Ulaanbaatar, MongoliaTuesday, November 10, 2009
When H1N1 hit Ulaanbaatar about a month ago things seemed to happen pretty quickly. First the face masks came out, and then Fall school vacations started early. Next, school vacations were extended indefinitely. On Friday, October 30th, the order went out to close all daycares and pre-schools. It was our turn to "feel the pain" as we were now without childcare.
A week ago on Nov. 3rd, a state of "high alert" went into effect closing all cultural and sporting events, marketplaces, clubs and bars (after 9pm), public gatherings, primary and secondary schools, and delaying all non-emergency surgeries at local hospitals. The Ministry of Education is making plans to start broadcasting school lessons on television.
This evening Frank arrived home with some heavenly Indian food and the latest edition of the UB Post.
The headline article about H1N1 brought this interesting point to my attention:
"Doctors recommend general public to eat more vitamin-rich foods, drink seabuckthorn juices and to consume more horsemeat, garlic and cruds (sic) to keep the winter flu at bay."
I don't know about garlic (although the proprietor of the Indian restaurant informed Frank that the price of garlic has risen 500% locally), but I'd certainly stay away from the "cruds".
Dried milk curds, however, ARE a tasty and important staple of the Mongolian diet.
