But there’s another long-lasting task underway.  This tragedy has also inspired people to respond with generosity, kindness, love, understanding, comfort, and patience to those in need.

Over the past week or so, three incidents have stood out to me:

 Falling down and getting up

A 78-year-old Washington state man running his third Boston Marathon was near the finish line when he was knocked down by one of two bomb blasts and caught in a news photograph that quickly went viral. A race official helped him to his feet and the man walked across the finish line.  Click here to see you YouTube video.

Running toward, not running away

After the two bombs went off within seconds of each other, cameras covering the event revealed many, many people running toward the site of the blasts, not just the police and other security people, but ordinary citizens, young and old. They set their own safety aside in order to come to the aid of those in need.  Bless them.

Google Person Finder, hundred of offers

Shortly after the bombing, I heard about the Google spreadsheet set up to enable anyone to post offers of lodging, food, clothes, transportation, and whatever else was needed for those affected.  It was impressive–hundreds of people offering help in a multitude of ways.  Direct contact information was included to make it easy to get help quickly.  And this was just the tip of the iceberg.

 At a time when the onslaught of news about tragedies happening around the world, both large and small, seems almost overwhelming, the generous public response to help those affected by the Boston bombings is indeed heartening.  I am grateful to be a witness to it.

This time, the simple question, “How are you?” stopped me cold.  I’m not all right. I hope none of us are.  Today I am the mother of every one of the children who lost their lives in Newtown. But, more than that, I am the mother of all people in every part of the world who lose their lives through violence.  I am the mother who gave them birth, fed them, nurtured them, walked the floor at night with them when they cried, encouraged them, cheered them, laughed with them, and praised them.  But, at the last, I couldn’t protect them.

What can I do now?  I can do more.  I can more actively support those people and organizations seeking to reduce violence in our world.  I can more actively support those working to bring about peace wherever discord is evident.  I can live a life that expresses love not hate, collaboration not confrontation, patience not frustration.  I’ve already taken some steps to do more.  I hope each person who reads this will find his or her own way to do more.

And a 60-year-old holiday story

Many years ago, my husband Bob and I were taking a walk.  It was the day before trash pickup and someone had set out a box of old Reader’s Digests.  They looked really old, and I was curious, so I picked up a couple.  They were from the 1940s and ‘50s.  Hmmm, I thought, some interesting content—and I persuaded Bob to carry the box home with us.  The box is still in my attic and I occasionally put a couple around the house for browsers.

The other day I came across an article in one that included a paragraph that captured the holiday message I wish to share with all my friends.

“A minister soliciting for a worthy cause was turned down by a curt letter that ended, ‘As far as I can see, this Christian business is one continuous give, give, give.’  The clergyman wrote back, ‘Thank you for the best definition of the Christian life I have ever heard.’*

For me, I would broaden that definition to include all mankind without religious distinction and simply say, “Thank you for the best definition of the purpose of life I have ever heard.” And that ties in with another of my favorite quotes: “No man can make a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could only do a little.”  (Edmund Burke)

Happy Holidays, my friends

* Try Giving Yourself by Arline Boucher and John Tehan in Reader’s Digest, November 1951

I hadn’t planned to go back this summer.  I came home at the end of January and looked forward to a summer in Marblehead, my lovely seacoast town in New England with views of the sailboats from my back porch.

Champion Naadam wrestler

But my computer’s screensaver scrolled through photos from my three years in Mongolia—little children dressed up for Tsagaan Sar, the broad steppes and craggy mountains

Young winner of one of Naadam’s horse races

of the countryside, people singing and dancing to Mongolian music, big Mongolian wrestlers at the summer festival called Naadam, herders and their flocks of sheep, goats, yaks, cows, horses and camels moving across broad valleys, weddings and hair-cutting celebrations, and so much more.  I had to go back.  And I’m so glad I did.

One of the highlights of this trip was being able to restart the little handicraft ger where local craftspeople could bring their wares.  It was set up in an even better location this year and was staffed by two of my very favorite people.  It will be open for two months during the tourist season and has attracted many visitors each day.

It was also wonderful to re-establish connections with my many friends in Muron. I stayed with Enkhtuuvshin, her husband, and brand-new daughter.

Andrea, her husband Ted, Otgo–Enktuuvshin’s husband, Enktuuvshin, Sarangaa, and Judy

Many hands for Sarangaa’s first bath

They were married not long before I left. They generously offered a recently completed second floor of their home. The two rooms accommodated both me and my Swiss friend who had been in Muron when I was there before.

