End of the Year

Greetings and Salutations! I hope everyone had a great Christmas season and celebrated the real reason for the season. Happy New Year from Mongolia! I can't believe that I have been here for almost 11 months. Where does the time go?

Sorry for not posting these past 15 days - sickness and holidays came and encouraged me to not blog....but we shall see what 2012 brings! 

Here are some pictures of the holiday decorations around Ulaanbaatar

Ice Sculptures in front of the Louis Vuitton Building

 Paris

 New York!

Europe

Santa, he came to town along with his Coca-Cola 

 Marco Polo!

Sukhbaatar Square

 Pretty Sweet New Year's Tree

 Translation: Happy New Year!

Yarn

Hi, my name is Pam and I’m a yarn-a-holic.

I had a sudden realization this week: I like yarn. I like to make things with yarn. I like to look at yarn. I like to buy yarn. I really like to go to yarn stores. I like to learn new ways to use yarn. Yarn yarn yarn yarn. However, there is a problem here in Mongolia: yarn is not that easy to find. When I do find it, it is either cheap acrylic yarn (not so bad if you are really desperate….which I am) or expensive Mongolian wool yarn.  So, I am sitting with the last skein of cotton yarn that I brought with me this March (I only brought 3 skeins) and am working it and then un-raveling and re-working it. But, I am learning as I go some new stitches and am using the crochet hooks that my parents sent in the last package.

Here are a couple of videos I have been watching and learning how to crochet in the ‘Tunisian’ style of crocheting.   

Sites to See in Mongolia

Sightseeing in Mongolia is something that one should experience with people who know what they are doing. This past month my roommate's father came for a visit and we were taken to see some unique sites in the surrounding area by one of our EXCEL students. It was an amazing adventure and is something that I will remember always.

Chingis Khaan - 40 meters tall and covered in 250 tons of stainless steel

Traditional Mongolian Boot

The entrance to the statue

Our two guides! The one in the hat is our student and the other is her husband

The Golden Whip

Chingis Khaan - up close and personal

Holding the golden whip

Roommate's Dad!

Me, roommate, and Dad

Castle from the Movie Mongol (if you haven't seen it, check it out!)

The whole gang! (I'm taking the picture)

A puppy we met along the way 

Camels!

The entrance to the Princess Monastery

Steps leading to the monastary

Horses

Another puppy!

Fearless leader!

The monastery

Prayer wheels

Turtle Rock!

Snowflakes

Dictionary.com defines a snowflake as follows: 

1. One of the small, feathery masses or flakes in which snow falls. The pictures below, while not my own, are the type of snowflakes that adorned my gloves and scarf as I walked into the city center today. 

Each individual snowflake is unique and a work of art. Have you ever taken the time to look at an individual snowflake? They really are amazing and something that I would highly recommend taking the time to stand outside with a black piece of paper when it snows outside. The little flakes you catch will be pretty amazing and perhaps something you will remember in the future.