Mongolian art is the best art of all art

It took two whole days and two full pints of Chinggis Khan beer, but I am finally mentally and physically prepared to report from glorious Mongolia.

The trip over went off without a hitch. While in Beijing I nearly blew the whole operation by boarding a train headed for the center of town, thinking that it would take me between airport terminals. Luckily though, I am cunning like a crippled cat, and I followed the very well marked signs to the free airport shuttle. Crisis averted. Keith: 1. China: nothing.

My first introduction to Mongolian life and culture occurred in the Beijing airport. By the flight gate, the airport TV's were showing Olympic volleyball. The match, China versus Brazil in a battle of the bitterest of rivals. China, jealous of Brazil's mastery of Portuguese, and Brazil, angry that they can't find a good spring roll in Rio de Janeiro. It was very fascinating to watch the contrast between the Mongolians waiting for the flight and the Chinese airport staff. The Mongolians heralded every Chinese miss with enthusiastic cheers and claps. No one boarded the plane until Brazil had taken care of business.

But onto the good stuff: Ulaanbaatar. Where can I begin? This is a most fascinating city. I was greeted at the airport by my coworker Heliuna (Mongolian version of Helen) and her boyfriend, whose name I thought was Patrick, but now I am not so sure. Though driving is done on the right hand street in Mongolia, the Japanese made cars all have the steering wheel on the opposite side. Talk about culture shock!!!

I am living in University housing approximately a 5 minute walk from the center of town. I spent today doing touristy things before I become a disgruntled local. I don't want to be the New Yorker that has never seen the Empire State Building. That might be good enough for a certain New York Hipster, but its not for me. In the morning I saw the Choijin Lama Monastery museum, a collection of 5 monasteries almost in the middle of the town. Seeing the degraded temples standing next to highly modern buildings is a bit depressing, but the art inside the monastery was amazing. It was all highly graphic, depicting man being punished for his sins. It included a mask worn by traditional dancers of the past made of over 6,000 corals and weighing 30 kilograms. Where the Mongolians got the corals from is a mystery to me, but it was still fascinating.

I then went from the old to the very old and on B. Lowd's recommendations checked out the Mongolian Museum of Natural History. Though not quite as expansive as the house that Teddy built, the price was much more reasonable. 2500 Tugrik or just over 2 dollars. The crown jewel of the museum was a full skeleton of a tarbosaurus, a slightly smaller T-Rex. Also, to my amazement the museum held several Moose!!! Apparently Canada and Mongolia have more in common than I once suspected.

I haven't been robbed or assaulted yet, so I'm already doing better than I did after my first day in College. I don't start work for another week, so hopefully I will get a chance to hit up the countryside and ride me some camels. Like George Bush's presidency, this post has been both long and boring.

Stay tuned however, for the Obama of posts is on the horizon. Change is on its way!