Closing Thoughts

Well, dear, loyal readers, it's almost time to head back home to an entirely different adventure called college. I bought (technically, my dad bought) my return ticket home a week ago, and I couldn't be more excited to be coming back home. But within that excitement, within that feeling, there's another emotion. I don't want to label it sadness, but it's a sort of reluctance to leave Mongolia. What can I say about that?

First of all, what made this trip an adventure? Because I was doing something new? Yes. While I had travelled to Mongolia before, I had never worked. Plus, I hadn't been here for three years, so much had changed. At first, life in Mongolia was so different than life in America. The rhythms, the events, the people, all different. Not really "different", but more "forgotton."

Last week, I took a walk around town, visiting places where I grew up. I took pictures of the apartments that I used to live in. The green apartment is where I lived from ages 2 to 6. And the blue apartment is where I lived from ages 6 to 8, when I moved to America.




A little side note: I loved taking the bus to work. Public transportation is such a good reflection of the various stages of human life. You've got tiny, bundles up babies to teenagers going to school to aged old-ladies for whom I always gave my seat. And I enjoyed trying to guess what the lives of the other passengers were like. But that's an impossible task because no one on the bus could have guessed what was happening in my life. I took these pictures when I was taking the bus downtown.





So, as the summer progressed, I made some wonderful friends. I enjoyed what I was doing. I was more in tune with the rhythm of life here. And during all of this, I would occasionally remember that I had a blog and write something on it that I hoped would be interesting to read.

Now, I've spent almost four months here in Mongolia, and I like it here. And that would explain why I feel a certain sadness about leaving. People don't like leaving places they like. Home is where the heart is. My heart used to be 100% in Mongolia, but then I moved to America. And before this summer my heart had adjusted to California. But, as the summer is ending, I leave a little bit of my heart here in Mongolia (seriously, I had a nosebleed a while back, so a little bit of my heart is literally here). I will miss Mongolia when I return to the U.S.

Thanks for reading everybody. until next summer, I bid this blog adieu.

A litte note

This summer was about working and relaxing and, I think most of all, spending time with my brother because I will go to college in the fall, and I will miss my brother very very much. My brother is very cool and funny and has humongous chipmunk cheeks, and I love him very much. Lately, I've been busy babysitting and playing over at our summerhouse, so this blog hasn't been updated much and probably won't be for the next couple of days. Plus, I don't think people are reading what I'm writing because, let's face it, they have lives.

But here's a picture I took of my brother when he was walking. I want to go hug him right now, but I can't because he's taking his nap.

Pictures of Life

These are just some interesting pictures that I've taken that I thought people would like to see.

The lady in the blue sweater is the Member of Parliament whose campaign I worked for:

This is a campaign event:


This is me at the above campaign event on top of a nearby mountain that I climbed to see the view. Nice view, huh?


I encountered this bone on the way up the mountain. I wonder how the animal died...


This is me after a hard day's work translating. (Notice the cool "press" badge)


This is my mom and me in front of the Parliament building where I also work. I like this picture because it makes me look tall.


I visited a Mongolian Military history museum. This here is a tank from World War 2.


This is at the same museum, and I am squishing a MIG fighter jet with my two fingers. That's right. I'm that strong.


These pictures are of Vladimir Lenin (the Statue). I found this statue when I was taking a walk with my friend before dinner. The first one is the statue. The second one is of me POSING with the Lenin statue. Actually, I was pleasantly surprised and pleased that people didn't tear this statue down when democracy came because I wouldn't have been able to take this cool picture had the statue been torn down.



So, there you go. Some interesting pictures with slightly unnecessary commentary. I'll post more pictures of life in Mongolia because I have much more free time now because I'm not working as much as I used to, and I'm entering a sort of "relax and enjoy the rest of summer" phase.

I'm a bad blog manager.

So, a while back a person named Baljinnyam who had a blog wrote a post saying that he was going to post a post with pictures. And he didn't for a long, long time. And he still hasn't. And now, to make matters worse, he's talking in the third person. Ok. First person: I promise that I'll post another post in fewer than three days, and THAT post will be the best one yet.

