Amber wrote up a very enlightening blog post about the cultural ways of Mongolians, and how that is enhancing the H1N1 spreading (that is my interpretation of it). Go read and see.
http://http://peacecorpsmongolia.wordpress.com/
Gaileee
MSNBC did a series of videos on Mongolia. At about the time that I was there this past summer.
- Jim Carl on Mongolia
- Bone-Jarring Journey to Reindeer People
- Growing Gobi Desert
- How do you shoot an ankle bone?
- Boy Jockeys race in Mongolian Olympics
Enjoy! Gaileee
Here are the blogs listed on Amber’s side bar of her sitemates, the M19’s, M18’s & the new M20’s. Read and enjoy!
Gaileee
Arvaiheer Sitemate Blogs:
- The
Five Year Plan - Robin in Mongolia
- Brandon AlphaAmigo site
- Patrick in Mongolia
- There and back again
M19 Blogs
- Amber’s Mongolia Peace Corps Experience
- Leslie & Nathan in Mongolia
- Be Excellent To Each Other
- Pat’s Peace Corps Journal
- Trinh Thach’s And So It Begins…
- Travis Hellstrom’s Advanced Humanity
- Skye Talk
- Mr. Silly, Inc.’s Mongolian Adventure
- Squirrel
in Mongolia - Mikes
Peace Corps: Mongolia Adventure - Yak Hunter
- The Big Blue; Sky vs. Ocean : A Floridians Tale
m18 Blogs
- A Thousand Voices Talking Perfectly Loud
- Find Joy
- Moultons in Mongolia
- Alli and Mike in Mongolia
- Cady and Peter
- Emily in Mongolia
- A Trojan in Mongolia
M 20 Blogs
- Love All, Serve All
- Good the third
- Sojourning Couple
- Mark and Kara’s Travels
- The earth is hard, the heavens far
- News from the ger
- Aaron in Mongolia
- Rachel and Tyler in Mongolia
- Not all who wander are lost
- The slow life: Peace Corpsing in Mongolia
- Bob’s Mongologue
Other Mongolian Blogs:
by Louisa Lim of NPR Series on Mongolia.
- Mon: Mongolians Seek Fortune In Gold, But At A Cost Gold Rush
- Tue: Global Financial Crisis Hits Mongolia’s Grasslands ‘Subprime’ Herders
- Wed: Widespread Alcohol Abuse Clouds Mongolia’s Future
Epidemic Of Alcoholism - Thu: A New Beat Gives Young Mongolia A Voice, Identity Hip-Hop Steppes
- Fri: Ancient Mongolian Competition Ties Past To Present
Ancient Festival
Because they are nomadic and move three to four times a year, Mongolian herders have developed a remarkable wood and wool house that can be taken apart in just a few hours and can be easily transported on a pack animal.
This called a ger (or “Yurt”), and it is remarkably cool in the summer, warm in winter, windproof and usually beautifully decorated, even though it is made from just a few basic elements.
Those who come from a world of high rise skyscrapers are often amazed that such tradition continues. Yet the Mongolian nomad – and many city dwellers too – would have it no other way. Many herders refuse to take up a permanent location, feeling that it would be scarilegious to be tied to one plot of land.
The ger evolved centuries ago for the nomads who were constantly moving in search of new pastures.
Here are some photos of the gers that Amber and I encountered during my Mongolian Adventure!
First night during our Gobi Trip. Stayed at a nomad's second Ger house.
Rocks and various other items to help hold down the ger during windy times.
Amber to the left of the hearth inside the ger. In the back of the photo is the case covering of a hand crank sewing machine. No electricity. We slept on the floor in our sleeping bags the first night.
So that was my first night in a ger. Had to find my own restroom. There was a holding pen for the baby animals, quite a ways from the gers, so I’d trot on down past the holding pen for my WC needs. Being on America time, I awoke at 2 a.m. and went out and gazed at the clear sky and all the stars. It was amazing. I’d wake up each morning as the morning light would start to come in (seemed like 4 am every day!).
Adding modern technology to a Ger
Livestock near nomad's home.
So the nomads live in these round Ger’s. Essentially living off of the land and their livestock. But Mongolians do have access to technology.
One would see solar panels attached to the Ger’s or freestanding on poles. The Solar Panels would send the energy into a car battery. Then the car battery would be used to
- Charge up their cell phones. Cell phones are used in a manner where you buy units. It cost less to send a text than to call someone for a minute of cell phone time.
- Connect the battery to a modern florescence light bulb for at night use.
- Or maybe watch a little TV, which is hooked up to a satelite dish.
I bet you the carbon footprint for Mongolian’s is very minimal. Al Gore would be proud!
Here it is! Amber’s post about our trip to the south….
http://peacecorpsmongolia.wordpress.com/2009/08/12/traveling-through-the-gobi-desert/
Enjoy!
Wow a month ago in Mongolia, I awoke at 5 am in the morning, at the Ger Camp, just outside where the dinosaurs were found, back in the early 1900’s. 
It was very windy, the night before and windy early in the morning. The WC that we had access to, was a low shelter on 3 sides, with two boards on either side of the hole in the ground. If you didn’t watch it, you’d be blown over to the side, it was that windy. So this was a low, low squat, in order to stay put!
We went on top of this mountainous area, the “Flaming Cliffs”. Reminded me of Ship Rock in New Mexico, because of the color, and because of the rock structure that was left, after erosin (see that Geology class in college came in handy). Reminded me of Oklahoma also because of the red soil color.
Amber and I bought some geodes rocks with some lovely crystals inside. I bought Amber a rose rock, and then a larger geode looking rock. Kinda cool looking.
Prior to getting to the Yolin Am Glacier area, we stopped along a high area. Everyone was able to get cell phone reception. I went outside to find a WC spot (had to make my own….getting very used to this), and I made my own oovm rock site. Pictured here is the Russian Jeep with everyone in it talking, and me enjoying the fierce winds. You could lean into them and still be upright.
My little rock pile. Mogi said, she’d add to it with every tourist trip that the brought by, as this was a popular cell phone stop!
We ate at a nomad’s home. She was 60 years old. Knitted gloves, hatwear, sewed dells…basically during the winter in town made all the things that went into her Tourist Ger right outside the Yolyn Am Glacier Park (in the Gobi Desert, no less). We ate homemade noodles – watched her make them, with mutton, carrots, potatoes, and onions. Very yummy. Drank Milk Tea, yoghurt and a sip of homemade vodka. Interesting enough, I didn’t get sick on any of the traditional Mongolia dishes.
We went onto the Yolyn Am Glacier, traveled out through the narrow mountains, through the Golden Eagle pass, stayed in a small soum (city) that night
gaileee
I presented a Prenatal Yoga class in Avraikheer, Mongolia, while I was visiting Amber (who is in the Peace Corps) this summer.
Mongolians have this superstition about being on the floor in public, so they laid a blanket on the floor so that I could demonstrate Cat/Cow flow.
I then proceeded to demonstrate the rest of the poses standing, with the chair, or with the wall. Talk about a change of plans! Good thing I had come up with a alternate flow for doing prenatal yoga in chairs!
Now they want me to prepare a handout, so that they can take it at home and practice at home. Amber and I are working on that information, and it will be translated into Mongolian.
I had a midwife there also, and she was supplementing the things I was trying to say, for poses that you do during labor, with her expertise too. Great presentation!
