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

Inside the handicraft shop

In the past few weeks, I’ve accosted every non-Mongolian person I see with this question.  If the answer is yes, I deliver my little spiel about our craft ger shop where everything is handmade right here in Khovsgul. I invite them to visit the ger open from 9 to 7 every day and filled with local crafts at reasonable prices: all kinds of felt products including slippers, hats, vests, and handbags, wood carvings, watercolor sketches, some paintings, and a variety of other items.

For these first few weeks that the shop has been open, I’ve spent most of my time in the shop or out looking for customers.  The tourists tend to fall into three categories: 1) Mongolian tourists who generally look but don’t buy, 2) Young adventure travelers backpacking their way across the country so not much room to pack things, and 3) older travelers generally on a tour who have been our best customers.  I’ve enjoyed meeting people from various parts of the world including Canada, France, Switzerland, Spain, Belgium, Sweden, U.S., Australia, England, and Italy.

Most of the tourists are only passing through Muron and are heading north to visit Lake Khuvsgul, our province’s major tourist attraction.  They aren’t really looking for a place to buy souvenirs or crafts.  So we have to go out and find them.  Now that I am a seller of handcrafts rather than a tourist myself, I see things from a different perspective.  When people come to this country, they partake of the spectacular beauty of our countryside, enjoy the hospitality of the people, and are exposed to the rich nomadic culture.  I think tourists or travelers, call them what you will, also have an obligation to give back.  Not just to pay for the tour and transportation, but to seek out ways to give to the local people, to encourage the practice of the traditional craft-making and show appreciation for their skills and creativity.  They will be so grateful, and so will I.

Friends visit and we celebrate Naadam

Just before our local Naadam celebration in the third week of July, some friends from California and one from Switzerland arrived.  So with the shop open and wanting to spend time with my friends, time went fast.  I took a day trip up to the lake with the California friends and went out to my favorite ger camp west of town overnight with my Swiss friend.  The scenery there is always amazing and we were able to do a little horseback riding. Remember, you can click on any photo to enlarge and see the amazing scenery more clearly.

View from Harganat Ger Camp

Click to enlarge. Can you see the mountain goats on top?

Sunset at Harganat Ger Camp

And then there was Naadam. Both last year and this year, Muron had a big Naadam celebration—this year celebrating Muron’s 90^thanniversary.  The town has been spiffing itself up for months.  Everywhere I looked someone was painting something.   We even have a new children’s park and two new fountains.  If you’ve followed my blog, you know Naadam celebrates the “three manly sports”: horse racing, wrestling, and archery.  Horse racing takes place on the edge of town–I still marvel at seeing little 6, 7, 8 year-old kids on horseback, with or without saddles, racing across the steppe.

Naadam horse race

My Swiss friend taking a picture of wrestlers in pre-Naadam parade

And I enjoy the wrestling too. It takes place in the stadium and it’s my kind of violence: two men face off and simply try to force each other to lose their balance and touch a knee or more to the ground. Match over.

People say that when Naadam is over, autumn begins. But so far, it is warm in the 70s. I’m in no rush for cooler weather.

And now, a parting picture… 

Flat tires are a dime a dozen. In fact, no trip to the countryside is complete without at least one.  On the way to work early one morning, I saw this car parked at the edge of the road.  Driver probably had no spare and is apparently snoozing, note feet, awaiting rescue.  Couldn’t resist taking the picture.

But despite the rain, it still feels dry—the roads get dusty again almost immediately and today we had a short sandstorm. After all, it’s Mongolia.

Compost project
I’ve been really busy lately focusing on two primary projects. One was to help a school near my office get its defunct greenhouse going again. The new director (read principal) wants to encourage students and parents to learn more about how to grow vegetables. More people here, I found, are growing vegetables at home and so encouraging them to make compost is a step in the right direction.
This is right down my alley since I’m trying to support the Organic Mongol project that’s part of the National Chamber of Commerce initiatives. Knowing how poor the soil is here, I did some research and put together a Powerpoint presentation about compost: what it is, why it’s good for the soil and how to

Rotating composting barrel

make a rotating compost bin from a big plastic water barrel.  The presentation has run several times on the local television station and I’ve shown it to many people just using my computer.