But here's a joke (that I read in the newspaper) to hold you over:

A man asks another man a question at the bus-stop: *The English part is supposed to be in Mongolian*
- What does "I don't know" mean?
- I don't know.
- Gosh! I've asked hundreds of people, and none of them know!

Hahaha. I know. Only a little funny. And a little dorky. But, oh well, I'm busy.

So Far

Whew.

There is a lot of movement in Mongolia. Much excitement.

So, as you may know, Mongolia's Parliamentary Election was on June 29th. This event was one of the main reasons that I am here. I had been working for a Member of Parliament on her re-election campaign, and I had been touring her district, translating for foreign journalists and supporting my candidate. The days leading up to the election were filled with campaign activities. On the day of the election, I was still quite busy translating for a reporter. So, throughout the day, we took photos, had interviews, and attended press conferences - I had a press badge, so I got into a bunch of places (I really liked that kind of access, made me feel special).

Before I get into the details of what happened, here is a brief (or as brief as I could make it while still making sense) explanation of Mongolia's political climate. Mongolia has many parties - 12 official ones, I think. The two main ones are called Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party (MPRP), which has leftist leaning, socialist policies, and the Mongolian Democratic Party, which is more to the right. My party is called Civil Will Party, which is the third largest party and has anti corruption as its first issue while having center-right economic and social policies. MPRP has a very old history, dating back almost eighty years. The Democratic Party was started in 1990, during the fall of communism. So, during the election these two parties duke it out, while my party tries to keep (and hopefully increase) its two seats (out of 76) in Parliament. So, during the few days before the election, almost every single person, from the barely eligible to vote to the voters with more experience, with whom I talked said that they supported the Democratic Party. Plus, the Democratic Party, along with other smaller parties and independent candidates, was polling a lot higher than the MPRP because people believe that the MPRP is corrupt. However, the MPRP has a lot of support from the voters with more experience. To add to the mess, the two biggest parties had this idiotic (my personal opinion, but, hey, this is my personal blog) policy of dividing all the countries mining wealth with every single citizen. The Democratic Party promised to give 1 million Tugrugs (about $1000) to every single citizen, while the MPRP promised to give 1.5 million Tugrugs (about $1500), both without thinking about inflation or new citizens who would be born (would they get the money, too?).

So, the day of the election arrived, and the voting seemed to be going smoothly. Voting stations closed at 10 p.m. and the counting began. The counting continued for a long, long time, and, at around 3 a.m. all the data showed that the Democratic Party was winning. However, at around 5 a.m. the MPRP suddenly started winning by huge margins. And, early in the morning, the MPRP announced that they had won before all the counting was finished. They started celebrating and telling the citizens how happy they were. At noon, it was rumored that MPRP had won 50+ seats out of the 76. When I heard this, I thought to myself "Wait a minute. Hadn't the Democratic party been polling higher the entire time? Hadn't during the night, the Democratic party been winning?" Or something to that effect. I met up with my reporter dude, and we went over to party headquarters to see what was going on. There I saw on the news that people from the various smaller parties and from the Democratic party were marching on the MPRP headquarters, which is a seven story square building. This is when bigger things started happening. I grabbed my press badge and took a taxi over to the MPRP headquarter with my reporter friend. When we arrived, there was a three-man thick Police ring surrounding the MPRP building. People were throwing stones at the building and at the police; these stones were landing a couple of feet away from where I was standing. The reporter and I went past the policemen and were standing next to the MPRP building, taking pictures. About every twenty minutes, the crowd (which was growing larger and larger) rushed towards the building, screaming, "MPRP Leave!" When this happened, the police used their sticks to beat the crowd back. The only thing that the crown wanted was for the MPRP officials to come out and say something, for them to apologize and to acknowledge something. However, they didn't. Hence, the violence escalated and grew out of control. At around 5 p.m., the people rushed through and finally broke through. The police then started using tear gas to push the crowd back. At this point, all the windows of the MPRP building was broken, and stones and sticks and debris were strewn around the premises. When the police got violent, the majority of the crowd (including me) ran away, literally. We ran. I ran with my backpack over my head because stones were flying everywhere. I ran to my mom's office at the Foreign Ministry. When I got there, my uncle came over and picked up my mom and me because the Foreign Ministry is right across the street from the MPRP building. At home, we turned on the news and watched what happened. The rioters burned the MPRP building, angry over the corruption. Even more scary, people were getting hurt left and right, and the crowd was getting even wilder. Here, the police fired shots and dispersed the crowd using water guns. The rioters set the MPRP headquarters and one of the surrounding building alight. By 3 a.m. the next morning, the police had arrested over 800 people. The final tally so far: 5 dead, over 300 injured, and 800+ arrested. There are soldiers in the streets now, and the parliament is in an emergency session to decided what to do. Was there fraud? Should there be re-do? Who is to blame? These issues are being discussed.

