Loving Hut

Today I had lunch in a Loving Hut. This is not a by-the-hour hotel or anything like that, but a chain of not vegetarian but vegan restaurants in Ulaanbaatar. Have you ever come across a chain of vegan restaurants anywhere in the world?? The least likely place to find one I thought was UB (short for Ulaanbaatar), but once again life taught me the lesson not to be fooled by prejudice. (Some of you will remember that I even 'meat-trained' a couple of weeks before leaving Brussels in order to be prepared for the meat-heavy diet in Mongolia).

Zulaa, one of the girls in the Projects Abroad office, had asked me to come to a meeting in the afternoon. I didn't understand on the phone what it was all about, so I was rather surprised when she and Anna, a volunteer from the UK, explained that they were just starting a new charity - would I like to join them? Something unexpected always happens in Mongolia ... So we spent the entire afternoon in a meeting with three other enormously creative and enthusiastic people, planning for activities for the coming weeks. "Dream Discovery Academy" will aim at helping underprivileged children and young people find their dreams - and realizing them. It's about finding realistic hopes for future professions, but health & safety issues are also on the program, as are different creative activities to help these young people see the positive sides of life. I'm sure I will write a lot about this in future postings. And your help will be needed, in many ways!

Here is the enthusiastic crowd: Anna, Erdene, Zulaa, Zulaa and Ariunaa.