from Darkhan to U.B. for about 6,000 Togrogs, like $3. In town we usually walk...though our town is split into two main districts, Old Darkhan and New Darkhan- usually when we go to old district we take a taxi or a meeker. A taxi constitutes almost all cars on the road in Darkhan. If a driver sees you standing next to the road, they almost always automatically stop. A meeker is like a van that does these big loops around the whole city- you can take a meeker to anywhere in Darkhan for 250 Togrogs or a taxi for 350 Togrogs. They yell at everyone near the road, "YAWKHOO, YAWKHOO" (will you go? will you go?)I just ignore them, shake my head, or say no...most people ignore them if they aren't going...kinda funny. Seats don't seem to matter that much (unless you take a bus or train- and even then...) if you have space load 'em up.- It isn't at all unusual to see people riding horses in town or pulling a cart with a horse- they usually come from the surrounding Ger Districts (like suburbs- but a lot more tents!). Hmm, I would write more but gotta go. ( I will add a picture as soon as a find a good one...)-R

Our New Friend!

I have got 15 minutes until work- just enough time to share about our newest addition to the apartment, Mr. Krups. We found him abandoned this weekend at the office in UB as we headed that way to receive some shots- I received three shots, but for some reason I got four pokes- nice...Anyways we have successfully made caramel lattes...awesome! Our weekend in UB was pretty fun. We ate at a few really pretty nice restaurants, including one that served 1 liter beers... We also met with the daughter of Steph's director- we went to her home and had a great time with her family. Well, I should go soon- work starts in a minute or so...

Thought I would throw out a quick new update- We are headed to the capital this weekend for our H1N1 shot...should be a good time. We will be playing broom ball against the embassy staff on Saturday- they will be demolished. I watched the beginning of Avatar this morning with my director-good way to start the work week. I took a bath yesterday and did 75 push-ups today. It is still cold. We have exactly 103 days until we take a vacation to America, but who's counting... and we have been in Mongolia for exactly 7 months. Stephanie steals the covers on the bed during the night- and I am pretty sure I have a mild case of frostbite on my back...Tonight I will try using a sleeping bag- see how that works out. Now I should go to bed- I already brushed, so all I have to do is collapse into the beautiful abyss. But, before I go, I wanted to leave you with this...A picture of dinner:)

Some of My Children...

Ryan says it's my turn. Not that I don't want to contribute to the blog...but I really think he's found his new and latest talent...blog writing. Note: Remind Ryan to add to resume.
Here's a picture of some of my children. As of late August, I adopted roughly 40 Mongolian orphans! Haven't met too many 25-year-olds who can speak for that many! The children are wonderful! And for those long, dreary days when I find myself asking, "What are you doing with your life, Stephanie?!" Well...they constantly remind me. :)

Only Two

Wow, so I sent out some emails telling people to check out the blog. I then I realized that there were only two blogs so far- and that just isn't cool at all. So, I thought I would throw in one more while we are waiting for Steph to add something...

We are buying Steph a new coat today at 3:00. We are not messing around, it will be an authentic sheep, killed, colored and dried- and thrown on her back...I do not doubt that it will see red paint in the states...but that will be another time... By the way, we will be back for three weeks on April 25th...

Also here is a picture of us at the New Years Party at the Sun Child Orphanage- It was a lot of fun. -Ryan

Three Suns

Wow, so it is Friday. Time flew by. A really cool thing happened today...There appeared from the late morning mist three bright lights! It looked like three suns at first I thought the world was coming to an end...but it was really just one, with a cool reflection through the clouds. It could be seen through our whole city...check out this picture!

Ryan's First Post

Sunday evening- it's cold. Really not sure what to write about in the first blog...Today I saw three cows sharing a garbage pile, they were chowing down like it was their last meal- and who knows, it could have been. That reminds me, we bought some horse meat today and are thinking about making some steaks tomorrow. I started Mongolian Language Classes last week and will now be going every Monday and Wednesday for an hour- should be a good time. Learned how to Belly Dance last night- I repeat, I learned how to Belly Dance last night...it's certainly an ab workout, and I discovered all the ways I can't move my hips... Tomorrow, back to work after a three day weekend. I love three day weekends but they never seem long enough. That seems sufficient for my first blog, ok done.