Our family is glued to the TV, although only one TV channel is allowed to broadcast.



More Posts with pictures to come.

Here's one:



PICTURE CREDIT: Associated Press

Work

Hey. Excuse me for not posting something for a long time. I've just been really busy these past weeks.

My work is very satisfying. I do a variety of activities,
so I'm never at the same task for too long. I organize paperwork,
check files, and go on errands. Mostly, though, I translate.
A couple of days ago, I translated an entire pamphlet for the organization that I
work for! Our organization's stated main mission is to advance democracy and human rights. To that end, we do many other good things. We have programs
that range from those that help teenage mothers to helping recent migrants to providing scholarships for students who cannot pay their educational expenses. Yes. I like my work here. On the other hand, the campaign here is going full swing. Every few meters, there is a poster advertising some candidate. There is so much competition. However, our party is very underfunded compared to the other two major
ones. And that situation is frustrating.

On a funny note, a while back, I noticed a clothing store with a rather funny sign. It proclaims "looking good is not important, it is EVERYTHING." This has got to be absurd. First of all, why is the sign in English? Isn't this Mongolia? And, second of all, looking good is everything??? Oh well. I guess it is for some people.

Here's a picture:

Dude! Cool Stuff!

Hey!

Guess what?...

My mom was on Mongolian National TV! She was on this interview show called "Face-2-Face." The interesting thing is that the show is conducted in English (good, grammatically correct English, too) with Mongolian subtitles. Since my mom is a nuclear scientist, she was asked questions about energy, particularly Mongolia's energy future, and what she thinks should happen with Mongolia's huge uranium reserves. Currently, she is an advisor to the foreign minister, so she was asked questions in that capacity as well. She was also asked questions about Mongolia's higher education and how fast Mongolia's developing and what she likes to do in her free time.

All right, this post has almost nothing to do with me, but I was so proud of my mommy. :)

Here's a picture I took of the TV:

A Camel Ride

I RODE A CAMEL!!!!!!!!! I can't believe it! MUHAHAHAHAHA!!

This Saturday, my uncle took me and the rest of the family to the beautiful countryside, and we encountered some camels whose owners let people ride them for a small fee. I was ecstatic. A camel ride? Whatever else could I wish for? I had been looking forward to this moment for all my life.

The camels were very gentle and big. They must have thought something like, "why is this boy jumping around me screaming things? Did I upset him? He seems agitated."

Well, Mr. Camel, I WAS agitated: agitated by extreme excitement!!!

Here are some glorious pictures:




Some startling realizations, or rather, discoveries: the camel hump is a lot harder than I thought. I expected something soft, something like a water balloon perhaps, but, alas, that is not the case. And when one sits on top of a camel, one is very high off from the ground, so a big ouch if one falls off. However the hump feels or however high I am, the camel is my new favorite animal. I want it to be my zoo animal ;)

I was sad to leave the camels. I want my own pet camel now. I shall name it, Fabio because I've always been partial to the name Fabio. Wait a minute... what if I get a GIRL camel for a pet? Then Fabio won't do. Any ideas, my dear readers?

Unusual Weather.

