WOW-ing the Universe

Phabulous Phnom Penh

2010-07-12T22:40:00.000-07:00

Arrival and Orientation
As soon as we landed in Cambodia we could tell it was a very different place. The airport was decorated with golden statues and moldings of Khmer and Buddhist motifs. It was more directed at tourists than HCMC and it smelled different. We quickly got our bags and visas with minimal calamity and headed outside. First of all, Cambodians are dark and look more Thai. Second of all, there were people hawking at us from all directions “take this tuk tuk” “take that bus” – a little bit more pushy, like in Thailand. Andrew had a driver waiting for us, so we hoped in the bus and headed to our guesthouse.

I had heard a mix of good and bad things about Cambodia and I was not sure what to expect. Some said the people were warm, others said that they seemed like their “souls were lost.” All travelers know that Cambodia has a bloody history, but few people can explain it to you clearly. I was expecting it to be like Thailand – and in some ways its was – wide streets, lots of wats and heavy curries. But it was different too, less traffic, different regulations and a different approach to tourists. We saw many different sides of Cambodia throughout our two weeks there, but all I could really say whe I left the airort on that first day was that I would find it different from what anyone could have told me.

The Golden Bridge Guesthouse (next to several other guesthouses of similar names) was pretty nice. No windows, but free laundry. We went for Khmer/Thai food for lunch – it was delicious but enormously filling – we tried local specialties including laab a spicy meat salad, fisk amok – a curried fish dish, and curries. It was such a change from Vietnamese food!

We were pretty exhausted and we had a presentation to perform for the Royal University of Phnom Penh Environmental Studies class, so we were pretty low-key all afternoon, wandering the area, preparing for our presentation, receiving an “orientation talk” from Andrew (go out in groups, lots of pickpockets), and used the internet at various cafes. Facebook worked – exciting!! Dinner was the longest ever, they freshly made all the Indian food we ordered. Talked to a kid selling books who we bought a $3 guide book off of (honestly don't ever buy a guide book in the US if you are going to south east asia – they are way cheaper and almost the same in country). He was a funny kid – also made you wonder about the status of these kids. He spoke English really well and his dad was on a motorbike outside but he was wearing tattered clothes and we saw him at all times of day so who knows if he goes to school. In Mongolia, they would chase these kids out of restaurants and such, but here people are free to wander in and out. Maybe its because in Mongolia things are in more distinct buildings because they have to keep out the cold, but in Cambodia and other SEA countries, buildings open onto the street so people are always wandering in and out.

Learning About Khmers

In the morning we went to a symposium of sorts at the Royal University Phnom Penh (RUPP). We learned about the Tonle Sap, the bounty and threats to the fisheries, sustainability and hydrology from Cambodia researchers (mostly affiliated with the University). We also had the chance to present to the 40 or so Cambodian students and the researchers about the Mekong Delta. Though we all worked on it, only Mairin, Kyle and I presented. It was a good overview and the presentation came out pretty well even though we did it on short notice. Afterwards, the Cambodian students (with pretty great English skills) asked some really interesting and insightful questions about improving the sustainability of the Mekong Delta and its environs. So it was pretty awesome to get to talk.

Lunch was an integrated affair. We sat at the school cafeteria and had amok, fried fish and Vietnamese-style vegetable soup. It was pretty good. In Cambodia (like Thailand) they eat with a fork and spoon. Took us all a while to re-learn how it use a fork. There re 40 students in the Environmental Studies program, and only 8 of them were male (seems similar to American ratios, I think). Many were in the program because they had received scholarships in the field or they had a deep love for the environment. The students wore white and blue uniforms, and still stylish though not as ostentatious as the Vietnamese as a whole. Over lunch, we talked about the difficulty of the Khmer language (36 constants, 44 vowels and 3 types of using your mouth) and the beauty of its alphabet. We were all really interested in each other’s culture and what was the same, what was different and how we like to spend our time. It is really great to hang out with students because it really gives you an on-the ground perspective of what your contemporaries are doing in foreign countries. I had so much fun at lunch!

After lunch we went to visit tuol sleng- the infamous prison of the Khmer Rouge. It was pretty intense. Though I have been exposed to lots of Holocaust memorabilia and exhibits, this was altogether a different experience for me. First, it is much more recent and much more close (I was in Cambodia and I have never been to Eastern Europe or Germany). Second, it is not my people which changes the perspective on it. I grew up knowing about the Holocaust, I am the last of a generation who are able to talk to survivors (though I never really know what to say to them about their experiences). This was new and unfamiliar and though it happened during my lifetime, I knew very little about it until I arrived at the museum.

The museum walks you through the torture rooms, the holding cells and the burial grounds of some prisoners. Though the English is pretty thorough, it was hard to get the entire story and convoluted timeline (to determine who was killing who and when). In the reign of the Khmer Rouge, led by Pol Pot, millions of people were killed and many starved to death in the ensuing chaos. A good place to read more about this is HERE The most moving part of the museum was not the 3 x 4 x 6 cells, nor the torture devices, but rather the photographs of men and women young (like 7 or 8) and old (up to 60 or above I would say) of people who went through this prison. Some were resigned, some were fearful, others were defiant. Some looked beyond the camera, seeing something of the past or the future, others seemed completely ignorant of the fate that lay before them. When the prison was liberated, only 23 o so people were found alive and only 7 bodies were found, This is out of the 10,000 or so people who passed through the prison in a ten year period.

For dinner, we explored the waterfront and tried to find the night market. We found a large wat instead and had a good time exploring the riverfront area. It is nice that here the city is not completely quiet at ten pm and that we could easily hail a tuk tuk home.

The next morning we visited a Cambodian NGO and learned about the issues and pros and cons of centralized hydropower in Cambodia. The amount that Cambodia relies on its water ways is incredible. Actually, Cambodia means that kingdom of water, something that is evident in the wet season, but not this drought of a dry season. The country is clearly looking for investment and expansion to catch up with its powerhouse neighbors, Thailand and Vietnam, but the government and big business seem (on a whole) to have very little interest in the regular people. However, it is not all corruption and bad news, it is just that there are many considerations to be made, especially on something so crucial such as the Mekong River, and that often (and this is true for all countries on the river) critical social and environmental issues are not considered.

We are lunch at an expat owned café – so many expats in PP – its crazy! Lots of internet access everywhere and comfort western food available. I went to a supermarket to buy snacks, I was soo overwhelmed. Poptarts, cptn crunch, Doritos, food I had not seen in ages! Lots of foreigners shopping there and I even saw the Chabad rabbi. It was soo exciting. After lunch we were off, on an 8 hour drive to Stung Treng to get to know the Mekong River even better!!!

Red River Delta

2010-05-23T05:21:00.000-07:00

For our comparative ecology section, we went to Xuan Thuy National Park in Nam Dinh Province, three hours north east of Hanoi. Nam Dinh is gray (and rainy likemost of the North while we were there) and full of huge churches - like someone had a cookie cutter for huge cathedrals and decided to dump all of their efforts in Nam Dinh - very strange. We stayed in a tiny town, Giao Xuan where MCD (great NGO - I'd recommend looking them up) has an ecotourism.

Ecotourism is not the easiest sell in this small town. The main industries are jelly fish catching (for the Chinese market) and clamming. We did get to see HUGE jelly fish, and watch the processing and women clamming. There was also a culture show put on by a group of Vietnamese students and local community members, and it is right next to the national park which is great for bird watching and shrimp. However, there really is not that much there, its a very quiet town, not that impressive.

Being a Western tourist in this small town automatically made you something of a spectacle - everyone came out to stare. Some people said hello and waved. It was fun at first, but it got tiring. We rode bike through town to see the different livelihoods and got many hellos. We did get a few strange looks, people trying to pet our (white) arms and our (light, wavy) hair. It did get some members of the group a bit stressed to be watched like animals in the zoo, but over all we made the best of the situation. We even made friends with some of the young girls there.

MY BIRTHDAY

Time passes everywhere - even in small town Vietnam and it was soon April 18 - my 21st birthday. Its hard to keep track of days when you are always traveling and there is no facebook to remind you of important dates. However, my friends and I definitely made the best of the situation. Got our hair washed and face massages (with whitening cream - oops) in town in the afternoon and spent the later part of the afternoon boating the red river delta. After dinner we had saigon special and karaoke (how the Vietnamese party!) and enjoyed mangoes because there were no cakes in town! Hooray for my friends - a decent birthday all around.

We returned to Hanoi (a totally different town in the sunshine by the way - so much busier and happier), did some souvenir shopping, ran into the other SIT group, had a super interesting lecture on integrated water management and then went to dinner and tried some specialty apricot and apple spirits of the north. We were all really excited because the next day we were heading to Cambodia!!

Visit to Cuc Phuong

2010-05-01T20:06:00.000-07:00

Cuc Phuong
is the oldest national park in Vietnam, established by Uncle Ho himself. It is full of old growth forest and beautiful animals and ethnic minorities live right up to the border. It is really a wonderful place to visit.

Our trip was off to a slow start on account of sickness. But we started the trip with a full contingent and thoroughly enjoyed the ride as we watched the narrow, windowless buildings and crowded shops of Hanoi pass by and slowly change into green rolling rice fields with white flags waving on them to keep away crows, punctuated with tall, narrow houses, stone tombs (found on fields across Vietnam) and canals. It was pretty drizzly the whole way through, the entire countryside seemed engulfed in a low cloud.

We met with out guide, Tein and sat down to lunch. They really enjoyed fried spring rolls in the north (unlike the fresh ones in the south). Even from the outside, the park seemed lush and there were many bright flowers blooming.

Animal Refuge Centers

It is good to note here that parks in the north are better funded and researched than parks in the south. This is due to their proximity to Hanoi and the nearby (and powerful) vested interests that surround them. This has many positive aspects to it because it helps the parks to get the support they need. In the case of Cuc Phuong this has been highly advantageous for its local fauna.

First and foremost, there is the Cuc Phuong Primate Research Center. 5 of the worlds 25 most endangered primates live in Vietnam. There are also 20 species of primate in Vietnam. The primate research center is run by a german scientist and recieves lots of foreign funding, researchers and volunteers. In CPNP (Cuc phuong national park), species have been rediscovered and discovered. It is pretty exciting. There are a ton of monkeys, gibbons, lorrises (though we did not get to see them), delacours, all in cages either being rehabilitated or in transition stages so they can be released to the wild. Quite exciting to see, and the reearchers were interesting too. The assistant director (Vietnamese) commented that a Vietnamese person can be trained in a week to be comfortable with the animals, but a Westerner usually takes about three months. This reflects their different approaches to wildlife and nature. I thought this was a really interesting and i could see how it may be true in some cases.

We also went to visit the turtle conservation center, which had some of the best posters I have ever seen in Asia. Tons of different kinds of turtles. It was really exciting to find them in their enclosures and learn a bit more about them. So many different kinds! (30 in Vietnam in total) Also made me a bit excited for my ISP on the role of turtle conservation in Vietnamese society. So much to learn! So many turtles to watch!!!!!!!!!!!

Trekking

Our first night, we drove through the park to the trail head. From there, we tucked our pants into our socks (for protection from leeches) and turned on our headlamps and got ready to go into the forest. It was really exciting to walk through the forest in the dark, so many different sensations than you are used to. First, since you can only see a few feet in front of you, those few feet are examined with greater attention to first discern what you are looking at and to make sure that you are on secure footing. Second, the forest is anything but silent. It is less like a jungle-noise CD, but more like a symphony of insects and animals calling back and forth, leaves rattling in the breeze rising and falling at different times, noises interlacing with one another. It was great to just stand there and listen to it. Since it was dark, we had to be careful not to touch anything (so as not to hurt ourselves). We spoke quietly pointing out obstacles and animals in the path, and made sure to check up on each other as we passed through.

We saw quite a few interesting animals - but we were too loud and on paths too well traveled to see anything super incredible (like a loris). Did see many crazy spiders, fuzzy caterpillars, tree frogs, and lizards. It was cool to be in the forest and see so many small animals so clearly.

The next day we hiked through a gray dripping forest to see a 1000 year old tree. The night before had been a particularly strong rainstorm, and there were several trees fallen across the road. The first few were moved pretty easily, but then we were stuck behind a particularly large and entangled tree. Though we managed to move half of it (the trunk split) the other half was beyond our ability. A traffic jam arose after about a half, but luckily there was a motorbike caught as well. A park ranger took it to the closest ranger station to get some tools. He returned with a machete and a hand saw and the road was cleared in no time after that. A great morning adventure!

The hike was a loop. Again we tucked our socks into our pants (people had gotten leeches the night before - ew) and did our best to start on the trail before 200 middle school students who were unloading from their school buses. The forest (sub tropical seasonal monsoon forest) was incredible. Tall trees, lianas winding their way through, strangler figs, streams and stream crabs, open up to sinkholes (the forest is on likestone soil - poking out from the ammonite range which is the border between Vietnam and Laos) with long grasses and dead trees. These are something to watch out for - our guide almost fell in one and could have been lost forever. The limestone does make many beautiful formations though. The forest was quieter during the day, but there was still a lot to see.

There are many old (hundreds of years old) trees in Cuc Phuong, but only one tree that is known to be a 1000 years. It is originally from india and is incredibly tall with hug buttress roots. It was really great to see (though sadly our visit was interrupted by the tweens we sought to avoid). We got to swing on a vine like Tarzan (fun!) and learn that 2 -1 = 0 (humans minus nature = 0). Also visited a limestone cave that had been inhabited since prehistoric times. It was fun to explore and see the few remaining artifacts and paintings on the wall. Went into the back of the cave, and stood in the dark for a while just thinking. Twin played the stalactites (great echo), making it an incredible experience. Hiking is one of my favorite things to do, and I really enjoyed it in Cuc Phuong.

Visiting Ethnic Minorities
When Cuc Phuong was established, the original inhabitants of the forested hill sides, the Moung and the Hmong (divided by topography) were displaced. By the early 1990s all of these communities had been moved out of the park to live among the edges. They were able to practice their traditional farming techniques - rice stepping in the valleys, corn and cassava on the hillsides, aided with plenty of spring water coming out of the park.

The majority of the Mung people we visited were established in the area before the park. They live in wooden houses on stilts - made of beautiful hardwood timbers - and almost no nails. When they have to move they just dismantle the house and rebuild it somewhere else - ingenious. They also keep water buffalo (who almost charged us), cows, chickens, pigs, and deer for their antlers (very profitable). The village is lush and misty and people seem curious about us as we are about them.

We enjoyed a delicious dinner with a Moung family and afterwards had the opportunity to share cultures. We sang American pop songs and did another rendition of cotton eyed joe (not our best though) while they impressed up with their well practiced folk songs and dances in traditional costume. It was fun even though some member of the group have difficulty getting excited / not being self-concious. Honestly, we would never perform in front of toher Americans this way, but I like to see it as a sharing of culture and we should be excited for it for the viewer's benefit. Its ok if they think we are ridiculous - thats part of exchanging cultures and learning about each other and ourselves.

After dinner, we enjoyed some traditional rice wine, fermented in a big ceramic urn which you stick long straws into. Making drinking even more communal. Sat around a campfire and had bonding time, a great night overall.

The next morning Ellen and I woke up early to walk around the village. Many water buffalo, chickens, people plowing their fields, reinforcing the terraces. It was relatively quiet (the roosters had done all their crowing about an hour earlier) and it was fun to just walk around and enjoy. Breakfast was potato pancakes - a nice change! and we visited farmers who were clearing their hillsides for gardens. They said the rain was late and some people lost their crops already. Also, the land (since it is farmed over and over, this ethnic group is more suited for rotational farming) is less and less productive every year. They do not know what their children will live off of in the future, but they are optimistic. The farmer invited us into their house for pink juice and offered us some of the traditional tobacco pipe. We passed it around as we learned more about their way of life.

Powering Vietnam
The majority of electricity in Vietnam is fueled by hydropower. This is especially evident in the north where more of the rivers are dammed for electricity / industry. Vietnam is a country that does not have enough electricity for everyone and there is arguably uneven distribution of the resource resulting in power outages and political arguments and impacts people's livelihoods. We went to visit the Hoa Binh Dam, one of the biggest inVietnam, which was created with huge amounts of soviet help (great mural inside with a huge blonde russian man and a tiny vietnamese man) and displaced many indigenous hilltribe people, both in constructing the reservoir and in the downstream effects (instead of dry and wet season, the water fluctates in height 2 times a day). It also had a very barebones environmental impact statement when created. The dam is pretty incredible - a great human work.

However, it does make one wonder about the future of Vietnamese electricity - whether centralized power from dams is effective and how it will impact surrounding people. It is important that Vietnam gets the power it needs and distributes it evenly. The communities that were displaced by the dam did not recieve power until ten years after the dam went on line and poor areas in the north get more electric cuts than almost anywhere else. This is a crucial issue in Vietnam (and southeast asia as a whole) as the pressure for electricity, industry, conservation and natural resources increases. In this tangle, it will be very hard to appease all interest groups...

Welcome to Hanoi

2010-05-01T19:52:00.000-07:00

Train Through Vietnam

We took the train from Nui Chua to Hanoi - a 30 hour trip. The girls stayed in one cabin that had AC, 6 beds (the middle bunk folded up so you could sit comfortably) a table and a light. The boys, Andrew and Tein were the same next door (plus a random Vietnamese man with a mustache. Quick side note about Vietnamese facial hair - it does not come easily to most Vietnamese men (unless its on a mole and then its one or two super long hairs) and truth be told most Vietnamese men look better without it…). Equipped with snacks, charged ipods, computers, journals, books and rice wine and honey we were good to go.
We spent the evening hanging out with each other (as always), sipping rice wine, telling stories and singing old pop songs. The train whistled on, though we did make several stops but we had no idea where we were in the dark. I had a top bunk, which was comfortable to lie down in (too close to the ceiling to sit up).

