I celebrated another birthday in Mongolia! Despite all my efforts to not mention or otherwise tip off my friends that my birthday was coming, they remembered and organized a wonderful birthday dinner at the Mongolian Barbeque.

On Tuesday, Magcar, Amaraa and I went to a mining city about 2 1/2 hours east of UB to conduct an inservice for primary school teachers. You can see how nice the school is, and what a view they have from the playground! I began the workshop with an introduction to constructivism and a group activity, Amaraa followed with a lecture on the theoretical basis for problem solving in math, and Magcar finished up with words of wisdom and the awarding of certificates. Afterwards, we were treated to dinner and we capped our day with a visit to the statue of Natsagdorj, a very famous Mongolian writer who lived a short, but very productive life. Another great Mongolian adventure.

I apologize for the placement of this part of the post, but I don't seem to be able to move it! And, I know you can determine the difference between the birthday party and the workshop.....

Happy Women's Day! March 8 is a national holiday. You have to love a country that celebrates women, children and teachers - all national holidays. The men in our department had a small party and gave each of us a rose and a phone card. The director of our school, Enkhtsetseg, gave me the large bouquet and box of candy. Colleagues gave greetings, candy and cards. One of my classes gave me the picture with Noble in Mongolian script and a bouquet of lollipops. No school tomorrow - more visiting and celebrating. So, Happy International Women's Day.

Long story, short. I do not have the correct visa in order to be paid by the University, so the plan was for me to leave Mongolia for three days and return with the appropriate paperwork. My good friend and colleague, Amaraa, agreed to accompany me to Inner Mongolia, Erlian, to be exact.
We took a train (15 hours there and 16 hours back). Here is Amaraa making up her berth in our six - eight person open car.

It snowed the whole time - beautiful and white, also very slippery! The large square sported the monument of the dinosaur! Not sure why, but it was different enough to catch the eye.

We stayed at the Ken Te Hotel. Nice enough, but bad phone connections. So, we found ourselves a corner office a few blocks away!

I, of course, took along knitting. Amaraa brought her Mongolian embroidery, which is quite stunning. She also does Khazak embroidery which is beautiful, but not as exacting as this.

We saw several women knitting in the malls. They use very long double point needles (you use four at a time) which looked quite dangerous! This women didn't want her face in the picture, but was pleased we admired her work.

We ventured into a Chinese Hot Pot restaurant, and although neither of us quite knew the protocol, we managed to have fun and a good meal.

Lots of shopping - very good deals and the exchange rate was amazing. We shopped in the markets, the centers, the supermarket and the food market. We shopped a lot while waiting for a number to take to the consulate in order to get my new visa.

Alas, we were not successful in securing a new visa. So, we experienced sunset on the Gobi as we departed, and there will be a chapter 2 to this story.

An adventure we may not have needed in order to get a visa, but one that was fun and not unproductive. I learned some Mongolian, bought a bottz steamer (and a few other things) and Amaraa and I mapped out her doctoral research!

Another Tsagaan Sar - Lunar New Year. I was invited to many friends' homes for traditional visiting and had a wonderful time. The University established greeting day on the third day of Tsagaan Sar. There are many rituals and protocols involved. You will notice I am in my deel, and that I am seated. Greeting is by age - eldest first, so I'm seated and very near the head of the line!

Bottz are the traditional New Year food - every meal! They are usually regular pastry white, but our new Home Ec teacher managed to dye them for our greeting. What looked like a plate of Easter Eggs turned out to be delicious bottz.

I am standing with our Director, Enkhtsetsg (to my right) and Tsotsog, a teacher in our department.

After greeting in our building and departments, we went to the Main Building to greet the President and other administrative officials.

As if all the celebration around Tsagaan Sar weren't enough, my colleague Oyuntungalag had a birthday! I was invited to a wonderful dinner to celebrate this special day. Anu, her daughter, is a possible future Columbia College woman!

Well, I am expecting an unexpected adventure this weekend - perhaps there will be an interesting post early next week.....

Last Friday was Teacher's Day. I National Holiday to celebrate teachers at all levels. What a great idea! Our University cut our classes to one hour each, and then hosted an amazing party for 400 - 500 faculty in a converted warehouse.

There was wonderful food, substantial drink and national entertainment. And, lots of loud music for dancing - and we did! I enjoyed celebrating with all my colleagues.

Well, I'm back in UB. First surprise, I was met at the airport by 7 colleagues (it was nearly midnight). I have a cozy apartment in The Teacher's Dorm. Second surprise, the school got a facelift and a new statue of two children reading a poem about teachers out front. Third surprise, I am teaching 12 classes, each 90 minutes, each week. It is good to be working here again.

Rick and I have been raising funds to establish a book ger in UB - a place where children can come and have access to books, toys, paper, crayons - stuff kids like, and need.

Thanks to generous friends and family, we were able to fund a new book ger in the northwestern part of UB. This district is especially poor. Many of the children who come to the book ger are street children, and several others live in gers with little heat. Parents can bring their children to enjoy a little heat and a lot of fun.

The book ger was very busy with children, volunteers and parents. There is a nice plaque on the outside of the building that says Lynne and Friends. And, by the way, we're working to raise money for another one! Join us.....

Well, it seems that good things do not end. I am heading back to Mongolia next week for four months. I will be able to work with my colleagues again at the Teacher's School of the Mongolia State University of Education. I am very excited to be able to continue my work and see all my good friends. I will also get to see, first hand, the Book Ger that was established due to the generous contributions of friends and family. There will be plenty of pictures of that! I hope you will join me on this continuing journey.