Today, when I woke up, there was snow!!! It had snowed during the night and was snowing in the morning. The streets, the mountains, the cars, everything was in a blanket of white.
Snow at the end of May. This has got to be the weirdest weather I've ever experienced. My grandmother said that this was unusual weather, so don't think that this happens all the time.

Here are some pictures to prove it:



The first is the view outside my grandmother's apartment. The second was taken on the way to work.

Concert with traditional Mongolian music and dancing

I watched a concert a few days ago.

But before I watched that concert, I went shopping for tires with my uncle. In Mongolia, to buy tires for cars, one must go to one of the many auto repair shops around the city or go to the flea market, which has many tires. We did both because we were looking for the best deal. According to my uncle, Chinese tires are the cheapest, but their quality is questionable. Korean tires make the most sense; they're relatively inexpensive and have high quality. Japanese tires are the best quality, but they're quite expensive (did anyone know that Bridgestone was a Japanese brand? *Shock*) AND I learned what the three numbers on the tire means. Most shops have humongous signs outside but aren't very big inside, about the size of a classroom. Inside, they have glass counters with various auto parts from various cars inside. On the wall, they have the bigger objects, such as front bumpers, lights, and seat covers. Tires are stacked high next to the counters. The flea market bustles with people who shop, haggle, and make a living in this epitome of capitalism; some are dressed very nicely, and some look like the hobos in downtown San Francisco. Everything is dusty, but the prices are cheaper. The biggest one in Ulaanbaatar is probably about five football fields. I bet you can find anything at the flea market. It has everything from live chickens to a coffee table to brand name clothes. The section with the tires takes up an entire side.

Here are some pictures of the flea market:

(the guy waving is my uncle Khudree!)

Mongolian society is changing so much and so fast. A small part is getting extremely wealthy, and another part is getting even poorer. However, the good news is that I notice that a stable, growing, educated middle class is emerging. When I left Mongolia nine years ago, no one had any money. Almost all of the income went to food and other necessities; no money for fun. But, today the situation is different. People are going to the movies, shopping for nice clothes, buying tasty food, and even travelling to other countries for vacation. Things are improving, but it will take time. There is also so much movement going on; life here is exciting. Let's see what happens during the four months that I am here.

Well, after I went to the flea market (and bought four new Korean tires), our family went to see a concert with traditional Mongolian music and dancing (as the title of the post suggests). It was very entertaining, and the costumes were bright and colorful. The audience was mostly foreign tourists, and I think that was to whom the concert was directed. There are better shows, but this was a good introductory concert. I'm definitely going to more. In June, I'm going to go see a Mongolian Opera!

Here are some pictures that I took at the concert (with the flash off, of course):

The lady in the first picture is dancing with three cups balanced on her head. The second picture shows Mongolian contortionists. The third pictures shows the orchestra that provided the traditional music. The fourth picture is of my brother watching.

Saturday Trip

The organization that I volunteer for has an eight month leadership training program that introduces and teaches 24 recent Mongolians the art of leadership. Saturday was their graduation, so our organization took them all to Terelj National Park, and my role in all of this was to take pictures. So, I did. Lots of pictures.

We arrived at our meeting place in the morning and divided into two groups, a large group that travels in the bus and a small group that travels behind the bus in a minivan. I was on the bus. Actually, in the front of the bus. Actually, right next to the gearshift in a most uncomfortable position on the bus. But, since I was in the front, I got to take some pretty cool pictures of the trip.

Here's some:

And on the way we passed by camels and horses and other Mongolian people:



At the park, my coworkers and I climbed up a very tall cliff with rocky falls and steep slopes. I flexed some rock-climbing muscle and reached the top and took some pictures.
Here:


These are GERS!

Overall, awesome trip. I had mucho fun. I want to go ride a camel, really bad. Maybe on the next trip...

