Women of Mongolia

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So I'm currently reading Women of Mongolia as part of my ILC on Mongolian culture. They are interviews with different women living different lifestyles throughout the country. I thought I would share some passages that I found interesting.

"I get up at eight every morning. But then I have nothing to do. No sewing, nothing. I sit here at home. Sometimes I go into Ulaanbaatar--just to look. I don't know anything about politics or laws, but our life is difficult. It was better before than it is now, but I think the future will be better. I believe in 'better'...
After the heating broke, in the last couple of years it has been very bad. She is barely audible as she says, I'm not sure what I am going to do this winter."
--Dash, speaking about poverty, transition to a democracy, and life.

"We also have traditions that you wouldn't call beliefs. For example, the calendar. There are days on which one is better off doing some things and better off not doing other things. You can see on this calendar that these days are good for cutting children's hair. We don't cut hair on days that are unlucky. We move only on a day that is a lucky day to move. People are very careful about this. Business negotiations are only done on auspicious days."
--Tsenden, speaking about life and traditions.

"How does insurance work here? Starting from January 1994, all people are covered by medical insurance. Before then (during communism), medical care was free for all. Now it is not. Parliament has adopted laws but so far private practice is not covered by any insurance payments. So everyone is supposed to pay fees...
Kidney disease is a big problem in Mongolia. This is related first to our climate, second to a diet including a lot of meat, and third, also perhaps to a great deal of gynecological disease. Veneral diseases are very common."
--Oyuntsetseg, speaking about healthcare.

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