Well, more specifically, Ulaanbaatar. Back in 2000, a friend of mine, Scott, was assigned to work in Ulaanbaatar for a few months. During that time he sent a number of "postcards" back to his friends and family who were located in different places (at that time, for example, I was living in England and working in Cyprus - others of Scott's family and friends were in Australia, Hong Kong, Central Europe and so on). Scott sent me a copy of his "postcards" the other day and as I was reading them I was thinking "no, that is not the same now that has changed" and so on. It also had me thinking though that as I read his words, I was remembering some of the same issues and problems I first had when I arrived here.
It occurred to me then that I could publish what Scott had written here, and then comment on the changes since then (good or bad). Some of Scott's comments come from the perspective of someone from the 1st World working in a developing country and should also be read remembering that he was writing to friends at the time.
So, tomorrow I will start with the comparison of Ulaanbaatar, then (2000) and now (2005).
Monday, 31 October 2005
Sunday, 30 October 2005
Talking about An Egg, an Egg, my Kingdom for an Egg
[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="360" caption="The egg bar at Woolworth's in Belconnen"]
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Yesterday I went shopping at the supermarkets, having returned to Mongolia earlier in the week. There were eggs. Sweet lovely eggs. I write this update on Sunday morning with a belly full of fried eggs, bacon, sausage, toast and tea. Ah, sweet bliss.
As it had been so long since I saw eggs, when I was back in Australia I took the opportunity to photograph the egg shelf at a Woolworth's Supermarket in Canberra ... that is the attached photo.
And now, it is time for a walk ... er, to walk off the eggs, bacon and sausage :-|
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[/caption]Yesterday I went shopping at the supermarkets, having returned to Mongolia earlier in the week. There were eggs. Sweet lovely eggs. I write this update on Sunday morning with a belly full of fried eggs, bacon, sausage, toast and tea. Ah, sweet bliss.
As it had been so long since I saw eggs, when I was back in Australia I took the opportunity to photograph the egg shelf at a Woolworth's Supermarket in Canberra ... that is the attached photo.
And now, it is time for a walk ... er, to walk off the eggs, bacon and sausage :-|
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An Egg, an Egg, my Kingdom for an Egg
Seems that eggs have become as scarce as hen's teeth around here (well, I could not resist that one). A great percentage of Mongolia's eggs are imported. Yep, you guessed it. Imported from those countries constantly eliminating their chicken populations due to Avian Flu. The result is that bacon and eggs for Sunday morning breakfast here has become a bacon buttee only :-(
Wednesday, 26 October 2005
Thomo Returns
[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="400" caption="The Opera House at night"]
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He's back. I arrived back into Mongolia a couple of nights ago and have been settling back in. I must admit, it is nice to travel back to Australia from time to time, catch up with old friends and acquaintances, take a beer by the harbour (see the picture of the coathanger and the Opera House - the Opera House was where we had the beer).
Dad was not too well when I got back so all my well laid plans were interrupted slightly. A couple of more late nights here and the weekend and I will have caught up on that though and most importantly, Dad is on the mend. This is good, of course, as it augurs well for my future and y'all may have to put up with me waxing lyrical for another 30 years or so - Dad is an 80 year old (almost) who emails me most weeks - I guess my target is 80 and using the then equivalent of MSN and SMS.
[caption id="" align="alignright" width="400" caption="The Coathanger - the Sydney Harbour Bridge from the Opera House"]
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As I type this I am just watching the sun set over the west of Ulaanbaatar. Such a pretty red. Mind you, it reminds me of how fast the seasons change here as the sun has dipped behind the mountain at 17:43 and at 07:00 this morning the sun had not risen - a long dark winter coming I guess. More notes from Mongolia will follow. I just thought I should let you all know that I am back and that you can therefore sleep easily again.
Oh, and hello to all the folks reading this in Macksville, NSW, Australia, where Mum and Dad live. Not a big town but I believe my blog has a number of avid readers there.
[/caption]He's back. I arrived back into Mongolia a couple of nights ago and have been settling back in. I must admit, it is nice to travel back to Australia from time to time, catch up with old friends and acquaintances, take a beer by the harbour (see the picture of the coathanger and the Opera House - the Opera House was where we had the beer).
