Life goes on...

So, the state of emergency has ended, and life carries on as usual. The curfew has been lifted, and the soldiers are now replaced by ordinary policemen. All the TV channels are back on line, as are the radio stations. It's now possible to buy a beer again too, horaay! After last week's craziness, it was a slight relief to get back to normality (although I have to admit that I miss the excitement a little bit!).

Working at the new National Volunteer Centre - I'm currently helping out at Window to Development, a newly established NGO. Window to Development hopes to become a national volunteering centre, which members of the public can use to find out more about the volunteering opportunities that exist. It's a fun place to work in, as volunteers are always popping in and out. Also, the director Tsevelmaa is a friend of mine, so that adds to the working atmosphere. It's early days for the organisation, but they have ambitious plans. I wish them all the best for the future...

Waitrose hits Mongolia - or so I thought! As you can see in the photo, there is currently a spate of Waitrose shopping bags that Mongolians are using (for those non-British readers, Waitrose is a supermarket in Britain). Quite why Waitrose bags have made it here I don't know, but I guess it's the old case of foreign firms dumping products that they don't need. Ulaanbaatar is awash with shopping bags saying "I love New York" too (obviously the rest of the world doesn't love New York...). We get an awful lot of chickens from American coming to Ulaanbaatar too. I think that must be the result of a trade deal with the States, as I'm sure it would be cheaper to import chicken in from neighbouring China or Russia.

Another Mongolian music video for you all to enjoy! This time it's Kiwi, one of Mongolia's leading girl bands. Their song "Bi Chini Candy Girl" (I'm your candy girl) was one of the winter hits, and is still popular with youngsters throughout Mongolia. Interestingly enough, the band members are of mixed-race, which is pretty avant-garde for Mongolia. Enjoy!

I'm getting ready for the yearly Naadam Festival (which is a public holiday, horaay!). I'll be travelling to the countryside, to get a more traditional perspective on this festival. Expect more information and photos in the next update... Lots of love to you all, take care of yourselves,

Robert