Flashbacks

Since we arrived two months ago, I've had several daily flashbacks of a constant theme.
For example, last week while Jim & I were studying together, I suddenly pictured a street through town that we have often driven in the Dalles. The flashbacks are always of some obscure section of road and so far have not repeated. I can see no obvious connection between what I'm doing at the time to the place that appears in my mind. The locations are not major or ones that I used to commonly travel. If you have (waking)dream interpretation gifts or psychological insight, please lend us your wisdom. Other places that have come to mind:
- Rear entrance to the Lacey Fred Meyer
- East End of Dennis Street in Tumwater
- Side parking lot of the Tacoma 38th Street Goodwill
- Road through camping spaces near a small lake on White Pass
- Alley behind Beth's house in West Chester, PA
- Parking spaces next to the Ross building on Pacific in Lacey
- 6th & Rose intersection in Tacoma

Inflation

Wednesday morning as we boarded our normal bus, we noticed newly posted signs declaring the fare as 400 togrogs, double what it had been the day before. Apperantly this change was announced on t.v. Fares for trolley, mini bus, and taxis doubled as well. The change from approximately 20 to 40 cents will not have a big impact on our budget but we'll certainly notice the taxi fare increase and we feel for Mongols who live on a much tighter budget. We expect there will be a ripple effect on other products as well. The cost of living here is much higher than we anticipated. Most everthing is at least as expensive if not more than we would expect to pay in the States. Here are some sample prices:
Gasoline: $6.00/gallon
Vegetable oil: $3.00/qt
Milk: 8.00/gallon
Peanut butter: 4.00/pt
Bread: .90/loaf
Flour: 4.50/10#
Soda pop: 1.50/1 litre
Canned vegies: 1.20
Sheets 50.00/set
And so we are VERY GRATEFUL for your support.
Thank you!

2nd Gold

This week Mongolia celebrated a second Gold medal. Enkhbat Badar-Uugan made Mongols proud when he was declared the victor in boxing. Hooray for Mongolia.

Gold for Ghengis

This week Mongolia won its first ever Olympic Gold medal. Tuvshinbayar Naidan bacame the Olympic champion in Judo. Thousands gathered in the Ulaan Bator city center to celebrate, watching fireworks and drinking toasts. Even opposing political party heads shook hands proudly rejoicing in Mongolia's victory and singing together the national anthem. This was an heartening reconciliation since in the same square just over a month ago major conflict occured when riots erupted following an election. People are saying Tuvshinbayar is their new hero. Mongolia has won other medals in boxing, wrestling, shooting and judo before, but never gold.

Stones for Dinner

We have been on several picnics this summer. In Mongolia, a picnic is held in the countryside, hopefully next to a river. A river provides nicely sized stones that can be added to the horhog (mutton, potatoes, carrots & onions cooked over a fire in a milk jug).

Visit with a Shepherd

We enjoyed a recent visit with a shepherd. We have practiced language with him. He served multiple courses including goat meat, milk, cream & yogurt. Our favorite was the yogurt. He had been a drama teacher and enjoyed singing for us.

Sheepish Passengers

Near our apt last week this van's passengers caught our attention. There were a dozen sheep peering at us through this vehicle's windows. As we peeked inside, their owner eagerly told us, we could buy one for just 60,000 togrogs, about $60. A little further down the street we saw 2 men tie a sheep's legs and load it into the trunk of a taxi.

Wild Rhubarb!

While in the countryside, we got to gather edible stems that were scattered in small clumps among grasses and wildflowers. We're now enjoying rhubarb sauce over Russian ice cream mmmmmmmmm.

1 Lump or 2?

A dream finally came true for Jim
as he rode this Bactrian camel.
It is a good thing Mongolian camels have
two humps or Jim would have fallen off
since this guy stood up before
Jim was fully aboard.

But We're Still Alive

The first week of July we walked all over town hunting for vinegar, cocoa powder, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt to make Jim a cake for his July 5th birthday. Most things were commonly found in (husny delgurs) grocery stores. Cocoa powder and vinegar were the tricky ingredients.
Some missionaries were leaving the country, so we made arrangements to buy their corning ware baking dish. We called July 4th before going to their apartment to pick up the pan. Bad news, they had sold it to someone else earlier in the day. Boo hoo, no cake for Jim’s birthday.
Last week we finally found the likes of a cake pan. It is really a roasting pan so is too big but we thought it would work. So, on the morning of July 12th I mixed up the batter. The recipe was for Goofy cake, you know, substituting oil & vinegar for eggs? When I opened the small bottle of vinegar the smell about knocked my socks off. Yep, it was vinegar alright. After I finished mixing, the batter bubbled like a volcano. A taste test revealed a strong vinegar flavor. I added a little more sugar trying to balance out the vinegar but our hopes for a lucious dessert waned.
Ready to pop it into the oven, we couldn't figure out how to get the oven hot. We thought maybe it was broken so eventually gave up. When our friend, Boggie arrived to watch Naadam, we asked for her advise. She couldn’t figure it out either. But she inspired Jim to find the owner's manual. He read that the clock needed to be set before the oven could be turned on. Ta da, the oven was hot. This was hours after mixing the cake so all the baking soda & vinegar had lost their leavening power. It baked fine, but looked like brownies rather than cake.
There is a dominate vinegar taste curbing our lust for more. A week later, most of it is still in the pan.
We learned at class last Thursday that the Mongolian picnic meal, 'harhog' means 'poison garbage.' Jim decided that I made poison cake or Goofed cake. I don't have enough ingredients to try again right now. Flour and sugar are sold in 1 kilo or 50 kilos bags. The vinegar we used is Russian and 70% something. I'd never heard of a vinegar percentage so thought the small bottle would be better than the other kind that came in a big bottle. Boggie said I should have only used a drop but I used 2 tablespoons. Yikes. She explained that people have been known to burn their skin with the stuff or even to kill themselves drinking it. Poisoned cake? Maybe but we’re still alive.