Restoring the handicraft shop

Ger on its way to our site

It took me two years before to get a local handicraft shop going in Muron and this time it took me 10 weeks. Since the tourist season is short here, I needed to get it started as

Ger in process of being built

quickly as I could. The previous location wasn’t available so World Vision let us use a ger and we found a good location on the main street.  This time I was an active participant in putting the ger up.  Ir’s such an efficient little building!

Just finished putting up the ger with a little help from some friends

Things still move slowly here but it is up and functioning. The only problem is that we need to help people find us.
Most people who come to Muron are on their way to Lake Khuvsgul, the big attraction here. So they don’t seem to stray too far from their hotels. We’ve put posters up everywhere but we still could use more customers. We’re working on it. One

From left: Jagaa, Byimba, craft shop salespeople; Ragchaa, my translator/off to Poland in Sept. to school

nice thing is that I have two lovely young women who are my salespeople for the shop and they are learning how to handle the inventory and the accounting. And how to speak a little more English.

My friends dressed up in our felt products

I also have had the help of a young woman who will be going off to study in Poland on a scholarship this fall. She speaks excellent English and we’ve been working closely together to get the shop up and running and also make progress on a number of other projects.
Overall, things are going as I expected—lots of ups and downs as far as progress goes. Have made new friends and renewed lots of previous friendships. And I continue to learn so much from the people, the land, the challenges that this developing nation continues to face, and from its rich culture and history.

Spring flowers--look like miniature iris

Our greenhouse has a lot of little cucumber and pepper plants that are now being sold to those wanting to start a garden.  Last week as I walked over to visit a friend, I saw a lot of tree-planting going on along the main street.

Planting trees along the road

Maybe it was organized by the government—large piles of black soil had been dumped every so often along the road and groups of students were digging deep holes for the trees.  They plant them in deep saucer-like holes to retain the water I assume.  The challenge is to make sure they continue to water them—as in most landscaping, ongoing maintenance is the big problem. Note: I’m told by an American living here that the black soil is mostly clay and no benefit to the plants at all—but they still bring it in from somewhere.

Night traffic

The other night I was awakened about four in the morning by the sound of some loud motor—like a big truck going by—except it sounded like the truck was just going back and forth near our house.  I looked outside and could see over our fence some lights on what looked like a piece of heavy equipment.  It continued to go back and forth for about 20 minutes and then moved away.  Next morning when I went to work I could see that some sort of road grader had been at work.  A road that goes by our house curves at one spot and the road had become very uneven as cars rounded the curve too quickly, pushing up the sand on one side.  Now it is smooth again—but why did it have to be done at 4 a.m., though it does begin to get light at that time?  We’re approaching summer solstice of course and I can see there’s still light in the sky now even at 11 o’clock.

I keep running into old friends and meeting new people as well.  An army general came into the office last week and wants me to teach English to his daughter, as far as I can understand.  Acquaintance with the military might come in handy…

Have discovered a little shop at the zakh that sells dried beans so bought some red ones and cooked up some red beans and rice this weekend.  I think it will become one of my staple meals!

Good new and bad news

Big events usually take place in the town square right outside my building so I get first-hand exposure to what’s happening.  Last week, there was a big announcement of plans to build a new power plant in Muron that would actually bring

Celebrating announcement of a new power plant

hot water to some homes and businesses.  The downside is that I’m sure it will burn coal.  We already have a few small power plants here that burn coal—black smoke belching from tall smokestacks is not a pretty sight.  As always, these announcements are made on an outdoor stage with speeches and music and there’s a big map in the background of where it will go.

Ironically, the following day was “Clean Power Day” when they actually close a couple of the main streets to traffic encouraging people to walk.  Again a big ceremony in the square with speeches and music and everyone is encouraged to walk and exercise.  Some local groups demonstrate how to exercise.