What I do when I'm not working

When I am not working at organizations, I babysit. But babysitting definitely should be called something else because there is absolutely no sitting involved. Perhaps something like: baby-constant-following-and-keeping-safe. I used to babysit my brother all the time, but here in Mongolia, I have to babysit him plus two little cousins. So, I babysit two 2 year olds and a five year old. It's infinitely harder than babysitting one child because the two little ones always want the same toy, and they'll resort to violent means to get it. Lion tamers have an easier time with their lions. Anyhow, they're fun 90% of the time, so it's cool.
Here's a picture of my little posse:

I'm working now!

On Monday, I was contacted by an American counselor (psychologist) here who researches play therapy. She was here to teach play therapy to doctors in Mongolia, and we went to the National Cancer Center to help the doctors with their younger patients. It was just so heartbreaking to hear about these little kids who have cancer. What play therapy actually does (I learned) is that it helps little kids express their emotions through play because their verbal skills are not as developed as older children and adults. We practiced on this very cute four year old boy. The American doctor would say something in English, and I would translate that into Mongolian. Or if the Mongolian doctors had any questions, I would translate that into English.

Very satisfying to help. And I discovered that counselors are all very, very kind.


Addendum to last post: On the escalators, a sign was reminding us to "watch out for oldsters and child." I laughed so hard at that one. But I don't know if I am a youngster or an oldster.

I'm here!

Luggage!

Travel is what a person makes of it. For me, it is always fun. Every twist and turn (like a flight delay, etc.) is an experience to be cherished. So, optimism serves me well.

Start of Trip (Thursday, May 15th)

Since the flight was in the afternoon, we got to sleep in a little bit. And we had finished packing the night before, so the morning was not at all rushed. The fact that I was traveling halfway around hadn't really hit me. I was just excited about the airplane food (which I like for many reasons).

SFO Pictures!

During the flight:

Overall, it was a good experience, although service left something to be desired. First of all, the Air China flight attendants should really work on their English, as well as, their courtesy. My guess is that the Chinese language does not have words for "please" (which is the case in Mongolian). However, I got to eat airplane food, so it's all good.

Our plane posing with my brother.
Beijing

The Beijing airport is an very clean, big place. The preparations that that place is making for an upcoming sporting event are tremendous! The airport is humongous, and there are people for almost everything. For instance, they had these girls, who were in yellow satin suits with large red sashes draped across their shoulders, placed in various posts around the airport just to answer questions and direct passengers. And lots of security guards who had their own unique uniform as well. Oh! The uniforms. What is it with communists and uniforms? I guess the whole thing about everyone being in the same class. Anyhow, while we were admiring the size and efficiency of the Beijing airport, there was a mishap with our flight being delayed for 12+ hours and us being transported to a hotel. The only thing we did at the airport was sleep. Again, all part of the adventure. The one feeling that I feel that I must remark on is during my whole stay in Beijing, I felt so much pity for all the people who worked at the airport. For example, being a bathroom attendant is not a pleasant job, but I bet that that post had many many applicants, and the person who got the job must have been quite happy. It's hard to comprehend how fortunate I am to be living in America.

Look at Beijing's Awesome Airport:

On a funny side note:

Some of the literal English translations are hilarious!

I don't remember some of the really funny ones, but from the top of my head:

"Being careful not to loses one balance, please!" - very polite.

The immigration line that I went through was called "foreigners" -Not at all the politically correct American "visitors"

Another funny thing was the marching. All the immigration officers marched together through the airport, looking quite full of themselves. They looked slightly ridiculous to my eyes, but the other airport employees looked at the marchers with such awe.

Arrival in Mongolia was at 2 am on Sunday. My mom, my brother, and I were greeted by many family members: grandma and several uncles and aunts. Oh happy day! Glory be!

Now it is May 19th. I am in my Grandmother's apartment, which is very nicely furnished. My little tiny grandmother gave me yogurt and is sleeping now.

Update on Travel

Just lots and lots of packing.

I just remembered!

Today is Mother's day!

Happy Mother's day to all you mothers and people with mothers.

First Post

Hello People,

This is my first post. Hmm. Interesting post.

Oh! And, by the way, I don't really know how to work this blog thing... but I'll learn! No worries.