Random observations

I don't have much time to post today, as I have a meeting to be at in under an hour. But I will leave you with a few noteworthy observations about UB:

Traffic. The streets here are Soviet-style, mile-wide behemoths, and every time I have to cross one it's like playing a real-life game of Frogger. Traffic signals are trivial annoyances to drivers, who brake only for larger cars. Within the first couple of days I had to become very comfortable with the idea of wandering out into the middle of a busy street and identifying the narrow gaps between alternating traffic lanes where I am least likely to be rammed by an oncoming grill.

Weather. The weather is crazily unpredictable here. The first few days that we were here, the temperature hung around the high 80s/low 90s. Then, out of the blue yesterday, the temperature dropped into the 30s and I went from t-shirt and shorts to heavy coat, scarf, etc. Today, not 12 hours later, it again blazingly hot. WTF. Also, on related note, the pollution is kind of insane. Some days it's so hazy from both smog and sand that it's difficult to make anything out half a mile down the road. Today it's refreshingly clear, but who knows what tomorrow will bring!

Eclectic. I feel like that adjective best describes the strange mix of architecture, infrastructure, and language that constitute the cityscape here. Buildings alternate between Soviet concrete blocks, Buddhist monasteries, and ultramodern glassy skyscrapers. Signs are plastered with a confusing mixture of traditional Mongolian script, cyrillic, and English. And streets and sidewalks are paved in 1,001 different ways, alternating every 100 feet. The only thing that remains constant from block to block is potholes and crumbling concrete. Oh also, there are many Mongolian restaurants here, but Western travelers certainly need not resign themselves to weeks and weeks of mutton, as there are also a great variety of moderately delicious international choices as well. We've already enjoyed pizza and hamburgers (recipes slightly tweaked) this week, so it hasn't been quite as much of a culture shock as I had expected. I still have yet to enjoy a real cup of coffee, though. Oh how I crave it!

That's all I have time for now. Stay well!