Work Hard and Play Hard

The CHF staff here in Mongolia work hard but they also really enjoy structuring some time every once in a while to hang out together. The CHF offices open up at 9 in the morning and goes until at least 6 or later in the evenings. I have been in the office the last two Saturday mornings until at least 1 and there are always staff in here working. There is a good spirit here in the office and it continues out of the office, when there is a gathering. This past Saturday, was a time for a snow picnic. The organizers had anticipated more folk to show up but it worked out great just the way it happened. Buka, one of the younger picnic attendees, was not counting how many were there, he was just enjoying the snow and his dad, Batbaatar, did not seemed to mind everyone enjoying Buka's presence.

The group pitched in and rented a GER for the day for about 15 dollars at a GER camp, about three miles out of the city. Time was spent inside the GER and climbing the snow mountain but primarily just enjoying having fun being together. It is not difficult for Mongolians to just have fun being with one another, when work is not on the agenda.

One of the nice things about the snow here is that it is so dry that when you fall or sit down in it you don't get wet. The only problem with that is that it makes terrible snow balls. In fact it does not make snow balls or snow men but Buka enjoyed making snow angels.

The GERs at the GER camps come in all sizes and prices like a large campground in America. The one we rented had no facilities but there were decent common facilities that we could use in the area. Some of the larger GER's actually had indoor facilities and were used by families who had a few dollars and wanted to get away from the city for a weekend or whatever.

I will toss into the blog this picture of me with my t-shirt from DUKE University for the benefit of my grandson Mike, who is attending DUKE. He convinced me I could use this blog and got me started with a thirty minute lesson on how to use it. I needed another dozen lessons but I was grateful for his help anyway.
It was a fun afternoon enjoyed by all. Then as the sun began to set, the crowd dispersed for a local pub, since it had been a very dry afternoon. Buka's dad took Buka home for the evening and I called it a good day and headed home myself.
It was a fun snow picnic.