Our first visitors in Mongolia

zieak ♦ June 15, 2012 ♦ Leave Your Comment

When Pepper and I were in Bangkok a month and a half ago I received an email from an acquaintance that I had a connection with in Petersburg.  She had worked in Wrangell as a reporter similar to Mike Tozzo.  She sent me a note saying she and her boyfriend were in Bangkok as well and wondered if we wanted to meet up.  Unfortunately we were not able to connect.

But the opportunity was just waiting.  Lisa and Scott were headed through Mongolia on the train and stopped here a few days ago.  We offered to have them crash at our place while they are here and after their first night they accepted.  I had met Scott briefly in Petersburg a few years ago and Lisa and I never had much more than casual greetings in passing so it has been really great to get to know them better.  They have finished a year of teaching in Bhutan and are on their way back to Tanzania to teach there again.  It is great to swap stories about southeast Alaska, teaching, and travel.  Scott worked with people I know, Lisa knows a number of my friends, they have been to places we want to go and we can share stories about the classroom or travels so our conversations feel incredibly natural for people that have never really spent any time together before.

Their first night we went and watched one of the Euro Cup games at a beer tent outside of the Grand Khan Irish Pub.  Portugal vs. Denmark.  Last night we had Korean food and then watched and listened to Altan Urag – a Mongolian folk band.  They combine traditional instruments and throat singing with modern music techniques, a drum set, rap-like vocals and modified instruments for a really great musical experience.

Tomorrow we leave on our adventure towards home for the summer.  They will stay in Mongolia for another week before heading along the Trans-Siberian railroad through Russia towards their eventual flight to Tanzania.