Advertisement
Published: December 21st 2010
The panorama pic at the beginning of this entry is a close up of my bedroom window - now permanently frozen over. Very pretty but........indicates it is getting a touch cold here in Mongolia. It seems this month is stuck in the -20c through -30c range in Darkhan. Thankfully, the temperatures I experienced in Orkhon haven't reached Darkhan proper.....yet!
As a result of the temperature drop, my working arrangements have changed temporarily so I am not walking the 45 minutes to and from office each day, instead I am working from home. The main reason for this is my laptop has started having little hissy fits about the wild temperature variation between my warm apartment and office and the outside world. Until the Health Department can sort out a PC for me, I am stuck with this arrangement. The worst of it is that my interpreter does not have a computer at home so she is working in the office on her own. 😞
Christmas decorations
For a country with a small Christian population, I am surprised by just how many festive decorations adorn shopping centres and hotel lobbies. The main Christmas tree in UB now features
a Santa holding a can of coke and another Coke sign behind him. Ahhhhhh commercialism, gotta love it.
World AIDS Day
The first of December was World AIDS day and my interpreter organised our psych ward volunteers to gather in busy centres around Darkhan and hand out red ribbons, AIDS information sheets and condoms. We headed to the International Trade Centre in New Darkhan only to realise it was Wednesday - the one day of the week the market is closed. Didn't matter, there were plenty of cab drivers, cab and bus passengers and other businesses open nearby to ensure in less than one hour, we had handed out everything.
Seeing as it was World AIDS day, I will take this opportunity to get on my soapbox and tell you all about the denial this country is in regarding AIDS. When I arrived in August 2010, there were 79 reported cases of HIV/AIDS in a country of 2.7M. A very low rate. It is undeniably under-reported given how rampant other sexually-transmitted infections (STIs) are in Mongolia. In addition, a representative of the National AIDS foundation, when questioned by us volunteers during our in-country training session,
as to the origins of the disease for the 79 people, she declared it was mostly "men who have sex with men". Awesome, even a person in that role cannot manage the words 'gay' or 'homosexual'. What hope has the gay community in this country? After some more questioning, the representative also mentioned that some female prostitutes have HIV. Go figure!
Enough of the rant....other good, bad, sad and indifferent happenings in the past month......
😞 This month I bid a sad farewell to Kate (UK), Cath (UK), and Warren (Aus)
It is a very strange sensation when other volunteers leave. The ones departing are oscillating between the sadness of leaving and the excitement of heading home, there is a 'pillaging party' of some description to distribute their assortment of household goods, clothing and other items accumulated but not going home, the usual farewell drinks/dinners, and an empty feeling for those of us left behind that we have lost a good soul.
I have posted some of the pictures of Kate's early farewell dinner (to allow me to attend whilst I was in UB!) at our favorite Indian restaurant, Hazara. It was a great night because,
in addition to saying goodbye to Kate, I got to say hello again to Leizel and Bunny whom I had not seen since in-country training finished in the first week of September. Yep - definitely bittersweet!
😊 My early Christmas present to myself was a pair of custom-made winter black leather boots! I received the email address of a UB company through a former Australian work colleague who spent last year volunteering in Mongolia, Jenny Frieden, and, after making initial contact, sent them a photo of the basic style I was interested in. Next day, got measured up and the following week, went to pick them up. Unfortunately, they did not fit perfectly BUT the boot maker quickly sorted out the issues and I received my boots the next day, which was a Saturday (more good service), and they are warm, functional and my very first pair of custom-made shoes!
A work-related tale......
I received an invite to the launch of the Darkhan Health Department's 2010-2015 Strategic Plan, which I must say looked like a wedding invitation with thin gold rope holding it together! The launch was set for Monday and Tuesday the following week but, in
true Mongolian style, the Health Minister requested a change to Sunday and Monday just days before the event! Well, I was already in UB so missed the Sunday session.
Monday was a hoot! Started late, of course, and immediately the schedule was changed to further accommodate the Health Minister who was in Erdenet (a couple of hours drive away). We listened to some presentations, did some group workshop activities and, around 1 pm, the Health Minister arrived. By this stage, I was starving. I hoped he would not speak for too long. No such luck. One full hour of him speaking without any notes or prompts. Just when I thought we would get to go for lunch, more pomp and ceremony. Firstly, the signing of the strategic plan (and seeing as I have already referred to weddings, this was reminiscent of the signing of the marriage register!) and then the presentation of flowers and gifts to a select group of doctors and nurses. And finally, a group photo!
