The Ovoo

I can't tell you exactly what an Ovoo is (or even how to pronounce it correctly), but I can tell you that what you're supposed to do is walk around it three times clockwise, pick up a stone (or leave another offering) and throw the stone onto the pile of stones and make a wish (thank you, Lonely Planet for those instructions!).  Sounds kind of ridiculous, but my wishes (I'm greedy, I made several) were something along the lines of get into law school (though I can't get in if I don't apply, and I haven't re-applied this year, so that was a wish wasted), and find a nice boyfriend, possibly even the man of my dreams.  Well, about two weeks later, I did meet a nice guy when I went to the ballet, and I think he is the most amazing person I've ever met.  I'm honestly not sure that I've ever been happier.  Is this the work of the Ovoo or is it merely a coincidence?  Whatever!  I'm just happy!

On my way to work

I decided to walk to work one day (a very long walk) and decided to stop at the Ovoo which is on the way to my work.  It was kind of cool.  Here are a few pictures from the entrance to the Ovoo.

Silk Scarves

Mongolians love tying or hangng scarves on random places.  They're very superstitious.  Supposedly, the colour of the scarf has some kind ofsymbolic meaning (so blue means something different from yellow means something different from green means something different from...), but I have no idea what that might be.  I think they just make for good photos.