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.