Fall and Spring in Mongolia

At the ger (yurt) museum, they got me all dressed up in
 a traditional outfit - it's really heavy, but warm. 

Mongolia has easily caught my attention, and now has earned three visits from me!  Of course it’s all work, all the time, but somehow we find ways to make it fun too.  My colleagues always make sure I learn something new about Mongolian culture, traditional life, food, geography, and clothing.  There is a lot of experiential learning that goes on… 

My colleagues made me do it.  

Three Mongolian brides...?

On my second visit to Mongolia in early spring, we conducted outreach to provinces far from the city. We flew to Khovd, over mountains and frozen lakes, to find a small city with a great bunch of students. There is an American Corner in the city library, to offer information about the US and its culture, with books and magazines, games and movies, English classes and special events. During one English class, I led a short discussion for about studying in the US and had the students do a scavenger hunt around the American books and materials in the room. The students surprised me with their command of English and curiosity about the United States!

The American Corner in Khovd. 

Old Russian books at the city library,
being entered into the online catalogue. 

Village boys climbing on a statue.

During the drive to and from Khovd, we stopped for photos and a picnic near a frozen lake.  The scenery is awesome - I took way too many photos!

At a frozen lake in the countryside, near Khovd. 

The local shepherd lives here, with his jeep, motorbike,
horse, and satellite dish. 

Local market in Khovd, selling cheese curd.
The man is wearing a traditional "del" - robe and belt.

Scenery in the western province of Khovd - 
mountains and blue sky as far as the eye can see.  

Genghis (or "Chinggis") Khan is an important figure in Mongolian history, 

and he is seen everywhere -- in statues, street names, even the vodka!

A half hour drive from UB - this shows up on the horizon...
it is an enormous statue of Genghis Khan. 

Ethnic Kazak man with a hunting eagle,
outside the Genghis statue. 

Well hi, Genghis!!  

Mongolian HS students listening to my colleague. 

And what about work?  Well, I don’t do the hard stuff – I leave that up to my team.  They conduct lots of presentations to groups of students at local schools.  In the high schools, 100-250 students usually cram into a gym or auditorium, sharing chairs and filling every available space.  Unfortunately, they expect a boring lecture and there is no consideration of safety or expectations for conduct.  

So, the teacher in me comes out… We add an aisle down the middle, space for the presenter to walk around, and a clear pathway to the door, then we pull earphones out and insist on silencing phones or shutting down games. She's so mean, this crazy foreigner!  But it means the presenter gets their attention, and when she follows my suggestions, she holds their attention for almost an hour.  At the end, I get to help answer questions or play a US trivia quiz with the kids.  I ask questions in English, and the students answer me in English.  Very impressive for the middle of nowhere in Mongolia!  

Typical auditorium setup for one of our presentations. 

And the full crowd in the room,
behaving well, mostly.  

On our second outreach trip, we went to Dornod province, far to the east of Ulaanbaatar.  Rather than mountains, there are grasslands and small hills.  In this region, the Mongolians fought off invading Japanese forces, so there are many monuments and military museums.  After three or four museum visits, I have given up – they are all the same, miserable and dark, poorly maintained, and usually locked up until a visitor arrives.  

The city is that way! 

These two kids were playing with a pvc pipe, in a dirt lot,
near concrete blocks and open manholes. 

Apparently a bomb landed right here. So they left it.
And built a playground around it. Now they think it's funny. 

As with many parts of Mongolia, there are various stages of development and infrastructure.  It’s a bit bizarre to see huge factory buildings totally abandoned, car tracks through every patch of dirt where a sidewalk or schoolyard might be, and new townhomes being built near a coffee shop with free wifi.  

Another war memorial in Dornod province. 

City library -- it serves as a community center,
with some computers and English classes. 

On my most recent 3-week visit in the fall, we had several more events, but I also mixed in some social life and quiet time.  What a difference, making friends and building relationships through lunch meetings, home-cooked meals, volleyball, hanging out at coffee shops, and walking through the city. 

Pronounced "Khan-Ger" (the king's house),
or "Hun-ger" to the silly foreigner

The first big event was a teacher training project, in collaboration with the English language office (my former job).  My colleague and I wanted to find ways to combine English teacher training with educational advising.  So we started with an English teacher conference in the city where I presented about writing teacher recommendation letters.  Then we went out to the countryside and worked with several schools, talking to students about US study and to teachers about English teaching materials and how to advise students about US study. 

Outside our hotel... 

Typical scene on the side of the road,
a mound of rocks and ribbons.
Tradition is to add a rock and walk clockwise around it three times. 

Teacher Training: presenting about EducationUSA

The drives in the countryside were probably the highlights of this trip!  We headed out on the main “highway” east of the city, which quickly turns to dirt road, bumpy and dangerous the whole way.  Between the two towns, there is no real road.  Most of the time we were driving across plains, through grass, stopping at gers (yurts) to ask directions, trying to avoid wild animals the whole time.  The scenery was fantastic and the drive was wild.

Local shepherds on the side of the highway. 

Local herders -
the motorbike has replaced the horses in some places. 

That's the other jeep ahead of us,
clearing a dusty path through the grass. 

Our drivers asking directions. 

GPS:  Ger Positioning System -
these were out in the middle of the grasslands, 
under lots of blue sky. 

On return to Ulaanbaatar, I spent the next two weeks working with my great team there, conducting meetings and presentations, and preparing for a big college fair.  It would be the first time ever for this office to host a college fair, so we did not have high expectations.  There were only six schools in attendance, but the fair was widely publicized.  In the end, we had an overwhelming 1,307 participants attend over the course of two days.  The college reps were amazed at the turnout and impressed with the students.  Next year we will have to find a larger venue, as we expect more college reps to attend, and probably a larger crowd. 

As part of the college fair, we offered the college reps some cultural events as well.  My team organized dinner at a traditional restaurant and arranged for 20 minutes of traditional music.  All of the performers were students at the local arts and culture university.  

The next day, we took a day tour to visit a national park and monastery.  Our tour guide was an English teacher who explained Mongolian history and culture to the group.  It made a big difference to show the US reps where their students were coming from, in terms of geography, religion, social status, exposure to western society, and frame of reference. 

Our super team, joining in the fun day out!

Turtle rock - a natural rock formation in the park. 

Long hike up to the monastery. 

Spinning the prayer wheels at the monastery. 

Our guide explained the meditation wheel and inscriptions... 

The numbers on the meditation wheel tell you
which expression is yours -- mine was #96:
"Without bodhi mind your good deeds
to attain buddhahood will be insignificant."

While in Ulaanbaatar, I made sure to find a little fun to keep me entertained!  I went out to play volleyball at the international school, participated in a chili cook-off, walked across town to the monastery, and on my last night I went to a traditional music concert.  There is plenty more to see and do in and around the city, and I intend to go back many more times.  If you’re ever in the area, I highly recommend a visit to Mongolia!  

Thanks for reading,

CC