The time went fast but I was able to reconnect with so many people including Batbayr the woodcarver, Sara my former boss at Chamber of Commerce, Jagaa now at PC Mall, Bymba and Tsolmon who became our salespeople at the craft shop, Enkhee an English teacher,

Tsolmon and Jagaa with their little sons

Jagaa, Bymba, and Tsolmon, the handicraft ger shopkeepers

Me holding a gift from my shopkeepers, a felt meditation mat

Bold and Tsermaa who lived in the other half of the house where I lived for 3 years, Esse and Moogi who are my business partners and have opened a local handicraft shop at the zakh (main outdoor market), friends from World Vision including Tuul, Ganaa, and my favorite jolooch (driver) Bilgee.

Bilgee and I, a typical Mongolian couple

Bilgee letting me drive!

In addition to being able to attend Naadam, I was able to get out into the countryside for a few days at my favorite ger camp, high on a bluff above the Delgermuron river.  It’s an idyllic setting I never ever get tired of, watching the herds of animals move back and forth over the wide river valley, hiking up into the hills behind the camp, reveling in the sunsets over the mountains, even curled up reading in our ger while the rain pitter-pattered on the roof and a cozy fire burned in the little stove.

Herder bringing his flock to the river

All too soon, it was time to pack up and head for home.  During the time I was there, several projects came up that I hope to pursue here. One, of course, is to continue to try and expand my little import business of Mongolian products.  I met with the two men whose local businesses produce yak and goat cashmere knitted items.  I’m going to try and get a Pen Pal program set up for a little town way out in the countryside and help a Mongolian English teacher find some sort of teacher exchange.  My friend, Esse, is a fine guide in Mongolia, speaks English well, and hopes to establish his own tourist business this next year.  I’ll try to help in any way I can.

My business partners,Esse and Moogie, and their family

For now I’m home, happy to see my family and friends.  But a part of me will always abide in

Sunset from where I stayed in Muron

Mongolia’s land of blue sky cherishing the friendships and traditions of this remarkable land.

I miss Mongolia too much. So Monday, July 2, I’m heading back to Murun, my hometown in Mongolia, for about 3 weeks. I’ll see my friends and the beautiful Mongolian countryside.  And I’ll also work on my little business importing crafts from the local Mongolian artisans to America.  I’ll be missing a few weeks of summer in Marblehead but I’ll be back in time to get in some more sailing and trips to the Farmers Market.

Sailboats scattered across my view of the ocean

Natural surprises in Marblehead

I had two very interesting interactions with nature this past week.  Last weekend, we had a little family reunion at my home.  After most people had left, my daughter and I went out to do an errand. When we returned and pulled the car into the drive, she spotted something in the flowers growing atop a wall next to the car.  She was eye level with the flowers and, at first, she thought it was just a bee buzzing around the flowers. But it didn’t really look like a bee. It looked like a very, very tiny humming bird—less than an inch long.  I jumped out of the car to take a look and we both watched it darting here and there, sucking the nectar and its little wings a blur of movement.  How could it be?  Did hummingbirds come that small?

Less than an inch in size, it looked just like a tiny hummingbird except for the feelers–which you could hardly see.

After it flitted away, we googled a few descriptive words and discovered it was a hummingbird moth.  We’d never heard of one before (see photo).  After Tracy left the next day, I picked up a book she had been reading from my library, My Family and Other Animals, by Gerald Durrell.  It’s one of my favorite books, incredibly funny about the Durrell’s family life on the island of Corfu. There, on one of the first pages in the book, Durrell describes some of the creatures he spots on the island, including the hummingbird moth!  What a coincidence!

You won’t believe this marine (?) interloper

The other interaction is even more incredible.  We had a 3-day heat wave—100 degrees on my back porch, and late Saturday some big thunderstorms rolled through.  It did cool things off and so, Sunday morning, I thought I’d take an early bike ride in the cool fresh air.  About seven, I went down the back steps to the yard to get my bike stored under the back porch.  The grass was still very wet.  Just before I reached the bike, I saw something small and dark lying in the grass in front of me.   Then I looked closer and saw it was alive and it looked like a little lobster, about 6 inches long.  I bent down to see better and sure enough, that’s exactly what it was. When I reached for it, it began to crawl away. I picked it up and it waved its little claws trying to wiggle out of my grasp.  I put it down and ran to get my camera.  It was too small to get very far on its own.   Then I got a pail of water, dumped in a little salt, and plopped the lobster into it.

