Christmas In Mongolia

Christmas itself is not celebrated in Mongolia, but they do like their decorations (even if they do say 'Merry Christmas'). Sukhbaatar Square has a huge Christmas tree with a red star (some people just can't let go). The whole season is referred to a New Year and both New Year's Eve and New Year's Day are holidays.

The 22nd, 23rd and 24th of December were taken with training - which was a relief as work had been frustratingly slow recently. We were training doctors and nurses who work with the health volunteers, trying to raise their awareness of volunteering, health promotion and the role of the volunteer. Each day something else went wrong, including:

Day 1: We could not show a presentation because of viruses, we only started with seven particpants, lunch didn't come until 2.30....

Day 2: No electricity (not great for powerpoint presentations and showing DVDs)

Day 3: Like training teenagers! You're meant to be adults for goodness sake. Aarghhh.

The training was held in the ger district, and boy, is it smoggy. Two of the days I decided to walk the venue. You can see where the ger district begins as the visibility drops considerably. By the time I reached the training venue, I reaked of smoke, and the effects of breathing in the smog made the first glass of water taste purely of smoke. It has to be said that there is something eerily beautiful about the sun rising through the smog, the smoke from a ger waving through an orange haze.

The walk was also cold! (the colder the smoggier, as families burn more and more in their gers). The problem is the cheeks - wrapping a scarf around you face does little as your breath freezes in the scarf and you're soon holding ice to your face. I am pleased with the way I have adapted to the cold. It's certainly preferably to clouds and drizzle! The dry days, clear blue skies (not accounting for smog!) and sunshine really do make a difference.

Christmas itself was fairly quiet, a roast chicken (no chance of a turkey!) and a party with other volunteers in the evening. The highlight was quite possibly mozerella (amazing!) served by an Italian guy in a pig mask (just disturbing!).

More photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/chris.guinness

Two months in Mongolia

It’s been two months here already and the place really feels like home. The work is going well. I gave a presentation to an organisation who have set up the first volunteer centre in Mongolia. I talked about volunteer centres for 2 hours. How did that happen? (I don’t think I talked about them for 2 hours in the whole 5 years I worked in one! – Only kidding if any former colleagues are reading!) I will be helping them in their planning for the year. There is so much scope to get involved in different projects here.

I’ve been on two trips to the other places I’ll be working at on my placement – Darkhan and Choibalsan:

The journey to Darkhan was by shared taxi. This began by nearly being assaulted by an aggrieved taxi driver who felt I should have got into his car and decided he was going to drag me into his taxi whether I liked it or not. There was a long wait until the taxi was full, and then another wait until his boot was full of packages to deliver, and finally, after 2 ½ hours we were off. The next 3 ½ hours were spent next to a complete drunk who at various times tried to hug me, wrestle with me and sleep on me. Fun trip, might get the bus next time.

It was interesting seeing the health volunteering project in Darkhan (the current person managing it doesn’t like volunteers!) The volunteers are great and laid on a horhog for us. Obviously there was vodka – my mistake was being, apart from the main host, the only other man there.

This meant leading the way with the vodka drinking. I’m not sure if the pure lumps of fat from the horhog helped the vodka go down – or the vodka helped the fat go down…. Either way, I wasn’t half as damaged as I should have been!

My second trip was to Choibalsan. It is the fourth biggest aimiag centre in Mongolia with 40,000 people and 1 ½ hours away from UB by plane. I was staying in a hotel for the week which, as I soon discovered, was the local knocking shop. Judging by the many knocks on the door in the middle of the night, I had taken the room of a popular girl. I thought about opening the door, but they would have been sorely disappointed!! Choibalsan is soooo quiet, and I, in my wisdom, have agreed to spend the coldest months of the year there! In Choibalsan, the husband of another VSO volunteer fell down a manhole (breaking 3 ribs). I found it difficult not to laugh when he told me the story. At least I know when it happens to me – I won’t be the first.

Despite the risk of frostbite I am looking forward to working in Choibalsan. My counterparts are really keen to work together and I think we can develop their volunteering programme quickly.

Olympic Gold No. 2!!

On the last day of the Olympics (24th August), Mongolia picked up their second gold medal of the games in the boxing (having won their first ever gold in the Judo just befor I arrived).



(I have been told that gold medal tally was actually higher, as the boxer who won silver was injured and a Mongolian born woman representing Germany also won a medal).



When I arrived (16th August) I was told stories of the mad celebrations that follwed in UB and all of Mongolia. The main square in the city, Sukbaatar, was packed full of people waiving flags and singing, while the president sand a kareoke version of the national anthem p*ssed as a fart while someone had to hold him upright! I was watching the boxing with interest, hoping for a repeat.



Sunday came and while missing out in one final, they did win their second gold. The city went crazy - before even venturing out I could here thousands of car horns enveloping the city in noise.



So I wondered into town, and sat in a bar balcony as the street erupted before me. So many cars, horns honking, people hanging out of windows and sitting on roofs, shouting and screaming and waving flags. It was a real spontaneous, joyous (and quite drunken) outpouring of national pride. A real privilege to see.








