Under Mongolian Blue Sky

Until today I hadn't heard a single Christmas carol. The song happened to be on TV, so it may have been on a foreign channel. I heard it from the entry way of the flat on my way out and spent the next ten minutes trying to get "have a holly, jolly Christmas" out of my head.

And there are no commercials trying to sell me something that my mother/father/brother/sister/boyfriend/niece/
nephew/best friend has got to have this Christmas. This is such a nice reprieve from the usual holiday season onslaught of yuletide cheer and oppressive materialism.

Protest Song

There have been protests several days this week in Sukhbaatar Square by numerous factions who are calling for new elections and a total turnover of the government, including the offices of the President, Prime Minister, Ministry Heads, Members of Parliament, etc. People I know who have the inside scoop have said it's not likely to happen because there's a lot of in-fighting between the factions. However, this type of turnover is not new for Mongolia; something similar took place earlier this year. However, in the past it was instigated by groups within the government. This action is coming from outside of the government by citizens who feel they aren't being represented and who want better education, etc.  I'll post more on this soon.

I'm now on my way to give a lecture of American poetry at the American Cultural Information Center at Natsagdorj City public Library. I'll be talking about how Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson shaped American poetics.

50 years of English at NUM

My first article for the UB Post is now available online! Read to your heart's content.

Here I Am

Where to start... I am in a Mongolian Internet cafe as I write this. I don't have my camera otherwise I'd upload my photos from the trip. Ayur and Olzii came to pick me up at the airport and they were quite lovely. Ayur took my cart of bags right away and Olzii took me by the arm and led my through the throngs of cab drivers trying to get my business.

At one point a man asked me if I needed a cab. I told him that someone was picking me up. He said, "Maybe they not coming. We take taxi." I assured him they would be there and indeed a second later, Olzii was taking my arm and holding me close to her. A great reception. It makes me almost want to cry now.

For those of you interested in Mongolia's current affairs, you can visit the UB Post online. I'll be volunteering for this English language newspaper in about a week and a half.

баяртай.