Mongolia

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Mongolia...

So, I am writing from Beijing. I am sitting in a bookstore known as the Bookworm- near the Tuanjihue neighborhood, listening to Tori Amos, eating a grilled chicken and pepper panini w/fries and ketchup and reflecting on my experiences thus far. I might as well be in the U.S. but I find that these touches of home break up the trend of everything being foreign.

Sidenote- for my grammarian friends, let’s say standard rules are flexible on this blog.

About five years ago, my good friend Jin Bayanjargal (great name)- a fellow teaching intern at Fox River Country Day School, invited me to visit her in Mongolia. It was one of those crazy ideas that I only dreamed would come true. Furthermore, how great someone who lives in Mongolia? I did and I was determined to go and learn more about this part of the world.

I kept revisiting this idea each summer. Airfare was too expensive and it seemed more sensible to stay in the States where I had summer employment, needed to make car payments, and wanted to attend various summer weddings. But as of July 1st, this year, I was free, fall was opening up as a great time to travel, and it was time for an adventure!

The last few years have yielded a new love for and curiosity about Asia. I had taken two courses at UW Madison about Asian religions (Islam, Hmong religion, Hinduism, Confucianism, and Buddhism. As for friends living in Asia, there was Merritt in Beijing, Ying in Jinan, and Chris in Laos to visit. They were all fluent in the local languages and Chris would be returning to the U.S. by January.

My stuff was in storage, I didn't have any pets, and I had a host of kind supporters on the home front encouraging me to go. It was time! Logistically, the fall was a great time to travel because there were fewer tourists, the cost was reduced, and the weather was a bit cooler (the jury is still out on SE Asia).

Note- I think I'll be jumping between past and present- hang in there.

As for work, this was or is the perfect time to take this trip as it is a gateway to new beginnings. I have been working for the past five years, part-time, as a healing practitioner and will now am doing that work full-time. More specifically, I work as a Christian Science Practitioner which means that I am self-employed. I have a public practice. I work for individuals, upon request, and pray about specific things related to health, relationships, mental well-being and ultimately one’s relationship to God.

In my family, with two parents who were self-employed, we joked that this was synonymous with being “unemployed” as the work is not a fixed salary. All joking aside, I have thought long and hard about this work and this trip. Both require greater trust financially and seem to be the opposite of fiscal responsibility, but it’s about so much more. This trip is my way of asking myself to think more broadly about the world, spirituality, life, and people. So far, I feel stretched. I feel so able and ready for my work and the adventures that are happening along the way.

I hope to share some of the insights that I am gleaning and hopefully some of the funny stuff too. Ultimately, I hope to encourage you to go ahead and take the plunge with your big dreams. Stop thinking, planning, and budgeting- it's time go! Jump in.

So, Mongolia- I was with you from Sept 10th- Sept 22nd. I have been keeping a journal/sketchbook with thoughts so I will be pulling excerpts from there. I like this illustrated journal approach. It’s a place to for me to reflect, record observations, and dialog. For me, it's been a good travel companion and very amenable!

I loved Mongolia! It was wild and wooly. Jin and her family were warm beyond compare. I was a bit sad to leave that early September morning- chilly and dark at the UB- Ulaanbaatar airport. In brief, I have never experienced anything like Mongolia- vast- gorgeous and developing.

I might begin with my arrival. It was warm when I arrived late on a Friday night. I was worried that I might not recognize Jin as we've only been in touch online. It wasn't hard to pick her out of the crowd- beautiful and cheerful as always. On the other hand, I was feeling a bit bedraggled after a flight from Madison to Chicago, Chi-town to Incheon (woop woop to my Korean friends) layover and then up to Ulaanbaatar. Jin quickly as I am an anomaly to Asian folks with my red hair and freckles?

In the parking lot I nearly got run over, only the beginning of my Asian traffic experiences. Jin has a Japanese Nissan 4x4 type car. The steering wheel is on the right side- a little disorienting since there really are no rules in Mongolia about cars, driving, and traffic. (More later) We made our way to her cousin's house where we'd be staying. The roads had monstrous potholes, the air was dusty, pedestrians crossed haphazardly, there were few street lights, and signs were written in Cyrillic. These are the characters that make up the Mongolian alphabet- more like Russian letters than Asian characters.

My Mongolian host friends/family were Sodo and Ulna. Sodo is Jin's cousin and Ulna is Sodo’s boyfriend. Sodo is a few years younger than Jin and me. We were on the fourth floor of a Soviet era apartment building- three doors to enter. Sodo's dad and younger bro are in California, where her brother is finishing his undergrad. Her mom is in Beijing with her younger sister who is doing graduate work, married, and another child on the way. There are so many reflections on families, children, and couples- more to come in a later blog.

