Fabulous fish

I'm in UB today (Ulaanbaatar, the capital city). I'm here to pick up my friend Todd at the airport (yay!). Going to UB from Darkhan feels a lot like returning to civilization. I had a few shopping errands to run this afternoon, then I had dinner at one of my favorite restaurants, the "California." They serve the most authentic American food I've had in Mongolia. Tonight I ordered the grilled salmon. Now - let me explain - Mongolia is a land-locked desert, so fish is rarely available in restaurants, and even when it's available, it's usually not advisable. But I gambled tonight, and won big. It was amazing! I savored every fishy bite, and I might not even brush my teeth tonight just so I can hang on to that yummy taste. (ok, now that I typed that out, it sounds kind of gross).

My pal Justin is an American staff member working here with Lifeqwest as a construction manager. We always get jealous of each other when one gets to go to UB and feast on good food, and the other is left behind in Darkhan. Tonight I happened to know that he was dining with the Darkhan state governor, quite an honor. I figured they would be eating Mongolian food, so I couldn't resist taunting him a little. As it turns out, we were both eating dinner at the same time in our respective cities. Here are the messages we exchanged via cell phone text:

me: "I'm eating grilled salmon. I have died and gone to heaven."
Justin: "That's nice. I'm eating goat fat."

I had a little chuckle at my table. I know, I'm mean. But he'll get me back.