Break dance

Hey y'all. I last wrote on Sunday, and since then not much excitement has occurred worth writing about. Except for one really fantastic thing. Which I will get to momentarily.

Sunday, Mark and I discovered the utility and practicality of the common room kitchen, whipping up some pasta with red and green peppers, cheese, and herbs de provence. It was fairly magnifico. Inspired, I rushed out to the Sky Department Store on Monday afternoon post-work to buy more supplies and since have maintained a steady dinnertime diet of Korean noodles with peppers and mushrooms. This evening, to spice it up further, I ate a few pieces of nori and a slice of cheese. Outrageous, I know. Also, I finished the last of my Stella Artois, which was starting to get a little skunky at six months beyond its expiration date (yeah--they don't seem to care about expiration dates here so much). In other quotidian domestic news, I hauled my first load of laundry over to the local Metro Express, across from the Chinggis Hotel. In the future, if anyone ever contends that Mongolia is a third world country, remind them that UB just barely passes for "Mongolia"; the charge for two loads of laundry was 12,500 tugrugs, or almost 12 bucks USD. Call me crazy, but that's not really so cheap.

As for work, things have started to get fairly interesting. I am going ahead with the topic that I had mentioned on Sunday, although I think my research will probably incorporate some other related issues as well. On Monday I felt like I had just been thrown into the topic with no real bearings or leads. But since then I've managed to find a number of resources, which have developed the socio-politico-economic context for mining in Mongolia and address fiscal and ownership policy and regulation in the industry. Additionally, I've come across the names of a few people who may turn out to be valuable contacts. So in three days I've gone from being hopelessly under-informed to being buried under a landslide of information. Help(?)

Yesterday another summer associate, Emily, and I shared an interesting observation over lunch (at this amazing Chinese restaurant--seriously, I'll get you the name and address in case you're ever in UB--they even had hot running water in the sink; first time I'd felt hot running water in 12 days!--fantastic). The observation was this: thanks to the nature of our jobs, which involve spending long hours in an office conducting research, and the advent of broadband technology, our experience, for long stretches of time throughout the day...doesn't really differ all that much from daily life back in the United States. We paused upon reaching this realization. Don't most Americans envision Mongolia as lying at the farthest, remotest end of the earth? Doesn't the country comprise, for the most part, a vast, open wilderness where one can travel for days at a time without seeing another human being? Well, yes, actually--that description is right on target, for much of the country. But UB, in many respects, is a modern, thriving city, well-connected to the outside world. And, honestly, conducting research over the internet in an office in Ulaanbaatar feels pretty much the same as conducting research on the second floor of Foley Library or in the LBJ computer lab. On the few other international trips I've ever made--all of which have been to more economically developed countries than Mongolia--I've always felt more disconnected from home, further away, than I do now. And yet I've never been further, in a physical or cultural sense! It's powerful to realize that for many of us, the internet has become so much a routine part of our environment that despite its virtual nature it is imbued with the same degree of familiarity as our living room might be. Further, it's almost baffling to think that over the course of the last week, I've held conversations (via G-chat) with friends in family in such disparate places as Washington State; Washington, DC; Los Angeles; Austin; Nairobi; New Dehli; and northern Thailand. Halfway across the globe in far-off, foreign land, and yet I am able to spend my lunch break hearing about the latest preparations for my sister's wedding from my mom, or how a friend was just in a car accident but, thank goodness, is just fine. It's almost...too easy. Not that I'm complaining! But I can only imagine that life for expats here must have been very different not more than five to ten years ago.

One last note before signing out: Mark and I stopped in Sukhbaatar Square today where a crowd was gathering to watch none other than...Mongolian breakdancers. No shit. And they were GOOD. It was spectacular to watch. Then afterward, just for fun, Mark and I went up to talk to them. The leader of the crew spoke pretty decent English, so Mark asked him if he knew any capuera. He said he did, so he and Mark performed their own little impromptu capuera session, which drew another crowd. It was pretty cool; all I had to do was stand there and I just looked cool by association.

That's all for tonight; most of you on the west coast are probably just getting up, but it is time for me to hit the hay! See you again in a few days.