Earrings

So on the list of things I never thought I would do in Asia...

pierce some one's ears!

This is the before shot of Kelly whose ears I pierced!

Don't worry- it was perfectly sterile and safe.

We had someone bring over a disposable ear piercing kit to use.

So we cleaned her ears.

Then I marked where to put the holes.

Tried to get it even.

Then I lined up the plastic gun with the sharp earring...

...and POP!

Nice and quick, it goes in.

Wa La... the finished product!

Birthday Fun!

At the yurt we had a birthday brownie that my friends put a candle on.They insisted I make a wish.And then we blew it out!We ate food and snacks. Sat around talking and telling stories.We took a bunch of silly pictures.
We even played some games.
More pictures.Arm wrestling!

Even a little dancing.

We all had a lot of fun.

$13 a Night

This is what you can get for several people for $13 a night. Not too bad!The yurt has tables and chairs to eat at. Half of the yurt is a raised platform covered in rugs.The inside was very colorful. The walls on the inside were covered in fabric. The black and pink is a common ethnic pattern.

To sleep we laid out pillows and blankets on the rugs.

Our yurt was very modern and came complete with television and a piano.

We were kept warm by filling this furnace with coal to burn.

Night in a Yurt

This is the yurt that we stayed in for my birthday.

Yurt's are Mongolian houses.Everything out here becomes a cultural mixture so you can find Mongolian and Kazak symbols next to Chinese lanterns.Peek-a-boo!

We weren't in the mountains but they were close by.

Still have some snow.

This is one of the owners of the yurt we stayed in.

Our surroundings didn't offer the cleanest or prettiest view, here is where they hang their laundry.

Some of this is used for cooking.

You can see the black piles of coal that they used for heat.

Lunch is always hanging around waiting to be cut up and cooked.

Sharing Easter

This Easter we had an Easter Egg Hunt with some American friends who have an adopted Chinese daughter. After the hunt she made friends with some of the other local kids who were outside playing with grandparents.She made friends with one little boy...... and shared an egg from her basket with him. They think it is pretty strange and have never seen colored Eater Eggs before.

He picked a purple egg.Then she made friends with a little girl and her mother.We gave her a pink egg.

It was nice to share one of our favorite holidays with the locals and leave a positive impression.