Important signature and collection of documents

Day: 7

Sunrise:
05:26 pm

Sunset:
8:30 pm

Temperature – Day (maximum):
28 °C

Temperature – day (minimum):
21 °C

Temperature – Night:
19 °C

Latitude:
47°55’513”

Longitude:
106°55’559”

Maximum height:
1315 m above sea level

In the morning Tanja leaves our apartment to go with Tagi and Ulzii to the authorities in U.B. who are supposed to issue us with the necessary work permit. Unfortunately, it turns out that Tagi does not yet have the right paper. Saraa gave it to a flight attendant friend on Friday who should have handed it to Tagi. Unfortunately, Tagi did not find this flight attendant. Since he didn’t know his cell phone number, he couldn’t call him. “So, what do we do now?” Tanja wants to know. Tagi and Ulzii confer for a moment and decide to call a friend who owns a car. “We’ll go to the flight attendant’s house and pick up the document. You can wait here until then. When we have the papers, we’ll go back to the authorities together,” Tagi suggests. An hour later, they have actually managed to get the important document with the signature of the provincial governor of Khövsgöl from the flight attendant and submit the now complete collection of documents. Once again Tanja has to pay 17,000 Tugrik (€ 9.50) for each of us. When you consider that the average Mongolian earns 6,250 Tugrik (€3.50) a day, that’s a small fortune. “You can pick up your work permit on Friday, August 5,” an official tells her. “Oh, that’s too late. Can’t it be a bit earlier?” Tanja asks, because we have to go back to the immigration office with our work permits to get our work visas. “Okay, then please come by on Thursday, August 4th,” the officer tells her.

Sara’s gift!

In the afternoon, we give Ulzii Tanja’s teddy bear, which she used to play with as a child, one of our cell phones and a laptop. All gifts for Saraa that we brought for her as a thank you. Ulzii will give them to the flight attendant, who will then take them to the city of Mörön where Saraa is at home.

For us, the procurement and transportation of these gifts was soon an impossible task. On Friday, three days before our flight to Mongolia, Saraa wrote us an email asking us to get her a good, robust computer. “I will of course pay for it. The important thing is that it’s a good computer and wasn’t produced in China,” was her particular concern.

In our enormous preparation stress, this was a wish that could not be fulfilled in the short time available. Nevertheless, Tanja dropped everything and got on the phone to call some of our friends. With success. Nadja, Tanja’s childhood friend and walking partner, was willing to give up her old laptop. Unfortunately, it was broken. An unpleasant virus has eaten its way into the system and rendered it completely unusable. “What do we do now?” Tanja asked a little desperately. “We call our technician Thomas. He can certainly repair the thing. Thomas immediately agreed to repair the computer free of charge and bring it to us on Sunday afternoon.

In fact, Thomas, with whom we have developed a friendly relationship over the last five months of producing our primitive people shows, came by to bring the laptop. “So I’ve repaired the part. It works quite well again now. Unfortunately, it’s already ten years old and today’s operating programs no longer work on it. The RAM is also far too small. Saraa won’t even be happy with it in Mongolia. You can only throw this thing in the bin. It’s absolutely useless,” he explained. Tanja and I looked at each other in disappointment. We would have loved to bring Saraa something to make her happy. She was the only one who managed to work her way through the madness of the authorities in the last eight months to invite us to Mongolia. And now we bring her a laptop that is completely outdated. “Too bad,” said Tanja. “Yes, that’s a shame. We would have needed a little more time,” I added. Thomas looks at us with a grin and I think to myself that his facial expression doesn’t match the fact just mentioned. “Well, good bags have a double bottom,” he says, turning his laptop bag, from which he has just retrieved Nadja’s item, around and opening another zipper. “This is a really good laptop,” he says and pulls a second computer out of the ominous false bottom. “It’s modern, functional and all the new operating programs run on it without any problems. This is my gift to Saraa. Denis has helped me so much with my personal problems over the last few months during the production of the indigenous people shows that I will never forget it. Say hello to Saraa from me. I’m very happy if I can make you Tanja and especially you Denis happy with the laptop,” he explains, still grinning. Tanja and I look at each other in amazement. We would never have dreamed of this. We are so touched by the gift that tears instantly well up in both our eyes. “Thomas, this is a fantastic gift. You’re really doing something good. I’m speechless and will never forget this gift either. Thank you so much,” I say and hug him for the first time since we met.

As we now hand over our gifts to Ulzii, they have matured into an emotional treasure for us. “Please take good care of the laptop,” I ask him. He’s traveled a long way and Saraa needs him urgently because her old computer is always broken,” I say. “Yes, I pay attention to that,” replies Ulzii.

We talk to Saraa on the phone in the late afternoon. “We’ve now given Ulzii a cell phone, a teddy bear for your son and a laptop. You don’t have to pay us anything. They are gifts that we give you from the bottom of our hearts to thank you once again for your great performance and perseverance. “Oh, thank you so much Tanja and Denis. That’s fantastic,” she says happily. Then we talk about our winter quarters with the Zataans. “I still have two yurts I can sell you,” Saraa offers us. “As we can no longer use the yurts after our winter stay, we agree to rent them for US$ 200. “That way you have money and can always sell them on to someone later,” I suggest. Saraa agrees and we transfer US$ 50 to her as a deposit.

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