Getting settled in

Hello again! I've now been in UB for about a week and a half. I'm happy to report that the jetlag is pretty much gone and I'm settling right into the swing of things. I've figured out how to coax my stove into boiling water, found where the best exchange rate for dollars is, and filled my fridge with food.

Here's what I've been up to!

So last week I checked out a Mongolian language school. Unfortunately, their intermediate class was too advanced for me, and their private lessons were quite expensive. I was able to buy a textbook and now will be looking for a language partner to help me with the book in exchange for English lessons.

Thursday I came home and was watching TV (the tv gets BBC and national geographic! woo!) when I hear a *drip drip drip*. It's not coming from the bathroom sink or shower like normal, it's in the kitchen. I look in and WATER IS DRIPPING FROM THE CEILING. I'm thinking... this is bad! So I call my landlady and she RUNS over because, from how I described things, she thinks a pipe has burst. Then she RUNS upstairs to the neighbors and starts shouting at them, and then drags them downstairs and marches them in to survey the damage. So they leave with vague promises to call someone to fix it. She then calls the internet repairman, who shows up and manages to set up the internet in a snap. Then she calls a plumber and he comes and takes a look at the water damage as well. Then she goes back upstairs to talk to the neighbors and they've pulled a runner and given her a bad phone number. Yikes! What a crazy evening.

Saturday I met up with some other researchers and we went to Novel Melody, a concert by the morin khuur (horse-head fiddle) ensemble. They played some South American songs, a lot of George Gershwin, and capped it off with a Michael Jackson medley! See it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNhtaTGPnlI

Compare it to the traditional music they play: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mi_2Cr7jnY

It was definitely interesting!

That's all for now! I'll post again soon :)