This is what I first saw on the way to get my bike

No one was around to show it to, so I proceeded on my bike ride. When I returned, my neighbor, David Breashears, was home and I invited him over to see it.  He was as befuddled as I was.  So far, the only explanation we can come up with is that perhaps a seagull had picked it up and during the thunderstorm had been blown landward by the winds and dropped the lobster in my yard.  No doubt it was a bit befuddled away from the water. If you have other theories, you’re welcome to share them.

I contacted my friend Ellie who used to keep a saltwater aquarium of sea creatures at the school where she worked.  She stopped by to admire the little guy—oops, she determined it is a girl.  We’ve named her Lobelia.  Then we went to get a bucket of seawater plus some rocks and gravel since Ellie says the lobsters like to have a little shelter and even can concoct one if give the raw materials.  We also picked up a few periwinkles and another crab so Lobelia won’t starve. ‘

You can see more clearly in this photo

I’ll probably only keep her a day or two to show the neighbors and then put her back into a nice deep pool among the rocks on the edge of a little island nearby reached by a natural causeway—and one of the best habitats for lobster breeding on the East Coast.  What tales she will have to tell of her adventures!

THIS JUST IN:  My neighbors up by Redds Pond (a freshwater pond about a block up the hill from my house) just came down to see my lobster and they claim it is a crayfish, apparently lots of them this year at the pond.  Seagulls and cormorants also hang out around the pond.  I’ve checked it out on the web and it is possible.  The two species are exactly alike except one likes fresh water and the other salt water plus one is bigger than the other—in my case however it could be a small lobster.  Either way, what’s it doing in my backyard?

Final sad note:  I left it in the saltwater overnight and it didn’t survive—so must have been a crayfish.

Total eclipse 12/10/11 An amazing sight

After I got home, I looked again on the web, but still couldn’t figure it out.  Then I sent a message to a Mongolian friend asking if he knew anything.  He replied he could find nothing in Mongolian about it on the web.  At that point, I went outside and LO AND BEHOLD the moon was in total eclipse!  I could see the dark red color and a penumbral glow. I ran to tell Bold and Tsermaa (whose home I live in) to come outside and see it and then proceeded to call everyone I knew here who spoke some English to go outside and look.

No one knew anything about it—what a shame.  It was magnificent.  And although it was too cold to hang around outside watching it, I went back outside every few minutes to check its progress—all the way to the end.  It’s the last total moon eclipse until 2014 so I’m glad I caught it.  Look online for more photos…

http://www.space.com/13894-photos-total-lunar-eclipse-december-2011.html

Do you recognize this image?

Yep, it's the Eiffel Tower, right here in Muron

Yep, it’s the Eiffel Tower right here in Muron outside my window.  For the last week, men have been outside all day on the main square working on ice sculpture to celebrate Shin Jiil (New Year’s) and any other holiday you want to celebrate at this time of year.  I marvel that they can stay outside in the cold all day working with these big ice blocks.  Boston’s First Night (New Year’s Eve) has a big ice sculpture exhibition but there’s never a guarantee the sculptures will survive very long—or even be able to be created.  Here in Muron, that’s never a problem and if they wait for them to melt, it will be well into the spring before they disappear.

What are these people doing?

Everyone's chopping up and clearing the ice outside my office building!

Although we haven’t had a lot of snow here, we do have a lot of ice.  And last Thursday, was the day everyone was supposed to go outside and remove ice from in front of their businesses or from the road, or from the parking lots in front of their buildings (like ours).  All day long I heard the pounding and scraping of people trying to get rid of the ice.  I was just feeling grateful that our office hadn’t been called upon to help, when my boss said that on Friday, it would be our turn to help clear the big square out in front of the government offices.  I dressed as warmly as I could only to find out the next day that we were off the hook!

Are your feet warm?

Judy's furry warm boots

Warm feet are important in this climate.  I had hoped the boots I brought with me would keep me warm enough until I got home—but a few weeks ago they weren’t doing their job.  So I went with a friend to a bootmaker and ordered a new pair.  I wanted some just like my friend’s, knee high as everyone wears, simple, tailored and a little short black fur on part of the boot.  The bootmaker gave me my choice of two furs (both artificial I thought) and I recklessly chose the funky one.  When I picked them up and put them on, it looks as if I have two furry animals on my feet!  Even my hosha dog did a doubletake.  But no one else seems to think there’s anything strange about them and with 2 pairs of socks and warm felt innersoles they keep my feet warm.  That’s what’s important, isn’t it?

