Dodging dodgy traffic

There's one thing that every foreigner learns quickly when they set foot in Mongolia: pedestrians do not, ever, have the right of way. That's just the way it is. Mongolians are very patient people but for some reason, if they're in a car, their patience vanishes and they will inch their way to their destination at the cost of traffic rules and pedestrians' well-being.

When we first arrived, we found that the easiest way to cross the road is to have an "escort". We would wait for a Mongolian to come to the intersection and simply follow him or her into the street. Unfortunately, there are times when escorts are hard to come by and we must venture out on our own. We've come to know certain intersections quite well and can predict when to cross.

Aaron and I have also mastered the multi-stage approach to crossing a street. One lane at a time. If we get stuck in the middle of the street for a while, I sometimes turn my feet to the side so they stick out less into the lane.

Now that it's winter, there's an added unpredictability to the traffic: slippery surfaces. The snow has been compacted down into ice and most cars only have bald poorly-inflated summer tires. Talk about fun.

Sidenote on the sidewalks: Many sidewalks now have a strip of ice going down the middle. Pedestrians have the choice between sliding down the ice to their destination or walking on the more stable compacted snow. The best one so far is a sidewalk that goes up a hill near our house. It's a long straight hill and you can just let yourself go down this nice ice strip. Our local grocery store is at the top of the hill so we get to slide home. Aaron's tried to slide up but it doesn't work so well (blame gravity). Aaron fell once going down but his fall was cushioned by the grocery bag. Thankfully, I was carrying the eggs.