Today marks my second week in UB (Ulaanbaatar) and it it has been exhausting. Freezing temperatures, inebriation, pollution, traffic, language barrier, surprise dog pregnancies, the list goes on and it can make for an terribly tiring week. It is most definitely not the USA.

Drinking is very prevalent in Mongolia, and not just at the club scene. After the Soviet Regime fell in the 90's, Mongolians adopted much of the Soviet's culture and practices that the Russians left them with, including vodka. I have witnessed countless drunks stumbling into traffic and floundering on the sidewalk, or even passed out completely. It is not uncommon to find the streets littered with empty bottles of vodka and frozen puke (We call them sidewalk pizzas). Sadly though, the drinking has become a problem for our neighboring caretaker at the facilities, where we care for our dogs. It is a delicate situation we are in but there is a constant hassling from him. Regularly he will ask us to buy him and his buds vodka and cause trouble in general. Although, Doug and I are not the ones affected the most. It is OUR caretaker, Suldee, who must deal with the constant nuisance and stupidity of this caretaker and his friends. I am concerned this will cause us problems in the future, and it is a shame because Suldee is an incredible worker, who deserves better, but for now there is little we can do. It is a sad situation and often slows down our progress but, in the end, just another day in Mongolia.

Classic end to the day... Tired and participating in the traffic...

And some more pictures from our trip to the country side to buy sheep.

Credit to Soyolbolod Serguleng for these 3 pictures. Soyolbolod is our translator and often gives us sound advice when it comes to traditions and practices here. The native Mongolians can be stubborn, especially when listening to silly Americans. He has helped out more than a few times and is also an amazing photographer.