Are there better ways of doing things?

You won’t be surprised that I do a lot of thinking over here about all kinds of subjects.   I can access news from home and around the world via my little G-Mobile modem.  And Google gives me access to all kinds of information.  One subject that concerns me is the role of capitalism in today’s world.  A system that focuses exclusively on enhancing shareholder value to the exclusion of everything else now seems shortsighted to me.  I’ve come across an idea called the “B Corporation.”  I urge you to take a look at it.  Here’s the link:

http://www.bcorporation.net/

And then take a look at the video from the TED/Philly video you’ll find on the site under News & Media.  If I can start a little export/import business, I’d like it to be a B Corporation.

A father bundles up his daughter before going outside

The Nine Nines of winter

Mongolians divide winter up into nine series of nine days (Yucen Yuc) beginning on the winter solstice.   So it ends around the middle of February.  Here’s how the series is described:

• First nine – shimijn arkhi (mild alcoholic beverage made of milk) freezes
• Second nine – arkhi (vodka) freezes (second distillation, also sometimes, they say Russian vodka freezes)
• Third nine – tail of three-year-old yak freezes
• Fourth – horns of four-year-old yak freeze
• Fifth nine – boiled rice does not congeal any more
• Sixth nine – roads blacken (snow begins to melt on blacktop)
• Seventh nine – hilltops blacken (snow begins to melt on the lower hills)
• Eighth nine – ground becomes damp (snow begins to melt on grass)
• Ninth nine – warm days set in

Now, I don’t remember that it got warm in mid-February before—but it all depends on your perspective.  At the moment, it is dark and cold when I get up in the morning.  So I pull on an old down warm coat a friend sent me and hurry to start a fire in my little stove.  Once it’s burning well, I make oatmeal and some coffee in a little Moka pot another friend gave me. Most people here drink milk tea, a staple beverage made year round in a large pot with milk, water, a little salt, and a little tea sprinkled in and stored in one or two big thermoses to be ready anytime during the day and when friends stop by.

A friend's twin boys all dressed up

After things have warmed up a bit, I get dressed, having put my clothes near the fire to take the chill off them.  Clothes include two pairs of sock, extra warm boots, long underwear (maybe 2 pairs) and warm pants, 5 layers of shirts and vests and sweaters, a hat, gloves and mittens, and a coat with a hood.  Before I leave, I make a trip to the outhouse to dump my little bucket (much too cold to go out at night).  The family dog—who is always kept outside and has a doghouse at least—is chained to the doghouse and eagerly awaits my morning trip since I give him a little snack.  In this weather his black coat is getting thicker and his fur is frost-covered.

Smoke from a coal power plant in Muron

Then off to work.  The sun is just coming up and the chimneys from the little stoves in the gers and wooden houses are all sending up columns of grey smoke.  A contrail high in the sky is unfolding a white ribbon leading towards Beijng.  As I turn towards the center of town, I see the black smoke rising from several coal-fired power plants heating the hospital, schools, public buildings and some apartment buildings and then settling down creating a dark haze over the whole town.  I pass the “Haloon Uc” (means hot water and is the name for the shower house) and a man out back is shoveling coal to heat the water.  People are gathering at the well next to it (a little white building with a window and a hose sticking out) where they come to fill up their jugs of various sizes.  And others are hurrying along the street to work or to school or wherever.  At the center of town, a woman is setting up a little stand. She will sit on a cardboard box all day in the cold to sell little glasses of pine nuts.  And it’s the same at the zakh or market.  People all bundled up selling their goods from their stalls.  I’m told the sellers just add another felt innersole to their boots as the temperature goes down.

We’ve had a little snow this year and a couple of inches cover the ground.  It won’t melt until spring and the sidewalks and streets are very icy.  So I wear my “yaktrax”, courtesy of Peace Corps, which do a good job keeping me from slipping.  (See an image here: http://www.thehealthysockcompany.com/yaktrax-ice-grips(2220025).htm

My office has moved to a new location in the government building that now looks out over a parking lot and then the main public square and after a couple of blocks out to the countryside.  In the early morning and in the evening all I see is the smoky haze.  During mid-day a broad plain appears in the distance with the river running through it, some herds of animals and perhaps a couple of herders, two or three isolated gers, and the mountains beyond.   In the parking lot, several men are chopping away at the ice trying to make it safer to walk and drive.  It’s a slow process.