Dad was not too well when I got back so all my well laid plans were interrupted slightly. A couple of more late nights here and the weekend and I will have caught up on that though and most importantly, Dad is on the mend. This is good, of course, as it augurs well for my future and y'all may have to put up with me waxing lyrical for another 30 years or so - Dad is an 80 year old (almost) who emails me most weeks - I guess my target is 80 and using the then equivalent of MSN and SMS.
[caption id="" align="alignright" width="400" caption="The Coathanger - the Sydney Harbour Bridge from the Opera House"]
[/caption]As I type this I am just watching the sun set over the west of Ulaanbaatar. Such a pretty red. Mind you, it reminds me of how fast the seasons change here as the sun has dipped behind the mountain at 17:43 and at 07:00 this morning the sun had not risen - a long dark winter coming I guess. More notes from Mongolia will follow. I just thought I should let you all know that I am back and that you can therefore sleep easily again.
Oh, and hello to all the folks reading this in Macksville, NSW, Australia, where Mum and Dad live. Not a big town but I believe my blog has a number of avid readers there.
Sunday, 16 October 2005
Thomo on Tour
Thomo is currently taking a holiday back in Australia. Posts from Mongolia will resume in about two weeks time. In the meantime, have a look back through the archives and remember summer in Mongolia. You can also check on cheeseburgers at http://cheeseburger.coldie.net/
Wednesday, 12 October 2005
Talking about Hello, World!
Alex is a Mongolian who has been studying, and then recently working in the US. Apparently I inspired him to be creative and start blogging. Cool! I am actually out of Mongolia at the moment, enjoying some down time in Australia --- but the blog entries about Mongolia will resume after a short hiatus. In the meantime, keep and eye on Alex's Blog.
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Hello, World!
I've thought about starting my own blog for the past several months. Well, today is the day. Several bloggers have inspired me to start blogging, especially Ian from Thomo's Hole.
I welcome your comments for my future postings. Please try to be civilized on your comments, I reserve the rights to remove any offending comments without warning.
Sunday, 9 October 2005
Morning Beer
I'm on the move --- but only for a short while. Two weeks vacation time so it is back to Australia to visit the family there, catch up on some Aussie food and air and generally try and relax a bit before heading back to Mongolia for the next period of my contract. I should note that my flight left at 6:45 am this morning. My Mongolian family, Puujee, Buyant, Munkhbat and Tseye decided that they would drive me to the airport, picking me up at 4:00 am. I should mention two things at this point. The first is that the airport, Buyant Ukhaa, is slightly outside the town, so technically it is in the countryside. The second thing is that when we go to the countryside, Puujee likes to share a beer or two on the drive (Munkhbat is driving so this is no problem). Every time we empty a bottle of beer, the empty bottle is worth 60 tugrugs. We try a generate a fair amount of income this way.
So, picture this. My alarm rings at 3:00 am. I get up, shower, clean teeth, do the last minute bag packing and have a cup of tea. The doorbell rings at 4:00 am, in walks the family. We chat for about 10 minutes then slip downstairs to the car and start driving out of town. Some Mongolian is muttered. Tseye leans over into the back of the car and retrieves two bottles of beer. These are opened and one given to Puujee, the other to me. It is explained to me that as the airport is outside of town, then we are technically having a country drive. We always drink beer on our country drives. Then there is a lot of laughter.
The bottles are clanked together and the word "mendee" is uttered (Tseye told me how to spell that). Some beer is sipped.
I really feel very warm and loving to my Mongolian family. Their sense of humour and good fun (as well as their sense of what is right and wrong) has always made me feel like a member of the group from the time I first met them. Mind you, beer before breakfast was, well, actually, truth be known, it wasn't too bad. If Kevan McAllister reads this, remember that flight to Bahrain Kev?
Mendee!