Had Hanoi-style pho for breakfast - more garlic, less vegetables and complexity to the broth. We were all pretty quiet all day, reading, journaling, just hanging out and watching the Vietnamese countryside go by. WE saw legitimate mountains - off shoots of the Ammonite Range that goes between Laos and Vietnam which was really exciting and beautiful. Many rice fields, river bank gardens and towns. Stone is used much more in the north. Also saw many factories. I caught up ten days in my journal (I always seem to be behind on that, but I did get up to page 100! Hooray - hope I do not run out of space). Had some interesting conversations with Andrew about Vietnam, mining, and research. Good use of time. Did get a bit stir crazy, so Gaby and Carly and I tried to do ab workouts with Ellen as a DJ and Mairin as our recorder. Bit of a failed experiment but still a lot of fun.

Reconciliation

I met a man on the train who was a Vietcong soldier during the American War. He was really excited to meet Americans really happy that we could “talk about our families and our jobs and our lives” - translated into direct English meaning put aside the past and build new relationships. Which is pretty awesome. He grew up in Uncle Ho’s Hometown. I showed him photo of the US and we shared some snacks. That’s generally the response here - so refreshing.

Hanoi - the Cultural Capital

Stepping off the train in Hanoi is very different from HCMC. People rush you right away for taxis, the air is more humid, cooler the night smells different. After checking into our hotel (Hotel des Artistes) we went for a walk around Hoan Kiem lake, which was surrounded in decorative neon lights and couples. Legend has it (and fact too) that there are giant turtles in the lake - and a 200 kg one was found dead there a few years ago. Enjoyed some sinh to and were very excited for our morning ventures.
Noodles for breakfast, a walk around the lake and through the Old Quarter. It has loud, windy streets that are organized by item - a street for shoes, a street for home goods, a street for jewelry, etc. pretty fun. Found our way to a gate built in the thirteenth century. Pretty sweet. So many cool things to buy its hard to decide.
Lunch was buffet style “pick 2” but the rice was delicious - yes I have been here long enough to be discerning about the types of rice I eat…I also don’t know how to eat rice with a fork anymore either…
Went to the Temple of Literature to visit the stone turtles, then wandered back through a forgotten pagoda (literally - it was set behind a stone wall, the windows were shuttered, the statues were half built/decaying and it was very quiet), Lenin park where we went on the carosel, played on the super cool playgrounds and watched people play soccer and meandered around the city.
Dinner was an exciting affair - pizza! Pasta! Nachos! It was really nice to have some decent western food, though it did make me value Vietnamese food even more.

The next day we had a lecture about the red river delta (as part of our comparative studies section). Interesting, very different approaches to development, climate change and sea level rise. Also met with MCD a new Vietnamese-run NGO, which was really fun. It is spearheaded by two dynamic and powerful women who were really motivated to mae change through community based natural resource management and ecotourism. So far, they are doing well. Carly and I discussed later how refreshing it was to see women who were so passionate and powerful in Vietnam. Not to say that we have not met many interesting and successful women yet, because we have (Carly’s host mother was a politician, my host mother lived on her own in Saigon for 5 years and worked hard, Dr Nga is incredibly intelligent and respected in her field) but these younger women (early 40s) had something else about them - maybe a feeling of equality and confidence that most Vietnamese women do not express as much. We then considered our Vietnamese peers to think about how they may grow up. It was interesting food for thought.

In the evening, we went to a water puppet show and were almost overwhelmed by all the Westerners there (crazy!) Water puppets are made of wood and fabric and perform on a watery stage to traditional music and traditional themes. Had dinner - fish, noodles, oil and dill (dill is popular here) and then found ice cream cones.

I really enjoy the pace of Hanoi - it is quick but not rushed like HCMC feels. People are a bit more reserved when you try to get to know them and a bit pushier about selling you things, but the architecture is great and there is great variety in the fashion on the street. The food is good but different from the south. The damp (it rained while we were there) and misty feel of the city makes it seem deceptively sleepy (maybe I’m just tired) but the greenery on the streets and around the lakes is a refreshing change from the Mekong Delta.
It would be nice to spend more time here and visit more places (like Uncle Hos mausoleum or the ethnology museum, both of which were closed when we tried to go) and Ha Long Bay. Well, its always good to have a reason to return someplace, and I intend to enjoy the time I do have.

Surf and Sun in Nui Chua

2010-05-01T19:48:00.000-07:00

And….we’re off! To go see the coast, the north and Cambodia! Our first stop on the Journey was Nui Chua National Park (est 2003), Nui Chua is really a unique place - sheltered by mountains on the tropical coast. It is in rain shadow, so it is one of the driest areas of Vietnam (lots of cacti and spiky plants to watch out for!) and the park is relatively new so it exploring a lot of options in terms of ecotourism, biodiversity studies and more. There is also an ethnic minority community (1/54) the Ragalay living outside the park.

We took a (brief)5 hr train ride from HCMC to Nui Chua and enjoyed dinner with Skye (an AYAD), Dr Vinh and his helper. Our resort (!!!!!) was right on the beach so after dinner we walked down to the sand and put our toes (and knees) in the ocean. It was incredible to be on a beach, staring at the stars and just loving life. Our resort has really nice bathrobes, so we enjoyed a bathrobe party together while watching MTV - none of us know whats going on in the American pop scene these days…

Woke up early the next morning to walk on the beach and swim a few laps (I do miss swimming (for the sake of swimming) maybe I’ll find a team to coach this summer!). Had “Good Morning Vietnam” soup for breakfast - egg drop soup with veggies and seafood bits. I prefer Good Morning Vietnam pho but it was fun to try.

The Ecotourist Experience

Nui Chua is in the process of developing their ecotourism model and we were their guinea pigs. Fun! We had a few lectures about biodiversity, context and future plans. Gave us a good general background to the park. We almost saw a langur (primate) that someone poached and was selling on the street (a park ranger bought it to release it). Lunch was by the seashore in a traditional fishing village. Fresh mackerel for sale and many people in motorized fishing boats dragging their traditional fishing boats behind. The traditional fishing boats are quite the invention - they are a huge round circle (like a basket) that they stand in and use a short little paddle. Not sure who would invent something like that as it seems to be hard to paddle.

After lunch we hiked into the hills carrying 3 liters of water, hammocks, tents, and cooking supplies including 3 live chickens (we like dinner to be fresh) through low trees, grasses and native fruit trees to our campsite, led by 4 Ragalay guides. It was hot (but not as hot as Can Tho) and there were many spiky plants to look out for, and times when we may have walked in circles, but it was only a 90 minute hike or so. Learned about Buddha trees - they use their seeds for bracelets and a tree that the Ragalay use to cure venomous snake bites. The Ragalay know 800 medicinal plants and their uses in the forest - so incredible!

Dropped our gear off at the campsite and hiked higher up the mountain to “the big rocks.” Here the vegetation was even denser and my hat was often picked up by the low branches. We had to climb up and over many rocks on the path and trying not to slip in the leaf litter. Part of the group got lost for a bit, but we finally found our way.

The rocks were incredible - limestone (the whole area was once covered by an ancient sea) protrusions high on the hillside that over looked oter beautiful and forested hills, as well as a tiny sliver of the ocean. The entire group climbed on to them. Some of us made it to the top for some pretty sweet photographs. Had a lecture, stared at the clouds and took a group photo. Jesse accidentally knocked his glasses off his face but we were able to find them and then secure them to his head with string.

Back at the campsite, the girls and I strung up our hammocks (with local help) that would be our beds for the night - awesome! Dinner was forest vegetables, fresh chicken and rice - pretty good, especially the mushrooms. We stared up at the stars and talked about life, the universe and sat around the campfire talking to the Ragalay. It was an early night for many of us (as we had stayed up really late the nights before packing and doing ISP work). Getting into our hammocks was pretty easy, they zipped open and you had to slide in quickly before the mosquitos did. It was easy to rock myself to sleep comfortably under the stars.

The net morning we arose at 6:30, had rice, cucumbers, sausage, white bread and peanut butter for breakfast (we did get really excited at the prospect of peanut butter). We hiked out (pretty quickly), walked to a restaurant to change into our swim suits and sunscreened up. It was time to go snorkeling!

We all looked really cool in our orange life jackets, snorkel masks and socks (so we wouldn’t cut our feet on the shallows). We swam out about 300 meters to the reef and it was in the best condition I have seen a reef in, The coral sprawled out beneath us, lots of orange, brown, green, yellow and purple varieties. And incredible fish biodiversity! I wish I was a tropical marine ecosystem scientist so I sould tell you everything I saw, but I’ll just describe a few here: parrotfish,a fish that looked like DOry from finding nemo, yellow fish in a school, striped fish, sea urchins, anemones. The coolest thing I saw was a squid! it was pink and about 8 inches long and just whizzing by me! So cool! I’m living planet Earth!

Lunched, visited marine turtle nesting grounds, returned to the hotel, “dressed up” (showered and put on a skirt) and had a delicious dinner at the hotel. Afterwards, we stayed around for drinks and Gaby was so tired she fell asleep at the table. Since she is always pranking us, we decided to prank her. We ll got up quietly and left, will the bill in her hand and had the waitress wake her up (thanks Tien for explaining). Gaby was so confused - it was hilarious! All that Exercise made us t I r e D, so only a quick stroll on the beach and into bed.

“Free Day”
Woke up early (though not early enough to see sunrise) and went for a walk with Carly on the beach, talking about life and such. After buffet breakfast we drove to see the Cham (ethnic minority that lives in the region) temples. They were from the 13th century - huge and brick but well preserved. We only saw one temple and it was not that interactive. It was pretty interesting though. I think its so exciting that I will see so many ancient ruins on this trip - Ayutthya, Bagan, Angkor Wat - very interesting to compare and contrast them too.

Went for lunch (Tien always orders us waay too much food) and snack shopping (for our upcoming 30 hour train ride) at Coop Mart. Afterwards did some work (while I had reliable internet access). I wanted to go swim in the ocean but my timing was off from my friends. So Carly tanned while I made friends with 11 year olds whose English was about as good as my Vietnamese. Fun! I did silly things like shrug my shoulders, and they would make fun of me and I would make fun of them making fun of me. They were really cute though. The boys swam in bathing suits and the girls swam in their school uniforms…Did a few laps and packed up to go. We had a rushed/early dinner which included lizard (a bit stringy, not too much flavor) and we had to rush to the train station so that we would not miss our train to Hanoi! Hooray! North Vietnam here we come!

Can Gio

2010-04-30T09:45:00.000-07:00

Can Gio, pronounced Can yuh or Can zuh, is a UNESCO biosphere preserve, meaning that it is preserved to protect not only nature but also the local livelihoods therein. It is a HUGE national park and is part of the hundreds of kilometers of wetlands that helpsprotect HCMC from floods. (cool!) We drove through HCMC to pick up Andrew and our lecturers. Its exciting because this is our last Can Tho based outing, and our ISP proposals are due soon. Ack!
The drive was alright, we played games and hung out and arrived in evening at our "resort" complete with a salt water and chlorine water pool, right on the coast. Don't worry, we do "rough it" later...

Woke up early the next morning, heard the ocean and just knew I had to walk along it. The ocean was all gray when I got out there but gradually became brighter and brighter as the sun rose. The resort is protected by a huge sea dyke and it was nice to sit along the dyke and listen to the waves crash and think about life.
The first day we went to the park head quarters, climbed a guard tower to get a feel for the land and saw some monkeys running around. WE also had about three hours / 5 power points of introduction to the mangroves, resource usage and allocation and sustainability in terms of urban sprawl and climate change. First of all let me tell you that mangroves are really really cool. They hold tons of wildlife, prevent erosion,act as filters, storm guards....you name it they can do it. Though there are about 60+ km of mangroves protecting the coast line now, in 1975, there were none, thanks to Agent Orange. Its amazing how well they grew back and how many species returned (very little build up of pesticides in this area bc they were washed away by the sea). Mangroves shelter fish, shrimp, crabs, clams, birds, monkeys and more.

After the morning of plenary, we went out for delicious lunch and then hit the boats to go meet households engaging in industries related to the mangroves (aka seeing our lecture at work). The first household we visited were shrimp farmers. The shrimp farmers are essentially paid by the government not to cut the forest down and to use natural feed and seed (juveniles). They control water flow in and out with giant gates. when the tide comes in the gates are open to clean the areas out, when the tide goes out, the gates are closed to keep the shrimp in and they catch the shrimp by the gates. The gates are pretty awesome - made of mangrove wood and other natural materials. The farmer we visited has been living in the biosphere for several years, and though it is decently lucrative (though he doesnt make a ton of money he is not in debt) he wants his children to live in a nearby province because there are no schols nearby. The government has similar plans to relocate many of the inhabitants in Can Gio. It is interesting to note that the govt decides who gets the land concessions, and they may be going to friends or ppl in govt, bc they can be very profitable. We also wandered a bit through the mangrove forest on a trail to get a feel for the gray muddy waters, crazy above-water root systems and broad leaves. Pretty fun.

We also visited a lam farm, but since it was high tide it was very difficult to see anything. A big colorful boat pulled up to the clam farmer house (on stilts) and showed us the three different types of clam they harvest. Clams start tiny, take 1-3 years to grow and are very dependent on market price. At low tide one can see the fences that keep the clams in the plots and other people out of the plots. So that was interesting, and cool to be in a house on stilts. Both the houses we visited were built over water - you could see it rushing through the foor. They were not very rich - one walll papered his house with shrimp feed bags, the other had everything including a wife two dogs and children crammed into two rooms(though he probably also has a house on land too). It was interesting to peer in through the windows and have a glimpse of how these people live.

Went for dinner had our third hot pot, a southern vietnam specialty in which the fish and veggies are cooked in broth at your table, boiling fish in a cast iron pot (regional specialty) and ran into a girls 6 birthday party. We are all trying to do work on our ISPs but its ahrd when the internet is much less than reliable

The next day we were all ready by 8 in order to do a transect through the mangroves! We drove out to the core zone of the park geared with hats, one camera (that has since been lost along with all its photos), pH tester and a soil extractor. The tide was strill going out so we were from old mangroves (read: shallow mud (up to the ankles or so) to new mangroves (waist deep mud). It was awesome sloshing through so much gray oozy mud watching crabs scuttle away from our feet. It was a bit slippery, but what can you do. Every 50-100 m we would take a soil sample, talk about its qualities and take its pH. Near the old mangraves the soil is less acidic and contains more organic matter, but near the new ones the soil is very acidic (less than 1 pH) and the soil is really just goop. you can walk on roots (just dont fall off) they are very strong. Also stepping on the vertical air roots really hurts (by the way). We had a lot a lot of fun on the field excursion which culminated in a mudfight in the ocean.

Lunch was at the sae restaurant aas before, and hot pot of course. WE were still covered in mud from the excursion. We saw westrners our age - sooo exciting! We were besides our selves whispering and giggling like Vietnamese people. However no one actually said hello, so we dont really know anything about them - but why were they in Can Gio? Oh well

Spent the afternoon relaxing in the pools, hanging out, catching up on my journal and some isp work.... dinner was hot pot less, thank god.

The final morning we visited Monkey Island - an island of sorts with hundreds of monkeys (maques running free, a few nicer monkeys (like gibbons other kinds of maques) in cages, a croc pond, and some other interesting creatures like water monitor and snakes. It was fun, the monkeys hacve a bad reputattion for stealing things and attacking people but we got through pretty unscathed. Afterwards we headed back to HCMC for lunch and to drop Andrew and me off.
WE were off to visit WAR - an NGO that rehabs and refuges animals in Vietnam to see if I could do an ISP with them on Sun bears! Though I changed my isp topoc from sun bears to turtles, it was really interesting to see how meetings between SIT and NGOs work (how everyone tries to promote education and invovlement) and how Andrew and the dirctor knew many of te same people. So it was educational in many ways.

Headed back to Can Tho on my own on a bus and ot ready for a whirlwind 3 final days with my homestay family

Wild Times in Tram Chim!

2010-03-28T09:31:00.000-07:00

Our first Vietnamese National Park, Tram Chim (established in 1994) is the remnants of what was once a vastwetland called the "Plain of Reeds" that extended from southwest ho chi minh city to cambodia. Now, the area is super fertile rice farming, exept Tram Chim which is a managed wetland. We had many interesting discussions, saw tons of wild life, learned about taking samples and best of all got to slog through the mud!

Learning Time
Our classroom learning time on this trip was relatively short. We had a few powerpoints introducing us to the history, management and beginnings of community resource usage. The nation wants to preserve (rather than conserve) the parks resources - even though that has never been the way these ecoystems function. As such, local people who need resources from the park (melaluca wood, fish, etc) are not allowed in and fires are prevented at all costs (disasterous b/c build up of organic matter), and park employees (poorly trained and underfunded) cannot implement many changes because they are governed by provincial and national laws. Even removing excess biomass so that the danger of fire decreases is not allowed.

This year has been a drought year so it is even more of a risk than usual. This is also true
because it is very hard to simulate a natural system and ensuring proper water levels go into each part of the park is immensely difficult and therefore sometimes unsuccessful. Additionally, community based resource management is a new and time consuming process, and no one is sure of its success yet. In the area it is a very tense issue. We had many great discussions as a group about these topics and how they relate to the larger picture, both in Vietnam and the world.

In the Field
Despite these challenges, Tram Chim (TCNP) is still an incredibly beautiful place. The park is bordered by canals and so we went around from area to area by boat. We were lucky - there was not too much mud in the grassland because of the dry season. Learning is best by experiencing. The open grasslands are incredible. They are a little sharp, so we had many scratches on our legs. However, they are very quiet - green and brown sways in the wind. The grasses are between a few inches to about 4 feet high. On the edges is melaluca forest, and the grass whistles in the breeze. It is very flat, but the colorful mosaic of different species reveals the soil composition and topography underneath. In the wet season almost the entire area is submerged and it becomes a small sea. It would be incredible to see how it once was (about 60 years ago) when it was at full size.

