JUL 24, 15 .. WHAT DO YOU KNOW .. MORE FRIENDS IN ULAANBAATAR MONGOLIA ..

All in all .. it is a lot of fun to experience the challenge(s) of living in a city and actually in a nation where .. at least it seems to me after a full week here .. very few people actually speak anything close to fluent English.

Do all of you know what the below photos are photos of ?

I feel safe in saying that very few of you can read the labels so it is up-to-you to pass this exam! Check out the first letter on the long word below. Does it look familiar? I figured it out all by myself !  .. Keep scrolling down .. 

Write the number 5. Now connect the vertical part with a downward line to the lower loop and you have the first letter below.

“What’s that ‘Zilla? You need another clue?” .. “Well ‘Zilla YOU and kleiner bear can read German so it is sort of a give-away.”

“Bread .. Great ! Atta-Boy ‘Zilla! I think that the slices gave-it-away didn’t they?”

Jesus of Nazareth would have come-down-from-the-cross and even HE would not have been able to get-across to the six or so supermarket employees that I asked the question of ..

“Where is the BREAD ?”

When I found the bread .. and believe me .. I DID find the bread .. I took the bread back to the above six employees and showing each of them the bread said to them ..

“BREAD.”

Even that did not seem to take .. They just looked at me .. all six of them one-at-a-time .. very blankly!

Below .. top row .. upper right word .. do you all see my ‘altered’ number 5 ? Look further down to the bottom line to see my backward R and three of my number 3s that are doing double-duty as letters are also shown. How about the ‘backward’ letter N in the second row? I am about 100% positive that the word MAX is NOT pronounced as MAX.

My ‘altered’ number 5 is even on the license plate of Oldokh’s automobile .. Do you like the slanted letter Y with a hook at its bottom?

WHERE WAS I GOING HERE .. GOT IT ..

Let’s chat for a moment about MONEY!!

Here in Mongolia the basic unit of MONGOLIAN money is the TUGRIK or the TUG for short. As I am hearing this word I am hearing the sound TOOOOGUH .. The Mongolian language to my ears is a sort of guteral sounding language. It is after all far more similar to the Russian language than to the Chinese language.

Two Hundred Thousand (200,000) Tug cost me in United States money One Hundred and One Dollars Forty Two Cents (US $101.42). I wrote it out because I am not used to dealing in money that has such a large numerical number!

Doing the math you get 200,000 Mongolian Tug / 101.42 US $ or 1,972 Mongolian Tug equals 1 US Dollar.

Below is a photo of a twenty thousand (20,000) Tug Mongolian paper bill.

THE MAN of course is Chinggis Khaan ..

OH BY THE WAY! The US $ DOLLAR is widely used and accepted in many places. In fact many people seem to prefer having me hand over my US DOLLARS!

This (handing over my limited US Dollars) I do not readily do. I prefer to use ATMs and get money-from-home and NOT spend the limited source of US Dollars I have here with me.

Now I will continue writing about my new Mongolian friends.

Below is my nearest Super Market .. no more than a five minute walk .. and it meets the title of Super in my opinion ALL THINGS CONSIDERED ..

Last .. But NOT Least .. the BREAD .. ODD IT LOOKS BLURRY BUT THE WORD JUR IN THE UPPER LEFT IN THE DISTANCE IS IN FOCUS ..

Now for some cost and pricing information  for you ..

Bar none! This bread is among the finest I have ever eaten. Heavy coarse hearty whole grained and fantastic. Got it?

This loaf of phenomenal bread cost me 1,599 Tug or (are you ready for this?) .. 

US $ 0.81 .. Got it .. This loaf of bread cost me eighty one (81) cents US money. 

Yes .. Go check out your local bread prices in YOUR local supermarket.

In the Super Market I met some real friends .. Some Old Pals .. Check them out will you ?

Below is a three pound jar of .. taa-daa .. SKIPPY EXTRA CRUNCHY .. Peanut Butter ..

This three pound (48 oz) jar of SKIPPY’s finest cost me 24,800 Tug or .. hold on now !

US $ 12.58. 

So you win-some (the bread) and you lose-some (the SKIPPY) ..

I would have killed for this SKIPPY SUPER CHUNK and I am thrilled to have it available to me here in Ulaan Baatar.

And ‘ZILLA will you just feast-your-eyes on the below .. Very Nice Old Friends .. Here in MONGOLIA!

“Dad! Please let-us-out of this bag Dad!” .. “How is that you Fine Lads?” .. “Ah-h-h-h Thanks Dad.”

The SNICKERS COST 9,899 Tug or US $ 5.02 for the above 500 gram package.

I feel another victory for the visiting-side.

To the above I am eating .. German Apricot Jam on the Peanut Butter on the OUTSTANDING BREAD!

The apricot jam cost 5,189 Tug or US $ 2.63 and I rank that price as not too bad.

Talk about an Old Friend .. Patti look what showed up after I said they had no cereal at all .. It is on an island in the main aisle ..

I paid 5,199 Tug for the Corn Flakes which translates to US $ 2.64 for a 500 gram box.

I will call that another victory for the home-side. Right smack-dab-down-the-middle.

I then use a fine .. store-brand .. yogurt instead of milk on my cereal ..

The yogurt cost me 2,199 Tug or US $ 1.12 for the above 100 gram package. I will call that a victory for the home-side.

I have been eating the above menu basically since I moved into my apartment here last Monday and I have been doing quite well I must add.

I have a neighbor here. A young lady about age 30. Yesterday she knocked on my door .. when I opened my door she handed me a HOT MEAL and as I began to protest she just turned and dashed away.

WHAT TO DO? 

How will I throw this wonderful tasty looking meal away without her knowing I did so?  

Spiritually it would be an absolutely terrible thing to do ..

GOT IT .. I WILL PHOTOGRAPH IT ..

I .. CAN .. NOT .. THROW .. THIS .. LOVELY .. MEAL .. AWAY ..

LORD GOD OF ABRAHAM IT IS DEMANDING BLACK BREAD !!

c’est feit .. il a ete accompli !

I ‘wolfed-it-down’ and let-me-tell-you it was phenomenal .. THANK YOU SO MUCH AMARAA !!

THE TIME HAS COME TO SAY OVER AND OUT FOR NOW .. I am due to leave for Sukhbaatar in the North on the Russian Border in about one hour so I have got-to-trot .. I wanted to get this Post up for YOU.

I have got to believe this ..

Somebody Up There Is Watching Out For Me ..

With Humble Gratitude .. Over And Out .. Cap .. aka .. KANBAATAR ..

• ← JUL 22, 15 .. HKG TO MONGOLIA .. ARRIVAL & SETTLING IN ..
• JUL 27, 15 .. MY AREA OF ULAANBAATAR MONGOLIA .. →