So, picture this. My alarm rings at 3:00 am. I get up, shower, clean teeth, do the last minute bag packing and have a cup of tea. The doorbell rings at 4:00 am, in walks the family. We chat for about 10 minutes then slip downstairs to the car and start driving out of town. Some Mongolian is muttered. Tseye leans over into the back of the car and retrieves two bottles of beer. These are opened and one given to Puujee, the other to me. It is explained to me that as the airport is outside of town, then we are technically having a country drive. We always drink beer on our country drives. Then there is a lot of laughter.
The bottles are clanked together and the word "mendee" is uttered (Tseye told me how to spell that). Some beer is sipped.
I really feel very warm and loving to my Mongolian family. Their sense of humour and good fun (as well as their sense of what is right and wrong) has always made me feel like a member of the group from the time I first met them. Mind you, beer before breakfast was, well, actually, truth be known, it wasn't too bad. If Kevan McAllister reads this, remember that flight to Bahrain Kev?
Mendee!
Sunday, 2 October 2005
Rude Men
Not everything is good here. There are some downsides as well. A week or so ago Tseye and I were visiting her brother, Munkhbat, in hospital. He had just had a nose operation and we had brought him dinner from one of the restaurants around town (restaurant food being a much better alternative to hospital food - amd that is pretty much the truth anywhere in the world).We were standing in the reception area on the way out looking at some Mongolian newspapers. I pointed to a picture from the movie that had just won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival. At this point an bloke around 40 or so comes over, snatches the paper from Tseye and commences to abuse her in Mongolian for being connected to a foreigner.
It was not like the guy had tried to find out the connection - was she my translator, for example, was I an old family friend or such? He just assumed that because I was western I was therefore rich and that was therefore the reason for her being there.
After a couple of threatening gestures with the newspaper, he raised his hand in Tseye's direction. At this point I should note that he had almost totally ignored me, concentrating on being a real tough guy and abusing Tseye. So, as he rasied his hand, I stepped in front of Tseye, grabbed it and then looked into his eyes. He backed off fairly quickly after that.
We remained inside for another 10 minutes or so and then left. This is the second time I have seen this. The first time was whilst I was in the Mongolian consulate in Erlian, where a drunken Mongolian man of about 50 in age abused Nara from the Bank's legal department for being married to a foreigner (she was, of course, there in a work capacity assisting in the straightening out of my visa). The gist of the argument always runs the same way and usually contains the question "what's wrong with Mongolian men?" The answer to that is self evident sometimes. Most are good. These guys though, are ratbags.
I wonder if they abuse Mongolian men who have western women as company?
It was not like the guy had tried to find out the connection - was she my translator, for example, was I an old family friend or such? He just assumed that because I was western I was therefore rich and that was therefore the reason for her being there.
After a couple of threatening gestures with the newspaper, he raised his hand in Tseye's direction. At this point I should note that he had almost totally ignored me, concentrating on being a real tough guy and abusing Tseye. So, as he rasied his hand, I stepped in front of Tseye, grabbed it and then looked into his eyes. He backed off fairly quickly after that.
We remained inside for another 10 minutes or so and then left. This is the second time I have seen this. The first time was whilst I was in the Mongolian consulate in Erlian, where a drunken Mongolian man of about 50 in age abused Nara from the Bank's legal department for being married to a foreigner (she was, of course, there in a work capacity assisting in the straightening out of my visa). The gist of the argument always runs the same way and usually contains the question "what's wrong with Mongolian men?" The answer to that is self evident sometimes. Most are good. These guys though, are ratbags.
I wonder if they abuse Mongolian men who have western women as company?
Saturday, 1 October 2005
Mongolian Women’s Fund (MONES)
I don't often provide direct support for NGOs and such in any of Thomo's sites, however, I particularly like the aims of this organisation and what they have achieved to date. Mongolian women in particular do it hard - and you may see another blog entry from me later about some of the reasons. Read on then about MONES and if you wish to contact them, there is an email link at the end of this blog entry.The Mongolian Women’s Fund (MONES) is a Mongolian non-profit, non-governmental organization established in 2000. MONES is the first national grant-making organization and is dedicated to mobilizing resources and providing financial support to Mongolian women’s advancement and progress. MONES is a member of several international networks such as Grant Makers Without Borders and the Association for Women’s Rights in Development (AWID).
