Yesterday's encounter with an asshole

So yesterday I was checking out of my hotel and was taking the elevator down with all my bags. A guy got on the elevator and asked me where I was from.

Me- Canada
Him- Really, well how come you're so dark? Canadians are white.
(I was completely floored. Apparently he lives in a different Canada than I do.)

Me (after a quick recovery)- My mother is half Chinese
HIm- Oh, so where are you from?
Me- Saskatoon.
Him- I'm from Vancouver.
Me- Oh.

We then both checked out, and he proceeded to fight with the desk clerk. I swear, some people shouldn't be let out of their homes.

Yesterday's events

Most of yesterday was spent at the airport. I took a taxi to the airport. THe taxis in Beijing have a screen in between the driver and the passenger, which is sort of weird. I proceeded to lock myself in the cab, which amused the driver to no end.


A porter helped me find my gate, and I had to sit on my luggage waiting for the ticket booths to open for about two hours. Then the ticket takers arrived and spent 15 minutes tearing tickets before they served us. By this time, I was about ready to fall asleep.

I had to pay extra money because my bags were too heavy. Had to get a woman to help me use the ATM, as it was all in Chinese and I had no clue what to do.

In my 24 hours in China, I managed to learn the words for "tea" and "Thank you". Handy little words.

Eventually we finally boarded the plane. The flight was full of all sorts of people- Mongolians, Australians, Koreans, Chinese, and a couple Americans. I ended up sitting next to a freaky guy who started talking about Jesus. He also wanted me to read his religious pamphlet. He made me uncomfortable, so finally I put on the airplane headphones and pretended to listen to the music.

I was extremely tired, and was feeling sort of sick because I'd tried some meat earlier on.

I noticed that Mongolian women have these very strange boots. They are really pointy.

Ingrid and Bryan Tudor (who is running the worker co-op) picked me up at the airport. I was thronged by eager Mongolians, meeting their relatives. We drove to the hotel. Can't tell you much about Mongolia yet, because it was dark.

I slept and am now hanging out. Soon I will be going to look for apartments with Ingrid, my supervisor. So far my grave mistake today has been eating a pat of butter, which I thought was cheese.

(no subject)

Well, I got my first taste of Mongolia, and yes, it looks very Soviet. I am happy to report that it is much more modern than I expected. There are signs everywhere, which is a new phenomenon, I guess. Mongolians did not learn how to advertise until a while ago. Some signs are in English too. Because I can read a bit of stuff in 4 languages, I am able to read and understand more than I thought I would be able to.

I went over to my supervisor's this morning. We will be working out of her apartment. The style of apartment here reminds me a lot of MOntreal apartments. Ulaan Baatar is rather run down, but fairly modern, I guess.

Ingrid filled me in on some things about Mongolia and our program, and then we went to look for apartments. We just looked at one today, but it was okay. My apartment will be fully furnished, which is nice. It's just a concern to make sure that it's secure and has decent power and water systems.

After that, we went to a Mongolian bank for business. Elevators are in short supply in MOngolia, and the stairs are all different levels, which is interesting, to stay the least.

Ingrid and I went for a walk around. The scenery off in the distance is beautiful. Lovely mountains.

One strange thing is that there are no payphones. Instead people stand on the side of a street with a phone, and then you pay to use it.

We went for lunch at Millie's, which is a place famous for expat food. They also have magazines and English newspapers. I read about those endangered horses (Takhi horses). I want to go and see the rehabilitation centre for them. Apparently it's only about 2 hours away.
Ingrid and I went to the market after, which was interesting. I was surprised to see what they had. Everything is imported, but there is quite the variety available, including fruits and vegetables!!
I came back home after lunch, and Ingrid went to do some business. I'm still pretty tired, but I went to the store and bought some French chocolate. I have fashion tv in my hotel room, which is bizarre, but oh so watchable.

Go Mongolian ambassador!!

The American ambassador in Mongolia resigned because she is against the war. Way to go lady!! (Mongolians are generally against the war as well.) And they are generally not Anti-American, like lots of other countries in the world.