This was never more true than on Saturday. The morning saw the most heart breaking thing I have ever had to do, while the afternoon was by far the most beautiful day in UB to date.
The heart break came in the form of a gorgeous little puppy abandoned on the front steps of my work earlier in the week. After a series of events, much deliberation and discussion, and foremost a feeling that I needed to do something for this little pup she ended up back at my place that evening with an understanding that she would be a shared responsibility between me and another housemate.
A few days later and she was being a respectably well-behaved pup, all things considered - of course there were wees and poos, she was only 5 weeks old. But at any rate, it was time for a lesson in cultural differences. Mongolians look at animals differently to Australians, at least. The puppy's other parent decided they were sick of her and no longer wanted her in the apartment. Full stop. Three days in.
So, I was left with a puppy I had fallen in love with (from the second I met her), no longer welcome in my home and with no one else wanting to take her. Her other parent's solution was to set her free on the street. We are coming into winter - it will be -40 degrees outside. Cars do not stop for dogs in UB. A city, especially this one, is no place for a puppy. Our little girl loved chasing buses...which was OK when I had her on a leash. So "setting her free" was not an option for me.
After getting the word out as wide as I could to see if anyone was interested in a puppy, and getting no response, there was only one responsible action left to take. I couldn't have done it alone - I had the excellent counsel of my other housemate (an Aussie) - and despite not wanting to do it, we decided we would have to take her to the vet to be put to sleep.
She had a great few days being spoilt rotten - better treatment than she would have received in a lifetime with a typical local family (I am sure there are exceptions). We couldn't bear to think she was being abused by new owners, or abandoned again when the novelty wore off, or freezing to death in winter, or painfully run over by a reckless driver....
So that was the "worst" of times.
On the other hand, and a million miles away emotionally, was the best of times that was Car Free Day in UB. The CBD - including the streets around my apartment, were blocked off to cars.. Despite being autumn, and the almanac telling me that the average maximum for this time of year is a mere 4 degrees, outside was a gorgeous 14! Everyone, it seemed, was out on the street with their families - walking on the roads, riding bikes, running, SMILING, saying hello... the joy and happiness was infectious. It was amazing.
The biggest intersection in town has a circus like pedestal in the middle where the police man stands to direct traffic. With no cars, children - and Aussie volunteers - could jump up and take some fun photos.
People were drawing on the street with chalk - this is just outside my work, usually it is a parking lot from 8am-8pm 7 days a week.
Chess outside the hospital that is on the immediate left of my office.
Even after the cars were allowed back, that night walking down the street a car even stopped to let us cross the street - and the driver was smiling at us. Usually drivers attempt to run over pedestrians, or at least intimidate. Just amazing.
At work on Monday I was very impressed with people's attitude. Being Saturday, most people had things planned - some had very important meetings/appointments etc to get to. With the main streets blocked off the traffic was just horrendous. One colleague waited for 45 minutes for a taxi to get to somewhere important, then gave up - and went out to enjoy the peaceful streets with her family instead. I reckon in Australia she would've been whinging about how the way the event was organised meant she missed out on this important engagement. But instead, she just mentioned that that was how she came to be enjoying the day with her family. That's an example of the more laid back attitude that can make doing things in Mongolia so enjoyable (sometimes, at other times very frustrating).
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