During the winter we arrive at school every morning just after sunrise (around 9:00 AM). It's always cold and smoky. Ulaanbaatar has a terrible pollution problem in the winter time. The city is surrounded by thousands of small gers (a round felt tent that is home many Mongolian people) and small homes that are heated with cheap coal. The sub zero Fahrenheit temps at night require those coal heaters to burn all night long. This results in a smoky haze all over the city every morning. Fortunately it is not so bad where we live (near the City Center). However, we go to school in an outlying district that is quite close to a ger district. This is our view when getting off the bus every morning.
Nevertheless, it is getting close to Christmas. School will be out in one more week. We are already celebrating - and keeping things warm inside our home. Last night as we played host to several of our team members at one of the annual Anderson Christmas open houses. We laughed and ate and overall thoroughly had a good time. As usual, Renee' set a beautiful table with all the trimmings.
Sadie enjoyed keeping the floor clean before and after. She was mildly sedated and kept upstairs during the festivities, however.