Men removing ice from the parking lot outside our office. Tedious work

Here in the office, we are getting ready for a major event: the 10^th anniversary of the Huvsgul Chamber of Commerce.  It will be a big deal—parties, ceremonies, who knows what all.  Even the head of the National Chamber of Commerce will be here.  I bought a new traditional Mongolian vest this week to go with a long skirt I brought since my Mongolia deel (traditional robe-like outfit) is at home.

For now, I’m just trying to stay warm and be helpful and continue to work on my efforts to establish a little export business for my local craftspeople.

1. We sent off a box of handicraft items to my
   

   My Mongolian partners send a box of handicrafts to the U.S.

   daughter-in-law a few weeks ago and they have arrived in U.S. Some will be sent to friends in Marblehead and California to see if we can find some outlets for them in local shops. If anyone is interested in finding out more about this project, let me know. Handicrafts include felt slippers, yak cashmere and goat cashmere sweaters, hats, scarves, mittens, gloves, sox, sheepskin mittens and carved wooden animals.

2. Took a trip to UB to get a flu shot required by Peace Corps and had an opportunity to enjoy some hot showers and have some meetings with people about exporting and other things.  Met an Australian volunteering at National Chamber of Commerce who invited me to a felt-making workshop.  Made a purse—felt-making is hard work, lots of spreading washed, carded sheep wool, wetting, and pressing and rolling and pressing over and over.  But the results were good.
   

   Felt-making workshop in UB

3. Thanksgiving was spent at a local American missionary’s home.  They have lived here some 19 years and helped the local people learn to raise vegetables.  Even had a turkey a friend sent to them from UB. I made my traditional dinner rolls, the stuffing and the gravy.
4. A Mongolian friend of mine plays the horsehead fiddle—a traditional Mongolian instrument—he gave a concert recently at our theater.  He played in duets and with several singers including an 8-year-old who could really belt it out.  To hear what it’s like, I suggest you go to YouTube and type in “horsehead fiddle” and you find a lot of videos to listen to.
   

   A woman singing a Mongolian long song and my friend playing the horsehead fiddle

A little revision in my return home—will be heading home on January 13, probably visiting with my Brooklyn family before returning to Marblehead.

New stoplight on Red

And now it's green

The lights were installed and turned on last Monday and accompanied by a policeman for one day blowing his whistle at nearly everyone who drove by.  I’m sure most people have encountered lights in UB, but they still have caused quite a stir here—lots of frustrated honking.  There are no left or right turn signals nor separate lanes and since the main intersection has lots of people turning left and right instead of going straight, it’s made for a fair amount of congestion.  And then there are the pedestrians who are used to scampering out of the way of cars.  Cars of course have the right of way here.

But we’ll get used to it and I do think it will get better—and maybe prevent some fender benders or worse.

Along with new stoplights, we have some new buildings going up—including two with colored reflective glass.  I’d like to think they have something to with energy efficiency, but I’m not so sure.  I keep asking, but nobody knows.

My first wedding

Otgo and Enkhtuuvshin on their wedding day

Last week I went to a wedding of a Mongolian friend.  Her name is Enkhtuuvhshin.  The wedding was held at her and her now-husband’s home here in Muron.  According to the local Buddhist Lama, she was married on the most wedding-fortuitous day of the year, lots of weddings that day.  There were about 70 people I think and the focus was on food, drink, some speeches by parents, some singing and much camaraderie.  No formal ceremony.  All the PCVs here know her and so we all went.  The bride and family work very hard beforehand, making a lot of food and continually serving it as people come and go.  And for days afterwards, the bride must continue to serve guests who drop who couldn’t come on the day itself.  As in America, presents are essential and in return, each person receives a small gift of money along with a blue ceremonial scarf and a box of matches.

Alcohol Awareness Week

Word in the middle says "alcohol"

Last week was Alcohol Awareness Week sponsored by Peace Corps and its Volunteers.  Focus is primarily on the young people with a number of events scheduled throughout the week, including poster contests, a parade with posters, teacher education, and a final event at the local theater complete with singing and dancing performances, a talk by a local former alcoholic, and skits prepared by the various schools with awards and prizes.

