Mongolia

All I have to say about China, today, is that the post office makes you fill out forms in triplicate, won't accept green-colored ink on your letters, rips open your packages unexpectedly, and has an assortment of reading glasses available in the form-filling-out area.  Annoying, annoying, more annoying, and completely adorable.  I left feeling both stressed and giggly.  I loved it!

Something else I like is my friend Lollion arrived this week.  As a Korean-American, she speaks not a word of Chinese, but at dinner, in cabs, in the street, people look to her to explain my mangled Chinese.  "Ta bu shi zhongguo ren," I interrupt.  "Ta shi hanguo ren."  I nod, sadly: "Ta bu hue shuo putonhua."  And then, self-critical: "Wo hue shuo, keshi wo shuoda bu hao.  Wo xue xi."  I think this impresses them.  It impresses me!

Abyhow, this Saturday morning, I board a train with Lollion, and my friend Amanda, and ride thirty-odd hours to Mongolia.  Apparently it's a country that eats only strewed meat and yak yogurt, and Lollion's a vegan.  Everything I've heard is: "she's in trouble."  There's nothing vegan there.  Also, yaks and horses are apparently a part of everyday life, their hair used for everything.  I'm hideously allergic to horse and yak both.

This trip is going to be remarkable.  I expect some pained, fun anecdotes!!!