Sodo studied in Korea during college, which was fun for me as my initial intro to Asia had been through the portal of Korea- teaching ESL to Korean students at a boarding school in Chicago. I traveled to Seoul two times to meet with prospective families and students. Skytel is the Korean owned phone company where Sodo works. She was kind enough to set me up with a cellphone or “hand-a-phone” which was very helpful when it came to meeting folks for dinner or giving directions to a taxi driver. I was touched when Sodo started calling me- "awnee"- or sister in Korean. Sodo's cooked regularly and the kimchee was pleasantly familiar.

Finally, let me introduce Jin. She is a competent, bright, and beautiful woman. She grew up in UB during the communist years which ended in 1990. She tells great stories about her schooling, regulated traffic, business, and the government during those years. Through it all she loves Mongolia and is eager to share her country with other people. I also respect Jin because she has an uncanny awareness of the world. Her mom worked for the Mongolian government- liaison to the United Nations in NYC. Most recently her mom and dad spent some time in the Czech Republic on an assignment. Jin completed high school in NYC, undergrad at Middlebury College, and just finished graduate work in Tokyo. Her brother worked for the World Bank in Manila- just an amazing family.

What I like most and connect most with Jin about is her sensibleness, genuineness, and desire to follow her heart. What more could you ask of someone? She currently works for a privately owned coal company in UB. UB isn't super swank nor is it a polished city- so much of the year people are just trying to keep warm- but her office building is deluxe. There is a Louis Vuitton (LV as the cool kids call it) shop on the street level and the building is on the Sukhbaatar Square where the government building is located.

Jin loves her family, adores Mongolian wrestling (which rubbed off on me), helps with a health related NGO, and though she would probably rather work to make some headway with the government she is making significant contributions to local communities in her current post. Here is one of the most telling stories about Jin... (I have permission to share the following).

Backstory- driving is relatively new to Mongolians. There are laws, license plates, and traffic police but they're virtually irrelevant. They drive like they're riding horses- constantly jockeying for a spot. Where there's a will, a lane, a sidewalk, hesitation there's a way. Sodo coined this expression- "Game over" which describes the following scenario. Nightly, the police stand in the intersection signaling traffic. What happens is a pile of cars want to make a left-handed turn- then, on-coming traffic magically weaves their way into the pile of cars. Before you know it everyone is so tightly wound- blocked and gridlocked that they can't go forward or backwards. Thus ensues the mad-honk! It’s funny but somehow it seems that angry honking might ameliorate the situation? The horns increase in volume and frequency until they start to harmonize like a choir and finally the cop throws up his arms and goes home for the night saying- like a mad game of Tetris that ends badly "GAME OVER!"

In comparison, Jin is a mild driver. As the story goes, she pulled up to a light, once, and got pulled over by a police officer for being over the line at the intersection. “MMM?” she found herself saying, “I didn’t see a line.” Apparently, the officer was a rather attractive man and in a fishy way said, "It seems like you SHOULD pay the ticket." She responded, "Should? I didn't see a line but the last time I checked traffic violations aren’t optional. Since you're the officer I guess I have to pay."

She paid, but in hindsight Jin realized that maybe he was using his authority to get her number, a common occurrence according to Sodo. That would never fly in the U.S. Jin in her innocence did not acquiesce. We had a good laugh, but I commended her for taking the high road- if she's going to get a date it's not by reproachable means.

Also, the Mongolian government is fraught with people getting what they want by questionable means. I can’t help but think the road to an effective government starts with quiet integrity of the individual.

Stay tuned for one more entry about my trip to the Mongolian countryside. Merritt and I are headed to Vietnam on Friday. The first week of October is a national holiday in China.

Cheers.

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Photos

Pretty in pink
I've always wanted to try on "hanbok"- the S. Korean traditional dress. The Incheon airport had a place for foreigners to play dress up! I am learning that I am fascinated by cultural dress- I love the colors and materials.

Korean Air
I had no idea that I was flying Korean Air- so great and familiar from my earlier trips to Seoul. I especially love how the lady flight attendants are dressed- every hair in place for 13 hours. What a job!

Jin on a rock
We backed up onto a huge rock sitting in the alley. Needless to say, some kind gentleman scolded Jin for her carelessness and helped us to get on our way.

My neighborhood
Notice how tall and drab the buildings are on the outside. These are Soviet era buildings- the parking lot is insane at night.

Three door entry
Felt nervous about going out the first day- would I be able to get back into the apartment?

Sodo
Sodo was my host sister. She makes great food.

Photo by a warrior
Something about trips that make taking silly photos normal and fun...

Hello friend!
Jin and me standing up at the Russian Monument to Heroes on the south side of UB.