Are you married?

"Are you married?" is hands down the most frequent question I get asked, followed by "How old are you?" And everyone is shocked by both responses. No and 22. I think it would be less surprising to them if I had an extra appendage. I am assuming this is a cultural thing, but I haven't been able to quite pin it down. Most of the ladies I have met are educated, unmarried, and in their late 20s, early 30s. They don't exactly seem like social outcasts, so I'm not quite sure what the deal is. Further research is necessary. Also on my research list (via Aunt Adeline), find out if there is maybe some Mongolian in our background. Mostly based on our cheekbones. Also I have no understanding of the restaurant in the hotel. I think there are very few people in the hotel, so they just open when people want to eat. Very confusing.

Not much progress is being made on the language front. Mongolian is a difficult language to learn, pronunciation is not easy. As Lonely Planet says " the Mongolian language is like two cats coughing and spitting at each other until one finally throws up." This is a frighteningly accurate description.

Today was my first full day in the DM office. I have been doing lots of reading and research on climate change in Mongolian, early warning-early action, and disaster management. Zoloo(formerly misspelled Zolja)is working on setting up meetings with the meteorology service, the Ministry of Environment, NEMA, and UNDP. Also she is setting up some site visits and visits to the mid-level branches. My main role is to complete the Preparedness for Climate Change 2 document, help develop some communications materials, and to write up a proposal for a project integrating climate change and disaster risk reduction. I was unsure about being in an office all day, but I really love what I am doing. It feels good to be in a place where I think I can help make a difference, and where action is really taking place.