Every now and then an over ambitious ( and frankly disillussioned) policeman would come along and try to persuade people to get back inside their cars. No chance!



Later on I wondered down to Sukbaatar Square. I have never been so popular in my life! People running up to me to tell me that they had 2 golds, giving me high fives, waving flags in my face. The centre of the Square was packed with people chanting "Mongol, Mongol" and the sound of vodka bottles smashing creating a noisy couldron. There must been some sore heads on Monday morning.

One Week in Ulaanbaatar

I have been here in Mongolia for a week already. The first week has been consumed with In-Country-Training and exploring Ulaanbaatar.

In an effort to slip seamlessly into the traditional Mongolian lifestyle, my first week has included a meals at Indian restaurant and Malaysian restaurants, a drink at the British Embassy bar (the ‘Steppe-Inn’ – geddit?!? - a useful place to know as it’s the only place to get a pint when alcohol is banned, as during the recent riots) and a pub quiz at Dave’s Bar (yes, it is run by a bloke called Dave).



On our second day we went to Terelj, out in the countryside. It is famous for turtle rock, which really does resemble a turtle. We had a true Mongolian barbeque and marvelled at the countryside, beautiful hills in a vast landscape.



UB is a dusty concrete city, with a run down ‘better-days’ feel to it – but not at all threatening. There seems to be a pragmatic approach to life, where aesthetics (in terms of buildings and urban landscape) is of little importance. The city is relatively small, surrounded by sprawling ger districts that stretch to the slopes of the hills and mountains that encircle the city. It still has a vast feel to it, with large main roads and wide pavements, yet you can easily cover one end of the city to the other by foot in a short space of time.

The Thursday before I arrived, a Mongolian won their first ever Olympic gold medal (in Judo). Apparently the celebrations were great, with the president giving a karaoke rendition of the national anthem in the main square while completely sozzled. They have just picked up another in boxing, so hopefully tonight will be just as raucous, and I can experience Mongolian celebrations.

The traffic here stops for nothing and no-one. Pedestrian crossings serve no purpose except to serve as gathering points for people to cross the road en-masse. Safety in numbers. The key when crossing is avoid the British dithering technique (one foot forward: ‘I’m going’, foot back: ‘oh, he might not stop’) and put the head down and march – they will go around you. I can also confirm that in those ‘Oops, I miss-judged the traffic’ moments, the buses at least, will actually (and eventually) stop – but only after being entirely satisfied that they have delivered a brown-trouser moment.

I have heard a theory that drivers still have a ‘herder’s mentality’, thinking they are still on a horse and another (more plausible) reason that they drive like they would on country roads/dust tracks.

By far the safest method is the tried and trusted international road-crossing technique - to latch onto locals who look like they know what they’re doing and walk in time with them (preferable standing the other side of the on-coming traffic!). It’s got me through the first week unscathed!

We (8 new volunteers – four English and four from the Philippines) are currently going through In-Country-Training with VSO. One week down, two to go.

The training includes language lessons at the Bridge School every morning – which is going slowly – I thought I was doing quite well until two (happy-)drunks decided to have a conversation with me on the bus yesterday and I couldn’t remember a word. All part of the experience, I guess! My slight concern is that I will be working out of the VSO programme office where everyone speaks perfect English (and me being lazy I’ll probably just end up talking in English), rather than being at a placement where you have to use the language to communicate with colleagues. Luckily VSO will refund continued language lessons after the training – which I intend to do.

The rest of the training includes a country briefing, safety and medical issues, talks on the programme areas VSO work on here and other general info.

Predictably the main focus of the safety and medical briefing covered the cold winters. -40 C is going to be interesting! The snow in the city is very fine and the country director referred to it ‘diamond dust’. Sounds amazing.

My main concern is the manholes. The covers have all been removed for either/or/both: To be sold for scrap metal, or (more seriously) to create access for homeless people who live down there. It seems hard to believe, but while waiting around for other volunteers a man just lowered himself into one, saying hello to us as though walking through his front door. The heating in the apartment blocks in the city is controlled centrally (it is turned on and off at set dates in October and March) and the pipes pass under the manholes – so people live down there to stay warm. Mongolia is no place to live on the streets in winter. To keep in some of the warmth, the holes are often covered in cardboard, and when covered in ice and snow are apparently impossible to spot. The winters will be fun!

Yesterday we took a trip to the Mongolian Women Farmers’ Association (a local project supported by a VSO volunteer) in Bayankhoshuu – one of the peri-urban ger districts in UB. They provide training to people on how to grow their own vegetables. The training is timed for the right times for growing – they will have a session on preparing soil and people will go home and prepare the soil, and come back a week later for the next session. The plot they have is beautiful, full of sunflowers and vegetables, right in the middle of the ger district. It was an inspiring visit.

I am itching to start work (first day – Monday 8th September) and really get immersed in the lifestyle and culture. The trip to the Mongolian Women Farmers’ Association has really enthused me about being here, being involved with VSO and working with local projects. Roll on the next two years!