So, around 3:30pm we finally started our meal. We went to 'The Empire' and even that set up was like a wedding - plenty of booze on
Gomolt Bank tree
The star is the Golomt bank symbol!the table (including 2 bottles of vodka between 10), alternate dishes for the main meal, some singing by an assortment of people including two male nurses, and plenty of long speeches and toasts. It was great fun but my interpreter needed to leave around 5:30 so I headed off too. Not sure what time the actual function would have finished, there was plenty of action on the dance floor when I left and no signs of the drinking slowing at all!
😊 VSO Christmas party at Terelj National Park
A party for staff and volunteers was held on Sunday 19 December at Terelj. It was my first visit to the park just over an hour out of UB.
We had a fantastic time - plenty of mulled wine, buuz and hoorshuur (and there were mutton-free versions - yippee!), tug-of-war, horse-riding, hiking and a Kris Kringle (Secret Santa) with a twist called 'The Greed of Christmas'.
Note to self - do not attempt to walk up a hill after consuming several glasses of mulled wine and plenty of buuz and hoorshuur! I can't say I have ever felt so poorly doing something so simple - but it was
Kara and Leizel ordering
This Indian restaurant is fantastic and would manage very well in any city in the world - can't say that about many eateries in Mong! worth it - I did see a yak (or at least a cross breed) and got to invent a new way of getting down the mountain - sliding in a crouched position and using my hands as brakes. It was fun and a couple of the guys decided it was also a worthwhile option! Chris did take photos so I may be able to post the evidence at a later time!
Some observations to finish with......
* In the first week of October, my interpreter and I ordered and paid for a Nomin supermarket loyalty card. No receipts, no guarantees except the card was expected within one month. ONE MONTH! At the time I was horrified. Now, I am just dumbfounded. My card, and that of my interpreter, has still not appeared in the Darkhan store!
* I have already mentioned just how important fashion is in Mongolia, particularly for women, but I must say, color coordination is not a factor in that consideration. I have seen some extraordinary sights on the streets where young ladies are wearing individually lovely items, but as an ensemble, don't really pass muster.
* In this entry, I mentioned HIV/AIDS. Well, not to
be flippant, but a serious virus issue in this country is the computer virus! I have run out of fingers and toes to count the number of little nasties which have attempted to invade my laptop since I arrived here. Thank goodness I have a licensed version of AVG to protect me.
* A few entries ago featured the odd ovoo pic and I received a few emails asking about them. My dear friend, Yvonne, found this description online which I feel compelled to share......
When travelling, it is custom to stop and circle an ovoo three times in clockwise direction, in order to have a safer journey. Usually, rocks are picked up from the ground and added to the pile. Also, one may leave offerings in the form of sweets, money, milk, or vodka. If one is in a hurry while travelling and does not have time to stop at an ovoo, honking of the horn while passing by the ovoo will suffice..... * One of the first Mongolian superstitions I learned when I arrived was to say sorry and shake hands with anyone with whom you inadvertently touch feet. It has taken lots of questions to volunteers and native
The girls
Farrah, Kate, Me, Jo, Kara and Leizel Mongolians to receive a plausible reason for doing so. That is, something other than the ubiquitous response of "just because"! As your feet are close to the ground, they store much negative energy. To counteract the effect of receiving someone else's negative energy, you shake hands, representing positive energy being further away from the earth. Works for me!
* As
Hoover is to vacuum cleaner in the UK, and
Esky is to cooler in Australia,
Canon is to printing in Mongolia
* And I must mention something I truly admire about the Mongolian people. I am yet to see a single baby or child who is not appropriately dressed for the conditions. I can't say this is true in Australia in the heat of summer or the relative cold of winter.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.114s; Tpl: 0.014s; cc: 6; qc: 24; dbt: 0.0429s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Beth
non-member comment
Happy New Year
Hey there Merryn Great to catch up on your blog. It is 40 degrees here in Riddells Creek on this New Years Eve. First really warm day of summer with a lovely week of mid 20's to follow. Hope you survive the cold! Happy New Year Love Beth and Michael