Land of the Blue Sky

Flying above mountains of white and being the only white representative in the aircraft,  I felt a sense of impending culture shock. This was indeed a foreign country...

A juxtaposition of nomads and fashionistas share sidewalks of vodka shrapnel.

Peering through the apartment complexes and global embassies loom the mountains of whose vallies cradle iconic nomads.

I live in one of these apartment complexes with a mongolian family of three. My mother, her daughter Saina, and her 1 and a half year old daughter BoomBah(who is literally a mix between Boo from Monsters Inc. and the kid from Ice Age!)....

Each day I walk to my orphanage where I care for 10 orphaned, abandoned, or street children who are only 2 months to 1 year old.
After a 9-5 day of hugs, drool, tears, and mutton stew for all, I return to my host family for some dinner and Mongolian soap operas!
When bedtime arrives, I go to my room while the rest of the family sleeps in the living room. Bed theft, you say?
Well, before Ulaanbataar and apartments came along, Mongolian families lived in "gers" or "yurts," the round felted nomadic tents. These tents are a bedroom, kitchen, and living room all in one. In gers, there is an obvious lack of privacy and rooms. This lifestyle is still in a transitional phase in the city as I have stumbled upon whilst watching TV in the living room as my host mom and sister strip into their pajamas next to me. No shame! :)



I have become an impromptu english teacher as of late, finding eager students in parks, at home, or at work. Experiencing humorous "My Mongolian Fair Lady" moments, as one of my apprentices repeats "there is no hot water." She looks through her pocket english book and attempts to pronounce the most unnecessary of phrases: "please open the cockpit" to the grammatically lacking "I'm come from Mongolia."

Culture Shock, Ahoy!

Hey there, horsey!

Mongolian Horses!

My BoomBah!

Mongolian Earth Hour

Baby Burrito!

Snowboarding Trip on the Mongolian Mountain!

Traditional Del in a traditional landscape ♥

Tourist Ger!

How much is that orphan in the bookshelf?

Bubba Mouth!!

My camel and me!!

One does not stop to think about their Mother Tongue, until put into situations like these. Showing how to say simple words in English to a Mongolian accustomed tongue starts a game of baffling charades.

This shall continue until May-
However, in May, I will say bayartai to society and go live in a ger as a nomad for 2 weeks.
Kickin' life old school!

WOO!