01Mar08
Trip Start
Feb 15, 2008
1
4
13
Trip End
Ongoing
UlaanBaatar,
Mongolia
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Its getting warmer! Decidedly so, its not quite so bitingly cold in the mornings and I am wearing one less layer. However, the locals have warned me that this is probably just a brief respite and there is often a sudden drop in temperature again just when you think winter is over! We have also started to get dust storms from the Gobi desert. These are common in spring, so far they have been quite mild, just a light dusting in the afternoons. You still have to be careful not to leave the windows open, though.
I have had a few enquires about Mongolian history, so I thought I'd give a very brief overview in case you are interested (if you're not, just skip to the next paragraph!). Everyone knows Genghis Khan, although his proper name is actually Chinggis Khan, meaning "universal king". He united the Mongols in the late 12th century and within about 15 years had conquored most of Asia, the Middle East and Eastern Europe. The Mongol empire lasted about 150 years before disintegrating, since the Mongol hordes were much better at conquoring than ruling. Between about 1450-1700 the Mongolians returned to Mongolia and fought amongst themselves. They were then themselves conquored by Manchurians from China who ruled them from 1732-1911. In 1911 the Manchu empire fell and Mongolia declared itself independent and established a government under their religious leader, the eighth Jebtzun Damba. It didn't last long though, as a Chinese warlord entered and occupied Mongolia from 1919 until 1921.
Sukhbaatar on his horse
The Chinese troops were expelled by White Russians in 1921, however they were about as popular as the Chinese (not at all), so later that same year, Damdin Sukhbaatar, the leader of the Mongolian army, with Bolshevik support, took control. In 1924 Mongolia was declared a communist country and until 1990 was ruled by the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party with direct assistance from the Soviet Union. Although nominally an independent country, Mongolia was heavily influenced by the Soviet Union, for example, the traditional Mongolian script was replaced by a cyrillic alphabet that is still in use today. In 1990 the Soviet Union was beginning to collapse, and multiparty elections were held in Mongolia. Its now a democratic country and elections are due in June this year. And just in case you are confused by the terminology, Inner Mongolia is a part of China, just to the south of Mongolia. Its nothing to do with Mongolia. And Mongolia is called Mongolia, not Outer Mongolia. There is no such place as Outer Mongolia.My second week in Mongolia has been spent along much the same lines as the first, learning more Mongolian and gradually adapting to the environment. I can now put together simple sentences in Mongolian, such as "I ate an apple last Sunday" and "I would like to buy that potato". The more indulgent shopkeepers are beginning to pretend to understand me but often my rudimentary Mongolian falls short. I had to mime "power cable surge protector" to one non-English speaking shop owner yesterday which was quite taxing.
I am gradually finding out a little more about what I will be doing this year.
Sukhbaatar square
I have a meeting with colleagues from the State Central Veterinary Laboratory (where I'm going to be working) later this week, with the aim of discussing the objectives of my secondment, so hopefully by the time I write the next blog I'll have some more information to give you about this. In the meantime I have had some meetings with Mercy Corps, a US-based non-government organisation (NGO), who are interested in linking my work at the SCVL with work that they are doing. Mercy Corps has been working in Mongolia for about 10 years and supports rural communities and nomadic herders. And I may also be involved in some wildlife work! I have been invited for a meeting with the World Conservation Society who do some great work here in Mongolia. Mongolia abounds with beautiful and unique wildlife including snow leopards, Gobi bears, loads of different species of raptors, moose, saiga antelope, musk deer, lynx and many more. A lot of these species are being illegally hunted to support the Chinese traditional medicine trade. I haven't done any wildlife work before, its not my area of expertise, but I'd love to just learn more about the projects the WCS is involved in here.I have spent most of my free time this week exploring UB a bit more. I visited the Gandantegchenling Monastery yesterday, it is the largest monastery in Mongolia. It has undergone a lot of restoration since the democratic revolution in 1990, since many of its buildings and artifacts were destroyed under the communist regime. I also went to the ballet on Saturday night, it was Swan Lake, and I loved it! I'm definitely going to go again. Apparently they are doing the opera Carmen this coming Friday night.
The best piece of news from this week is the very generous gift of membership of the British Veterinary Association, donated by their Overseas Group. This will enable me to receive the Veterinary Record and In Practice magazines while I'm here in Mongolia, as well as all the other benefits of membership. It will be a real bonus for me and the SCVL, so a very big thank you to the Overseas Group for their generosity.
I hope all is well with you all and don't forget it takes about 3 weeks for birthday cards to reach Mongolia, so you'd better be thinking about mine pretty soon!!
Pip