We saw a good number of wetland birds - many herons, egrets, kingfishers and other waders. Unfortunately, I was rarely fast enough to get a good photo, but they were beautiful. Also many fish in the water, and quite a few bugs!

We were also lucky enough to see the Sarus crane, an endangered species that is native to the area, nesting in Southern Vietnam and Cambodia. It was presumed extinct for 17 years, because during war time no one bothered to track it (sad). However, it is still alive and even though its numbers are dwindling, it still has a sustainable meta population (scientists believe). We drove out of the park to a nearby rice field, to watch the cranes (from about 300 meters away) through binoculars, telescopes and camera lenses. Not too many great photos but it was incredible to see 20 of them flap their wings and walk around together.

Learning By Doing
Under the watchful eye of Dr Nganffrom CTU we conducted field experiments - taking soil samples, water quality monitoring, and biomass sampling! Fun!! (ok i know i'm an environmental studies nerd).

We were separated into groups, and I think our group had the most fun! The water quality in an area that grew wild rice was fun, but time consuming. Since we were the first group, so we had a lot of trial and error. But it was fun, we managed not to inhale most of the reagent powder... We also did soil sampling in an area for of euleocharis (food for the saurus crane). The sediment was a thick black goo that had a "sulphuric" smell (of decaying organic matter) which was a bit messy. The grasses were incredibly high and the soil was incredibly squishy.

The final test was for biomass of lotus blossoms. Lotus are beautiful flowers (used for tea, food, thread) but their stems are spiky- ouch! We slid (flopped) into chest high water and stuck large bamboo poles in the water to make a small quadrat. Our next step was to dive to the bottom and cut the lotus at the roots. The water was brown, and vwery turbid - and the soil was slimy. I was glad I was wearing pants, shoes and a long sleeve shirt to protect myself against the prickers. It was pretty intense and a bit crazy. Some cool pics of us looking hardcore. Everyone had a pretty good time doing the field tests.

Fun Times All Around
We stayed at a guest house the first and third night. The guesthouse was run by the park rangers and was pretty nice. We each had our own mosquito netting, and quite the time putting it up. The boys all had bright pink nets, hence we refered to their room as the princess room. The first night there was a HUGE tokay gecko (blue and orange and makes a boise that sounds like tokay!) running around. It was awesome. Unfortunately it wasnt too smart bc it ran really hard into the cieling and fell off the wall - almost on to Nick's bed. It did regain its composure quite quickly though and ran off. Sooo cute!!!!!!!!!!!

The second night we camped out under mosquito netting (though the bugs werent bad) on a platform in themiddle of the park. It was super fun. Watched dinner (snakehead fish) be prepared (stab a wooden piece through it) and cooked (in a bonfire). Enjoyed fish in the make-your-own-springroll style (with rice paper, rice noodles and herbs) along with rice porridge, field mouse (yum! tastes like gamey chicken, but a bit bony) and copious amounts of rice wine. Besides taking shots to one another, we also did "50-50" and then played a game, where we would sing back and forth between Westerners and Vietnamese. At first the game was if you sang with the person whose turn it was to sing, you had to drink. Then the game became if you sing you drink, if you dont sing you still drink. Surprisingly, did not get too messy.

All night we heard the call and response songs of many different kinds of birds, frogs, bugs and children. There was even a real rooster at 4 am. In the morning (most people did not sleep well) we watched sunrise from the guard tower. It was incredible, the whole area was covered in mist. The sun was red from the dust, and it was quieter than the night before. As we stared out over Tram Chim a flock of Sarus Cranes flew by - incredible! The birds are huge - up to 1.7 m in height and 3 m in wingspan!

As we continue to travel, we continue to become better and better friends. We play lots of games, and have lots of bonding time. This trip we pranked the boys - first with a 4 am alarm set to the sound of a rooster. We also stole thier clothes, stuffed them with blankets and gave Nick a new friend! Unfortunately, the boys were more confused than impressed at our antics, though they certainly amused Gaby, Ellen and I. They did get us back by locking us into our rooms one morning (putting a lock on the outside of the door) but they unlocked it so that we could be on time for breakfast. We can only hope that this will escalate.... Our trip continues to be incredible and we continue to learn more and more things every day. The Tram Chim trip was really an opportunity to do scientific field work. bond and learn more about environmental politics. It is crazy that we only have two more weeks left in Can Tho! So much happens everyday and I love all of it!

Highlights of a Week in Can Tho

2010-03-26T10:22:00.001-07:00

Time continues to fly by! Last week had at least one fun activity a day - loving my group, homestay family and the friends I am making.

Friday - met more of Angela's friends and had a small impromptu dance party at her friend's house on campus one of CTU. Her friends are mostly English teachers here from all over the world and they are all really nice and great to talk to!

Saturday - Visited (other) Ellen's host family's cat fish farm. They were harvesting the fish, (from a huge pond) so we (ellen Jesse and I) were able to help sort the fish. Grabbed a catfish from the net and through it into a pile. Grabbed smaller fish (some of them are great jumpers) and bottom feeders (spiky) and threw those into a different pile. Fish Farming for export markets is extremely lucrative, and Ellen's host parents have been quite successful growing over 100,000 tons of fish over 4 years. It was really fun! They also grow fruit, so we had fresh ones, picked right off the tree and a delicious lunch of fresh fish!

Sunday - Thao and I started the day with a trip to the market. Then we cooked up a storm in the kitchen. Friends came over for lunch. In the evening we went to Rauc Gia, a nearby province to see her friends English students preform songs, plays and dances in English. It was really fun and certain moments were hilarious (girls dancing to my humps by the black eyed peas, cute songs, and a boy who started singing love songs and then wound up dancing to "oops i did it again " by the one and only britney!) Tim and Kyle and Liz (Thao's friends) have really friendly co workers as well and it was a really fun evening.

Monday - In the morning we went to the recycling center - a place where artists at CTU come together to make art from recycled materials - AWESOME. We also recieved our names in traditional Vietnamese style calligraphy.
In the evening we went to Karaoke with our new friend Limh (who escortd us at My Khanh) because it was his birthday. Incredible fun! About half SIT and half Vietnamese. The Vietnamese were definitely less shy about singing in the beginning, but by the end of it we were all up singing and dancing. They do have English songs, as long as the song was written before 1995, but still really really fun. Sang happy birthday, ate cake and reay enjoyed ourselves and getting to know more Vietnamese friends, despite the Language barrier.

Tuesday - WEnt for sinh to (smoothies) with Nhu (translator from Ky khanh) and her sister. It was incredibly fun. I rode on the back of a bicycle for the first time so that was exciting! I also had lots of mangoes because my host mom gives me one for school every morning, and then I had a mango smoothie, and then my host mom made mango smoothies in the evening as well. Got to know my host sister better which is always great and saw many photos of my host familly.

Wednesday - Discussions about ethics, solutions and the environment all morning. We had vegetarian food for lunch and then went to cafe cara where they play movies to see what was playing. We did not like the options so instead we went to Sarah's house (really nice, big and airy) and watched the hangover there (one of Mairin's Vietnamese friends brought the movie for us). We had language class from 6-9 which consisted mostly of singing Vietnamese children's songs, talking about can Tho and practicing basic conversation skills. fun!

Thursday - We had a really really long lecture in the morning (2.5 hours) and Vietnamese class in the afternoon. Went kite flying with Sarah and Nick - Kite flying is a really popular pastime here and its sooo awesome! you just let it fly up and up and up and its incredible to see all the kites in the sky in the late afternoon on STU campus.
Some students went out for massages after dinner, but I chilled with my host family instead (I may need to get a massage this week though - my back is very sore!) I also (as I had throughout the week) spoke english with my host moms students - fun but someties a bit awkward. they took my cellphone number down and invited me to hang out with them sometime. hooray hanging out with 14 year olds!...hopefully will be ok.

Friday - in the morning we went to the rice institute where they experiment with different types of rice to understand what varieties grow best under certain conditions. Clearly a very important resource in Vietnam. It was really interesting - saw rice seedlings in the lab, the genetic labs, rice in small pots, rice in large fields, rice being dried and husked, rice being harvested...cool. rice is life. especially here.
After a lunch of disappointing vegetable pizza (thoug we ordered other kinds) Gaby and Jesse and Mairin and I snuck into the hotel Victoria (the only 4 star hotel in can tho) to go SWIMMING! The pool was really nice - tiled with lounge chairs nearby. We almost got through with out difficulty, but an employee came up to Jesse and asked him something in Vietnamese. (Everyone thinks Jesse is Vietnamese, of looks like harry potter or barack obama. go figure). then she asked us if we had paid and we said "nope" and then she told us to pay when we left. but it costs 6 USD to swim, so we just snuck out instead! (thats super super expensive here - lunch is usually $1,50 and jeans are about 7-12 USD)
In the evening we met up and went to Xe Loi - a popular dance club. It was tricky to organize (because we all had to find it) and we could only be there early because we all had to be home by 11 pm. (well my host mom said i could come hom 11.30 midnight, she would be up watching TV, but i told her i would try not to be too late). The party does not really pick up at xe loi until 10 30but we all danced anyway and managed to have a good time. The club was a bit expensive and most people were all dolled up. The music was alright though and the manager asked us to come back - score one for the SIT kids....

Saturday - Mostly boring, homework catchup with friends and family. Went out in the evening with SIT kids, my sister and her friends and german boys who are teaching english instead of joining the german army. It was funny, because one of the boys asked us if we were at Cafe Cara this week, and we said yes - were you the clump of white ppl on bikes? and he said i was so surprised to see other white pp in that part of town (aka not the tourist area) and we said so were we - we had a staredown. So in someways can tho is like ulaanbaatar - all the westerners know eachother!

Sunday - "Girly Day!" Made french toast for breakfast and Mairin joined us. Thao went to work and we hung out for a bit. helped make lunch. I ate a gac fruit (fruit of heaven ) which is the craziest fruit i have ever seen - red spiky skin on the outside an bloodred goopy fruit with large smooth black eeds on the inside. Used it for chicken marinade and to make sticky rice. crazy. Around 10 am Mairin, Thao, My host mother and I went to the market to go shopping for fabric to buy an ao dai (traditional Vietnamese dress). Soooo fun so many patterns to pick from! Some are very traditional. others look like modern art, some are red and gold for weddings, some have embroidery and others are velore with waaaaay too many sequins. I tihnk that Mairin and I made good choices (check out the photos in the slideshow). We got fitted at a seamstress who specializes in ao dai - fun. They will be ready soon!
After Ao Dai shopping thao and I went for haircuts. The salon was not as nice as U soe soe's (in Myanmar) and neither was the shampooing. However, the cut was pretty good, cost about 3 USD). It was a fun experience - perfect way to complete our girly day (but we still were not girly enough for manicures) The hair cut was a great way to lighten up in this heat!

Travels to Tra Vinh

2010-03-17T01:33:00.000-07:00

Our first adventure to the countryside! We went with 6 Vietnamese students and 2 research assistants on a 3 hour bus ride and then a (rocky) half hour boat ride to Long Hoa Island. It was super fun to hang out on the boat - see the mangroves (that are replanted) and enjoy the rivers spray (its soo hot here).

We were as per usual running late so we missed our morning interview time slot, so we bummed around a bit and then had lunch - fresh local (and native!) shrimp and crabs and and hot pot soup. The whole community on the island is really interesting - they over exploited their natural resources and were heading into speedy decline (40% poverty rate) then hte government of vietnam instituted a mangrove regrowth plan which the community kept faithfully to the communities benefit. Now there has been a huge return of native species as well as many economic benefits! Hooray

We met with the head of the hamlet who told us about the island. Hard to pay attention after a big lunch and rice wine... After lunch we met with homestay for the night. The SIT students were paired with one or two CTU volunteers. I shared my homestay with Gaby, Won and Yang. Our homestay mother was very sweet,we saw pictures of her daughters on their wedding day. Awesome 80s wedding dresses! And her daughters live next door, which is nice.

After dinner we had quite hte bathroom adventure. The bathroom is a cement floor surrounded by bamboo walls with a large pot of water with a scoop inside. You pee on the floor and then wash it away with the water from the bucket. However, what happens when you have to do "number 2?" Gaby was worried about going to the bathroom and the Vietnamese girls tried to prepare her with a flashlight, toilet paper, plastic bag etc. Then when she was about to go the Vietnamese girls were "wait - do you need to POOP?" So then they pulled her out of the bathroom and we were marched about 100 meters in the dark to a "hello toilet"- a squat toilet over a fish pond. It was very beautiful - i really enjoy the stars here with little to no light pollution. Quite the adventure!

We then went back to the house where we had lunch. Enjoyed each other's company and more rice wine (southerners can surely drink!). The rice wine is not too strong, and water is the best chaser to use. We were doing "50-50" so you drink half of the shot glass, and your neighbor drinks the other half. Very social and communal. To toast, you say mot hai ba yo! (123 yo!). The Vietnamese girls do not really drink at, especially not rice wine. As we had been forewarned, western women who drink are exciting, so people want to drink with us, because its a novelty. However, we have all managed not to get too drunk so far! During the evening a 7 yr old girl came out and sang karaoke (random) and then the Vietnamese students surprised Gaby with a cake for her birthday! Yay! And they sang her a vietnamese happy birthday song (see video on post below). So that was really fun as well. Stared up at the stars and went to bed decently early, (around 10.30) it had been a long but fun day!

In the morning we did not go clamming because the tides were too high so we had breakfast (rice porridge and organs) and then conducted interviews with different members of the community - those who oversaw the mangrove regrowth plan, those that were shrimp farmers, those that worked with Oxfam. It was really interesting - learned a lot about how people really wanted to improve their livelihood and how hard they work. Translation for this interview was easier - maybe because (a) my translator was awesome (b) we went over the questions beforehand. We had lunch (giant crabs!) and then a "debriefing" with the whole group. Our hosts were again passing around the rice wine (Andrew who worked with this community before said that you can only do work before lunch because then you start drinking). We talked about our interviewees and experiences, all the while taking the occasional shot offered by our hosts, even Andrew. So that was fun!

The boat ride back was great, dipped our feet in the water, it was much less windy than before. Had an uneventful ride back to Can Tho. Visiting Tra Vinh was a great experience, giving us much to think about in terms of sustainability of shrimp farms, changes in livelihoods due to larger floods, and community based natural resource management. I was certainly impressed by how wel the community worked together to restore the mangroves, and how quickly the economic and environmentalsystem improved. However, in the face of climate change, i beleive that this community will have to face these challenges again, and continue to adapt in order to be successful and sustainable.

Sustainable Suburbs

2010-03-13T02:42:00.000-08:00

Besides lectures and learning at Can Tho University (CTU) we also go on excursions throughout the month!!! Our lectures have become increasingly interesting, addressing topics such as sustainability, climate change, and livelihoods of the Mekong River Delta. This week was chock full of excursions!

My Khanh
My Khanh is a "suburb" of Can Tho - about 30 minute drive a way. To get to the village, you must take a wooden boat across the canal and then you are on a newly topped road under a canopy of banana trees. Its pretty amazing - very quiet (except for when the boat that sounds like a helicopter goes by), and there are many types of fruit trees around - jackfruit, mango, oranges (used to be famous until a blight came), kumquats, and more. We spent most of our time at a village elder's house and learned about developing a sustainable system in these communities, which are heavily based on the seasons and the surrounding environment.

The farmers with CTU help, have been developing a VACB (pigs fish canals biogasdigestor - translated from vietnamese)system. the waste from the humans and pigs goes through the biodigestor (basically a nylon bag that the manure goes through and is decomposed) and then is distributed to the fish pond, fruit trees and small scale riec fields if they have them. Its a a pretty good system. We learned a lot about the system and the lay of the land. Most of these farmers produce enough for them selves and sell extra fruit and local fish species to the city. Its a pretty good system that is hopefully sustainable.

We helped build a VACB for a household as well as interviewed somehouse holds about their life in the village (with the help of a really nice Vietnamese student from CTU). It was super interesting!

Food
The food was supr delicious! We had chicken curry, southern Vietnamese pancakes (again), tilapia (hot pot), and delicious fried spring rolls!and much much more. It was soo delicious. and the fruit was great!

Homestay - Hooray!

2010-03-09T06:12:00.000-08:00

Last weekend I started to live with my homestay family. I had met my homestay sister earlier in the week which made me really excited!

Angela/ Thao picked me up at 8 am on Sunday morning. We then went for Sunday morning brunch (pancakes and scrambled eggs) with her ex-pat friends, who have all come over to Vietnam to teach English (through Princeton in Asia or Volunteers in Asia, or for international schools) for 3 months to 2 years. Cool! It was fun to hang out with different Americans, here stories about their experiences in Vietnam (they have been here for over 6 months) and find out where I could buy honey bunches of oats and similar western luxuries. (Though I am still loving rice and noodles!)

We arrived at my house (via motorbike hooray!) and I was introduced to my host parents. They are retired army employees, and now tutor students in middle school. Fun! My host mom speaks a little bit of English, and likes to talk. My host father knows a few English words and is very quiet. He works across town as a consultant for companies now.

My house is what they call a "tube house" - about a fifteen minute commute from CTU. There is a small garden in the front with herbs and space to park bikes and a gate in front. I have my own pair of house shoes. There are high ceilings and the doors are very tall. The outer wall is very open, in order to maximize airflow and light. There is a large living room (the first part with blackboards for students) and the second part has a tv and a hammock (love the hammock culture!) Farther back (the house is only one room wide) there is my parents room, the bathroom (a toilet, a sink, shelves and a showerhead. though there is usually bad pressure when i shower because i shower at peak hours, and i don't use hot water (because its about 95 degrees here) so i just pour water on myself from a bucket. effective and water saving!) and the kitchen.

