How Fast it Turns

Left: Tuul on Nov. 10; Right: Tuul on Nov 24.

I can't seem to let go of this obsession with cold yet. I have more to say. Many of my international teaching co-workers are beginning to job hunt for where to go next in the world. Many of them wish to go some place warmer and with less or no pollution. I certainly understand the desire for cleaner air. That's something that most Americans take for granted--not realizing how in many places around the world there is "bad air." That said and while I am not job hunting like my colleagues, I do ponder the places they seek. To me living in a tropical place--filled with humidity and (probably) mold and creepy crawlies and insects--has no appeal whatsoever. 

This reminds me of a vacation I took in 2009 with my cousin Melaney and her family. We spent a week in Costa Rica. I learned an important thing about myself on that trip--I am NOT a beach vacation person. I do not want to spend hours sitting on a beach--watching the surf, reading a book--nope, that is a certain kind of discomfort for me and not at all relaxing. I get that it IS bliss for many (said cousin and family are total water/beach people) and I do not begrudge them that pleasure; however, knowing what works for me and what doesn't is important. For me, I want to see sites--historical, cultural, natural--it doesn't matter. 

Today we were off the charts with our air quality--in the hazardous range for most of the day. One of the other features of the app I mentioned in my last post is that it lists rankings of the most polluted places on earth on any given day. Above is a screenshot from a few days ago. Ulaanbaatar was #9 on that day. Currently, as I finally finish typing up this post we are #6. Just today I switched over into a new face mask (picture below). I use the 3M disposable kind and wear each one for 2-4 weeks, depending on frequency and duration. You might be interested to read about tests conducted to determine if face masks really work. 

Top: Used @ 4 weeks off and on; Bottom: New

Inside my apartment I have some makeshift air purifiers created by SmartAir--a non-profit organization that began in China (Beijing) but has expanded to Mongolia. I have a Cannon in the living room and a DIY in both bedrooms. The HEPA filters go black within 1-2 weeks, but work for up to 1000 hours of usage. I believe they make a difference and are more affordable then commercial ones on the market. 

Honestly, the next 21 days are the hardest. The darkness is what bothers me the most. I count down to December 20th or so because then we begin to climb out of the darkness. Yep, beginning with December 22nd the days begin to get longer. 

With those tidbits of information, I'll sign off for now. Happy almost December to everyone!

Additional Notes on Cold (& Pollution)

Flowers require insulation for transport!

The thing I find challenging about living in this harsh winter climate is deciding how to dress for evening events. The school day is easy, I wear whatever I want to work (usually regular trousers and either a blouse or sweater) and then I throw on what Michiganders would call snow pants, but what I've grown to call "outer pants" as we really get less snow here in UB. By the time December arrives, it is often too cold for precipitation. So this outer shell simply protects against the cold I encounter briefly in the morning when I leave the apartment and get into our hired car, and again protects me after school when I walk to the bus stop and ride it home. 

The hard part is attending a dinner with family or friends, or going to a performance or evening event. It's not so easy to de-robe outer pants in those situations/places. Then one is left to calculate how late one will be exposed to the elements and for how long. Will walking be involved? Public transport or taxis? Will it only be 0 at 11 pm, or will it be -20? Most Mongolians I know spend their entire day wearing two layers--some sort of long underwear or leggings underneath their pants. I can do this if/when I'm going to be in the outdoors for an extended period of time, but I am NOT comfortable to wear them inside. I get too hot and don't like the extra layer. But to lose that layer, one has to find a restroom or changing room, take most everything off and then put back on the other layer. Then before you depart, the process must be repeated in reverse. This is TOO MUCH for me. The middle ground? Well, if I can't wear the easy outer pants, and I know I will be INSIDE for a couple or more hours, then I usually pair my LONG Eddie Bauer coat (Thanks Elaine!) which goes down to my calves, with TALL wool socks that go at least to my knee, or sometimes the mid thigh ones. These are easier to take off and NOT wear at the event. The coat is hung at coat check. I can be comfortable for a few hours and then pretty comfortable going home with those items on.

