Brian and I are the proud owners of our very first home, and ger.  With this purchase I have learned a few interesting things about gers and people.

The first thing I learned is that when you buy a ger it doesn’t quite come with everything you would expect.  For example our ger came with the lattice walls, a door, the roof poles and center poles and circle, a layer of felt, the exterior cover, the top window flap for inclement weather, and the ropes needed to hold it all together.  It did not come with a floor, windows or window frames for the top of the ger, and some other necessary ropes.

We are now in the third week of ger improvement and have added interior wall curtains which go over the lattice walls, window frames (still working on the glass), a rope that hangs from the center of the ger which is tied to a heavy object to keep your ger from flying away in a sandstorm, furniture, and a stove.  Future work will include finishing the window project, adding a padded blanket to the door as added insulation, and covering the base of the ger with a foot or so of dirt to keep the draft out.

Finally getting glass in our windows!

Window's drying on the fence

Owning a ger has reminded me of how wonderful all my friends are in Hanhongor.  Before we got here, they poured a cement floor, drove the ger over from the factory on the other side of town and assembled it, painstakingly hung the wall curtains, and connected the ger to the electricity grid.  Arriving to find our home pretty much ready for us was a magical feeling.