Bukhara!

Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

My last meal before leaving for the States tonight was a real treat: I stopped by the newly re-opened Bukhara restaurant (just opposite the Flower Center off of Peace Avenue) for a late lunch, and the "Bukhara Salad" (roasted eggplant, roasted peppers, tomatoes and pieces of beef) was heavenly. The restaurant is very nicely decorated, too.

I'll be back for sure.

Choi Jin Temple Museum

Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

Friday, June 24, 2011

Sometimes it takes a long time to be a tourist in the city where you live. Today, finally, I made it to the Choi Jin Temple Museum which lies about a mile from where we live. It's a very nice place to visit, though it has not been an active temple since the mid 1930's.

UW site that describes this museum: http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/museums/choijin/choijin.html

Or Wikipedia's somewhat dull entry: Choi Jin Temple Museum

Sports Day!

Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

Friday, June 24, 2011

It's the final week of A's pre-school, and today was Sports Day. We arrived this morning just as the teachers were hanging the flags which the children had colored previously in the week. I didn't get all the details on the events themselves, but A reports winning her Dragon Fly Medal for some competition involving running and pouring water.

We're going to miss this lovely school.

Summer flowers

Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Summer's here at last, and it's picnic time in the hills outside Ulaanbaatar. The hills are lush and green and the flowers amazing!

Park clean up

Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

I spent the morning in a nearby national park picking up trash with my students. Some of my students complained that they shouldn't have to clean up other people's messes. But if we all thought that way...

Anyhow, it was a gorgeous location and in three hours the 100+ of us hauled away a huge mountain of garbage. And we enjoyed some stunning scenery in the meantime.

Washing windows

Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Spent today with my students on a service project at a small Buddhist nunnery here in UB. Each day this week the students are helping to prepare food in the soup kitchen which provides a mid-day meal for homeless people in the area. They are also doing some manual labor and teaching English classes to neighborhood kids.

It feels good to see my students busy doing something outside the classroom.

Nature walk

Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

Monday, June 6, 2011

As the end of the school year approaches, another teacher and I were inspired to arrange an "art in nature" field trip to the old Observatory outside of Ulaanbaatar. The rain poured down as we drove out there but the weather, changeable as always, cleared up enough for a delightful nature walk combined with picnic and a small art project. Spring!

Unfinished business

Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

Monday, June 6, 2011

This week I decided it was time to round up the unfinished projects from my after school sewing activity and FINISH them. Some of the girls had done really lovely work but had not quite found the time to finish their projects.

I am not sure it was "sending the right message" to finish the projects myself, but I couldn't bear to let them languish unfinished.

Here's one student's work (a hand bag), all sewn up and ready to use.