Wednesday Writings

A couple tidbits to share: here's a pic of me in our apartment entryway.  We've hung this world map in each of our apartments, and it gets used quite often in conversations. 

The picture was taken so I could show you my new boots I purchased for the equivalent of $16 at the Mongolian/Russian border town of Sukhbaataar.  I love them.  They are comfy (a must for me!), they're fur-lined (my feet got hot in them last night!), and they're boots (95% of the women you see outside are wearing "fashion" boots from October to April).  My only boots last winter were my heavy, -40 degree, clomping monster boots.  Don't get me wrong...I'll still use them once the really cold weather hits.  However, these are my "fashion" boots, when the occassion calls for something a little dressier..like when we're teaching.

It appears I bought these just in time.  This is what we woke up to this beautiful Wednesday morning:

I'm sure we'll still have many beautiful days ahead, but winter is beginning to descend upon us!

Random Thoughts on Cold and Language

You know it's cold when....

you and your husband are walking to a friend's house and it's -24 degrees F and you say, "What a beautiful evening," and then you realize the temperature and how positive 24 degrees even feels cold...but you'd take that right now! (This happened a couple hours ago!)

the sun shines, but we don't see any sign of melting on sidewalks or streets.
your eyelashes freeze together (top and bottom) with frozen tears after a 10 minute walk. (Really fun when mixed with mascara and you get chunks of black ice!)

you are riding a city bus and you can't see out the windows because they're totally frosted over. Fortunately, we've memorized the bus stops, so we pay attention to how many stops and then we know when to get off.

you take your hand out of your mitten to answer your cell phone and your fingers hurt within 5 seconds.

Today, I was standing at a bus stop for 15 minutes waiting for the correct bus while I was thinking about these things. Brrrrrr!

And, now a random celebration: I was riding the bus and it stopped to get gas about 1/4 mile from my destination bus stop, so I walked to the front and asked the bus driver "Be Boey", meaning "I want to get off".  He let me off.  Ahhh! Language works! I was so happy to have learned that phrase last week!  I didn't want to wait for the gas...it could take 2 min or 10 min...and I wanted to get home.  So, I walked 1/3 to 1/2 mile home, and never saw the bus pass me.  Anyway, I just thought I'd share my happiness over learning a little more language!

Brrrrrrrr! #2

I recently (November 13) blogged about the large quantity of clothing one must put on before venturing out into the cold.  This is true, no matter where one lives.  However, if one depends on one's legs to get around quite often, one appreciates the extra warm items even more.  So, I had Kevin take a photo of me before I ventured out one morning on a -20 degree F. morning (yes, please note the negative mark before the 20).  We think 20 degrees ABOVE zero feels great, now!



From top to bottom: A Carhartt balaclava (hat w/face mask), scarf knitted by my mother in law (a must to keep air from whisking in at the neck, with the added bonus of looking a little more fashionable since the balaclava ruins all fashion sense), long North Face coat recommended by Sharon W., double layer on my hands which includes some cheap-o gloves bought from a sidewalk stand across the street for a mere 1500 Tugriks which is just a bit over $1 USD, and wool mittens made for me by Dianna P., long johns under my jeans, and finished off at the bottom with my wonderfully comfortable and warm Columbia boots which were advertised to be warm to -40 degrees.  I haven't gotten to test that claim out yet, but they work for -20!  I'm usually not a brand-name shopper, but when you're buying clothing for staying warm in ultra-cold conditions, it's worth it.  Many off-brand items just don't measure up. 

A little cold weather antidote: Last week we walked for 15 minutes in the -20 air.  My eyes were watering from the cold.  Pretty soon, my top eyelashes were sticking to my bottom ones.  Why?  Because the water from my tears was freezing and making ice to stick the lashes together.  I had to take my mittens off to clean the lashes off; there were tiny chunks of mascara-laden ice.  Why do I even bother with makeup?!

Brrrrrrrr!

Winter has officially hit.  It was 4 degrees F this morning at 8 a.m.  Granted, it has been cold the past two weeks.  It's been dipping into the teens, but even the teens feel tolerable when you move just a few degrees cooler every day. 

However, the trick to living in cold weather is dressing for cold weather.  I don't have a picture to post here at this point and have no desire to get all dressed up just to take a photo, so let me describe the "get up" I "get on" before venturing outside. 

This morning I put on long underwear and thick jeans as well as wool socks.  Two layers for shirts is a must.  Then, my wonderful, black "North Face" coat recommended to me by Sharon W. (thanks Sharon!), a scarf, an ear headband hanging around my neck to tuck in where any cold air might seep in around my neckline, a Carhartt facemask hat, and a pair of cheap-o gloves from a sidewalk stand in Ulaanbaatar which serve as my "lining" under some wonderful wool mittens made for me by Dianna P. (thanks Dianna!). 

As I took my 15 minute walk over to a friend's house this morning in the 4 degree weather, I was quite happy to find that really the only cold part of me was from right below my eyebrows to right under my bottom eyelashes--the only part of me which was exposed.  Perhaps I could invent heated goggles and then I'd be set!

Another thing which really helps to keep warm is running for part of the journey.  I was actually warm enough to take my hat off a block from my destination. 

Perhaps I'll soon have someone take a picture of me with all my goodies being worn!  Until then, just picture a black abominable snowman running the streets of UB.

A Restful Sunday

We had a 40 minute walk this morning to our Sunday morning gathering. I didn't check the temperature, but suffice it to say, it was COLD. Halfway there, we all had white frosted tips on our eyelashes and eyebrows. We looked quite frosty! I wanted to take a picture, but I also didn't want to hold us up out in the cold any longer than necessary! I'm guessing it was -20, give or take 5 degrees. Micah and I had our hats that have face masks which come over our nose and cheeks. One Mongolian shouted out something I didn't understand with the word "Ninja" after it! Later I asked our country director what he had said. He said "Beautiful Ninja". Ha! And I thought he was being rude!

After we got back home (another 40 minute walk), I stayed home all day, which was so nice since we've been busy bees all week. Kevin & Micah went to the store up the street to purchase a few items we needed. They bought our first box of milk. It is sort of like Carnation canned milk and we used it to make oatmeal for supper tonight (no popcorn!), and it was really yummy! We all liked it.

I experimented with new ingredients as well as a new altitude and a finicky oven, and made my first batch of cookies. I burned the first three cookies (my test cookies) to a beautiful black...but the next ones turned out great! The oven has no temperature guide, so you guess! I'm guessing it was 400-500 degrees, so my first cookies just got baked way too fast. Micah said the second sheet of cookies were the best he's had that I've ever made...hmmmm!

I also made a big pot of beef stew with the rest of the beef which had been in the freezer (thawed out overnight) and the rest of most of our veggies. The stew has potato, sweet potato, onion, carrots, fresh tomatoes, parsnip, and the beef. I simmered it several hours since Mongolian beef is a bit tough, yet tasty, and then ladeled it into three different containers. We'll have it for lunch tomorrow after our morning meeting at the office, then another two meals throughout the early part of the week.