When I last wrote, the specter of HIV and a shitty (literally) toilet loomed large. I am happy to report those demons are vanquished (knock on wood?). Wednesday I got all of the official paperwork I thought I needed, and when I dropped it off at my university the International Affairs worker didn't say anything about getting retested here in Mongolia. He instead informed me that he was taking all the international students to the Immigration Ministry Thursday at 10, so it would be good for me to show up. Oh advance notice and details...
Once I showed my landlady the problem, she got a plumber stat, went out and got the new hose from a store, got the plumber back, and then sat with me awkwardly as we tried to politely ignore the noises and smells of replacing a drainage hose. TMI? Believe me, there are some sights no one ever needs to see. I am proud to report that after some diligent cleaning by the plumber and then myself that the bathroom is in top condition, and it should ideally last well beyond the ten months I'm staying here. The plumber even fixed the slow draining sink while he was there, so fingers crossed that this is the only problem I'll have. My landlady is really nice, and if her English is about as good as my Mongolian when it comes to day to day necessities at least we are both trying and usually manage through a hodgepodge of Monglish to understand each other.
Today I had two goals, both involving SUIS: go with Guenbat to the Immigration Ministry to obtain my long-term residency permit and then meet with my Mongolian advisor, Dolgorsuren. I suppose when I saw just how many international students Guenbat was doing the paperwork for and knowing how far away the Immigration Ministry is that I should have expected it to take five hours. I killed some time by chatting with some of the Inner Mongolian exchange students, a few of whom fondly recall Atwood bagsh (the professor of Mongolian studies at Indiana University). There was, however, a lot of sitting and waiting and then quickly leaving/lining up/doing something. Note to self, always always carry a book/article. I started reading my Mongolian/English dictionary at one point.
Anyways, an hour later than I had originally planned, I finally met with Dolgorsuren. We went over my research questions and methods (which my Mongolian language teacher at IU helped translate for me one afternoon) and she gave me two books to read for background. We have some tentative research plans in place, and I'm hoping to nail done specific logistics with the Arts Council tomorrow. Overall, a very promising start.
I checked back in with Guenbat, since I hadn't gotten my passport back. According to him, my passport will be returned in exactly one week with an approved long-term residency permit....there should be no further paperwork necessary on my part. Fingers crossed that this is true and that my last bureaucracy hurdle is over.
In any case, I am looking forward to getting out of the city this weekend for a bit and just concentrating on enjoying being in Mongolia. There's also an art fair opening this weekend at the Zanabazar Art Museum, and a concert series next week of the Morin Khuur (horse-head fiddle) state ensemble. It's not exactly related to my research topic, but I'm hoping to partake of the UB arts and music scene, time, weather, and expense permitting :)
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