A bumper season for Mongolian pine nuts

For several months now, everywhere you turn, someone is sitting on a box with a big bag of pine nuts and several different size glasses sitting in front of them filled to the brim with the nuts.  And everywhere you look, people have a hand to their mouth, putting a pine nut in their mouths, cracking it with their teeth and somehow extracting the tiny, tiny kernel and spitting out the shell.  The ground is covered with pine nut shells. I think you have to be born with the skill—I can’t seem to separate the shell from the nut and end up spitting out everything.  Still, I admire the people who gather and sell the nuts—putting out their wares in early morning (and now it’s freezing in the early morning!) and still there when I head home in the evening.

Little boy selling pine nuts with his sisters

Mostly women do the selling, often two or three in a row, but near my home, a little boy is often on duty at a busy corner by himself, sometimes accompanied by a big sister minding a little toddler.  I bought a small glass of his nuts and then took the picture—later gave the nuts away.

Getting ready for the Mongolian winter

Word in the middle says "alcohol"

I now have a pretty good supply of wood stored in a little anteroom in my home thanks to two of my fellow PCVs and to some local students.  First, two PCVs came by one Saturday and split some of my firewood for me.  And a couple of weeks later, a local teacher showed up with about seven teenagers from his class and split some more.  The teacher made it a lesson in the importance of helping others. I made a good hearty soup for them with bread, fruit, and a local favorite of Choco-pies for dessert.  They spent a couple of hours chopping away and even bringing it inside for me.  My only concern is that they were so enthusiastic about splitting the wood, a lot of it is smaller than I’d like—will burn up a little too fast.  I still have more wood in my woodpile so when I need it again, I’ll ask for someone to leave the pieces a little bigger so they will last longer.  I make a fire when I get up in the morning (it’s the hardest part of the day now to get out of bed in the cold) and again when I get home in the evening.  My little stove needs to be fed regularly to keep it warm enough in the room I live in in my little house and even then I wear 3 or 4 layers.  But I’m accustomed to it and it’s not a hardship—I can build a fire really fast now!

Hope you are keeping comfortable wherever you are.

A five-year-old boy won the prize for riding the fastest horse in Muron’s Naadam recently. Really! If you’ve been reading my blog, you might be asking, “Didn’t you already celebrate Naadam in July?”  The answer is yes, but…

Approaching the finish of the horse race

Naadam is the big summer holiday in Mongolia celebrating the three manly sports: horse racing, wresting Mongolian style, and archery.  I live in Muron, the aimag center (like the state capital) and so our Naadam is always for the whole state of Khuvsgul.  This year Muron wanted its own city Naadam just like the rest of the other towns have in the aimag.

Even though school had already started, at the end of September we had 3 days of celebration.  I spent the last day with a friend watching the horse racing, the wrestling, and the presentation of awards (always a big deal).  I am always impressed watching the horses with their small riders come flying in from 10-17 miles away—many without saddles and riding as if glued to the animal’s back.

The wrestler in the center is a national champion and proved it easily. Check out youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o21UWYy-5IQ

There are different races for ages of horses from 2 to 7.  An interesting sidebar: The horse that finishes last in the Daaga race (two-year-old horses’ race) is called bayan khodood (meaning “full stomach”—don’t ask why). And along with songs sung to the winners, a song is sung to the bayan khodood wishing him luck to be next year’s winner.

Sara’s father is honored

Sara, Jamsren, Tsermaa, Bold (Sara's brother and the couple whose home I share) at ceremony celebrating Jamscren's long career

As I say, Mongolians love to celebrate.  Last week, my boss’s father (Jamsren) was honored along with three other men at a special ceremony complete with medals, plaques, speeches, music and of course a sip of vodka for all.  About 100 people were present. I was the official photographer for Janscren and am posting a family photo.

Bookbridge arrives

I also witnessed the arrival of 15,000 English books for the local library, courtesy of Bookbridge (see www.bookbridge.org for details).  A joint effort of Kuehne + Nagel, www.kn-portal.com/ and the Bookbridge team, the group spent months preparing for this effort which also includes a provision for teaching English and many activities for children.  A team of 12 spent a week setting up shelves, painting, sorting the books (all donated—most from America) and then, of course, had a grand opening with balloons and music performances and speeches.

