Sara Tarkka and the Red Hero

Mongolian Road Trip: Day 1 Sand dunes

2009-08-20T12:45:00.000-07:00

Here are photos from day 1 of July travels with Noah in the Mongolian countryside.

Passing through the city into the steppes, our driver Davaa, took us along one of the better Mongolian roads to the Mongol Els (sand dunes). On the way we saw people camped waiting to see some test horse races, a variety of livestock (sheep, cattle, camel, and goats). It was probably the hottest day of the whole trip.

This series of photos ends with a shot of an oncoming thunderstorm...that blew down our tent.

A short trip to Erenhot, China

2009-07-29T20:04:00.001-07:00

Due to a visa issue, I had to travel to Erenhot, China in Inner Mongolia on the border with the country of Mongolia, located in the middle of the Gobi Desert. It is a flat, hot, and sunny city of about 100,000. Like other adventures I've had in the region it was both harrowing and relaxing. Fortunately, my boss's daughter, Miki, and her friend Erka came with me. Erka's sister lives in Erenhot with her Chinese Mongolian husband and showed us around town. The city is undergoing an economic boom as a major trading center. The wide boulevards have spare traffic, but plenty of rickshaws. The markets were a sight for sore eyes with so many fruits and vegetables. The food was delicious.

I thought we could just take the train from Erenhot back to Ulaanbaatar, but no! We had to hire a jeep. The five-person jeep carried all nine of us--with me holding the front passenger door closed with a strap through two border crossings and one health inspection stop. After some miscommunications and the purchase of 'VIP' train tickets (a.k.a. a small bribe) Miki and I made it onto the Zamin-Uud to UB train. On the train we shared our cabin with a Mongolian business man who was both a great Mongolian teacher (he spoke slowly and clearly with a basic vocabulary so I could understand) and very generous.

Although it was a fascinating place, with signs in Chinese and Mongolian (Cyrillic and the older script) and Mongolians speaking with an accent even I could hear, I was happy to get back home to UB and prepare for my trip to the countryside (photos to be posted soon).

Lara visits, Dan visits

2009-07-29T19:43:00.000-07:00

Big bro Dan came to visit for a week and Lara came for two weeks to UB. My friend Sanaser kindly showed us around town taking us to Zaisan Tolgoi (Soviet soldiers monument) and a few bars.

Bogd Khan Mountain: South Side

2009-06-16T03:45:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I went hiking again with my friend Laura and many of her students to the south side of Bogd Khan Mountain (the other blog post was from the north side). Pictured below you will see, aside from austere but beautiful Mongolian nature, a cauldron made to feed 1,000 people, Laura's students, colleagues and some of their families, ovoo (ritual piles of stones, scarves, and other offerings), vodka, and the Manzushir Monastery, which was destroyed during the Soviet purges along with hundreds of lamas during the 1930s. There was also lots of singing and I will make a post dedicated to Mongolian music at some point in the not too distant future.

Final Exam

2009-06-09T05:37:00.001-07:00

Here is a photo of all of the NCC students in the NUM program. It was a great semester and I hope they all passed their exam!

Khustai National Park and Maria's Visit

2009-06-09T05:16:00.000-07:00

Last week Maria from Moscow/Seattle came for a visit and we spent a long weekend at Khustai National Park. Special to the park are the wild Takhi (Przerwalski) horses who have been reintroduced over the last 20 years or so. According to the people at the park they are the only trully wild horses living in the wild. Also shown are domesticated horses, a ger tourist camp, mountains, and rain clouds.

NUM Department of Management 50th Anniversary Party

2009-06-09T04:53:00.003-07:00

There have been many events this spring for the 50th Anniversary celebrations. During the party a video was shown that had old film and photos from the Socialist era. Among other images, there were photos of faculty standing in front of portraits of Stalin. Unfortunately, I don't have images here...only of the guests and presentations.

Bogd Khan Mountain

2009-06-09T04:34:00.001-07:00

Bogd Khan is one of four mountains surrounding Ulaanbaatar and can be seen from my apartment. The other week I hiked to the top with my friend Laura and her student/colleague Bayar. For the those familiar with Colorado, yes, it does look surprisingly similar to the Rockies.

Seoul 6: Dan is Important (and coffee)

2009-06-09T04:26:00.000-07:00

Seoul 5: Namsan, nightlife fun time

2009-06-09T04:12:00.000-07:00

Seoul 4: Insadong

2009-06-04T02:08:00.001-07:00

Seoul 3: Changyeonggung and Jongmyo Palaces

2009-05-31T06:00:00.000-07:00

Seoul 2: Green and Dr. Fish

2009-05-31T05:26:00.001-07:00

On my first day in Seoul Dan and his friends organised a picnic to a park on an island in the middle of the Han River. It was rainy and I was overwhelmed by lush green scenery, the humidity, and delicious fried chicken. Also featured is my friend Susan who I know from Seattle.

I love Dr. Fish!

Seoul 1: Flying

2009-05-31T05:14:00.000-07:00

Here I am waiting for my plane, and as you can see I can't get enough photos of Mongolia from the air!