The kitchen is like every kitchen i know - never enough space for everything. My room is up a narrow staircase and in the back of the house (so no window). I have a mattress on the floor with mickey mouse sheets and mosquito netting over it, a desk, and shelves that are covered in plastic so that they dont get dusty (the shelves already have stuff so everything I own is in plastic bags). Thao has hung up photos of her friends all over the walls. Hopefully I'll be up on the wall soon!It smells like moth balls, but there arent too many bugs so I guess its a fair exchange...My sisters room is down the hall (actually I am in Thao's room, and she is in her younger brother's room. her younger brother is studying in kentucky now), so its less decorated and a bit smaller. There is a sitting room (also with glass doors that open to a tiny terrace where we hang laundry) where the family computer, internet modem, large closet of clothes and my host mother's sewing machine is located. It is very cool there so that is where I usually do my homework, though I think I have adjusted to the heat.

Family Style
My family is moderately traditional (from my understanding). My father is quiet, my mother is critical, asks a lot of questions and loves to feed me and Thao. Her younger brother (according to Thao) is favored, and they all care for each other very much. However, they are a bit less strict in terms of table manners , dealing wth foreigners and letting Thao and I stay out (as long as we are together its ok). Living with them is an interesting experience - lots of fun, lots of questions and lots of charades.

House Rules
I call my mom "me" (sounds like meh - mother) and my father "xin chao" (hello - because I havent been told to refer to him as dad (ba), and i cant pronounce his name well - common problem among SIT students). I ask permission before leaving, and tell my host mother where I am going, who I am with, and when I will be home.. Fairly standard. Things here close early, and my SIT recommended curfew is ten. If I am late, then I text Thao who will call home.
I am improving my read between the lines skills. example: Me: I should be home between ten and ten thirty. Is that OK? Host Mother: I will be watching TV between nine thirty and ten. ten and ten thirty i watch tv go to sleep.... (Translation: I would prefer you to be home by ten. I would like to go to bed before ten thirty). Don'tworry - I got home by ten.
Also my host mother makes sure I am clean and presentable (she fixed my bag when it ripped) and getting enough sleep.

Meals
The scariest thing that my host mother says to me is "eat more food. you do not eat enough" I eat so much here!
Breakfast is at about 7, dinner at about 6:30. I am not sure if they are making their schedule around me or this is their normal schedule because there are often students around while I am eating (morning and night).
My mother is a delicious cook - noodles, vegetables, stufed cabbage, fish, curry, so many things! all delicious! She also encourages me to try new things and often buys things like sticky rice and cocount, pig skin cake (made from sticky rice flour and mung bean - no pork involved), cassava cake and more for me to try. She has also picked up some western foods for me - fresh baguettes, puff pastries from metro, cocoa flakes, milo (nestle yoohoo) juice boxes. Yum
I also am sent off to school every day with snacks - at least one fruit, and usually cookies, or traditional vietnamese snack to go along with it. yum! though sometimes it is too much to eat and I must take it back home... Its mango season now, and I've had a mango in my bag everyday this week!
Dinner is when the whole family eats together. Thao is the translator for all of us. Her mother makes sure I am eating enough, her father often asks if I want a spoon (because I am not that profiient at choppsticks) and we learn a little more about everyones day and interests. My mother is up and down because she is also teaching and my father leaves the table as soon as he is full. Sometimes I leave to hang out with friends or go to a late class after dinner, other days me and Thao just sit around and talk. fun!

Family Activities
Hanging out with Thao is really fun - she knows expats, the SIT routine, and as the self declared "black sheep" she loves to jazz things up. We have looked through many photo albums together, talked about her travel plans and of course life in the future. We also watch a fair bit of TV.
On Sunday (a week after I came) I went to the market with Thao to get groceries and then we cooked up a storm. her mom made eggs and rice, thao made gratin (not sure im spellng that correctly) I made chilli and we all worked to bake cookies - chocolate chocolate mint chip and peanutbutter choc chip - delicious (we baked them in a toaster oven). Some of Thao's friends came over to eat with us which was also really fun. The meal was a hit!
My host mother makes me talk to her students in English which is fun, but a bit difficult (For them and i need to speak slowly). But they are very polite - three of them invited me to hang out (go figure). Hopefully she will teach me to cook more vietnamese foods and maybe even to knit! Also I plan to get an ao dai and some clothes made for me while I am here.
My host mother knows a lot about Vietnamese astrology. We are both born in the year of the snake and are the wood symbol. Cool! So we get along well. Thao and I get along surprisingly well for a pig and a snake (supposedly we should bash heads a bit) We had a lot of fun at Sunday lunch figuring out people's years and symbols. Maybe we will go visit a palm reader!
I hope to go to the countryside to visit my host fathers family there - it would be pretty awesome!

Things are going really well! Stay tuned for more academic updates about my recent trips to the countryside and life in Can Tho! Enjoy being innundated with updates!
Hen Gap Lai! See You Later

Can Tho - Home Sweet Home

2010-03-03T06:05:00.000-08:00

Hooray I have spent a week in Can Tho, the "capital" of the Mekong Delta, and our program base for the first month and a half. It is a really interesting city, with a great university (where we study and meet wiht lecturers), Dai Hoc Can Tho (University of Can Tho or CTU for short). The city is built around canals and the long tendrils of the song hau (Bassac River) as it heads to the east sea. The city is only accessible by ferry (until this summer when a bridge should be completed) and there are many bridges connecting different sections. Its the dry season, and its about 35C (85 F) everyday here, which seems super hot to me but many of the vietnamese are riding motorbikes wearing sweaters, gloves and long pants. Its intense. (I have tried the light jacket and the gloves (and hoping to get a mask) but the long pants just seem too sticky for me.)
The days start early and end late and so much happens all the time! So I think the format of this entry will be by activity instead of by day

Transportation

The first thing we did in Can Tho was invest in bicycles. We arent allowed to drive motorbikes (though we are allowed to ride motorbikes bc there are so few cars around (100% import tax) so we got bicycles. Mine is pink with a compass and a bell, a lock on the back tire, a basket and a headlight. AWESOME! We have bikes of all colors and sizes and it was a mad frenzy when 8 of us were trying to get new bikes tons of people working in the bike shop mobilized to assemble our bikes. sooo fun, bought a helmet too so now i can be safe!

Though it seems like the roads are a lawless mess, that is not entirely the case. The roads are like water, you go with the flow. The cardinal rule is ALWAYS LOOK AHEAD. no need to turn your head, just avoid direct obstacles and you will be fine. and its true. i feel safer biking here mostly because everyone is biking here so they are all looking out for bikes and following the same rules so you dont have to worry about not being seen on a bike (like you would in the US).
After a day or so I felt completely comfortable on the bike. Some wierd patterns here:

dont drive all the way on the right side. the left most lane is for cars and trucks but the right most lane id for parking, turning and driving the wrong way. so stay in the middle.
when making a left turn, just slowly make your way left (while staying parallel to traffic) so u dont block traffic. people are used to this so they just go around you
right turn on red always. dont bother stopping on red for a bike at some intersections.
and start a little bit before the light turns green so you can make a turn without having to weave through motorbikes

Its really fun! to have a bike and be able to go anywhere. Usually we do a good job (no accidents yet) and navigate like locals. It also helps us get more familiar with the city. Sometimes little kids shout hi and boys on motorbikes practie their english and every so often we get a few stares as 8 westerners pedal by, but overall its a great experience!

Academics
Though we spent quite a while doing orientation, we have started to learn as well. Lectures are made a little bit more difficult because I have not been in an academic setting in almost 3 months, and it is really hot so its hard to concentrate. However our lectures have been super interesting. First, we had a lecture about culture of the delta - it is a diverse culture that is open, easy going and not worried or hurried and it is based around the canal system and using boats. We also learned quite a bit about Vietnamese astrology and their concept of fate.
The next culture lecture was about traditional Vietnamese musical instruments (5 note scale, awesome percussion and stringed instruments with 2,3, and 16 strings!) - incredible. we had an entire traditional music band come and play for us so that was super exciting. Then we were fed tons of spring rolls and traditional pancakes - yum!

Our other lectures have been on history and intro to ecology of the Mekong Delta - totally fascinating! So exciting to be here! And to be learning in depth about things.

Language
We have 60 course hours of Vietnamese which at the moment turns out to be 4 hours of Vietnamese language class a day. Crazy! our midterm is on friday. Vietnamese is ridiculously hard to pronounce - there are over 20 vowel sounds and several constants that sound the same or arent pronounced or everything sounds different depending on who is pronouncing it. add the fact that it has 6 tones and its very difficult to learn. that being said, its not sooo bad - every language is tough at first and hopefully by the end of it all we will get the hang of it. i hope. we are learning basics - greetings, numbers, foods, etc. we try to practice a lot but it is hard. our teachers are really awesome at the foreign language center and try their best to help us out.

** it is most interesting one of our teachers was born right after the war (1977) and he tells us stories about growing up in a war torn and poorly organized (in terms of infrastructure and rural development) country. so interesting. there are lots of memories of the war still around in peoples minds but they beleive that people are different from thier culture so they do not hate / hold a grudge against americans when they come to learn**

Funny Language Story of the Day: My friend had to use the restroom while we were in the bookstore. She goes to the security guard and says "na ve sinh o dau" where is the toilet. he just starts getting nervous and says "i dont speak english" and has to call three people over before they can figure it out. we learn from this: 1. start with hello or excuse me in vietnamese so that they know you can at least say something 2. no matter how hard you try your intonation may be off and they cant understand you anyway 3. and someone will just look for anyone who speaks english because they think it may be easier? As I said, we can only hope to improve!

Food
Soooooo much delicious food here! and its all really fresh.
A typical day would be breakfast at the hotel (eggs/toast/jam or noodle soup with ca pha sua da or tra (coffee with condensed milk or tea) and lunch near campus. Lunchis typically rice with "pick two" a vegetable of the day or various meat dishes (that all kind of taste the same) or tofu. sometimes we go to vegetarian restaurants and get fake "meat" which are also pretty good. we usually have a snack during language class - either ginger flavored frozen yogurt, filled cookies, or bubble tea. other snacks we tried are various buns from bakeries, steamed banana or mung bean wrapped in sticky rice and banana leaf (yum!), bubble tea and of course the ubiquitous DELICIOUS fruit!
Dinner is either a repeat of lunch (generally) if we are on our own(except for the time we got an entire boiled chicken - delicious but we passed on the organs, though Jesse did try the feet). We try tons of cultural food when we have established group dinners - highlights include fried pumpkin flowers, hot pot (cook fish with veggies and flowers and then add the noodles to individual portions). blood ispopular here - i tried chicken blood tastes like overcooked egg. lots of shrimp too. pancakes with vegetables inside wrapped with lettuce and herbs are a regional specialty. so too is a fresh fish with a peice of lettuce and vermicelli wrapped in rice paper - a make your own spring roll idea. very fun - i improve my technique all the time. there are always interesting takes on traditional dishes and new salads to try. so delicious!

Culture
Though Vietnam is very different I do not think I have hit the "shock me shock me" point yet (which I find comes after the initial excitement but before the I can live here foreer feeling). They are supposedly very on time, but we as a group are almost always late though no one has reprimanded us for it yet. Also, learning more about the culture and language from our professors and program staff is really helpful. We are teamed up with student volunteers who are students at CTU and are really awesome - they answer our questions, take us out to lunch, help us practice our vietnamese and accompany us on excursions. They are really sweet. Vietnamese people have a great sense of humor and love to make jokes - dont be fooled by their quiet appear ance.There is a lot of cafe culture, so after class or after dinner we often go and hang out and get smoothies (sinh to). yum! Everyone says they are more easy going and hospitable in the south - I really appreciate it!

We will have even more cultural immersion starting next week when we begin to lieve in our homestays,. I met my homestay sister - Angela, she is 26 and works in the tourism industry, She has great english, tons of friends, a huge appetite (though she is tiny in stature) and loves to hang out with friends, travel and eat sticky rice!!! I am soooo excited! She says her parents are pretty awesome - she her mom and I will bake brownies and mung bean cakes! cant wait!!

Activities
Besides academics we have been exploring Can Tho. We visited (with our student volunteers) the floating market, Cai Rang, which was fun but we went a little late in the morning so i was not hopping so much. But we did get delicious pineapple that we bought off a boat. We also visited a fruit orchard (which was also a fish farm), saw rice being harvested, visited the Can Tho museum, thier version of costco Metromart, the department store Coopmart, and lots of wandering shopping and eating.

The Group
We met the other SIT Vietnam Culture and Development group. Let me just say that we are waaaaaay cooler. and we have a great group dynamic that has been holding up well. We are all excited for our first excursion to My Khanh and building a biodigestor for the community. We hang out a lot, and we all work well in different combinations. It will be interesting to have homestays and separate from each other for a significant part of the day, but I am very excited for what the future has in store!

Ok thats all for now!
Hen gap lai (talk to you later!)

xin chao vietnam!

2010-02-23T22:54:00.000-08:00

Hooray! Mairin and I made it to Vietnam and its AMAZING!!!

After the worst morning ever (imagine living Murphy's law) we made it to Vietnam.
We met Andrew, our Academic director who is really tall and thin and our program assistant Ms Tein met with threeother program participants Sarah from UVM Kyle from UVM and Nick from BC. Ellen A (i knowe - another Ellen A! crazy - if I talk about her just trust that I am not refering to myself in the third person). The first thing we did was learn how to cross the street. We all line up behind the leader and cross like a wave. After practicing this technique we went andi ate pho traditional vietnamese noodle soup for lunch (yum) and then went for smoothies and orientation at a nearby cafe.

In the afternoon we visited the Reunification Palace. A palatial residence resplendent with chairs carpets and more on the top floors and a war headquarters with maps old equipment and images of the war in the basement. very interesting almost like being a movie. the vietnam war here is such recent history and its a shame that none of us have a strong background in it. however we havent found any antiamerican sentiment yet....
Dropped by the market and then we met up for dinner at an outdoor restaurant. Food here is really fresh and delicious nad fun to explore. Turned in early to be prepared for a full day of ho chi minh style excitement.

Crash Course on Vietnam
Day 2 was filled with becoming integrated with Vietnam. After a breakfast of bun (rice noodle soup) we covered more orientation material in a cafe. Afterwards we went to the US Embassy and met with two officers, one specializing in culture and education and the other in Economics, Health Science and Technology. Both were really informative and gave an interesting snapshot of Vietnam preparing for a people's congress and being torn between the old and the new. Totally fascinating. And we heard a lot about environmental progress and problems. Also learned more about working for the foreign service. Such an interesting 90 minutes.

Lunch was a restaurant that specialized in a rice dish cooked in a clay pot and then smashed on the floor and then served and spiced. Yummy. So many exciting things to try and experience. And I love rice in all forms and shapes!

We had a health debriefing from an international doctor - glad I got my Hep B shot and I hope I don't get Dengue fever. Besides that just basic precautions and to keep in mind what to do in an emergency.

Afterwards we had a "drop off" activity went to the market and tried to bargain as best we could for all sorts of cool things like incense burners and dishes. It was fun. Lots of things to look at just like in every market. Mairin and I tried to find the HSBC bank but I forgot the map. Instead we found sculptures in the park, aerobics and tai chi. super fun to explore. ho chi minh is big but does not seem unmanageable. so it was nice

dinner was vietnamese barbeque - we ordered beef shrimp and rabbit lotus flower rice and vegetable skewers. its super fun to cook your own food!! waay too much food but delicious fruit for dessert!
It was a good evening all around and we went to sleep early because in the morning we were off to Can Tho!

The Final Stop on Our Journey - Beach Bumming in Thailand

2010-02-21T07:42:00.000-08:00

Koh Samet

From the airport we went directly to the bus station to head to Koh Samet, a national park and a beachy island, just 3 hours away from Bangkok!
We arrived in the late afternoon, in time to watch the sun set over the clear blue water. We checked into a “resort” 200 m from the ocean and ran down to the sea shore. The water is warm, the sand is silky and there is a very relaxed vibe around the whole beach. We walked the length of our beach (hat samiew) and sat down at a (literally) Oceanside restaurant to enjoy dinner. Thai food remains delicious on the first bite with a kicker but still incredible delicious on the second. Sat out on the beach until the tide began to ebb towards our flipflops left on the edge of the mats we were sitting on. In other restaurants there were live bands and middle aged thai lades singing karaoke. A Mazing!

We were so excited to “make it” to beach bumming. We were really looking forward to relaxing, hanging out in the ocean and just giving ourselves time to prepare for our SIT program. We planned on waking up early for sunrise and then jut continuing to stay on the beach (with a nap time break in our rooms in the middle of the day) until dark.

Unfortunately we woke up and it was raining. Hard. We hadn’t seen rain (at all) since we arrived in Asia so it was pretty crazy to see so much of it! We went down to the water anyway (but we did not see sunrise) and stood in the cold rain and the warm ocean. We retreated to our room for a bit until we got hungry. Then we braved the wet for pancakes, an atm and a place to do laundry. It seemed to clear up a bit so we booked a snorkeling and “serious” r & r tour for the afternoon and dove in! One great thing about hanging out with Mairin is that she also hates getting out of the ocean. Tons of swimming time!!

Our serious r and r trip was great, though we aren’t too sure what the serious r and r part was. We snorkeled in two places - such amazing fish! I wish I had an underwater camera! And coral! It was really beautiful! And enjoyed the boat trip through the waves around the island which is covered in forest and is absolutely beautiful. We also went to a fisheries center (think outdoor aquarium) where we saw grouper,snapper, tuna, sharks and more. Best part: I got to touch a sea turtle!! Fun Fun Fun. The thai people on our boat were super excited about feeding the fish here so that was also really fun to watch

A nice thing about Koh Samet is due to its proximity to Bangkok a lot of Thais come as tourists too.. In fact we saw waaay more thais than westerners throughout the day. So that was really fun! After the tour we jumped back in the ocean until sunset. After watching the red sun disappear behind the green mountains we changed for dinner. Again on the seashore. Mairin had an entire edible aquarium exhibition of shellfish. Interesting to watch!