As we were walking to our evening dinner plans this past Friday I was a little shocked at the sight passing me on the street. It was 0 degrees Fahrenheit or -18 Celsius. As I crossed a major intersection, I passed four or five Mongolians--I would estimate in their early 20s--and each of them was sucking on a Popsicle!!! No Joke! Mongolians LOVE their ice cream and eat it all year round. I'm more of a seasonal ice cream enthusiast--mostly summer time qualifies. But then I also can't eat steaming soup in the summer while Zorig prefers it all year round. 

As I finish this post (I've been adding to it over a few days) on Thursday, November 23rd, it is Thanksgiving. The American Wives Club is gathering tonight to share a real and true American-style Thanksgiving meal. There will be nearly 30 of us in attendance. The seven of us and as many husbands and children as possible. This is the first time we've done something like this and it will be after a full day of work for most of us--it is NOT a holiday in Mongolia and the fact that I work at the American School of UB doesn't matter. 

The pollution this morning is also, perhaps, the worst I've seen it yet this season. I've discovered this new app (airvisual, featured here) for air pollution that shows a man's face adorned with the appropriate level of mask required to address the pollution level. The really unsettling thing about Ulaanbaatar is that you can have a huge diversity of readings throughout the city. This first image shows the airport (Nisekh) in purple and MNB which I have no idea what it stands for but I can tell you it is closer to my school, near Zaisan area of the city. 

But now I will also add this image (right) that shows the air as "good" at Misheel Expo which is basically UB's version of Furniture Row, though it's all housed in one HUGE warehouse. Below that is Zuun Ail which is the district of the city where one can buy home improvement and renovation items. That's north of the US Embassy (which is the RED reading just above). I appreciate the color coding--I believe it goes from Green-->Yellow-->Orange-->Red-->Brown. 

Okay, enough of this pollution talk! Hope this post finds you doing well and enjoying your Turkey Day with great food, football, and family and/or friends. I'll be watching all your posts of DELICIOUSNESS.

Winter has Descended

Winter has descended upon UB. I believe that ice began to form on the Tuul River about two weeks ago. I shot this picture yesterday on my walk home after work. You can see the ice is inching it's way across the width of the channel. It won't be long before one can walk across it. It was about 18 degrees Fahrenheit for the walk. But I was in the mood for one. It occurred to me on that walk that I do feel comfortable and at home in this cold and sometimes brutal landscape. I have visited warm places and I do not feel similarly about them. I remember reading Per Petterson's Out Stealing Horses a few years back--it was a book club selection--and I loved the sense of place in it. It took place in Norway. Even in books, the cold speaks to me. I did not know this about myself before living in Mongolia. 

On my previous post I forgot one very important habit--wearing clothes more than once before washing. In fact, I sometimes wear a pair of jeans or trousers for bits and parts of an entire week BEFORE sending it to the clothes hamper to be washed.

As I believe I have mentioned before, Mongolians have clothes washers, but very few have dryers. Here you hang your clean clothes on a rack to air dry. It's a dry climate and rarely takes more than half a day to dry most things. While I initially found this lifestyle habit to be odd (it was new to me!), it has become normal. I DO miss the feel of dryer-tightened jeans and SOFT fluffy towels. However, as a good friend told me, "A crunchy towel means you know it's clean!"

Yes, I've come to see that Americans are a little over-zealous with the cleaning habits. Both for clothing and for body. My guys are yet astonished that I shower EVERY day. This especially bothers my husband in the winter months and I have been repeatedly scolded for not allowing my bodily oils to congregate and protect me from infection and disease. I confess that every once in a while, I skip a day. This is always on a weekend. And I now generally wash my hair only every other day. And you know what, it's all very normal to me now. 

I wish I could say that I thought my clothing would last longer because they aren't being bumped around in a dryer. But the clothes washers here seem to be especially brutal on clothing!

I'll depart with this image, also taken on yesterday's sojourn, of a truck stacked high with hay which will help someone's herds makes it through the bitter months of cold that are imminent. I'm fairly confident that Mongolia does not have laws that stipulate the maximum height of stacking done on a truck!