All About Mongolia

            I figure I should update everyone. Mongolia was largely a success. I was so busy the whole time I really didn’t have the time to update my blog. We were teaching English to high school and college age students at Mongolian International University.

            Mongolia International University, fondly called MIU, is an international Christian school, taught completely in English and run primarily by Koreans. It is located in Ulaan Baatar, capitol of Mongolia, and really the only city of note as over half the population of Mongolia lives in the city. Most of our time was spent in the small area of the city around our dormitories where we live, and MIU where we taught an English camp. This was quite an interesting experience since we were given very little instruction, and were told to teach. Not having done this before, I was lost, but by the third class period I caught on. This continued until I really found out what I was doing. I became bold. By the end of the camp I was getting along very well with my students, and sad to see them go. We had a performance at the end of the camp where the classes had to show off their English skills. My class presented 6 tongue twisters, with good pronunciation. I was very proud.

            There were many other things which we did in the city. There was a black market during the Soviet occupation of Mongolia. When it no longer needed to be underground, it just changed to a large swap meet. You could find almost anything in there. Unfortunately the first section I blindly wandered into was predominated by female intimate apparel. To say the least I felt terribly awkward and so out of place. We moved on however, and after that I felt much better. I looked at knives and other somewhat masculine items, but didn’t make any purchases.

We also visited some historical sites in Mongolia. We went to the palace of the Bogd Khan. This was the man who started the up rise against the Chinese oppressors. It was a majestic place full of artwork. We also had the opportunity to visit a museum that gave much of Mongolia’s history. It was an interesting place full of artifacts, and interesting relics.

            The food was awesome. Mostly it consisted of meat and rice. The meat varied, he rice didn’t. But every day it continued to be delicious. We had opportunities to eat out on several occasions. One we went to was a distinctly Mongolian restaurant named City Nomads. There were served large amounts of food. So much that people stuffed themselves, and were feeling queasy after. Later that evening we were invited into the residence of a man we had befriended, because he wanted us to try his wife’s meat. Feeling full, most of us hoped to eat only a little, but we were informed that we weren’t leaving until we finished everything. Everyone kept it down, but limits were certainly tested.

            I also went to an Indian and Mexican restaurant one evening. Their claim to fame was that they were the only one in Mongolia. I will contend the world, but I’ll look for more just in case. I also went to a Turkish restaurant that looked so awesome. When I walked in the room was full of smoke. This was merely accidental as on the exhaust vent was broken. But it added very well considering the rest of the décor was a cave setting. There were pebbles laying on the ground, and gigantic cobras that formed chairs. Some chairs were faux stone benches with fur padded seating and while others were large wooden backed throne like chairs. It was a great place to go if for no other reason than the atmosphere.

            We also got to visit the countryside. The first time we went to a ger camp by the Gobi Desert. A ger in Russian known as a yurt, is a traditional Mongolian dwelling. They are round huts that can apparently be broken down by two men in two hours. We rented out several of these to sleep in. Then I decided to go climb a mountain and take some pictures. Once back I went into the gigantic dinner ger which just left the doors open, which meant birds were nesting inside. It was interesting to have birds flying over as we ate. After dinner we had class inside of a ger, then I went on a hike with several of the guys to go look at the stars. The next day we went to Karkorum, Chinggis Khan’s son’s capitol, then back to UB.

            On our last days in Mongolia we went deep into the Mongolian countryside. It started with boarding off-roading vans, and heading out. The roads, or rather paths which we drove on were so bumpy that we were bouncing and sliding all over our van. We reached a river, and jokingly talked of fording it. Then, the first van actually attempted it. They got stuck and had to get towed out by a military truck. Then we found another pass, and forded with ease. Our off roading adventure continued until we reached our camp.

            When we reached the camp we were taught how to ride horses. They told us how to climb on the horse, how to say go, and how to make the horse stop. Then we were all handed horses and told to go. It was very interesting to try to figure out how to ride a horse with so little instruction. We rode for hours, even deeper into the countryside. We then stopped for lunch then took off again. When we eventually got to camp, we set up tents, and then climbed a mountain. Of course I took pictures at the top. We spent the night with our guides singing and playing games. The next morning we packed up and rode back to the camp where the horses came from.

            Once there, we settled in and enjoyed just hanging out and having class on the Mongolian steppes. The next day we did chores around the camp. I had to carry water from the river up to the camp, and then I was given the task of cleaning out poo. We were clearing it off the ground where the pens were, then throwing it off the edge of a steep hill. After such difficult and dirty work, we rewarded ourselves with a swim in the ice-cold river. After drying off I went into the mountains to read until I was recruited to help herd sheep. That was a fun experience. The next day we got back up and drove into the city, stopping at different sites, including a gigantic statue of Chinggis Khan. The next day we left Mongolia and flew into Beijing. It was a great three weeks and a great way to start my trip.