After dinner we wandered the beach, found ice cream and an awesome fire show which eventually became fire limbo, fire tug of war and then just a general party. Super fun! And every other song was black eyed peas - idk y they just loved it! We made a few thai friends and boogied on down till the tide came in. It was really wonderful at night to just sit and watch the ocean. A great night overall.

This morning, is our last morning as independent travellers for the next while. We slept in till 8, enjoyed milk and cereal on the beach and then jumped in the water. Took a last photoshoot Also all yesterday and today people were asking us to be in photos with them - weird, but fun! It was super sunny today and we were super sad to leave the beach…..

Looking Forward

We are super super excited for SIT Viet Nam to start! We can’t wait to meet everyone and learn more and actually live in a country! Homestays! Language learning! Vietnamese food! Vietnamese friends! ISP! Music! Mekong Delta! Rice Paddies! Water buffalo! * Mairin REALLY wants to ride a water buffalo *
OK well this is it for my last post from Thailand - I cant believe the month flew by so fast - so many places and so many adventures. We have really seen, learned and done a lot. And we will do still more! As they say in Myanmar Ta Ta!

Inle Lake and Finishing Up in Yangon

2010-02-21T07:26:00.000-08:00

Inle Lake

The guide book describes Inle lake as “a mirage coming out of the mountains.” Before I got there I thought this was ridiculous, but being on the lake was like being in a Robin McKinley (fantasy author) novel, especially in the morning. You can only see a few hundred meters in front of you and fisherman and boats on their way to market seem to just appear. The mountains on the edge are very hazy and only slowly come into view. It was really awesome.

There are a ton of going ons at Inle Lake, not just tourism. The common boat is narrow, made of wood and comes in two sizes: seat a lot of people or room for two people standing. The fishermen stand on the bow end of their boats, and paddle with their feet (or arms depending). They use bamboo traps and very fine nets to catch fish. It was cool to watch them sink their traps in the morning. In the “seat many people boats” are tourists (on chairs with cameras at the ready) locals (squished in like a bus and wearing winter jackets) and people transporting goods to market. There are refueling stations floating around the lake as well.

On our journeys through a market (lots of things to buy everywhere again), a few monasteries, long neck women weaving, shan woman traditional weaving with complex looms, a blacksmith, a silversmith (so cool - does anyone else feel like they are in a Tamora Pierce book?) were up and down a long canal. There are bridges across and small dams that only let one boat through at a time (those seem to divide the neighborhoods) and people in a boat who come up to you trying to sell things.

The craftsmen were pretty cool, especially the weaving - I’ve never seen such complex looms before! The silversmith and blacksmith had no protective gear at all. Though it was really cool to watch the blacksmith heat the iron and then pound it into the shape of a blade with hammers.

The lake is large, but people really live on the sprawling network of canals that surround the lake. Life on the canals seemed pretty interesting. Many people live in bamboo houses on stilts, and the main industries are agriculture and tourism. We saw many water buffalo taking a swim under the watchful eyes of their owners, school kids taking a swim, and a lot of people bathing (in their longyi (man/woman skirts)) on the side of the canal as well. The fields are dry, and will get drier until the rains return in May.

I’m not 100% sure we got to all the stops we were supposed to because we took a really long time in each one (then again maybe we did and the map we saw was not in proportion). But we had a really great time. The best was the last stop, we wandered our way to a monastery and some young monks took us up the hill to see some ancient stupas and some new ones and a great view. Then the entire way down they kept saying “Buddha money, one dollar, money.”

Then we wandered into town just to see what the village was like and the kids also started asking us for money and holding out their hands. So Mairin and I taught them something new. “High five!” (see the video). Its already becoming a HUGE trend in inle lake now. Lol. We visited another temple (this one with stupas over 2000 uears old) and then returned to the village to teach more kids high five.

Totally awesome day!

Professional Perspective

We had the opportunity to meet with a gentleman from the UN World Food Program. The WFP operates a few programs in Myanmar, primarily emergency assistance(though that is not needed right now) and insuring food security through “food for work” or “food for education” programs in marginalied areas on border and mountain regions in Myanmar/ Working in Myanmar has its ups, the people are motivated to improve and are very appreciative, and downs, the government stymies the movement of aid workers and controls the flow and cost of rice to marginal areas so that there is not enough. He said it was frustrating to work with government officials that have more interest in a political agenda than economic and rural development. We learned a lot about the conditions in marginalized areas and the role the WFP plays in Myanmar. This helped us put a lot of things we saw into perspective and better understand the duality that s apparent in Myanmar.

Finding Family in Yangon

A great thing about Brandeis University is that it attracts students from all over the world that share common values and interests. This past fall I went to a talk held by Burmese monks about the Saffron Revolution. I was lucky enough to sit next to Win Ko Ko who was living in Yangon at the time and started telling me more and more about Myanmar. When I decided to study in Vietnam and travel beforehand, talking to Win about his home country really helped me decide whether I wanted to visit such a controversial country. Win Ko Ko provided me with a lot of incredible insight and background to Myanmar and sent me his family’s address in Yangon so that I could go and visit.

We arrived at Win Mar (Win Ko Ko’s sister) Black and Blonde Beauty Salon at 4 in the afternoon. We were welcomed with open arms and Sunkist into the stylish salon. We talked a bit about our travels, our impressions of Yangon, and life at Brandeis and reason for travelling. It was great to meet with Burmese people and understand a little bit better how they see themselves and Myanmar. We were treated to shampoos (and Mairin got a haircut) and learned more about Myanamar pop culture. We also visited a designer workshop across the street, got to try on the dresses and feel like a princess! We shared dinner and laughs and stories. I hope that we will see each other again, either in Myanmar or America. Win’s family was very generous, funny, insightful and loving. It was really like dropping in on your cousins for the day. Such a great experience!

We left Yangon bright and early Friday morning. After all of this running around from country to country we needed some “serious R &R” before starting our program in Viet Nam so we headed to the sunny beaches of Thailand!

Buddhas Temples and Stupas Oh My!

2010-02-21T07:15:00.000-08:00

Ba Ba Bagan
Bagan, in central Myanmar is the ancient capital of Burmese kings from 9th-13th century BC. It is an incredible complex of temples and stupas made of brick with plaster facades and intricate paintings and some Buddhas inside. The tempes have preserved reasonably well over the centuries (despite neglect) and a huge earthquake in 1975 that caused many temples to collapse (and then be restored by UNESCO and donations). The vilage of Bagan (now Old Bagan) was relocated by the government to New Bagan, and there is a nearby town Nyaung U where we stayed.

There are literally temples and stupas everywhere you look. Our first day we took a horse cart with our new Australian friends to the temples. The horses here are small and thin, and the carts are padded with cushions and can fit up to 4 people more or less comfortably. It was pretty fun. The temples are open to anyone and spread out on the vast plain. It was weird to have such a concentration of tourists after being in Yangon (and there still weren’t that many tourists). We explored a quiet out-of-the-way temple (its great you can climb all over the temples and up the stairs), then went to more touristed temples such as Ananda with huge (Egyptian like) golden statues of Buddha inside and many more. The temples have an ancient feel, and are cool in the afternoon (nice because not much is) and are very dusty and in various states of disrepair. Its really nice that they are so accessible and hands on. Many Burmese will tell you the history of the temple if you ask (not too many informative signs) and of course, there is Always someone to sell us something - laquer ware, bamboo, sand painting, postcards, carvings, clothes and more. It was really fun at first, but it got tiring to tell people that you are sorry but you will not buy anything…
We watched sunset over the plain on top of the sunset temple. It was a bit crowded, but the red brick in the sunset light looked absolutely incredible. As the sun set as a large red ball into the distant mountains we took quite a few (funny) photos. Happy Valentines Day!

Maw had also organized a horse cart ride for us with a driver who spoke English but we did not find him until the afternoon so (feeling a bit guilty) we agreed to go again in the morning. The temples in the morning were cooler and nicer in the morning light. Climbed steep steps to the tops of temples to see the view of even more temples. It was nice to hear more about the history. Saw some beautiful ancient paintings and tiles in the temples. We also went to an ancient monastery (with teak carvings), toured the village, saw Hsue Tay’s (our guide’s) house in the remaining village of Old Bagan. He has 4 children. His twins were born by c-section, which costs 30,000 kyat (about 30 usd). We paid 20,000 kyat for the day with him. Just another example of how touring Myanmar is like living in two worlds. Lunch was Myanmar Buffet (more about food earlier).

Desert Wanderings

In the afternoon, we tried to bike around the temples. The temples are surrounded by peanut cotton and maize fields (farmed by the locals) and the soils are very sandy. Only the main road is paved. There are cacti, brambles and other sticker plants all over. Not exactly the ideal location for off roading with a road bike in flip flops. It was pretty cool though - saw people walking their herds of cattle home, the little bamboo huts people live in with their families and goats. People seemed to look at us a bit curiously, but we looked at them curiously as well. The desert is beautiful and quiet. We went to a few remote stupas and temples that are not really frequented by tourists. One stupa was donated by Zushi Yasushi as in “Zushi Yasushi Batman, that Buddha is HUGE!”
We got a bit lost, so we set our sights on the only modern tower on the plain, because we figured there would be a road there. After crossing a dry river, many fields, and pulling thorns out of ourselves we made it to the tower. Did not bank on having a huge resort there. We so did not fit in, but we took photos there anyway and continued onto the oad back to Nyaung U.
Back in town we ran into Brent (one of the Aussies) and it turned out we were taking the same four am bus to Shan State (Inle Lake).

Bus

We took a lot of bus trips in Myanmar. Our first bus trip was 11 hours (overnight) from Yangon to Bagan. Watched Burmese music videos, a sitcom, and Buddhist chants (translated). The bus was filled to capacity with people sitting in the aisles, but it was a pretty quiet ride. We sat with the aussies at dinner (making friends! Hooray!) and then again at 1 am pit stop. it’s a good thing me and mairin like each other and like making conversation with each other. So many stories. We arrived in Bagan at 3 30 am, stuck with the Aussies to find a guesthouse (the one maw said we should stay in was booked at 3 am which is why we missed our 8 am horse cart ride the next morning). The bus sort of had air con and it drove down one lane, mostly paved roads. Bumpy.

Our second busride (on a minibus) was also 12 hours long, starting at 3:30 am. We sat next to the Aussies and passed the sleepless hours swapping ipods, playing geography, ispy, 20 questions, charades, and swapping trivia about our homeland. Cant wait to go to Australia! The scenery was incredible we gradually drove from flat dry plain to mountainous forest (also dry). So again very dusty. Saw women and men setting up for the market at around 6 am (and going to the well even earlier than that), people pulling o carts, walking water buffalo, building a road (all stages from quarrying, breaking stones into gravel, laying gravel, boiling and pouring tar and then flattening it all), kids traveling to school and more. I love looking out the window - so many incredible things to see. I really like the colors - pale green, hazy blue, yellow brown and fine gray dust on the road of Myanmar.

We also took some shorter rides - taxis, tsawhauks (pickup trucks with benches in the back), public buses still a lot to see out the window and within the vehicle its self. We’re doing lots and lots of moving around this trip!

Mengalaba Myanmar!

2010-02-21T07:02:00.000-08:00

Welcome to Yangon

Yangon, the capital and largest city of Myanmar (formerly known as Burma) is different from any city I have been to so far this trip. Men and women wear longyi, long cotton skirts that are tied. The air smells drier (though it is still hot) and there is a great vibe of energy. Maybe it was because of everyone who told me good things about Myanmar but I was able to walk through the crowded cracked sidewalks smiling at everybody. The main roads are decent - no motorbikes or tuktuks which relieves a lot of traffic and the side streets are amazing - narrow, 6 story apartment buildings with laundry, toys and people hanging off the terraces. Everyone is out and about working, hanging or playing. We got quite a few stares, but we just stare back (so I hope thats ok).

We checked into our hotel, the Nagani. Much fancier than we were used to - TV, fridge, AC - crazy!! and people carrying your bags all with a view of the shwe dagon pagoda. strange. After checking in we wandered around Chinatown - tried some street food, found a supermarket and lunch. WE arrived on union day, and Chinese New Year was soon so everyone was excited / telling us that it was a holiday. Visited the Suley pagoda, a monastery - so intertwined with the city streets.Tried to find the synogauge but had no luck. Yangon has people of all different ethnicities ages and sizes - very interesting walking down the street!! We returned to our hotel at 3 30 expecting to meet maw ( a guide who helped us plan (which was great and a bit of a relief)and booked us hotels. ) at 4. did not meet maw, met the hotel proprietor instead.

Met up with Maw at about 5 oclokc. Outlined our itinerary and then we went to the Shwe Dagon Pagoda, the most famous in all of Myanmar. It is 9 m tall and covered in 60+ tons of gold and is over 1000 years old. incredible. the area is filledwith other smaller stupas and pagodas and temples that were donated by devout buddhists from all over the world. we saw our 5th-12th tourists at the pagoda (still a pretty closed country). many more locals paying hommage. many gold covered buildings, incredible teak carving and all the buddhas had flashing led lights behind them (chinese influence). really cool!

Went to dinner - street bbq, and the perfect bite sized cakes for dessert and then back to our souped up hotel (though the power does sometimes go in and out) for journaling and MTV (asian music videos are my favorite! look up i left my heart in tokyo, k-otic, and soooo many more!!)

The next day slept in a bit, had breakfast in our hotel,. it was creepy because we were the only people in the dining room. went to the roof to admire the view, met and said goodbye to maw. then we wandered to the boudhaya paya via many streets. in the payas you are expected to take off your shoes which is all well and good except when it is 12 30 pm and the tiles are BLAZING HOTT. this paya (pagoda) is really cool because it has 8 hairs from buddha on display inside it. also many locals. it had a turtle pond that you could throw coins in for auspicious wishes and an exceptionally large buddha of wisdom and knowledge. very fun. took the public bus back to our hotel (50 kyat door to door service). went for lunch at a cafe nearby, rice and pick a curry dish.the chicken curry was ridiculously delicious!!!!! Checked internet - SIT people have begun to get super excited! and congrats to lauren for getting into columbia! Returned to ourhotel and then took a taxi to the (huge sprawling bus terminal) for our trip to Bagan.

Myanmar Food

We did our best to try national and regional dishes but sometimes, the best you can find is fried noodles/rice or noodle soup. Which I still find delicious and tastes slightly different everywhere you go. We tried barbeque (street meat on a stick), Chinese noodles and soup. We had Myanmar buffet lots of small vegetable dishes and meat curries which was hit or miss depending on the dish. In shan state we had shan noodles(thick in spicy broth) and rice and vegetable curry (not even that spicy. Try a pumpkin curry recipe!). Breakfast was generally included at the hotel so I have been eating a lot of eggs and toast and jam. Snack food doesn’t seem so big in Myanmar. We tried tamarind candies (bad, a bit spicy) and dried fruit (too much preservative). Lollipops, wafers and slushie bubble teas were a hit though. And sweet street pancakes.

In our first day in Yangon we walked through the markets on the street and everyone was selling sticky rice cakes and candies for Chinese new years. Tons of fruit, vegetables, spices were also around. Also every block or so you can find someone to roll you a fresh cigar on the street. it’s a great city!

Money in Myanmar

The local currency, kyat, comes in denominations of 50, 100, 200, 500 and 1000. The exchange rate fluctuates a bit between 850-1000 kyat to the dollar, depending on the time of day, astrological sign, quality of bills and whim of the seller. The thousands are all new and crisp feeling and if you want to pay for most things as a tourist you need a thick wad (like being in a music video) of them. Its like paying for everything in one dollar bills (kind of). However the smaller bills are heavily used - they are dirty, torn and fraying. It really captures how there is the money that tourists and wealthy government/business people use and the money that everyone else uses. In rural areas average income in 2-3000 kyat a day and an air traffic control tower worker makes 69 USD/month. Just to give you a clue to the different levels.

We were talking with one taxi driver, who was telling us that taxi driving is his side (cash flow) job. He reminded us that even though we are not very rich for Americans, we are very very rich to Myanmar people - after all we can get to Myanmar and travel around it (which is more than most of its citizens do). Which is very true, and something I will always try to keep in mind as I continue my travels.

When exchanging bills if you have fresh new 50 or 100 usd the exchange rate is good (980-1000 kyat/dollar). If not then its not so good. Money is generally exchanged on the black market. We had 3 exchanges - one in a taxi, one in our hotel room (very complicated the publicist of our hotel recommended a friend and then since the hotel does its own money exchange she had tokeep it on the DL. There was just a lot of cash floating around when we tried to figure it all out, and when someone knocked on the door the lady hid in the bathroom. Sketchhhh.) and one with Maw in the hotel lobby (very relaxed and straightforward). So that was strange. Also you can pay for things like hotels, plane tickets and some souvenirs with USD. So that’s a but confusing. Overall though I think we did well with budgeting and spending. And as we all know there can always be more gifts sent home…

Money in Myanmar was such a different experience than any one I’ve ever known. In all other countries I’ve been to (I think) tourist prices are expensive but not blown completely out of proportion as they are here. Though people are poor they seem to have enough, or rather make the best of what they have, and again the traditional rural and supportive structure of Burmese villages really helps them survive (and thrive).

Viva Vang Vieng and Vientianne!

2010-02-10T16:19:00.001-08:00

Vang Vieng
we arrived in Vang Vieng at about 11:30 pm, and found a guesthouse pretty easily. we slept in and then spent the morning figuring out our next travel plans and getting rid of ants on our stuff. eeewww
anyway we got breakfast (yummy) and hit the tubes, which is all there is to do in vang vieng (mostly, especially if you only have one day). you get a tube, pay your deposit, and jump in a tuk tuk to the starting site. for the first kilometer or so it is all bars (that you can tube or swim between). lots of loud music, rope swings and people generally having a good time. there are hammocks to rest on in some bars, water slides and mud sports. people get covered in pen adn mud by the end of the day. its totally young fun and touristy. met a few interesting people. the next 5 km is pretty flat water and tubing next to cliffs and avoiding rocks in shallow water. also fun, but a bit tiring.
After dinner we got Laos massages and then we chilled out a bit and went to bed decently early.