"Clean Power" Day: a few exercises in the main square

Then this week we had Children’s Day—the day is dedicated to children (and mothers) and again the town square is the central celebration point.  Lots of  speeches and entertainment, children singing, dancing, all dressed up in their fancy clothes (mostly from China).  Peace Corps Volunteers worked with World Vision and provided “healthy snacks” (oatmeal, honey, dry milk, water cooked up and made into bars) and did animal origami with the children.

At the other end of our main street, near where I live, is the Wrestling Palace or what I call the Big Blue Basketball.  Last week there was a volleyball tournament and this coming weekend is a judo tournament (one of our local PCVs has a black belt in judo so she, yes she, is one of the judges).

Volleyball tournament: my friend is in the middle, this side, an English teacher

Mongolians do like sports and once they get some training, they are good at it–women and men.  They are all so strong, even in town they carry water, and chop firewood and get plenty of exercise.

I hope to have more to report on regarding projects I’m working on the next time I post a blog.  Things move slowly….

Some things have changed. Muron has a new hotel and two new big stores looking very modern.  One of the stores even has escalators to the second floor!   What are we coming to?  Most things are the same.  Children give you a big smile and say “hi” when you pass them on the street.  People already are asking me to teach them English.  The outdoor market or zakh is busy as ever selling everything from food and clothes to used auto parts and household goods.

There are currently four Peace Corps Volunteers in town and 2 in outlying soums or villages.  Three will leave in the next few months and in August we will get a new batch.  The present group has been very active in the school community—even had an American-style spelling bee last Saturday—all in English and the kids were amazing.

The weather has been mixed. We expect snow on Tuesday but there are green shoots coming up here and there and trees are budding.

After a week in Muron staying with my supervisor and her father, I have moved into my own home—where I lived before.  Have to say I was a little spoiled because my supervisor lives in an apartment that is heated with a bathroom of sorts.  Now I have to build my own fire—still chilly.  And though I didn’t have to cook for myself I was ready for a change from mutton.

One evening while I was still staying with Sarangeral (my supervisor) she made me a special concoction.  Her father had purchased some special brown flour (not sure exactly what kind of flour) and she put some into a small bowl (what Mongolians call an ayuk–like a little Chinese rice bowl). She added some hot weak tea, some butter (or yellow oil as they call it here), and a couple of cubes of sugar.  Then she stirred it and stirred it and continued adding flour until it was very thick.  Then she gave it to me to eat.  She explained that Mongolians have a tradition about this mixture.  Long, long ago, it was thought that such a mixture would purify your insides and heal you of whatever ailed you.  The secret ingredient though was that you wouldn’t use tea as the liquid.  It would be your mother’s urine.  In fact, the belief was that as long as your mother was alive and able to supply this special ingredient you would never die.  After she died, you were on your own.  Not sure how widely practiced it is today.

I’ve been invited to dinner at several of my friends’ homes since I arrived.  One of them is Batbayer, the woodcarver who carved a number of the animals I brought back with me last fall.  Sarangeral and I went to his ger last

Batbayer carved this wonderful horse for me as a gift

Wednesday and were served traditional buuz and the trimmings by his wife.  Before we left, he presented me with a beautiful carving of a horse (will include photo).  I had asked Tracy to bring some carving tools to him when she came to Muron last September so perhaps this was a thank you.

Today I was invited to visit my good friend Gaana whom I met shortly after I arrived in 2008.  She is a “journalist” and works for the local TV station.  I know her family well—husband, a little boy of 6 and girl of 4.  She made mutton soup and we talked together (she speaks some English), and I played with her children.  Her husband was watching television and fell asleep on their couch, then Gaana lay down on the couch and said she would rest for a few minutes and fell asleep.  Then her son lay down with them and fell asleep.  Meanwhile her little girl and I drew pictures together.  It amused me and I’m just glad they felt comfortable enough with me to take a siesta.  After Gaana awoke about half an hour later, I said I needed to go and said goodby.  Maybe not your typical visit with friends in America, but it’s fine here in Mongolia.  It’s good to be back.