We will be arriving in Buffalo, NY on Friday, June 6th, at 9:50 p.m.
We just bought the tickets last night. Having computer issues so we won't be calling anyone for quite a while it looks like. Feel free to call us however!
For more info about our future plans, just shoot an email our way and we'll fill you in.
From our newly renovated patio, we have a clear view of one of the many manholes in this city that has residents. I know for a lot of people, this is hard to imagine. Turns out, a few weeks ago 2 of the residents were coming home from returning bottles, and were completely intoxicated, so I was watching them try to get the manhole cover off the hole. Partly worried about their safety, and partly curious. Unlike most of the manholes which people live in because they are very warm from the steam pipes, this is doesn't connect to the steam pipe system. It was built when the apartment buildings behind us were built last year. We have yet to figure out the purpose of this underground space, besides to be a bunker for the homeless. So, in a rare chance to take some photos without being intrusive, we thought we'd share what we see on a regular basis with you.
Lately we've been fairly busy! We celebrated St. Patrick's Day 2 weeks ago, and then last weekend we had a party at our house to celebrate the end of our spring break. It was a "Hammer Pants" party, where folks put on their best baggy MC Hammer-like pants and rocked out to cheesy music from the 80's and 90's. The following night was a "James Bond Gala" fundraiser, which I went to with some friends. Then this weekend was the birthday of one of the teachers at our school, so we took her out for dinner and karaoke this past friday night. So, here are a few photos of the highlights. Only 2 months left here now, and we're trying pack as much fun in as possible!
We celebrated St. Patrick's Day with some friends here in UB this past saturday. There are actually 3 irish bars in this city, so we did a "pub crawl." We started a 3 pm and some of us lasted until the wee hours of the night, while some of us didn't... 
Today is the first day of our spring break vacation. We had initially wanted to go to the Gobi during this break, but decided it would be better to save our money for the quickly upcoming return to the US for the summer. More details on our homecoming will be posted here as soon as we know what the plan is. Now for the randomness -
As you can see, we aren't the only ones excited about a week off from school! Here are the scholarly and intellectual students of the second grade.
Clayt and I decided after living here a year and some months that we wanted to finally try to clean one of our patios. We never tried before because of the layer of dust and dirt that covers the whole thing - there is no drainage for the patios, so there is nowhere for the dirty water to drain. Here's a photo of me busting through the caulk along the bottom of the patio, to make our own sort of draining system.
Clayt brought me bucket after bucket of hot water which I mopped to the homemade drains in the corner. I was a little worried, as the water was just running down the building, onto the patios of all 7 floors beneath us. Nobody came to complain.
This is a poor little frozen puppy. We see him every day on the way to work. When I first saw him, he was on the ground, frozen stiff in a position that made it apparent he didn't pass on peacefully. Clayt and I were (still are) perplexed as to how an animal can freeze in a position of struggle. More disturbing is that one of its legs is missing, chopped off, either before or after it froze. So, at some point somebody took the time to place the thing on top of a concrete block that covers a steam pipe. The steam has relaxed his posture, as you see in this photo. Actually, now that it's getting warmer, I think being on top of the hot steam pipe might cause more problems - i'm not sure if anyone will bothering moving it again. Anyways, these are the kinds of things we see on our way to and from work each day. 
Well it was almost a year ago that I had my appendix removed. Here is a photo of the torture chamber/hospital. This is, in this city, one of the best places to be treated if you're sick. Would you have surgery here? 
We saw this near our apartment a few weeks ago. This is somebody's patio with a clothing line strung with drying meat. Dried meat here is called Bortz, and we know from experience that it just might be the toughest substance in the world to chew. I'm sure this batch will have a nice "smoky" flavor from the coal dust. You can't really see because of the glare on the windows, but the row of meat goes the whole length of the patio. 
Here are some photos from our 3 day weekend in Terelj. We rented a Ger with a couple of friends and enjoyed the peaceful quiet, the fresh air, and beautiful scenery.
we went on a short hike and clayt decided to try to barrel roll down a hill, but it got a little out of control and he ended up sliding down most of the way backwards, on his back.
Clayt wasn't very happy with the amount of snow that went down the back of his pants in the process.