Vientianne
Vientianne is the capital of Laos and has a terrific blend of french and lao culture. we took a local bus there (left vang vieng at 7 am) which was also pretty chill and really cheap. Ate some french pastries, saw a wat (of course - i think vang vieng is the only place we didnt go watting) wandered around the city for last minute shopping and postcards and then visited the national museum. there is a lot of history in laos, starting with dinosaur bones then the stone and iron ages (hence the plain of jars) and through today. a nation in the middle, it has fiercely fought off the french and americans who tried to invade. they are also very proud of being communist. it is still a very poor country - the museum seemed like a very extended eighth grade project. it was too bad that a lot of the communist development information was only in laos.

We left Vientianne at about 6 and crossed the friendship bridge into thailand. the bus ride was very easy and smooth. watched avatar - fun. and were on the second top of the double deckr - also cool. Tried to sleep - Mairin is tres comfortable! but it was hard. but we did our best and made today a good day! (Chiled, visited maryknoll bangkok, met shan student, shopped and relazed...maybe another massage later!)

Tomorrow we are off to MYANMAR - such an adventure I am very very excited
Cheers
ellen

Plain of Jars - Phonsevan

2010-02-10T14:47:00.000-08:00

Phonsevan
We took a minibus (7 hours or so) to Phonesvan, in the Northeast of Laos. Its a pretty small one road town with a feel like being in an old western (insert good bad and the ugly sundtrack here). We arrived about 4 o'clock and booked a guest house pretty easily. We shopped around a bit and found a decently priced tour of the jar sites and tried to check out bus times to Vang Vieng.
WE went to two information centers about UXO (unexploded ordinance) mostly dropped by US soldiers during what they call here the "second indochina war" and all sorts of weapons from china and russian. also went to a museum of survivors and how the NGO mag helps survivors. there are movies (bombies) but missed it. overall the museums were pretty sad but interesting. UXo are so common here that they are painted and used as decoration. crazy!

when we were booking bus tickets some guy came over to ask if we were american. then he went on and on about how we were terruble people and should pay double and are horrible country.... it was very anti american. and interesting to me bc i hardly ever encounter anti american sentiment so directly. But no laotians really said anything, so who knows.

Tour of the Plains
The Plain of Jars has thousnads of years of history - starting with the people who built the jars - about a thousand years ago and carved the jars out of solid stone to be used as funerary urns. More recently it was used as the central area of the Pathet Lao (the Lao communist army) and therefore was so heavily bombed. there is lots of limestone soil so there are a lot of caves where ppl hid. Peoples determination to be independent is incredible.
The jars are HUgE (most of them). some are upright, some are sideways, a few have lids nearby (not on top anymore) quite a few are broken and some have trees growing through them!!
the vistas were also great - sweeping views of hills, villlages (made from lots of bamboo), rice paddies and livestock. I'll post photos as soon as I have wifi (i will i promise) they are pretty awesome.

The three sites are all pretty awesome and have been cleared ofUXo by MAG and they have markers lining the paths telling us where to go. some of the paths are around the markers - haha. dont worry no one in our tour party got blown up (sorry maybe i shouldnt make jokes). There are about 59 other sites (not all cleared) so its really incredible, seeing as the quarry id about 5 km away and no one knows how they moved the jars. such a mystery. i am very glad i went.

we got back at around 3, and booked the 4:30 "vip bus" to vang vieng. ate an omelete sandwich (they cook eggs in fish sauce here - interesting) and hopped on the bus. mairina nd i were the only falangs on the bus. it was a long and windy road - very very windy. a lot of the kids on the bus were sick (eww). the bus was pretty quiet and laid back - people sleeping in the aisles and such. we made a few stops to pee on the side of the road, dropped people off where they needed to be and one long stop for dinner. we thought the ride would take 5 hours, it took 7. but thats ok. we made it to vang vieng, then hopped in a tuk tuk to the guest houses. the tuk tuk ran out of gas so we had to wait while the driver ran to the gas station and back - fun! the spicy in vang vieng was booked so we got a decently priced guest house and went to sleep.

More posts soon!

Lazing in Luang Prabang

2010-02-06T07:52:00.000-08:00

Laos (or the Peoples DemocraticRepublic of Laos) (pronounced like the bug) is an incredible country.. rich in history, culture and natural resources. It is absolutely beautiful and much less developed than Thailand. It has a communist government (you can see the hammer and sickle all around) and its main industry is tourism.

Getting to Laos
Laos is literally across the Mekong from Thailand. Howecver, there are only a few crossing points and not all of them convenient. We took the night bus from Chinag Mai to Chiang Khon and then crossed the Mekong on a ferry (very easy to be stamped out of thailand) and then went through laos immigration (also very easy - cool visa in my passport though) and then hopped on the slow boat south to Luang Prabang.
The Slowboat is a big (seats about 100 ppl) wooden boat that takes you down the mekong. It had seats that looked like they were pulled from cars and seats that were just wooden benchs (where I sat) and plastic chairs. Other people on the river use slowboats as house boats and boats that look like canoes for transport, fishing and travel. It takes 2 days to get to Luang Pra Baung (LPB) on the slow boat. THere is a fast boat which takes 7 hours but it is he dry season and they are prone to capsize.
We chilled a lot on the boat - read, journaled, made new friends, ate cookies. We overnighted in Pak Ben - decent dinner, weird club, a mini blackout and a good nights rest and an early start. My eggs in the morning were cooked in fish oil - interesting though not my favorite. It took a whilebut we finally made it to Luang Prabang (sorry the spelling keeps changing)

Luang Prabang is a cute little town (very walkable) and a UNESCO world heritage site. Lots of wats and french architecture (they were a french colony) we tried to go to the museum but it was closedfor lunch...we did go to the khouxi waterfalls which were amazing. went with our friends from the boat who we raninto in the street (fortuitous) we went in the afternoon so it was cold, but still very beautiful - bamboo lining limestone pools with blue water - everything a tropical waterfall should be and more. on the way to the waterfall saw a lot of villages, school children. very poor and very basic living accomodation.
Hit up the night club that evening -- a unique experience. Mostly Lao age 13-60 it looked like. about 10 white people there, 7 of them dancing. it was fun for a bit. the drinks of choice are beer lao and lao lao whiskey. skipped out on bowling which i heard was a good time.
today we went to the pak ou caves - full of buddhas! took a boat trip to them did some exploring. They were lots of kids selling birds in bamboo cages in order to set them free for good luck. usually there are sparrows, but one girl had an owl! crazy.
also saw the museum jannie (from Mongolia now in Laos) and traditional dance. cool! so it has been a succesful luang prabang trip.

the town is small - not too much to do at night, two main strips, a nightclub (filled with locals pretty amusing) and a bowling alley open till 3 am (go figure, full of tourists). we are staying at the spicy laos hostel which is pretty awesome, wi fi cool peoplefree breakfast and laundry and information. highly recommended!

Food
Laotian food is delicious!!!!! Fried spring rolls, sticky rice, stickyrice made in coconut milk with fresh fruit, night market buffet, fish on a stick, spicy peanut sauce, fried banana, delicious local dishes. not too spicy and very delisious. also lots of baguettes (french influence) so its easy to get a sandwhich (nice!). Been eating the fresh peelable fruits here - also most delicious! yum

Crafts
LPB has a fabulous morning market - foodstuffs mostly in bulk and a night market - handicrafts adn food. everything here seems much more authentic than thailand - it is much less developed. go tsome cool tribal emroidered fabrics and nice silk scarves. may get wood products as well...also its hard to tell how much i am spending. there are 8400 kip to the dollar. crazy! makes conversion a bit confusing -- oh well. i do my best (but i may need to buy a calculator)

cant wait to see more of this awesome laid back country with really cool backpackers and some very sweet people. there are lots of interesting travelers here too! Next stop, plain of jars!
Sabadee

Checking Out Chiang Mai

2010-02-06T06:47:00.000-08:00

Wifi is addictive -i cant help it!
our fulllday in chiang mai got off to a slow start due to the need to email and skype home. met some cool kids studying abroad in thailand - one learned weaving, one worked on burmese refugee reports. interesting.
teamed up with a chile-croatian svetlana to tour doi sutep, the temple on the hill. the tuk tuk ride had great views! and the temple was pretty nice - i am learning more and more about buddhism but i still have a very small understanding of how it works. the coolest thing was that we were blessed by a monk - he sprayed us with water while chanting and then gave us white cotonbracelets to wear. cool. in laos white breacelets tie good spirits to the body - idk about in thailand though

afterwards (and learning how to use a thai payphone) we met up with billy doener. He and his wife kathleen have been living in thailand since 1997 and have done lots of different projects. currently they run a center for hilltribe children so that they can go to thai school and try to bcome thai citizens. cool.
we got to go swimming with the kids !! cool and then we toured the center and heard some of the stories of the kids so that was really cool.

awesome. next stop LAOS!

Chiang Mai and Trekking

2010-02-01T03:33:00.000-08:00

Chiang Mai is a "backpacker haven" full of young adults. Its pretty cool. I havent gotten to the museum yet, so I do not know too much about the history, or why everyone goes there, except for the fact that it is beautiful.

We took an overnight train from Ayutthya - very easy, and I got the best nights sleep I have had (a whole 6 hours - weird dreams and too many thoughts). It was fun - in the morning everything folds up ad safe - nothing was stolen and I didnt fall out of the uppr bunk.

We arrived in Chiang Mai on time, made it easily to our hostel (though we are very wary of taxi and tuk tuk drivers). Here the ride of choice is a tsawhak ( i think thats what its called - i am having a tough time picking up the language sounds - true sign i am around too many tourists). Its like a pickup truck with two covered rows of benches. We checked into the spicy thai, made some british friends and then headed out to meet with Elizabeth of Wildflower Home (thanks Daviesfamily).

The Wildflower Home is a Maryknoll (american catholic missionaries) sponsored program which gives single thai mothers with no other opportunities the chancefor a better life.There are 10-15 women at a time, and they are taught skills like cooking, reading, childcare and sewing so that they can make a better life for themselves. There is also a sustainable agriculture aspect, a homemade bricks project and a nursery school. The family that runs it is incredible, and they truly love what they do. Tome it is incredible that so many social aspects can be addressed and changed, as in I rarely ever think of what happens to single parents, or refugees (who recieve lawyers through the foundation) so it was eyeopening in that respect.

We returned to our super fun hostel, the spicy thai to head out for thai bbq. it was an all-you-can-eat buffetthat you cook yourself. Awesome! and delicious! met some really nice people too. Afterwards went to a Thai pop concert in the park nearby. It was all my asian pop fantasies come true. incredible. so exciting! almost made me want to get addicted to asian pop videos all over again! The evening we just chilled and used the internet abit (there is wifi here - hooray!)

Trekking!
As I said, Chiang Mai is all about the trekking. We went through the Namkorn hotel (where all israelis are, in case you are looking for them) and it was great. They picked us up and first we went to an orchid farm (beautiful, smelled delicious), a snake farm (i thought it was not so fun - the snakes looked sad :( ) a ring-neck tribe village (sort of sad - i am not sure what to make yet of manufactured/commmercialized culture though it does bring money and jobs to poor rural areas) and then lunch (rice and veggies) and then trekking!]

Our guide was pretty quiet but the trek was awesome - a lot of uphill but absolutely beautiful. WE also hada pretty good mix of people from all over the world with great stories and knowledge. We crosssed some streams (good thing its the dry season) and some untethered elephants! COOL. it was all very exciting its so jungly here its crazy. i really love it even tho it is so hot!

we stayed the evening in a lauhu (sp?) village - built out of bamboo into the hillside. all the houses are on stilts so they dont get washed away by the mud in the rainy season. lots of chickens and pigs running around. they also farm corn rice peanut and banana. We mostly just chilled in the evening, hung out with the guides and headed to bed decently early.

I really like talking to travelers because you hear stories of people who are as adventurous (or moer) thna you, get good trael tips and hear about different life perspectives. I am learning a lot and as always considering future opportunities for work (teach english?research peanut farming?) fun (lets play longer in thailand! go to the central plains) and discovery (what wouldhappen if I also quit life to go travellingfor 6 months). its very fun and horizon broadening.

The first cock crowed at 2 am and then on and on for the rest of the day. I did sleep till about 7:30 and then I wandered the village (I was the only one from my group towander so much - strange isnt the point of going to exotic places meeting exotic ppl - but its not so easy. and its hard because i dont speak the language, nonr do i know all of the cultural norms and i stick out so much. i hope the villagers do not feel like they are in the zoo!) I saw parents washing dishes, sorting the trash, kids getting ready for school taking care of the animals, and a man trying to fix his axe. intersting. all of the men in the area have machetes - cool

We had toast for breakfast and then climbed down down down the mountain to swim in a waterfall. fun! and a bit chilly! afterwards, we walked to go elephant riding - fun!! we were goign to spend a whole day with the elephants but it was all booked up .... SAD, oh well cant do everything in life. Elephant riding was cool - the animal is huge. and we fed it bananas. the nose is so inquisitive and awesome. the hair is wiry and rough too. i wish my nose was as cool!

lunch was pad thai (yes they eat that in thailand) and then we went white water rafting which was super awesome. got a bit wet, had a bit of a water fight and then took bamboo rafts. the water level is really low, mostly because it is dry season, but still fun.

we headed back to our guesthouse and now we re just chilling out. we will go out this evening, explore the actual city tomorrow and then take the bus to the border to take the slow boat to Laos tomorrow night (arrive on thursday). Hooray! Things are exciting! and very fun

sawadee
ellen

Thailand - First Try

2010-02-01T02:32:00.000-08:00

Welcome to Thailand!

Thailand is hot. Bangkok is insanely busy and crowded. Tourism is the major industry and they like to keep it that way. Tons of scams, tons of peddlers and tons of souveneir stands. Its hard to find "real thais" in Bangkok but most ppl (who werent trying to sell us anything)seemed nice. WE've been going alot of running around, but the sights are worth it. The country is cheap (relatively for americans) and thriving.

Thai food is really good - very flavorful, lots of veggies and spices. sometimes too many spices. But it is a good adventure everytime we go out!

BLast off in Bangkok
After 30 hours of flying (JFK Anchorage, Anchorage-Taipei, Taipei-Bangkok) we arrived in Bangkok, very smoothly and safely. We went through customs (though we had to wander a bit to find arrival forms) then picked up our luggage and got our ticket for the airport express bus. It is hottt and muggy in Thailand. The bus trip was very easy - full of backpackers and dropped us off right where we needed to be. We were a bit confused though, but a tuk tuk driver gave us a ride for free(go figure). We checked into our hostel, very easily and relaxed for a it. Then we got our bearings and went to explore the area, Khao San Rd which is a very hip backpacker place.
We got as far as a nearby wat (temple) and then we started talking to this guy,who said we should start booking our tickets. So we wandered until we found a TAT (Thailand Tourist Agency, they are everywhere) and got some information there. We made no decisions, but headed back for dinner, wandered Khao San Road again and went to bed.

We woke up a bit late the next morning, went for breakfast and then made our way over to the Myanmar consulate for our visas. Afterwards we went to Silom, the shopping district and then to the night market. We ate pad thai and watched a traditional puppet show. Fun! Went to soi cowboy (center of sex tourism) - pretty sad, but interesting to see. Lots of neon. Theres more, but we didnt wander too far... No clubs were hopping at 10 pm on Wednesday so we went to a beer garden and headed home.

The next morning we finalized our travel plans to Chiang Mai, Myanmar (and kind of) Laos. Afterwards we headed out to see the temples - lots of scammers on the way but we did a decent job of avoiding them. The Grand Palace and the Emerald Buddha next door is incredible. Tons of intricate architecture, jewels, buddhist art and horticulture. The city is deceptively large so we only got to see the reclining buddha HUGE!! and the Wat Aroum, the dawn temple which was really cool because we crossed the Chao phrya river to see it and then we got to climb up it. AWESOME! We had to run to get our Myanmar Visa (phew, got it on time) and then we headed back to Khao San ROad. Had delicious dinner and though we wanted to go clubbing we were too exhausted, so we just hung out and packed up for our next trip instead.

Ayutthya - AncientCapital City

We woke up bright and early to catch a 7 am train toAyutha. It was a very smooth ride on which I mostly journaled and dreamed. We arrived in Ayuttha and thanks to lonely planet, we knew exactly what to do. crossed the river on a ferry, walked a few blocks and then rented bikes (about $1) to visit the ruins. Some are as old as 3000 years old, and they are all very buddhst. The city shows signs of constant warfare - with Burma and Laotian tribes. The remaining buildings are huge constructions with brick and plaster (the facades are long gone). The biggest are national parks, but there are smaller ones scattered all around the city. Very fun, but not the most the interactive because they discourage climbing on them. There are lots of buddha body parts lying around as well.
It was great to have a bike - the driving wasnt too too crazy and we could go much further faster. It also was a good rest for our sore feet. The most interesting part was how the ruins had bee integrated into the city - old spires next to 7-11s(which are all over the place). Crazy! We wandered a bit off the path and found an incredible and quiet park, as well as a deelicious lunch stop. I had beef noodle soup and mairin had a shellfish omelete (or something to that effect). We also found the ancient elephant kraal (where you can still ride an elephant). That was pretty cool too!
Our train our of Ayutthya was for 11:30 pm so we didnt have to rush all day which was nice. And it was nice to be somewhere lesss busy and not harried by tuk tuk drivers. We crossed back over the river and found a guesthouse to serve us dinner. The host was really fun - made lots of jokes, we played lots of games and met people. So that was pretty sweet. We then took a shower becasue we were sooooo gross from biking all day and then headed to the train station for our overnight train to Chiang Mai!!!!!!!
More to come!
Love
Ellen

Shipping off to South East Asia

2010-01-23T05:03:00.000-08:00

Today:
My guide books are read, my pack is ready, my important papers are photocopied and I am ready to say good bye.
Tomorrow:
I am hopping on a flight to Bangkok to have a four month adventure to Thailand (2 weeks) Laos (10 days) Myanmar (one week) and southern Vietnam (3 months!). I will be touring, to get a wider perspective on the region, and studying abroad with SIT in the Mekong Delta learning about delta ecology and resource management. AWESOME

Wait, weren't you traveling over the summer?
I was! I was in Mongolia, and it was a super INCREDIBLE experience. If you are wondering why I am not going back to Mongolia its because (1) I was already there, and now i have the opportunity to go some where new. (2) Mongolia is changing so fast, I tihnk I would have a better perspective on it in 3-5 years, versus 6 months. (3) Its about 15 below in Mongolia now.

