Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
Friday, August 28, 2009
For our first 2 weeks of work here in UB, Frank carried out a heroic commute twice a day: load A into the bus at 7:55am, get her out at the intersection near the train tracks, (or, if you miss the bus, walk a ½ mile to the main road because taxis don't come to our neighborhood), hail a taxi, get the baby into the taxi, and ride to the babysitter’s house. After dropping off A at the sitter's, he’d hail another taxi and head for work. In the afternoon the process would repeat itself in reverse—except then he’d often be juggling A, the stroller, AND bags of groceries. Papa, the heroic commuter!
In addition to all that, I should mention that the traffic in UB is harrowing, and crossing the street is particularly scary in some places.
A week ago, we took the plunge and hired a driver for 2 hours a day. This gentleman shows up twice a day, and after Frank installs A's car seat, this guy does some amazing driving. We knew that he had served with the Mongolian army in Iraq, but yesterday we learned something new. When Frank complimented him on a particularly amazing bit of driving, he said in his few words of English: "I drove tanks in Iraq."
His name? In Mongolian it means “solid hero.”
Hero, indeed!