We rented horses for an hour and got to see some more of the park, and got really cold feet from the metal stirrups.
Here is Clayt in his Deel (dell), the traditional mongolian attire. People actually pulled over in their cars to take photos of him while we were horseback riding. 
A shaman rock pile, be sure to walk around it 3 times and toss three stones on the pile for good luck.
We were supposed to go sledding. Fortunately, on this day it was too cold for first grade babies and we were able to go to the Eagle Hunting Festival in Terelj - a truly excellent national park about 50 km outside of UB. We went with our friend Sainaa (we had originally asked him what we should charge a cab to take us - he said he would take us, which was much more convenient. Later, we found out that he hated Kazakhs). It was one of many beautiful days in Mongolia. The key to beautiful days in Mongolia is to look up. The sun is always shining and the sky is always blue. If you look up, you don't notice the squalor around you. 
Eagles are pretty big birds. The one above is about five months old. I was going to try to perch it on my arm, but the handler said it may be a bit unpredictable. Just touching it is enough I guess (it did whap me in the face with its wing. they are strong bastards). 
I do not believe there is a PETA branch in Mongolia, and rightly so. In most of America, fur may be murder, but here it is survival. I was a little jealous of this coat because no amount of synthetic down can compare. Fashion-wise, it has its drawbacks (being mistaken for a polar bear), but warmth-wise, it is unimpeachable.
These gusy are the real deal. Jessica and I met one of the hunters outside of Olgii (in Bayan-Olgii Aimag, Western Mongolia) over the summer. He lived in the middle of nowhere. We happened to drive by his place and notice two falcons on the fence. We stopped and a crowd of people and kids materialized. The man who lived there eventually came out. He and his brother would perch the falcons on their arms with no cover. There was no such machismo with the eagle, however. The man got out a seriously thick leather-and-padding glove. The same man came to the eagle festival. I guess it is a small country, if not a small world.
Look closely. One of the events at the festival was apparently a tug-of-war with a dead goat carcass. The men would swoop down from their saddles while riding and grasp the carcass, then return to the saddles to try and pull the carcass away from the other rider. It was more entertaining than I had anticipated, mainly because of the skill of the riders. Sometimes on guy would be virtually pulled off his horse, but would maintain a handle on the carcass and control of his horse. I can't even do that sitting up.
Mongolian horses look like My Little Ponies, minus the pastel. I wouldn't tell these guys that though.
Like I said, Terelj is an incredibly beautiful place, with unmolested snow and striking rock towers. Add a Mongolian and an eagle, wings spread, and it is right out of an Asia video, or an airbrushed tee-shirt (also minus the pastel). But really, it was pretty incredible. Everywhere you could here the shrill shriek of eagles - it is unmistakable. You know a predator is in your midst. Also, while these birds are obviously well-trained (they are snatched from the nest at a young age and raised by their handlers), there is still an element of wildness. Sometimes eagles let loose to attack carcasses dragged behind horses would veer off the path and swoop daingerously low over the crowd. Somewhat disturbingly, our ticket said "Do not wear reddish yellow or foxfur clothes."
As we were leaving, Jessica spotted the camels. I think it is fair to say she melted a bit. They do seem lovingly indifferent (until our friend got to close to one - it hissed and spit at him). Jess was happy to admire from afar, but our friend was literally pushing her toward the thing. They get much bigger up close. Sainaa and the lady who brought the camels kept pushing Jess closer through her protestations until she found herself on top of the laying camel. Jess then said "OK, it isn't going to get up, right?" as the lady was pulling on its rope (tied to a piece of wood through its nose). As the camel rose, Jessica wore her surprise on her face... and in her voice (oh! oh! oh! Ahh!). It entertained everyone around. Then they started waving me toward the other camel. I figured I could join Jess, since she had been a sport. I was surprised at the height of the standing camel. It was quite a bit higher than any horse I've been on, and unlike a horse, it felt like you could easily go to sleep just by leaning forward into it (the advantage of the bactrian camel I guess). 
Overall, it was an excellent trip out of the city (where the air is clean, and doesn't feel like breathing Drain-O). I guess I am going to miss being able to see things like this on a whim... or the lack of legal waivers involved in doing so.
