Back from the countryside

Finally back to a computer and with time to twist-off and communicate!
The first week of work and life in UB has been both wonderful and action packed.
We are burning rubber and trying to get the first fieldwork session underway in the upcoming week! :))

This past weekend the company trucked off into the countryside and stayed at a Ger camp (yurt is an unused word here). Hope you enjoy the photos.

This was a company retreat so there was a good mix of the usual team building silliness and nocturnal "free" time (Mongolians take pride in their EXCELLENT vodka).  And don't be foolish and ask for a mixer, this stuff is served warm and by the glassfull...bottle after bottle after bottle- YIKES!
All in all it was a great way to be introduced to both the landscape and my new co-workers.
Especially after our apres shenanigans, we are also now close friends.  :))

Odbaatar and Saruul hamming up their paired dance session team-builder. 

A fun drinking game that demands kissing...Male or Female.  :O
A wonderfully quick way to become part of the team ;) 

Tamra, Tiffany, Odbaatar, and Nansa (L to R and foreground) Bolor on far right

 Brando makin' Mongolian friends too!

Leaving the confines of the city and seeing the natural beauty of this country was surreal.  The landscape around UB rings eerily of the Rocky Mountain west (maybe a common thread to the whole intra-continental deformation thing).

(L to R: Doug(our CEO) Nasa, Oyun, Tiffany, Tamra, Me) And apparently I can levitate...

One wonderful thing about placing yourself far outside the comfort box is that every moment is a learning experience, and I love learning.  The more I uncover about my cultural and natural surroundings, the more this foreign world seems familiar.

We are human and the rocks hold a story...just don't let your brain get in the way.