Hello...? Is Anybody There?

So you may have noticed that Erin and I have been remiss in our blogging these past few months. This is because we're hanging with celebrities, of course (Ringo is a great conversationalist once you get him going). It's also because we've been adapting to Mongolian time. We found the Beatles yesterday, on a busy street right in downtown Ulaanbaatar. It was our second foray into the city. Our first was more than a month ago. And WOW did the time fly between those visits.

Now, I'm not trying to make excuses, but we've been busy. And sick. And also busy. We've spent the last two months trying to get our visas sorted (and we STILL don't have alien registration cards). We only just got a bank account. Asking when there'd be money in it, we were told "Monday." On Mongolian time this meant "Thursday." Our apartment has been a bit of a struggle. And we both got the flu. Twice.

So we haven't had much opportunity to explore, and even less to write. But with any luck, that's about to change.

Mongolia is startlingly laid back about things like schedules and punctuality. I wasn't kidding when I described this as "Mongolian time." Everything takes longer than you'd expect. Even the little things. It took us a week to get someone to come fix our toilet. And even after we'd paid our utilities, they weren't actually turned back on for almost 48 hours.

It sounds like I'm complaining. And I... am. A bit. Just a bit though. Because every new culture has its adaptations. This one has just been a bit rougher than most.

But I think we've finally figured out Mongolian time. And I for one am eager to start sharing some of this magnificent culture with all of you. As of this weekend, we will be returning to our regular post schedule: once a week, on or around Sunday.

And if that occasionally means Wednesday, well, please forgive us. We're still getting used to all this, after all.

-Sam