1 Feb 2011

It is pretty cold here.  The ground in constantly frozen.  Some days have been -50 degrees.  We walk a couple of blocks to the mission office building and about three blocks to the school where we teach English.  It is a private school and one of the more modern buildings.  We have been teaching the director/principal for the past two days.  We will start teaching the older students on Monday.  We can find some American foods in the stores here but they can be pricey.  But we are not starving.  The Mongolian saints are very friendly and so happy to have us here.  The pic of me is how I dress to go outside and I still get cold.  But they are going into their spring here so it should start to get a little warmer.  The Chinghiss Khan hotel is across the street from our apartment.  We have always learned that it was Genghis Khan but it is really Chinghiss Khan(pronounced Hann).  Khan means king.  The pic of the car on its side is how they do repairs here.  They put a tire in the window of the car for it to rest on when they put it on it's side, and then they work on it. Very interesting! And the traffic is crazy here.  Everyone cuts in and makes u-turns in the middle of the road, and turns in front of oncoming traffic, but very rarely do you see anyone get angry.  We have seen some fender benders though. And there is alot of traffic!  The pedestrians do not have right away here so crossing the road each day is quite the feat.  Tom is not looking forward to driving and I know that I will not drive!  We need more senior couples over here because we have some that are going home soon, so if you would like to come, we would love to have you.