Urumqi: Day 3

Yesterday we went to the regional museum, which was very interesting. There was an exhibit on the mummies found in the southern part of the province, as well as an extensive exhibit on the textiles. Jet lag finally caught up with me and I had to take a long nap in the afternoon when we returned to the apartment. My Chinese is still horrible, but I'm recognizing more words and characters everyday. It helps that Dr. Zukosky and his wife speak Chinese at home, sometimes I can pick up on topics of conversation.We talked a bit about my individual project, and today we are going to Da Bazaar(The Big Bazaar) to check some things out.It is really cold here, but the apartment is very warm(and has heated floors, which is awesome!).

Dr. Z is consistently exposing me to new foods. Yesterday we went to a Kazakh place that had fermented camel's milk, which was very unusual but not entirely unpleasant. Since a lot of people have asked; fermented camel's milk has the same consistency as the milk you're used to, it has a much higher fat content so it's much richer, and it had a slightly tangy taste to it. I would compare it to a very runny yoghurt.The food we eat at the apartment is delicious. For breakfast we have bowls of tea that we add milk and butter to. The butter is unlike any butter you've ever had. It comes from the mountains and it's quite rich. It makes the tea a little like soup, which we dip naan bread into. Very yummy, and good to help you warm up. The apartment is heated, and it's quite cozy in here, but it's good to warm up before heading out. We have the sweetest little mandarin oranges(real mandarin oranges!), so good!

Karalygash's mother is concerned about my health, because vegetarianism is unthinkable in a climate where you have to subsist on a diet with a high fat content to survive and there isn't much agriculture. She thinks I'm going to die and is always putting more food in front of me. I don't eat very much anyway, and that coupled with being a vegetarian makes her think I'm really on my way out. Maybe that's why she's so nice to me, maybe she's thinking "Oh, that poor girl! She's not long for this earth."

Dinner, and Dr. Z in the background.

The living room.

The view from the living room. Note the "fog".