We're Home!

For those of you who actually read this blog and have been checking for a new post, sorry it has been so long. Right now we're in Rochester and will be heading to DC on Saturday. The trip home was long, but we made it home safely and our first american meal was at a Denny's at 3 in the morning - delicious! We have been surprised by some things and less impressed with others... We thought it would be difficult to control the amount of fast food and junk food we eat, but it has been surprisingly easy. We thought we would love to hear everyone speaking English, but we simply find it distracting, whereas in Mongolia the speaking around us was always just background noise. We've been pleased with the roads, the beds, the dryer machines and the public libraries. I was shocked when I saw the size of the produce, it seems (is?) unnatural... When we get a cell phone number we'll post it, and then it's up to you to give us a call! We're here only for a short while before heading off to the next adventure... We will post a few photos soon.

Short and Long Term Future

Well we've got only 18 days left here in Mongolia. Due to the hand-foot-and-mouth disease outbreak (which has now infected over 1,000 people) I taught only 6 out of 32 hours last week, and will do the same this week and next week. It's kind of a bummer, as we wanted to be able to say goodbye to the little students.

So, we'll be in NY for 2 weeks visiting, and then we head down to DC for all of July and August. We will work, try to save money, and try to have a little fun too. Then at the end of August, we will move to Colombia where I have a teaching job waiting for me, and Clayt will find something either before we go or once we're down there. We look forward to the change in climate and diet!

And of course, we look forward to seeing all of you very soon as well!

Hand-foot-mouth disease hits Mongolia again

The government here has cancelled classes for grades K-2 for this entire week, and up to grade 5 for today. We will find out more tonight, as they will make an announcement on TV. Things certainly are never dull here! Below is an article about the situation:

Hand-foot-mouth disease hits Mongolia again
Monday, 12 May 2008
Deputy Prime Minister Enkhbold is heading an emergency committee to deal with the issue of nearly 200 suspected cases throughout Mongolia, including the capital Ulaanbaatar. Elementory schools have suspended their classes for Monday and several public events have been canceled.
The first case was reported last Thursday and since than the General Authority for Emergency Management (GAEM) has seen a rapid increase.

Disease Characteristics by the Community Health Administration
Hand, foot, and mouth disease is usually characterized by tiny blisters on the inside of the mouth and the palms of the hands, fingers, soles of the feet. It is commonly caused by coxsackievirus A16 (an enterovirus), and less often by other types of viruses.Young children are primarily affected, but it may be seen in adults. Most cases occur in the summer and early fall. Outbreaks may occur among groups of children especially in child care centers or nursery schools. Symptoms usually appear 3 to 5 days after exposure.
People can spread the disease when they are shedding the virus in their feces. It is also spread by the respiratory tract from mouth or respiratory secretions (such as from saliva on hands or toys). The virus has also been found in the fluid from the skin blisters. The infection is spread most easily during the acute phase/stage of illness when people are feeling ill, but the virus can be spread for several weeks after the onset of infection.
The rash appears as blisters or ulcers in the mouth, on the inner cheeks, gums, sides of the tongue, and as bumps or blisters on the hands, feet, and sometimes other parts of the skin. The skin rash may last for 7 to 10 days.

It's been a long time...

..since we've posted any photos! So below are a bunch. We've been so busy lately, and now time is just flying by. Clayton was hired as a consultant by Mercy Corps for a month-long project, which is really good for his resume and wallet! I took on a second job as a private tutor, and am enjoying the good amount of cash-in-hand that it provides me with. I also had another trip to the Mongolian hospital, this time for 5 days because of kidney trouble. Things are ok now. Since our last post, we have had 2 school picnics, a Mongolian Day at school, 2 going away parties for friends, 2 snowstorms, were on a Mongolian kids TV show, and I met with my students from CNCF one last time. So, here's what you haven't seen yet:
Enjoying the sea-saw

Meaghan and I on her last night in Mongolia!

A good-looking group of Americans living in Mongolia!

My last day of teaching with the students at CNCF.

Clayt and I on Mongolian Day at school, that's Clayt's own Deel, mine I borrowed from my friend Rachel.

Clayt with a khazakh student.

Me and the Tenth Grade Girls.

Purevdorj and Ariguun.

Here we are with our e-tickets home on the day we bought them. Can you tell we're excited?

Clayt teaching the boys how to play american football. It was an interesting game to watch, lots of touchdowns.

Me in front of a camel who looks unhappy about being tied to a rock.

On the set of the TV show "Let's Sing Together" which is hosted by 2 friends of ours. Once our episodes air on, they should be on youtube and we'll post a link.

This is our building's elevator. Cozy, smelly, and unpredictable!

Lastly, here is a photo of what the toilets look like here. We don't have these in the states, but here they are what are used in most public places and schools. I think it took me the first 6 months to get used to them, and I still don't like to use them. Notice the handle on the back wall to turn on water which acts like a flusher, but sometimes the water isn't running... notice also the ribbed sides for foot traction. Notice also the lack of toilet paper.

Coming Home!

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.

Room with a View

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.

A Full Social Calendar

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!

St. Patrick's Day

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...

Random Notes

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.