This is our last week in Mongolia. At this time we are getting packed up and ready. Our tirp will take 44 hours on the train to travel the 800 miles. We head north in a few days back to our adopted home. After only a year we have come to like Siberia. This coming year may change our thoughts but for now we look forward to going back. Which brings me to the subject of this post.
The following questions are from a different time and place While these things occurred, none were in Russia or Mongolia.
What do you say when the National Guard sentry at the checkpoint requests to see the receipt for your 4 year old hair dryer in your suitcase? Is "Why?" an adequate response? Or the receipt for your camera which you bought in another country many years previously? What is a culturally sensitive reply? Is Why rude?
What do you say when the somewhat inebriated National Police Airport Guard who is holding the machine gun asks for money to buy batteries for his flashlight so he can guard your Hangar? Do you help buy his next bottle of Whisky or risk him holding a grudge?
What do you say when the City Policeman who is holding the machine gun at the checkpoint asks you to take a Pregnant lady from that town to the hospital in some city on up the highway as she is giving birth now and they have no money to buy gas for the ambulance and you are driving a company car with a no passengers policy? How could you refuse even knowing that the hospital is actually just a location and there may not actually be any Medical equipment or staff there?
What do you say to your coworkers in a war zone when they ask if all the armed people walking around bother you? However you hadn't noticed that there were that many as the country you had just lived in for 9 years which was not at war had more solders carrying automatic weapons on the streets and it actually felt less threatening than where you were?
So what do you say? I'm not going to tell you. Think it over and let me know. I am interested.
Tom.
1 comment:
Oh boy...
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