Nairamdal Park

2009-05-02T05:16:00.000-07:00

Here are photos from my trip to the countryside and Nairamdal Park with my students and co-workers. The weather was beautiful, albeit windy. I was thrilled to get out of the city and do a bit of hiking.

The park is a kind of high school retreat that opened about 50 years ago. There are lots of multicultural-themed cabins as well as a high school and some sort of large boat-looking building. We had snacks in an ecology room with some long-stuffed and pinned creatures. I also saw the first flowers of the season! Apparently, the purple ones make goats fat and tasty. As usual, I also posted photos to and from the countryside.

Urban Herding

2009-04-22T01:18:00.000-07:00

I took these photos on my way home from work today. It's a bit hard to see, but there is a herder and a number of cattle hanging out by the river. The Selbe Gol (Selbe River) is about a 5 minute walk from my house. The photo was also taken about a 5 minute walk down river from the US Embassy.

The Beatles Information

2009-04-13T02:38:00.000-07:00

From the UB Post.

Via Sarcasmus via Twitter.

Miscellaneous

2009-04-05T06:07:00.001-07:00

Gandan Khiid (Monastery)

2009-04-05T05:06:00.000-07:00

Here are a few photos from Gandan Khiid, Mongolia's largest Buddhist Monastery. Unlike the Choijin Lama Khiid, Gandan is still an active monastery. In one of the smaller buildings we sat and listened to the lamas pray. The largest building that you see houses an incredibly large golden Buddha statue. I was told that inside the Buddha there is a ger (traditional tent house) and a sheep. Notice also that I'm not wearing a jacket in the photos! Spring has come. And so has the dust.

Choijin Lama Khiid (Monastery) Museum

2009-03-27T05:32:00.000-07:00

The Choijin Lama Khiid is located just south of Sukhbaatar Square and was built in the early 1900s by the last Khan of Mongolia, the Bogd Khan, for his brother the Choijin Lama. The Monastery consists of several separate temples, and before 1921, most were public except for one which was reserved for the Choijin Lama's private use. From what I understand the Monastery survived the 1921 Socialist revolution as a museum of Mongolia's 'obsolete' religious culture. However, rapid revival of religion in Mongolia (and Russia) illustrates both the lasting power of religion and its ability to give people a sense of identity to navigate the political economic uncertainty brought about by 'shock therapy' global capitalism. I will post photos of active monasteries in the future, but the Choijin Lama's remains a museum.

The first several photos show the immediate surroundings of the museum including recent construction, the white modern 'Wedding Palace', and me with a decorative stone wall and mountains. The Mongolian woman in one of the photos is Amy, daughter of one of the professors in my program and my tour guide for the afternoon.

The Mongolian variety of Tibetan Buddhism includes local gods of the mountains. My favourite is the old grey man mask. The monastery also features a building with many statues by Zanabazar and his students. Zanabazar was more or less the Leonardo DaVinci of Mongolia in the 17th century. I have heard that the Choijin Lama was interested in alchemy, but I did not see any sort of laboratory...perhaps further exploration is required.

It's finally warm enough to take outdoor photos

2009-03-27T04:58:00.000-07:00

I took these photos in central Ulaanbaatar in and around Sukhbaatar Square and the Parliament. Similar to most Mongolian landscapes, these photos show Soviet reminders, global capitalism, and class struggle. Or in other words, the unevenness of post-Soviet development.

The Parliament building was built within the last few years (not without controversy) to replace the old Socialist government building, which was black. In an earlier post there is a photo of me with the statue of Chinggis Khan surrounded by his successors. Also shown below are public art in front of the National Museum, new office towers, and a building shrouded in green netting located across the street from the Parliament building. The gutted building had something to do with duty/taxes and during last summer's riots, after all the alcohol was looted, the building was destroyed. It is now relatively unguarded and frequented by adventure-seeking teenagers.

Women's Day/Soldier's Day Karaoke and Bolor's Birthday

2009-03-27T04:42:00.001-07:00

On March 8 and March 18 Mongolia celebrates Women's Day and Soldier's Day (respectively). My department celebrate both holidays as well as the birthday of our chair, Bolor. I guess Women's Day is a UN-sponsored holiday, but I also heard that both holidays were also Soviet inspired. The day following karaoke night Bolor generously invited me to her home and there is a photo of her playing the guitar (sorry, my posting is a bit out of order). Karaoke in Mongolia is a lot like karaoke in, well...not quite like 'Pitchers' for the A-town folk. There were lots of Russian and Mongolian songs and some English (Beatles were popular). I gave a not-so-stirring rendition of Bowie's 'Ziggy Stardust'. For those of you who are language learners, I highly recommend karaoke. It is a great way to learn vocabulary and practice pronunciation while drinking vodka and eating kimchi.

Tsagaan Zagas

2009-03-27T04:31:00.000-07:00

These photos show the buying of fish in my office. I bought about a kilo of fish and made lots of soup. I'm sorry, but I forgot to take photos of the soup. The fish comes from Khuvsgul Lake, a glacial lake located in northern Mongolia.

