Dust and Boots

I looked outside at lunch time today and wondered where the horizon was. The sky looked like there was a bushfire somewhere in the distance, but we don't have bush here. As I was about to go for a walk Natalie told me not to go outside because of the dust. Then it made sense, dust from somewhere in the countryside (let's assume the Gobi desert as that sounds exotic) had been whipped up by spring winds and had covered the city. I had not been outside for three days so decided to go anyway. I was warned to wrap up my head and mouth with my scarf, which I did. Some other women were the same but most people were just walking around with their heads uncovered. Cars that had been parked for some time were covered in a fine layer of brown dust on their bonnets, or along the bumper bar.

I was expecting to feel grit as I breathed (Natalie said she did when she went out earlier) but the wind had picked up and was quite fresh. Despite the haze it didn't feel that bad outside. It was only when I got back to the office later that I felt my eyeballs were dry and gritty and under my fingernails was grotty. Despite this I enjoyed my little shopping trip. I picked up some clothes for Alesia, a power board for Natalie, a new mixing bowl (one is no longer enough) and despaired of ever finding a nice pair of spring boots for work in my size.

Boots are a very important accessory for a Mongolian woman. They come in many styles, but predominately high heeled and fancy. I am feeling rather dowdy in the office with my practical, flat, leather, fur-linned boots. I had a discussion with the Education Sector Coordinator this week about how my boots really did look like country-side boots - something for walking miles over steepe. So, after nearly two months of resistance I am going to succumb to the fashion around me. I can justify it because it is getting too warm for fur-lined boots so a nice slightly flashy pair of spring boots will do nicely. I just have to find a balance between local fashion and being able to chase Alesia and Keira in the street.

Speaking of Mongolian fashion, while looking for a photo to give you an example of the boot fetish here (the photo above is the best I could find after a quick look on Google). I learned that traditional Mongolian fashion inspired the costume of Queen Amidala in the Star Wars movie. So there you go, people will do strange things with pigtails.

I did intend to do some groceries today, but after filling my backpack with other little things I figured I would just have to drag the girls out to the supermarket tomorrow. Nymaa is not working tomorrow as she is taking the train to China to go shopping. Apparently clothes and, yes, boots, are so much cheaper there that even with taking the cost of the train fare into account it is still worth her while to shop there. She will travel on Thursday night and catch the train back on Sunday night and hopefully show up to look after Alesia and Keira on Monday. I think one of the main reasons for the trip is to get a car part for a relative's car.

I have started my university study for this year and my current subject is "gender and social change". Nymaa is my real live "cross border trader", a label for women who are taking advantage of the open borders offered through trade agreements between countries in order to buy items either for their families or to sell for family income. I was not sure if Nymaa wanted to know that she was a great example of the changes globalisation has made to the lives of some women, so I didn't explain it. I just asked if she spoke Chinese, and she said that so many Mongolians go to this city that most of the shopkeepers speak some Mongolian!

It is 5pm and I still can't see the monastery that is usually visible between the buildings from my office window. At this time I am also usually sitting in lovely afternoon sun. Hopefully we will have hot water this evening so I can wash the dust from out of my hair.

By the way, Chris and I did get out for dinner. We went to an Indian/Mexican restaurant. There is something about combining international cuisine here! The other big piece of news is that I accepted an offer on our house in Bendigo yesterday. With Chris away and Natalie out of the office the only person I could share the big news with was our Finance Director, who had the grace to look interested...(thank you Terence).