Program areas MONES supports are:
We have supported 110 projects in the past 5 years. Our grantees range from experienced and well-known women’s NGOs such as the National Center Against Violence and the Gender Centre for Sustainable Development, to small branches of women’s NGOs in remote rural areas, such as the Women’s Council of Khar Khorin Soum, Uvurhangai Aimag, and the Rural Women’s Development Foundation of Tumurbulag Soum, Huvsgul Aimag. Almost half of the grants went to rural women’s groups.
MONES supports various activities within its program areas that contribute to promoting women’s advancement and progress. At grassroots level we support community development, and enable women from vulnerable groups to generate a sustainable income through development of basic skills such as felt-making, handcrafting, baking, producing dairy products, and through providing help in obtaining start-up materials and equipment. MONES also provides assistance to awareness raising activities that help women to understand their rights. At institutional level our support goes to building organizational capacity through training, technical support and administrative costs. At policy level MONES supports research work, publications and conferences, as well as broad-ranged awareness work to promote women’s issues in society.
MONES also focuses on developing and increasing awareness of philanthropy and promoting volunteerism among the public. One of MONES’ major goals is to strengthen the charity mind-set of the public, to direct public philanthropy to the civil society sector and to increase social responsibility. To achieve these aims we organize training, conferences, and public awareness campaigns.
Our donors are Mongolian individuals; previous grantee groups; Government; non-governmental and private sector organizations; foreign individuals and organizations; and public and family foundations. MONES organizes a wide range of fundraising activities to increase its funding capacity.
MONES is an expanding organization, and each year its grant-making and organizational capacity increases. Since its beginnings five years ago MONES has become well recognized and respected in Mongolia as a credible and reliable foundation committed to women’s rights and issues. MONES will continue to seek to bring about change in women’s lives across Mongolia and to contribute to strengthening civil society through supporting and working with women at all levels.
To contact MONES, send an email to mones@magicnet.mn and tell them "Thomo sent you" :-)
Program areas MONES supports are:
- increasing the household income of women from vulnerable groups
- fighting all kinds of violence against women and girls
- supporting marginalized groups of women and girls.
We have supported 110 projects in the past 5 years. Our grantees range from experienced and well-known women’s NGOs such as the National Center Against Violence and the Gender Centre for Sustainable Development, to small branches of women’s NGOs in remote rural areas, such as the Women’s Council of Khar Khorin Soum, Uvurhangai Aimag, and the Rural Women’s Development Foundation of Tumurbulag Soum, Huvsgul Aimag. Almost half of the grants went to rural women’s groups.
MONES supports various activities within its program areas that contribute to promoting women’s advancement and progress. At grassroots level we support community development, and enable women from vulnerable groups to generate a sustainable income through development of basic skills such as felt-making, handcrafting, baking, producing dairy products, and through providing help in obtaining start-up materials and equipment. MONES also provides assistance to awareness raising activities that help women to understand their rights. At institutional level our support goes to building organizational capacity through training, technical support and administrative costs. At policy level MONES supports research work, publications and conferences, as well as broad-ranged awareness work to promote women’s issues in society.
MONES also focuses on developing and increasing awareness of philanthropy and promoting volunteerism among the public. One of MONES’ major goals is to strengthen the charity mind-set of the public, to direct public philanthropy to the civil society sector and to increase social responsibility. To achieve these aims we organize training, conferences, and public awareness campaigns.
Our donors are Mongolian individuals; previous grantee groups; Government; non-governmental and private sector organizations; foreign individuals and organizations; and public and family foundations. MONES organizes a wide range of fundraising activities to increase its funding capacity.
MONES is an expanding organization, and each year its grant-making and organizational capacity increases. Since its beginnings five years ago MONES has become well recognized and respected in Mongolia as a credible and reliable foundation committed to women’s rights and issues. MONES will continue to seek to bring about change in women’s lives across Mongolia and to contribute to strengthening civil society through supporting and working with women at all levels.
To contact MONES, send an email to mones@magicnet.mn and tell them "Thomo sent you" :-)
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