Mongol experiences: June 2012

School has been finished for about a week. Pam and I are quickly adjusting to summer mode which means sleeping beyond 5:15 a.m. and choosing to go to restaurants that offer outdoor seating. The later is not a problem currently with the Euro Cup going on. Many places have set up tents and large screen tv's for people to gather at and tip a few local brews in the wee hours of the morning due to the time differential. The first round games began at midnight here but now that the quarter finals and semis are going on start time is 2:45 a.m. My viewing has been limited to the apartment with the help of an alarm watch which doesn't guarantee one more bleary-eyed cheering fanatic soccer fan. I may not need the alarm assistance tonight if an English friend can muster up enough energy to join me for the England/Italy game.

Thursday, Pam and I leave with a Mongolian friend, Bold, for a week long adventure to the Gobi Desert and central Mongolia. We return to UB the day before Devon, Kyle, my sister and a friend of hers arrive. Nadaam, which is the 3 day Mongolian sports festival, begins July 11th. We'll be taking in the opening ceremonies, archery and the horse racing before leaving with the kids on another mid-Mongolian adventure trip which will include camel riding, horse trekking, hiking and some canoeing. My sister and her friend will jump on a plane and head to Russia to spend time on Lake Baikal. After the kids and we return we'll tearily say goodbye to Kyle and then head to a PitBull concert at the Olympic stadium. Devon can't believe it nor could we when we found out that he was performing here!! Not the old folks favorite music but it will be another experience that should produce a few good pub stories.

The school's first attempt at what is called XWeek was a wonderful experience for all the secondary students and staff. This was an experiential learning event that offered students choices put together by the faculty. There was an art trip to Moscow and St. Petersburg, building a "rocket stove" that uses 80% less fuel and emits nearly 0 pollutants for local housing, a 5 day canoe trip, a get to know UB experience that included setting up a ger, participating in traditional Mongolian archery and learning other traditional skills, working with an American artist from Washington St. to create a work of art using natural items, a 5 day horse trek, a multi-activity that included horse trekking, hiking and hanging out in hot springs and a 5 day back-packing trip that covered over 50 km. over some rough terrain in Khenti National Park.

It is amazing to me the number of Mongolian students who have never explored their country. Some are more familiar with Hong Kong and Paris than UB. With 20+ kilos strapped to our backs we explored Khenti National Park and worked on completing the requirements for the John Muir Award. There were 11 boys 15-17 yrs, myself and 2 other faculty sweating, shivering and constantly stopping to adjust our dress because of the quickly changing weather. There are mosquitoes here that make Minnesota's state insect look like a nat. We awoke one morning marveling at the sight of our breaths and snow in the surrounding mountains. Later that day we were in sleeveless shirts and headbands wiping the sweat from our eyes. There were times when the scenery made me think I was back in New England. Then the sight of a ger or herder on horseback jolted me to my GPS coordinate. The kids had a great attitude even when they were told we'd stop our trek early and 3 hours later we'd find a suitable campsite. Not having a good topo map lends itself to those unexpected hike extensions. In the end the students felt a real sense of personal accomplishment and an appreciation of something Mongolia has to share with the world. Their pictures of the countryside, interviews with local people, fellow students and teachers and video of trash and their efforts to clean areas was turned into a short video that was given to the Minister of Environment and Tourism for the possibility of it being shown on national tv. This effort took care of the final requirement for the John Muir Award.

UB is preparing for elections that will be held June 28th. There are a number of political parties vying for the presidency and a number of Assembly seats. Posters and ads have been placed all over the capital and the youth have mobilized to loudly campaign for their particular candidate. Groups of people walk the streets waving flags of their candidate's party, handing out brochures explaining their parties action plans on education, mining, the environment and transportation concerns. Discussions with Mongolian friends have lead us to believe that not everyone is sure that the voting process will be fair but there is excitement about the possibilities that this election will bring some needed positive changes.