OK, so why Vietnam?
Its a beautiful country, with incredible people. But it also represents a very dark time in American history. And its far away. So I get a lot of mixed reactions (but I'm used to that). However, Vietnam is a rapidly developing country, the mekong is a biodiversity hotspot, an agricultural fascination and a thousand-year old culture. The SIT program is perfect for my interests and skills I want to further develop. And vegetables in their diet! And I love love love noodle soup (pho) -->!

Sounds cool! What are some of your anticipations for this trip?

Overall, I am really excited for this program. It will be super awesome. I almost can't believe I am leaving tomorrow!. Though I have traveled before (and in Mongolia/China I was on my own) this will be a new and different experience.

The first month, travelling with me and Mairin (from Brandeis, also on my SIT program) will be pretty crazy - we are planning to do lots and lots! But it will be a great, eye-opening and we will definitely learn a lot about ourselves, each other and the countries we visit.And we'll have incredible stories, the best of them I am planning to post here. I am so excited to be on the go go go go - In southeast asia!!! so incredible!

But I am excited to make lots of new friends, have a great independent study project, learn tons about Vietnam and life in the tropics. (Sayonara Boston winter!). I am also excited for new Vietnamese food (pho noodles), clothes, pretty hair things, big bugs, translation issues, getting lost in taxis, people asking if I am married, a host family and people trying to sell me things in the street and overcharging me.

From my experiences and things I have heard from other travelers, those will be things to get used to and learn how to deal with. I hope to post not only about what I actually do (e.g: today I caught a fish and tagged it! Hopefully I will recatch the fish again next week as I try to do a population count…) but also my cultural interactions (was invited to my Vietnamese friend’s house for dinner. I hope I do not screw up my tones and say something embarrassing to her parents…) and (most importantly) how I feel about these experiences (I really feel useful tagging fish because it has never been done on this section of river before … / Manners at my friends house are very different from my host family, is this because my host family is from the North and they moved to the south.) This piques my curiousity because t will be a totally new experience, and I am not 100% sure what to expect.

So we'll hear from you sometime?
Definitely! Keep checking my blog for stories and updates (ill try to send out email reminders), and my picassa and facebook, and skype me (eabramo). I'll have internet access and some great stories! Can't wait to hear from you too!!

~ellen

Seattle Site Visit

2010-01-10T15:30:00.001-08:00

Working for "the man" definitely has its good times. Last week, I went to Seattle for my site visit for my summer internship. I will be interning with the Northwest Marine Fisheries Service with Beth Sanderson, learning about the ecology of Pacific Salmon streams. COOL!

Essentially, there are less salmon returning to their headwater streams (quantifiable) and that decreases the amount of nutrients in these streams because there are less decaying carcasses. So what are the effects on other parts of the streams, sucha s insects, plants and baby salmon (smolt?). This is what we are trying to figure out. We are playing in Chinook salmon streams in Idaho to figure it all out! nifty. I will be part of team carcass. yum

Seattle the city itself is INCREDIBLE. I've always wanted to do biology research here - and I can't wait to find a pacific octopus!!!!!!!! the city is definitely manageable, cultural, diverse and welcoming. i can't wait. megan, my co-intern (we got to site visit together) who is really awesome (!!!) and I got to scope out some areas for apartments, check out some shows, downtown, the library, pikes place market, the troll and the sound. we cant wait to come back for more!!!!

For photos try here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2032657&id=1360080017&l=1b2dcb2d8b
I am so excited for summer! Sorry this is a short grammatically incorrect post just some illumination into travellinellen land!

Fall Semester Wrap Up

2009-11-22T20:19:00.000-08:00

WOW! This fall absolutely FLEW by! Its incredible! I can't believe that its the end of the semester already.
So some insight onto my activities this month and a half :

Garden!
So in LG's Greening the Ivory Tower class, I was in the Garden group so we built a garden! It was awesome! Lots of trials and travails and home depot runs, but overall it is an incredible experience. I should make a separate post for it, and check out the photos. We planted lettuce, swiss chard and herbs, all doing wonderfully - probably thanks to the fact that its been REALLY WARM all fall. Then we built a second coldframe, and planted bok choy and other hardy winter greens (I can never remember what they are called - claytonia and corn salad?). Also all our windows were donated, so that caused a bit of an issue because they are all cracking! oops. So we re fixing them. Also, my grandma is really proud of me. We were also tangentially related to the ecoshed which Andy and his group built. You just need to see a picture of it, words cannot describe it. Also we built a third raised bed, but we may not plant in it. Also, we have raspberry, blackberry and cherry bushes. HUGE amounts of help from naturaliving and Parker P. YAY! Our garden is beautiful! and a neverending process. but it survived its first snow and will definitely expand.

BUSDT
I finished the season, and it may be my last. Be proud of me! Lots of mixed feelings and I really do love the team. Even did 3 meter...http://www.facebook.com/#/video/video.php?v=549872204552&subj=1360080017 not sure this link will work if you do not have facebook. Its of me diving at Babson.

Other Things that keep me amused this semester:

Cool New Student Friends - So amusing. Peacecorp returnees in my japanese class, biophysics majors in my garden, and lots of foreign people! And then I met even more awesome Brandeis people hooray
Henry - was my pet spider. She was awesome - i watched her eat, spin webs and hangout. Then she disappeared...alas. Turn turn turn
Cool Events on Campus - went to lots of talks and events with free food - especially concerning the environment and travel. Lots of Germans came to speak about climate change and I saw Burmese monks too.
Cape Cod - my aunt was nice enough to lend us her house for the weekend. It was awsome - went to the beach (no swimming too cold), saw lots of cranberry bogs, ate yummy food and went kayaking. awesome two year anniversary!
Adagio - This is the Brandeis Dance Troupe. Its huge. I performed, with my awesome choreographer and 13 other people. It was super fun, I encourage every Brandeis student to join! http://www.facebook.com/#/video/video.php?v=1323824492686&subj=1360080017 not sure if the link will work if you don't have facebook.
Pachanga - also a dance thing that Marina and Serena came to visit for!
Living Life as Michelle Obama - as the "first girlfriend" of Brandeis I do have quite the reputation to uphold. Thus I build gardens, promote diversity (through travel) and have impeccable fashion and hair (ok just kidding about the fashion and hair). So I hear a lot about the student union. Lets just say Andy loves it, but I am super glad to not be involved. I have been quoted often in the newspapers regarding my garden, study abroad and environmental studies.
Talking about Mongolia, wearing Mongolian clothes, missing suyevan, presenting about Mongolia and going through endless pictures about Mongolia. It was hard to adjust, really, it took me till about october to settle in....I wonder how Vietnam will be.

WINTER BREAK is very soon, spend some time at home, maybe make some money (maybe maybe) and get ready to go. I am very very excited. Sigh, I dream about real food...
Also I will be traveling to Seattle to check out my internship site with the National Marine Fisheries Service. I'll be researching salmon streams. AWESOME.

Study Abroad!
Hooray, I am going to do SIT: Delta Ecology and Resource Management in southern Vietnam! I am so excited, yay Mekong River and river dolphins and everything else! I made a decision. I got accepted. I shock people whenever I tell them. Its going to be sooo awesome!
I am planning on visiting Thailand and Laos as well. Also Brandeis Blogging at the195.com. Stay Tuned

Well that is my past speedy speedy semester in a nutshell. As always many awesome little memories along the way. So more updates to come as my travels become more exciting!
Hope you are all doing great and are excited for the holidays!

ellen

Update

2009-10-01T20:07:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone,

I know its been a really long time, and there's been a lot going on. I hope that you are all doing well and having some adventures of your own when you aren't reading mine!

Life at Brandeis
Things are going well so far. Though it was (a) a bit of shock when I returned to campus, just because I was still adjusting back to the US (b) really fun to see all my friends but (c) took me a little bit longer than usual to get into my groove. But here I am, grooving along like a rock under a glacier, so things are good.
I am still diving for the Brandeis Swimming and Diving Team even though we have no pool (we practice at Bentley, Babson, Regis and Wellesley). Our first meet is tomorrow (intramural) GO WHITE TEAM!

Also keeping with the environmental trend in academics, I am taking ecology which is super fun and we spend class examining caterpillars and talking about Costa Rican dry forest; evolution which is really interesting and something I always wanted to study, Greening the Ivory Tower: sustainability at Brandeis and Beyond - a community engaged learning class aka hands on aka 6 credits for pulling weeds! my type of class. for my project I am trying to start a community garden on Brandeis campus (stay tuned for more). I am also continuing learning Japanese and taking politics of south east asia.

This is fun because I am hopefully studying abroad this spring in either Vietnam (Can Tho, Mekong River Delta, Delta Ecology and Resource Management) India (Jaipur, Sustainabilty and Growth). So I turned in my application yesterday which is exciting....yay!

I am really involved in JSA - Japanese Student Association and I'm learning a dance for Adagio - the big dance troupe on campus. I know, me dancing - its good to be well rounded (?). But its super fun! I also had a pet spider outside my window for a bout a week. It was huge! and awesome, I'll post a photo of it soon. I watched it spin its web, catch and eat a fly. Then one morning I woke up and it was gone. Sad...

NOAA
Well I will have a NOAA internship next summer - I just need to figure it out! Everything seems so awesome - I really ahve to sit down with myself, the endless NOAA website and a 12 sided die one day to figure it all out (by November - phew). But I'm really excited about it!!

Mongolia in the News!

So I hope that by following my adventures all summer made you a bit more aware of Mongolia in the news. here are some of the big stories and my commentary, because I have a experience and a blog to be able to say these things:

Mongolian Minister Visits Israel
Tourism Agreement
Well I did not find a tourism agreement between Mongolia and Israel too surprising. Already Israelis (of which I actualy did not meet that many) do not need a visa to get into Mongolia.
Additionally, Israel's ability to make the desert bloom could really help Mongolia! So I thought that this could be exciting.

Solar Panels in Mongolian Desert
http://earth2tech.com/2009/09/08/first-solar-to-build-worlds-largest-pv-solar-farm-for-chinese-government/
Psych! this is actually taking place in INNER MONGOLIA in CHINA. But its still pretty cool that China is using all of their undeveloped desert to create what will be the largest solar plant anywhere. It will create jobs, clean electricity and have a minimal impact. It would be cool if Mongolia could do the same thing, though things are lesss easy when your country is broke and there is a democratic-socialist system and you have not a lot of political clout....

Photos of Mongolia and Inner Mongolia
http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/09/two_mongolias.html
I thought that this was pretty cool comparison of the Khalkh Mongolian culture in Mongolia (well preserved, rural, less developed) to that of Inner Mongolia (less preserved, more urban (thought not that urban for china) and developing). Also, I have been to 90% of the Mongolian photo places. Cool!

NPR Special Series on Mongolia
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=112516360
I got lots of phone calls about this one! NPR did a decent job about highlightinf the main issues affecting Mongolia today, such as Ninja Mining, the loss of herd land and increase in mining industry, alcoholism, naadam and Mongolian Pop Culture. These articles were interesting, and were a decent general introduction to the area, but they were kind of cliche and did not really get into the intricacies of many of these issues. Additionally, the people who commented on the articles really did not know what they were talking about.
Here's my breakdown by article:
"Gold Rush"

"Subprime Herding"
Mongolia is (pretty much) broke. There is only limited opportunity - even for those with college degrees. Some pastureland and water resources were heavily degraded by mining and other industries. The price of cashmere crashed earlier this year. And the banks need money too. So its true herders are geting really squeezed for money for school fees, warm clothes, fuel, supply for herders and a myriad of other neccessary objects. However, I do not think that the country should shift to rely entirely on mining. If Mongolians stop herding, they will not be able to feed themselves, becasue they do not ahve enough money to import the food they need. However, if Mongolia was able to export like 2% of its meat, it would be in a better economic positon. Its tough to be squished between Russia and China.
Mining though, is not an impossible solution. however, as a country without a lot of capital, it is hard to invest in

"Widespread Alcoholism"
This article confronts alcoholism in Mongolia. A mongolian woman I met in the airport (during my 12 hour delay) said that almost every single family has been affected by alcoholism. Men were disporportionately affected because after the dzud their herds died, and they had no other skills and no ability to regain their herds. Women were better able to adapt. Additionally, more women have gone through more years of schooling and hold more jobs with degrees such as doctors and lawyers. This is because men usually either leave school to be herders or entrepenuers. Paid professionals do not make as much money as entrepeneurs.
Though the people I worked most closely with were not alcoholics their presence is known throughout the culture. Even though there was quite a bit of drinking going on wherever I was on trips or weekends (as many people have mentioned) it generally was not binge drinking. In Moron (Khuvsgul) was the first time I saw drunk people on the street (now is a good time to note that I lived in a pretty upscale neighborhood for UB - lots of foreigners and employed Mongolians). Additionally, drunk people arent embarassing for their friends and family. Usually people would just put up with them until they were getting obnoxious, then they would be ignored and then escorted (sometimes with more force than others like in khovsgul lake and tosotsengel) away. i did attract a lot of attention to drunk mongolians - i do stick out a bit, especially when there are only other mongolians around...
but yes, alcoholism remains a problem - and it is really cheap and easy to get/make. But most people will tell you that the prospects are getting better.

"Hip Hop Steppes"
Mongolian hip hop is pretty awesome. I do not buy the claim that rhythm and hip hop originated there (everyone claims that) but its super fun! and great when u r drinking tsutetse in a ger and watching a hiphop music video on the old school black and white TV. Also lots of mongolian themes - open space, people singing together, blue sky in the videos.

"Ancient Festival"
Naadam!

Thanks for reading! Please let me know if you hear anything else about Mongolia - I am always interested and like to relate it back to my experiences.
Be back with more soon I hope!
-Ellen

Ellen and Richard Storm Hong Kong!

2009-09-16T05:06:00.000-07:00

Hello All

(I know this is quite delayed. Getting caught up in life is awesome, but makes for slow blog
posting!)

Party in HK!

I was really really really excited for HK and to hang out with Richard (who is awesome and I hadn't seen since graduation). And trust me, I was not disappointed.
The HK airport is spectabulous- modern and manageable (my first this summer!) and really easy to go trough customs. I then got on the superspeedy airport train (also love my HSBC card - made getting cash in HK sooo easy!) and got off at Central and met Richard right away. He cut off his long hair, but otherwise he looks the same.

FIrst we went to our hostel in Mirador (I tihnk or maybe thats the other one) Mansion. It was a decent room - I have also grown used to almost amything. The hostel next door has a bad rep like sketchy adn stuff, but ours was supposedly better. Richard and I did not have any probleems so it was oK. we were in a downtown area with tons of tourists and tons of people asking us if we wanted "copy watch handbag handmade suit rooms" whenever we were there (especially when I had my suitcases). There was lots of bright lights and shopping! (Though I was a bit shopped out after Beijing).

After setting our stuff down, we went for dinner and Richard ordered for us traditional HK food - noodles and meat and then we saw the daily light show in which the whole harbor lights up and then crossed from kowloon island to HK island and took a double decker bus up to Victoria's Peak. It was beautiful and not too foggy so we got a great view of the city! we went down the hill on a minibus and then ate some delicious mango dessert and called it a night.

the next day it was raining (i was there the end of the rainy season) so i bought an umbrella and breakfast from 7/11. went to the HK museum of history (pretty cool adn very well done and I learned quite a bit), then we wandered one of the shoping malls that are HUGE and seem to be EVERYWHERE in HK esp. in big office buildings or hotels. We ate lunch (more noodles!) and then went to Mong Kong which is like this crazy open air shopping night market. Got a few last minute presents which was good. it was super crowded! everyone all jazzed up in the unique HK style. we also went to goldfish street, which has pets of all kinds (from beetles to cats to turtles to goldfish) which was fun. Ate some pastries for dinner (ate lots and lots of pastries in HK) and turned in early.