English corner

One of our ongoing activities will now take place in the library instead of the local hotel.  It’s called English Corner (Mondays, 7 to 7 pm) and anyone is welcome to come who wants to practice speaking English. Last Monday I talked with a small group of adults about proverbs such as “too many cooks spoil the broth”.  I have long been interested in Mongolian proverbs and when I was in UB a while ago I found a book filled with Mongolian proverbs in English and Mongolian, along with an explanation of their meanings and even their frequency of use.

 “Outside glitters, inside ignorance”: Mongolian proverb

I might compare that to the English “You can’t tell a book by its cover.”  I have a list of English proverbs too and we are having a good time discussing and comparing them.  Mongolian proverbs often include a reference to animals or to family members.  What’s your favorite proverb?

Do you have a favorite—is there one your mom or dad or grandparent always used?  Send it to me, either by sending me a comment (click below on “send a comment”)  or email me directly.

Bayartai, daraa ulzii  (goodbye, see you later)

At 9:30 we were to meet near our ger craft shop in the middle of town and would head for the hoodo.  “Hodoo” means countryside in Mongolian.  You use the word a lot here since everyone has relations in the countryside—that’s anything outside the town.

Our destination for the picnic

Our picnic was our celebration after the close last Friday of our craft shop.  Not many tourists around now and we have no little stove for the ger.  (We hope to find another place to open the shop during the winter months.)

So, with some of our profits, we planned a picnic with khorkhog as the main event.  Khorkhog is a distinctly Mongolian recipe usually prepared outdoors in celebration of something.  A couple of people had been assigned the planning and shopping.  Here’s our shopping list:  1 fresh goat, potatoes, carrots, onions, jars of pickles, jars of carrot salad, bread, candy, vodka and Mongolian wine, juice and water.

I was the first one to arrive  but by about 10:30 we were on our way, all 16 of us piled into a little minibus—plus the goat.  We drove about ½ an hour south of Muron into the hills to a group of little camps strung out along a narrow valley.  Each one is a collection of little wooden houses, sort of like a camp in U.S., where various groups go for a summer camp or special retreat.  No one is around now so we had a camp all to ourselves.

The first job was to gather firewood from the woods and build a fire.  Then we gathered some fist-sized stones and buried them in the fire. Meanwhile, two men started cutting up the goat while several women climbed down a steep bank to the stream below and washed the vegetables.

Washing the veggies down at the stream

Cutting up the goat for khorkhog

One of the young women pointed out various plants and berries indicating which ones are good for which part of the body.  People here often use the flora for medicinal purposes.  She also finds me a piece of chewing gum from one of the pine trees.

While we wait for the stones to get hot, we amuse ourselves exploring the stream and woods around us. One group plays a no-net version of volleyball.  To do so, people stand in a circle and “volley” the ball back and forth to each other as you do on a volleyball court.  Volleyball is popular here and this is a good way to hone your skills when a net is not available. At one point a herder came riding by and stopped to talk.  Everyone was in a happy mood and so we all took turns mounting the little horse and having our pictures taken.

Salesperson Jagaa posing on the horse

Dinner cooking on the fire

After about an hour the stones are ready.  The milkcan is produced and the rocks were dropped in along with the meat and vegetables and some water, the can’s contents steaming and hissing noisily.  Then the milk can was sealed up again and put back on the fire. An hour or so later, the khorkhog was ready, carefully removed from the fire and the lid cautiously opened.

Lifting the milk can off the fire

Steam burst out and then the vegetables could be seen looking all hot and shiny.  A togoo, the Mongolian’s traditional cooking pot, is brought up and the meat and vegetables transferred into it.  As the stones are taken out—now intensely hot, black an shiny from the fire and the fat from the goat, each person is handed a hot rock, quickly flipping it back and forth from hand to hand since it’s too hot to hold more than a fraction of a second.

The finished feast being transferred from milk can to togoo

The rocks are thought to have healing powers and are sometimes touched to a forehead or a back or or other part of the body for extra effectiveness!

We all hastened to get our ayuks and each is served a bowlful of the hot broth as a starter, meaty and delicious.  Then we gathered round a low table—improvised from a wooden bedstead brought out from one of the little cabins.  No plates or utensils are needed; we all just help ourselves to whatever piece of meat looks good to us as well as a potato and a pieces of carrot.  We share a couple of sharp knives to slice off a bit of meat or else we just chew the meat off the bone.  Delicious.