Tsagaan Sar Explanation

2009-02-26T23:41:00.000-08:00

Tsagaan Sar is the Mongolian New Year and means 'White Moon'. For those of you who follow Tibetan Buddhism, yes it is at the same time as Losar—the majority of Mongolians are Tibetan Buddhists. The tradition on Tsagaan Sar is to visit your elder relatives whose children will serve you airag (fermented mare's milk), buuz (steamed meat buns), salads, vodka, and milk tea. You will also note the large full roasted lamb sitting on the table and large stack of cakes piled in odd numbers to represent the good and the bad (always ending with the good). There are traditional greetings which include extending your arms out and supporting the arms of your elders, sniffing at each cheek, exchanging and using snuff from lovely little bottles, and drinking and eating. I was graciously hosted by three families and the following three posts have short explanations and photos of each family. Imagine being a herder, living far away from your friends and family. Coming together and paying visits to your elders is from what I understand not only a fun tradition, but if you are living out in the countryside (unlike the families shown here) the holiday could be a survival mechanism as well. How are your sheep fairing this winter? Saikhan shinelerei and happy year of the ox.

Tsagaan Sar #1: Sanaser's family

2009-02-26T23:30:00.000-08:00

I visited Sanaser's family (he teaches in my department and is the youngest-looking 'cowboy') with Tazaki-san who is a Japanese professor in my department. The below photos include several of Sanaser's siblings, his parents, grandmother, aunts, and uncles. His father, a former member of parliament and Olympian, gave me copies of his books on Mongolian labour markets, which I look forward to reading once my Mongolian is, uh, improved.

Tsagaan Sar #2: Oto's mother's house

2009-02-26T23:19:00.000-08:00

Oto (he is in the ger camp photos) teaches in my department and he invited me to his mother's house for a traditional Tsagaan Sar. She is a lovely woman with many children and grandchildren. The very adorable boy and girl are Oto's son and daughter. The woman in the photo with me and Oto's mother is my boss Sara who was serving as my translator and cultural guide (as usual).

Tsagaan Sar #3: Khongor's family

2009-02-26T23:06:00.000-08:00

Khongor is my student whose family lives in a very nice house outside of Ulaanbaatar more or less in the countryside. The food was delicious and his family were quite entertaining. I am also including photos of the drive to Khongor's house because it gives (hopefully) a good sense of the vastness and contrasts of Ulaanbaatar's outerlying areas.

Zaisan Tolgoi (Soviet Military Monument) with students on a mountain just outside Ulaanbaatar

2009-02-26T22:55:00.000-08:00

Sukhbaatar Square with Students

2009-02-26T22:53:00.000-08:00

Natural History Museum with Students

2009-02-26T22:46:00.000-08:00

Scenes from a tourist ger camp just outside UB with the NUM Management Department

2009-02-05T00:47:00.001-08:00

What I am eating and doing other than teaching and reading...

2009-02-05T00:40:00.000-08:00

Views from my apartment

2009-01-21T00:25:00.000-08:00

Because the average high temperature here is around 5F, I have not been taking photos outside. So here are some photos I've taken from inside my apartment. Notice the air. That isn't fog...it's burning coal--the smell of which now permeates my being.

Swanky Apartment

2009-01-21T00:02:00.000-08:00

As you can see, I have a pretty comfy set-up. Lots of room, a washing machine (in the kitchen), a very out-of-tune piano (but playable), and reading chairs. My bedroom is already messy! Also (mom and dad), please note the very strong lock on the door!

Useful Information...

2009-01-13T21:33:00.000-08:00

...about Ulaanbaatar.

I hope to post some photos by early next week.

A Safe Arrival

2009-01-11T22:57:00.000-08:00

I arrived safely to Ulaanbaatar Chinggis Khan International Airport Saturday afternoon after some 30 hours of travel. My flights were uneventful. I finally saw "Lawrence of Arabia" on the flight to Seoul from LA and wished I hadn't ordered the vegetarian meal (regular meals on Korean air are more, well Korean). I spent a splendid 5 hours in the Seoul airport with my bro Dan, where I enjoyed some bibimbab, coffee, and fresh pastries. I then flew on to Ulaanbaatar where I was met by one my university contacts.

Currently, I'm living in a dorm room, but will have a choice between apartments at some point this week. For those of you familiar with 'clock-brain', my time in Mongolia will be a great challenge to my American chronometric sensibilities. Last night I had an early dinner with an American teacher I know from Denver, which was fun and kind of amusing since it was at a restaurant where Dan and I breakfasted several times when I was here in 2007.

Everyone is very nice and the situation at the university is a good one. The curriculum is developed by a British agency and is relatively easy to follow. I will be teaching quite a bit (between 3 and 5 hours/day), but with a small class of about 10 students.

I will try to have photos for you soon, but I haven't taken many yet. It is so cold outside for most of the day that the idea of stopping to take photos is extremely unattractive. The high here for the next month or so will be 5 degrees fahrenheit. Hope all is well in your locales.