First day at work

Caught the bus out to Lotus today.  All the windows had ice frozen on the inside...I had to scratch a small circle with my fingernail so I could work out if I was on the right bus or not.  Luckily the bus stop near lotus has a bright orange petrol station right out the front so I could see where to jump off...and I do mean jump off as you have practically have to jump off while the bus is still moving and try to land on the icy road without slipping over.  Once off the bus it was a short walk through the neighbourhood, past the piles of frozen rubbish, smokey gers and stray dogs to the orphanage.  I had one of those "oh my goodness I am living in Mongolia" moments while trudging through the snow and trying not to fall on my butt.  Today is the first day I have really felt the cold.  The weather was apparently -25 degrees this morning.  It's funny how quickly this weather becomes normal though.  This time last year I was just back from my stint in Phuket and never would I have guessed that in a years time I would be wearing fur lined boots and woolen thermals.  I will never complain about the cold in Australia again.

At Lotus I settled into my office and had time to look at my work plan and what I wanted to achieve for the year.  There was a constant flow of people coming in and out of the front door at Lotus.  The driver, the cook, house mothers, gardeners, the fire man and of course the Lotus kids.  Many people popped their heads into the office to see who was this white girl sitting there behind the desk.  I've realised that I need to extend my welcome vocabulary to more than just 'sain banuu.'  It's strange being in a space where there is so much energy but you cannot understand any of the conversations.  I felt a little useless today not being able to communicate with people...especially being a social worker.  There is only so many times you can ask someone - how are you, what is your name, where do you come from and do you like meat.  Goal for this month = find a translator as becoming fluent in Mongolian may take a little longer!

Ankaa is a fifteen year old boy I met today.  I asked him why he was not at school and he said that he didn't like school he only liked to sing.  He then proceeded to open up his notebook and sing a whole heap of Mongolian songs to me while sitting on my desk.  After his impromptu concert he then drew me a picture...

sorry for crappy lighting but I'm too tired to correct it.  It says:
Mongolia Ankaa
I'm from Mongolia