Sister Sarah Bottorff: Week 45 - It's November, cold, and wonderful!

It's November! And I can't believe it! Halloween was a weird blur because I saw like 2 Mongolians on buses with face paint and I got confused before I realized it was Halloween. Haha Some Mongolians celebrate it, I guess, but most don't.

Mongolia is beautiful and the weather is cold now. But still not as cold as it will end up being in December and January. But I'm trying to wear as few layers as possible. My companion says you can do that your first winter because you don't know what it will really be like yet. haha It's gonna get cold. But now it just feels like the cold part of a Colorado winter.

There is a lot to see when we are out on the streets. Lots of little shops in trailer type buildings that sell cookies and sodas and stuff. I'm a sucker for the cookies. The ones with maroon and yellow wrapping. There is always a lot of traffic and honking and breaks squealing. It snowed a couple of days ago, and the snow turns to ice and they have street sweeper people who break up the ice and clear off the sidewalks. It's the reason I haven't fallen yet. Now, the ger districts smell like coal, and the pollution is getting progressively worse. But we wear our masks, and that is a good thing. I've almost gone through my first one. Sometime next week I'll have to replace it. People stare at me. They usually have open mouths and wide eyes. There are certainly foreigners that walk around, but some people just stare like I'm the first person they've ever seen who has blonde hair. And now that my companion has red curly hair it's just magnified! :) It's always fun to go outside. :)

My conversational Mongolian is coming along! I can ask simple questions like "what did you do today" or about families or work. Sometimes I time my conversations with taxi drivers to start when I feel like there's enough time to fill before they drop me off without running out of questions. It's an art. And usually I can keep up with their answers. Usually the key to my language success is kind of being in control of the conversation. But it usually works. I ask the questions and can predict what they'll say to an extent and then keep up that way. If I'm not in control of the conversation there's no telling what I'll get or not get. It's kinda 50/50 at this point. But people don't talk slower for the most part. They just hear me say "Hello" in Mongolian and start going. So it's kinda fun. It's like a game to me! :)

Life is good! I love being here! Serving the Mongolian people makes me truly happy! I love you all!

Sister Bottorff