Over past finished done.

Yes well, now we have moved into the has-been column for history to record and remember as a foot note *Tom and Diana were in Mongolia for 4 months between October 08 and January 09.  During the last days in Mongolia we enjoyed watching our friends win the Mongolian national Hockey tournament.   Go Pelicans.  There is something oximoronical about that name for a Hockey team isn't there?  Through that we met some interesting people.  One was a starter on the team.  #777 he is 53 years old and is the pastor of a energetic church in UlaanBaator.  We were told that he is still an effective Hockey player as in the culture one must respect ones elders and as he is so old no one on the opposing team can hit him, thus he can often score where a younger player would be knocked out of position.  He also has a very mature knowledge of the game and tends to be at the right spot at the right time.

John Luke and his family returned to UlaanBaator and we were not needed there any more.  The night he arrived as we pulled up to the guard gate our friend Sufda asked John Luke what the man opening the gates name was.  He replied Sambeno.  The guard then recognized him and greeted John Luke like a favorite nephew he had not seen for a long time.  

As I left the building that night to go back to the hotel where we stayed the last few nights I thought about how much we had enjoyed our time in Mongolia and the people we met and some we were able to help in one way or another and how the guard had greeted the son of the regular manger on there return and I knew it was time to go, time to move on, time to go home to Russia where we have other friends to care about and to be there for and yes to love as one does extended family,  the brothers and sisters we accumulate who just don't happen to have the same parents.

The memories we carry home are special;  Good food at really good prices at restaurants in UlaanBaator,  Special friends in the office who we will cherish knowing for many years,  baatar and David special folks who are in the same line of work as our Father.  We really enjoyed talking about the family business with them.  Diana found her fur coat in Mongolia.  We decided that wearing Sheep skin is actually greener than a synthetic coat that contributes to global warming.  Even greener than one with down as there is synthetic materials used in the shell and stitching.  Yes the only way to really fight global warming is to only buy real fur coats.  Besides she looks pretty cute in her Darkhan Minj Mongolian sheepskin.   Speaking of Global warming there is some debate here in Siberia as to it really being all that bad.  Tomorrow night is forecast to hit -50f here, at -70f the trees start to explode.  Some more global warming should help save some trees so would it not be greener to warm up some more?  "right Jewel"?

We did enjoy a 44 hour train ride home with our boss in the coupe as well as a nice Mongolian lady who seemed to have bits of clothing and shoes and blankets scattered all over the car.  It was a rather interesting ride especially at the border where she managed to be wearing about 6 shirts and 3 or 4 pairs of pants and a couple coats while we were clearing customs.  The heat in the car also seemed to have been set to about 90f at the crossing for some unknown reason.  We saw one of her friends being escorted off the car with a queen sized blanket full of coats, shirts, pants, shoes, and all kinds of nice stuff from China.  Later in the trip we saw the nice lady literally selling the shirts off of her back at each train platform in Russia.

Quiz time.  Both of you who read this,  As I am now back in Russia and soon may be off to another location should Sambeno be replaced with a more local themed blog or has Tom and Sambeno become one linked eternally in your mind thus changing it would doubtless result in causing irreparable damage to your mental state?  Ok really, should Sambeno only deal with Mongolia stuffffff?