When everyone is satisfied, food is cleared away, and the vodka and wine are opened and the rounds begin.  The main feature is for someone to go round the table giving each person a shot of vodka and in return the person sings a song, generally joined in by the group.

Our picnic group

This is the part I love—to hear the Mongolian people sing.  One of the women from the group that made our felt products sang a song from the Tsaatin people, commonly known as the reindeer people who live up near the Siberian border. She must be in her 70s and her high clear voice was almost unearthly out here in this little valley with only the mountains and trees and the sky surrounding us.  My contribution was “This Land is My Land”, an old Woody Guthrie classic from my college hootenanny days.

Later, more volleyball and some games:  eat an apple that is hanging on a string from a line stretch between two trees—I lost, put a match between your lips and pass it from one to the next in two teams–our team won,  and have a race relay where two people race back to back from one spot to the next over a three-cornered course—we all lost.

Batbayr wearing the goat's tail as a beard

Yaks heading home

Late in the afternoon, a small herd of yaks passed through the camp on their way home.  And then, our driver and the little minibus arrive to pick us up about 7:30 and we head for home, still singing and laughing.  As we drive down into the valley back to Muron, we witnessed one of Mongolia’s magnificent sunsets, the western sky aflame in streaks of gold and red and orange and as the sky faded the one-day-old full moon shined down on a happy but tired little tribe.

A day to remember and a perfect way to cap our little ger shop’s success.

First stop on the road to UB includes sharing snacks we brought along

Another brief stop on the road to sample the local airag and here's one of the progeny

Since arriving in Mongolia in 2008, I have only travelled between UB and Muron, my hometown, by plane for Peace Corps training.  The tales of travel by road — lots of rough roads, too many people in the vehicle, and up to 20 hours travel – had convinced me it was something to be avoided if at all possible.

But when a friend at World Vision suggested I come along on a business trip to UB she had to make, I first said no and then agreed.  I’ve been working seven long days a week for some time, trying to make a success of our little craft shop in Muron plus working on some other things for the Chamber of Commerce.  It was time for a little break and if I didn’t get out of town, it wouldn’t happen.

The roads always have lots of tracks to choose from...which one will be smoothest?

The magnificent Mongolian countryside

As it turned out, the trip wasn’t bad.  Good people to travel with, a careful driver, a safe car, and one more opportunity to admire the magnificent Mongolian countryside of steppe and mountain speckled with gers and herds of animals grazing on the green grasses now fading to gold under the August sun.

Check out Mongolia’s first TEDxConference

I’ll be here a week and one big reason to be glad I’m here is that I’ll get to attend a TEDxConference being held on August 20 here in UB.  If you don’t know about TED conferences, please check out http://www.ted.com   I’ve been listening to TED talks on my iPod for several years and find them fascinating and deeply thought provoking.

Then last year, my friend and PCV classmate, Travis Hellstrom, got together with a Mongolian and began to organize a Mongolian TED conference.  These subsidiary conferences of TED are called TEDxConferences. Web address http://www.tedxulaanbaatar.com/

My Mongolian friends looked at the speaker list and said they’re some of the most prominent people in Mongolia.  You can actually see it streaming live on the website in English or Mongolian and it should be available after the fact as well.  I’ve been doing some long distance help on the event but now that I’m in UB I’ll be able to help out more.

If you’re into Facebook, please give the Conference a “like.”

A new park just outside my window

I’m staying this week with a friend who works in the PC office here in Ulaanbaatar.  She has graciously let me stay with her in her lovely apartment several times when I’ve been in UB and it is such a treat and contrast to my Muron home, much as I love it too.  I came on Sunday night and Monday morning was spa time: a good hot shower, washed my hair, trimmed my toe and fingernails, had real coffee and some pancakes she had made, used her washng machine and just relaxed a bit.  Now I’m ready for anything.

Looking down at a piece of the park from my 5th floor apartment

One of the perks is to see a lovely park that was completed since I was last here.  I’m on the fifth floor and the apartment looks down on the park shown in the photo.  It’s attracting a steady stream of people enjoying its quiet atmosphere, sitting on benches reading or watching the children play around the fountains, a few roller skaters and bike riders but everyone respectful.  And it’s really clean—lots of trash bins and a young man who seems to be constantly sweeping and keeping it clean.

From now on, I expect a busy week with a number of meetings set up and the special TEDx event on Saturday and then home on Sunday.

A Mongolian child gains confidence on her color-coordinated roller blades

Children love the fountain in the park