I went to UB to visit my friends and they were nice enough to show me around. We went to a mall and there was an Ice Village. Here are some pictures.
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| Random Mongolian children having fun |
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| Santa and me in his ice sleigh. |
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| This was so slippery, I kept sliding away from the sculpture |
Christmas is not celebrated in Mongolia. I was able to skype with my sister and my site mate and I went to lunch and went back to work. That night I was invited to my counterpart's house for dinner. While I was there she decorated her New Year's tree. I had to ask what it was for. She asked if Americans had New Year's trees and I told her no, we had Christmas trees. I tried to explain what Christmas was, but she didn't understand. Mongolians use Santa and gift giving for New Year's.
New Year's Eve was fun. I went to my site mate's ger to watch the fireworks and party. The fireworks were amazing. So many houses were shooting the off. Some were even horizontal instead of vertical. Unfortunately, I was too mesmerized to remember to take any photos. I'll have to remember next year.
On the work front, my counter part and I have made a Work Plan for the year, and had it officially stamped by the director. They like to "officially stamp" things here. We have also talked about planting a root vegetable garden in the spring and making fun parties for nurse's and doctor's day. Both are national holidays. I'm sure they are in the U.S. as well. That's all we got planned so far.
I was asked to help with a seminar in a different soum, but that's not 'til May. I am excited about though.
