Apr. 16th, 2003

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It was fricking cold today. It actually felt like winter again, which sucked. Ingrid and I almost froze walking around to meetings. We went to a meeting with the head of the Mongolian Agricultural Cooperatives group, and then went to the World Bank library.

I spent a good hour chatting with my mom on MSN messenger, which made me feel a lot better.

It is sort of freaky in UB right now. Everyone is wearing masks. I read in the paper that 5 people are quarantined. It is suspected that they brought SARS in from Inner Mongolia, which is actually part of China. Apparently the government told everyone to wear masks and to avoid large crowds. The outdoor markets are closed and the protest in the square was forced to halt. No outside acts, such as entertainers, will be coming in for a while.

It was so nasty out today that both Ingrid and I just felt like hibernating. We worked on a survey to administer to co-op members. We also attended a meeting with members from CUMIC (Central Union of Mongolian Industrial Co-ops). I may get to interview some old socialists, including one 90 year-old guy who organized a collective full of lamas. (Ingrid was laughing about this one, as she knows about my fascination with Buddhism and monks)

Forgot to mention that they had Chinggis Khan dolls in the shopping mall yesterday. They were about the size of Barbie dolls. Now children can play "Barbie goes on a date with Chinggis".

Chinggis is the Mongolian name for Genghis Khan. He is on everything. There is a camp named after him, and a hotel, and a beer, and he is on the money. He is a real symbol of the nationalism of the Mongolian people.
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I am finally feeling better. I almost feel like a normal person today!

Forgot to mention that there was a fight in my stairwell yesterday. When I got home, a drunk guy was passed out in my stairwell. I knew he was okay because he was snoring. Anyway, I guess his relatives found him, so there was lots of screaming and such. Maybe he shamed the family. I'm not sure.

Ingrid and I have what we call "the neighborhood recycling program". There are people who pick through the garbage bins and pick out cans and such. Ingrid actually leaves them clothes and stuff in separate bags when she throws stuff out.

Had to go buy Mongolian yogurt yesterday. It's sold in bags. I couldn't tell if it was yogurt or milk (since milk can be sold in bags.) My solution was to hold up some Russian yogurt and say "Mongol?" "Mongol?" (which means Mongolian) and then walk around near the dairy case until someone helped me. It's a good thing I'm not ashamed to make a fool of myself.

I need to get my eyebrows waxed, so I'm going to go to a decent looking salon and point to my eyebrows and look concerned. Hopefully someone will figure out that I want some shaping. Everyone here has very nice eyebrows, so they must be doing something for them.

I forgot to mention something cool that happened yesterday. I got an email from another Canadian intern. She is working with World Vision and hopes I am still in Mongolia so she can meet me. So hopefully we will be able to meet and I might be able to make a Canadian friend my own age.
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PARIS - Cecile de Brunhoff, the French woman who inspired the creation of Babar the Elephant, has died of a stroke in Paris. She was 99.

De Brunhoff invented the tale, about a young orphaned elephant and his visit to Paris, as a bedtime story for her two sons in 1931.

Her sons told the story to their father Jean de Brunhoff, a painter and book illustrator.

He provided pictures and expanded on the story. De Brunhoff named the elephant Babar and created a cast of supporting characters including Celeste, Zephir and the "Old Lady," who takes care of young Babar after his mother is killed.

The Story of Babar, published in 1931, was to include the credit "as told by Cecile de Brunhoff ." But she asked her name be removed, saying her role in the story was minor.

Her husband went on to write and illustrate seven Babar books. His son, Laurent, continued after his death in 1937, writing and illustrating more than 40 Babar books.

Cecile de Brunhoff was an accomplished pianist and a graduate of the prestigious Paris music college, the Ecole Normale de Musique.

For more arts news, listen to The Arts Report weekdays at 7:12 a.m., 8:12 a.m. and 5:55 p.m. on CBC Radio Two.



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