Work

Hey. Excuse me for not posting something for a long time. I've just been really busy these past weeks.

My work is very satisfying. I do a variety of activities,
so I'm never at the same task for too long. I organize paperwork,
check files, and go on errands. Mostly, though, I translate.
A couple of days ago, I translated an entire pamphlet for the organization that I
work for! Our organization's stated main mission is to advance democracy and human rights. To that end, we do many other good things. We have programs
that range from those that help teenage mothers to helping recent migrants to providing scholarships for students who cannot pay their educational expenses. Yes. I like my work here. On the other hand, the campaign here is going full swing. Every few meters, there is a poster advertising some candidate. There is so much competition. However, our party is very underfunded compared to the other two major
ones. And that situation is frustrating.

On a funny note, a while back, I noticed a clothing store with a rather funny sign. It proclaims "looking good is not important, it is EVERYTHING." This has got to be absurd. First of all, why is the sign in English? Isn't this Mongolia? And, second of all, looking good is everything??? Oh well. I guess it is for some people.

Here's a picture:

Dude! Cool Stuff!

Hey!

Guess what?...

My mom was on Mongolian National TV! She was on this interview show called "Face-2-Face." The interesting thing is that the show is conducted in English (good, grammatically correct English, too) with Mongolian subtitles. Since my mom is a nuclear scientist, she was asked questions about energy, particularly Mongolia's energy future, and what she thinks should happen with Mongolia's huge uranium reserves. Currently, she is an advisor to the foreign minister, so she was asked questions in that capacity as well. She was also asked questions about Mongolia's higher education and how fast Mongolia's developing and what she likes to do in her free time.

All right, this post has almost nothing to do with me, but I was so proud of my mommy. :)

Here's a picture I took of the TV:

A Camel Ride

I RODE A CAMEL!!!!!!!!! I can't believe it! MUHAHAHAHAHA!!

This Saturday, my uncle took me and the rest of the family to the beautiful countryside, and we encountered some camels whose owners let people ride them for a small fee. I was ecstatic. A camel ride? Whatever else could I wish for? I had been looking forward to this moment for all my life.

The camels were very gentle and big. They must have thought something like, "why is this boy jumping around me screaming things? Did I upset him? He seems agitated."

Well, Mr. Camel, I WAS agitated: agitated by extreme excitement!!!

Here are some glorious pictures:




Some startling realizations, or rather, discoveries: the camel hump is a lot harder than I thought. I expected something soft, something like a water balloon perhaps, but, alas, that is not the case. And when one sits on top of a camel, one is very high off from the ground, so a big ouch if one falls off. However the hump feels or however high I am, the camel is my new favorite animal. I want it to be my zoo animal ;)

I was sad to leave the camels. I want my own pet camel now. I shall name it, Fabio because I've always been partial to the name Fabio. Wait a minute... what if I get a GIRL camel for a pet? Then Fabio won't do. Any ideas, my dear readers?