The next day was mostly sunny (cool!) and we headed to Lantau Island - where there is a HUGE Buddha. We also started our trend of just missing a ferry/bus and then having to wait a while before getting the next one. Oh, well we were rarely in a rush so usually it was fine. We wandered the area where the ferry comes in and then we took a bus to the big buddha. it really is BIG. and you can climb to the top and get a good view (except for us it was completely clouded over) and its just fun. We then went to a fishing town on the island (via bus) wandered the tourist route and then went towards where people actually live - in tin shacks, near shrince, making dried seafood and shrimp paste and in some places on houses on stilts over the water and then we went beyond, to a rocky beach which was really nice. A fisherman with decent english found us, gave us even more of a tour, talked about economic issues facing the town and what the people are like and where the dead are buried. So me and richard bought some envelopes off him becasue thats just what you do. Locals love richard because he can speak decently intelligible cantonese. and im just his girl friend who has come to visit...
We went to the third big town on the island, watched kids play in a fountain and found some delicious egg tarts ! an HK specialty. that was fun and then we headed home t i r e d.
The next day was also super fun. we met up with richard's friend hazel who was very sweet, at hku studying european studies.we of course missed the boat and then had some bonding time. it was cool. we took the ferry to Lama island from whence we went on a hike across the island. Also went to the beach and tried some shumai, sweet soy drink and sweet dofu (yummmy). Tried lots and lots of local food. We went again to another village, bought a few souveniers and some things to munch on on the way and then i lit incense in a buddhist temple (very different buddhism in HK than in Mongolia) and we headed back to the main island.
After saying goodbye to Hazel, we then met up with Richard's friends from school. All really cute and pretty and giggly (oh man, i had not heard giggly in a looong time) and like 25 (though when i met them i thought that they were all 18). They seemed really awesome and were really sweet and enjoyed me telling stories about Mongolia and Richard in high school (when he was a bit of a differnet person). lots of them take japanese with richard!
After dinner and sweet drinks, we wandered for a bit and took dome photos by the harbor and then we all headed home.
My last full day in HK was sad (because it was my last day). Richard and I got a decently early start and went to HKU for thier internet adn to turn in my WOW paper. Then we headed to Ocean Park - the adventure park of HK. It was super fun - rides, dolphin shows, aquariums, games, candy and more! We had a really good time. and we saw the pandas - sooooo cute!
We got dinner with one of RIchard's closer friends and her boyfriend. That was really fun and they are really sweet. Fresh seafood and all sorts of other deliciousness! Afterwards wandered around a night market area - lots of fortune tellers, outdoor karaoke and the regular vendors. Bought some dried kumquats (delicious, local and had them on lantau island) and tried some fishballs (i really did try tons of HK food). After a profuse thank you for the evening, Richard and I headed back to the hostel. had a D & M (deep and meaningful) about life and future plans, and I finished repacking.

Going Home
4 am the next morning i woke up and headed to the airport. I watched the sun rise over HK - which was awesome, but sad because I knew I was leaving. The trip to the airport was smooth as was my flight. My transfer in Beijing was easy and then I spent 13 hours on a flight reading, writing and chatting with a 13 year old from CT. It was fun, I did not sleep. After waiting a while for my luggage to come out and goign through ag customs (where are your shoes? i tossed them in HK) I was back home with my family!!!!! yay!!!!!!!!! it was so great to see all of them at the airport! yay!!!!!!

Blast in Beijing!

2009-08-12T17:52:00.000-07:00

WOOHOO Hong Kong has no internet filter but not reliable internet in our hostel oh well

So Beijing has certainly been a whirlwind. and soo different from mongolia. i think i am more surprised here by things that are like the us than things that are like china (if that makes sense) ive seen quite a few starbucks and mcdonalds here. lots of fun though travelling is more fun when you have a buddy

arrived on saturday afternoon where i relaxed, planned the next three days with much help from sarah ye and her family (thats where I'm staying) ate dinner with the fam (the have a cook! and a housekeeper and a shy cat) and after a walk around i crashed and did nt wake up to go out even tho i really wanted to

SUNDAY
I visited the temple of heaven. its surrounded by a great park where you can see people practice all all sorts of things: ball room dance, taichi, weapons practice, something like hackey sack with a shuttle cock, voice scales, musical instruments, choirs, somekind of clapping exercise and more. There are many buildings in the temple - altars, gates, mini museums so its all really interesting - and crowded.
After wandering around hte park a bit i met up with sarahand we went to the pearl market. hagled bargained nd got the requisite knock off hand bag and real pearls. so that was fun!!
Enjoyed Lunch - real pao chicken!! and spicy as always
I next visited the forbidden city which was realy incredible and huge - soo much to see and do, i really enjoyed it. it poured, and i had no umbrella but i saw as much as i could anyway. so much jewelery, finery, jade, and traditional art and ming and qing architecture. its really incredible
walked aroundthe moat and wandered a few alleyways and made my way to tianamen square.it is huge - quite the police presence. lots of people lots oof photos and lots of impresive govt buidings
wabdered around the area a bit more and then made my way back to the ye's, had dinner, relaxed.

Monday
I woke up bright and early for my trip to the great wall and the ming tombs!
Got on a hotel tour (just me the tour guide and an italian couple) which was easy. Went first to the ming tombs, whichwas fun - saw the well where they drown the concubines, the mound where the kind is buried and some of the treasures -lots of wealth in those tombs.
Then we visited a jade factory, which was cool to see how jade is carved, the masterpieces people do with it and the different types. they also left us to shop, but i was uninterested. afterwards we went to lunch. kind of awkward because it was me and the italian couple and they dont like chinese food or talking alot but what ever. lunch was fine
after lunch we drove for a bit and then got to the GREAT WALL. it really is great, made of oldgranite. its really incredible how it winds up and down really steep mountains, i wouldnt want to climb those mountains in armor, let alone the wall. i had the italian couple take a picture of me at the bottom and up up up i went!!

the first part is the steepest and busiest, but as you go up past the guard towers there become less and less people. it was really hot and muggy but fun. i made a friend from tunisia and a friend from the states on the way up which was fun. we made it to the end! took some photos. the view is stunning (the haze even lifted a bit). it was super fun. the trip down was really quick tho, especially since the trip up seemed sooo long.

After the wall we went to a tea house and a porcelain "museum" shop and drove past the olympic stadiums. the trip was fun but i could have done with a lot less shopping time. Afterwards I did peruse the mall though and eat some delicious mango ice cream.

Dinner was at the Ye's, with TWELVE dishes made by the cook. there wer a few guests and the food was delicious. I did try the lamb, but it was too much for me - the mutton taste is hard to overcome, need a break for quite a while. We watched Knocked Up (on Bootleg of course because we were in China) and turned in at a reasonable hour.

Tuesday
Tuesday was my last day in Beijing and I wanted to fit it ALL in before I left. I woke up bright and early and tried to find my way to the summer palace via train and bus. every bus i went on told me to take the bus in the opposite direction, and eventually i would up lost and just took a taxi there. however, the summer palace is absolutely beautiful - lots of landscaping, some mperial relicts, performances and i made a friend from beijing. cool. he was really helpful in telling me about the history of things and such.
After the summer palace, I took a bus to a random subway - got off and ate some lunch off the street, then found english speakers on the subway to make sure i was going the right way, and then i headed into the silk market. the silk market was fun and as busy as you would expect. got some silk and some realy cute asian hair clips. it was fun. wandered around the area a bit and then i went back to the ye's area.
found a mini hutong (alley/slum) district nestled and kind of hidden between high rises and community developments. it is all one level, attached concrete blocks with windows and doors set up on a grid with very narrow alleyways and things everywhere inside the houses. it was very interesting to see the extent of poverty and the dichotomy between the two classes - literally right next to each other. they also had public bathrooms, which is good planning on china's part.
afterwards, i went to a chinese acrobatic show - super fuN! sat next to some girls from japan which was nice as well. Then i went to the night market, wafujing, where i saw live scorpions on a stick and tons of neon, it was quite the scene. i made it home late

wednesday
i packed up for the journey to HONG KONG and managed to get everything into the taxi. Beijing was a whirlwind, fun and i saw everything i wanted to on my own, which had its ups and downs, but i was really excited to meet up with Richard and explore HK.

Last Post from UB

2009-08-12T09:58:00.000-07:00

Hello All!

Thanks alot for reading my blog all summer long (don't worry its not done yet!) and passing it along to friends and family. I left Mongolia on Saturday morning and arrived safely in Beijing that afternoon. In China (and HK) there is no access to blogs, facebook, picassa or youtube so all updates will be via email until i get home and copy and paste them to my blog, unless i get a proxy to do that for me while i'm here.

Last Week in Mongolia:
Well I arrived back from Bayanhongor on Monday and then spent most of the week hanging out with friends, meeting people (even in my final hours) and doing some last minute shopping.

People
I met Carly's friend from home, Crystal who seemed really sweet and fun.
Met the new AYADs over Indian Food, Ikh Mongol, and the Black Market
Saw lots of people I knew (who ar estill in Mongolia) and met a bunch of new peacecorp volunteers at Ikh Mongol as well)
And of course met someone new on my last night, but i dont really remeber their names so thats all good.
Hayley Tamara and Carly, were as usual awesome about everything and making sure that I fit everything I needed to in and helping me out however they could. honestly ithout those three i would have been so lost this summer
I also met with Sas Carey on my last night here. That was really fun - she really is a fantabulous individual. Some really interesting discussion about our views on mongolia and how we think it will change in the future. That was really fun!

Shopping
Lots of last minute shopping in UB, including to the cashmere outlets, the black market, random stores on peace avenue and tsaagan alt. i tihnk i bough enough stuff. as in i left everything i dont need there (toiletries, granola bars, duct tape, etc) and filled the rest of the room with gifts. i was really worried i would have to pay overweight baggage, but I didnt so that was great.Chimgee asked me how it was possibble that I had clothes to donate, but I just said that I have a lot of clothes and the ones I brought here are not in good enough condition to take home - like my hiking clothes, so I'm leaving them here.

EVENTS
Ikh Mongol essentially Danya (AYADs) going away party. it was fun because everyone (see above) was there, just hanging out having a good time

Getting a Del
Del is the traditional mongolian outfit. I got one made through Micro Economic Development (MED) Office by oe of the beneficiaries. Urna helped me communicate what i wanted and then i went with the seanstress to pick out my fabric and lining and trim on tuesday. That was fun. She began my del on wednesday (more auspicious). I recieved my del on friday (and got a mongolian jacket with it. That was really fun to wear/ showoff around the office and then UB

Goodbyes
I find goodbyes hard and a little anticlimactic. On thursday I brought in candy and wellplanned trinkets for everybody I had worked with over the sumer (spade, food security, etc). Friday I packed so I came in late (but I got 2 phone calls asking where I was). Food Security bought me a kazakhi bag - its really beautiful. Chimgee organized a pizza party for a goodbye for me - which was really sweet! i had a lot of fun (as did the rest of the office) and chris said some really nice things so it was fun. Spade Zavkhan gave me a CD of nomadic music and blessed my del for goodluck in the traditional way, and SPADE Gobi gave me an ADRA mug and hat. Aww. I was definitely touched.
After dinner with Sas I went out with Tam Hayley Stef and Jenny and that was really fun - a good (typical) last night out on the town. Had some good moments. Hayley walked me back and she was dutifully awed by the sight of Jannies apartment and excited about taking granola bars off my hands.
Carly came with me to the airport, which was really nice of her and destressing for me. Before I knew it, I was of to China.

Some thoughts about my experiences in Mongolia;
I was a bit reflective over my last week (not just because I had to write my WOW final report - the final version of which I will post here eventually) but becasue this has been a huge experience for me.
ACADEMICALLY I did learn a lot about agricultural techniques, usage and proper application. I also learned more about environmental isues and thinking about theory vs. what actually works.
PROFESSIONALLY I learned alot about working for an NGO and the intricacies in that field. I learned about the importance of communication and sharing ideas and working as part of a professional team in any situation (office, meeting, field, etc) and what sort of skills work wel in those situations.I also learned about a lot of different career paths and grad programs.
PERSONALLY: I learned that I am resourceful and adaptable and have a lot of patience. I can live on my own and still have a decently healthy lifestyle (though i should make ore time to exercise) ad ake new friends. Working directly with beneficiaries was a little challenging at first, but as I became more used to Mongolia and myself I became more open. I think I can say that by the end of the trip I had a positive impact on some beneficiaries, if only for a short time. Ask ask ask and then listen to the answer
I'm 1200% certain I learned more than that, but right now I am a little tired. I am sure that most lessons will be recalled as their themes come up in life.But thats a good start.
I was definitely sad to leave ongolia - it would be really nice to have been able to stay another month or two. At least I know I can always come back to ADRA! :)
It was hard to imagine that I was leaving and moving on. I dont know if Il ever be done done with mongolia, but its always better to leave a country wanting to go back...

Well thats all for now this beijing heat/humidity is getting to me. updates soon about a HUGE city full of working technology, visits to Ming and Qing ancient sites and of course the great wall!!!'

Cheers to everyone
ellen

Bayanhongor Trip and Trainings

2009-08-04T07:11:00.000-07:00

Hello All!

I've just returned from my last (aww) trip to the countryside - its really hard for me to beleive that this summer has literally flown by - what happened to July? This trip was the best in many ways and a really great culmination experience.

View Trip to Mongolia in a larger map

The trip started at 3am Monday, when Doc (from ADRA) picked me up to go to the airport. We had the first flight, 5:10 am out of Chinggis Khan International Airport. We went through security ok (very simple, very small scale) waited a bit in the waiting room, took the bus to the tiny Saab 380 (seats 34 people only) and loaded on time. Unfortunately the plane had engine trouble so we got off and waited in the airport for a bit, went back to the office and then back to the airport, for our flight at 2 pm. Although the bus that takes you to the plane would not start (not a good day,eh?) we got a different bus and loaded onto the plane again. We landed safely in Bayanhongor. I did spend most of the flight sleeping, and occasionally looking out the window at the valleys and mountains below. I was T I R E D. The airport was tiny tiny and you get your baggage through a window.

Bayanhongor smells tart, like fresh grass mixed with desert (and manure).We were greeted by our driver, Chuka and his wife, and then drove to the city. First, we dropped off our stuff at a nice guesthouse. We each had our own room with chairs, a toilet and a shower (the showerhead connected to the sink and the floor was tiled with a drain so you could shower where you poop. Perfect for Marina!), which was quite luxorious. After we settled in a bit we met with the local staff in Bayanhongor - briefing them on plans for training and talking about the state of cooperatives. I practiced my vegetables in mongolian as well.
In Bayanhonogor we were not just observing gardens but also conducting trainings about cooking with vegetables and water quality monitoring. We went to every shopping center on the main drag (about 7 and the market place) to look for supplies (chocopies, mac coffee (mongolian faves), eggs, some vegetables, flour, plates, gloves, apples, etc). After our immense exhausting shopping trip we sat down for some good old mutton and rice (yumm!) and went back to our rooms to relax. I really like Bayanhongor - it does not have the incomplete facade-like feeling of most other Mongolian centers. It is more complete and very basic. And less of the heavy wooden fencing which I appreciated.

Tuesday morning we actually left before 9 am (shock me shock me! and Doc and Urnaa can communicate plans!!!! Heaven!) and drove to Bogd soum (with a stop in Jinst soum to let them prepare for our visit). Bogd soum is located next to Bogd mountain which is HUGE (about 9000 feet about sealevel) and collapsed randomly in 1959 and can be seen from everywhere we went. The town was decent sized, and also very comfortable feeling (like Bayanhongor). We went to the project directors house where we were fed Mongolian cheese (pretty good), meat and noodle soup (with some vegetables!) and camel airag, sweetened and still tangy. Very interesting, but i think i had a bit too much and it made my tummy a little funnny (airag is a stomach cleaner).

After lunch, we prepared our trainings - set up gas stoves and computers in one of the school dormitiories for herder children in the winter. It was cool - they had rec rooms painted with murals from Chinggis Khaan folklore. There were 6 iron-stand beds to a room. I dont really know if they would be a "fun" place to live - they are rather drab, and I get the feeling that extracurricular activities are not really provided.
During the presentations on freezing, drying, canning, I was the "good intern" - a slide clicker. It workedout well though. The presentations were relatively interesting even though they were in Mongolian and I could not follow all of it, I got the jist of it. I think the participants (about 30, of all ages and a few men as well) enjoyed it as well. Afterwards, they broke up into 4 groups and made all sorts of salads.
I have never seen anybody before as meticulous about making a salad. All the ingredients were measured out to the proper gram amounts as indicated ont he recipe sheets we handed out, all the vegetables were sliced very very thinly and things were done with much care. At least one item in each salad was cooked, and overall the recipes were a hit. It was fun.
After the training we returned to the project managaers house to talk more and then headed to a guest house (no running water, shared a room with Urnaa) for the night. Saw a rainbow in the sky! That night, the wind howled like I have never heard it before. It was crazY!

Wednesday we also woke up early and prepared training materials. Doc and Chuka set up a tent by the Tui River and had procured a generator, so that we could conduct water quality monitoring training. Urna and I got there about 10:30 and set up the computer, benches, coffee and posters. Generators are tempermental and unreliable. There were about 21 people there - herders, cooperative members, government workers and kids floating in and out. The first part of the training is presenting the pollutants and the purpose of water quality monitoring. It also taught participants how to identify the invertebrates they may find in their streams. The 5 hour training was broken up by Mac Coffee breaks, handson demonstration of how to use the net, lunch, tent building and insect examining. Fun! I had my EFS magnifying glass with me - It was definitely put to good use. The training went well, all the participants seemed excited about it and kept their attention well.

After the training we went to go visit a herder's ger, which was very nice - I was told that I should come and stay in Bogd soum. Who knows, maybe someday... We were given arool (dried curd - I actually legitimately enjoy it - I am oh so Mongolian now) and Mongolian vodka made by distilling yogurt (different from airag which is fermented milk). It smelled like vomit, but it does not taste too bad. Mongolian drinking is very different - the host or the honored guest pours the drink (vodka or airag) into a bowl, passes it to a guest who drinks as much as they want and then passes it back to the host who tops it off and passes it to the next guest. its very communal.

We visited some gardens - each family has 1000 m2 onwhich to grow their vegetables (potaotes, cabbage, lettuce, watermelon, sunflowers, barley, cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots, turnips, peppers, parsnip and daikon). A few gardens were good and the potatoes were great, but for the most part the plots were overgrown, weedy, or not plants at all. You could tell many people had not been taking care of their plants properly. Doc and Urnaa were upset and let them have it. I spent most of the time in the garden being shown around by a little girl who tried to tell me the names of all the plants. It was a hard process, she just kept saying"ok" the whole time no matter what i said and getting me confused.

We stayed in the tent that night. It was beautiful. I slept out under the stars for half the night until it began to rain and then I stayed in the tent. We staked it well, the night was hugely windy. It was fun to hang out outside though.

Thursday we began training at ten am. After filling out paperwork like "where is the river located" and "is there a road within 1 km" and "what is the temperature" it was finally time to catch bugs! There were 3 teams that put a thick net in the water 100 feet apart to catch all invertebrates, then the nets were cleaned off using river water and then all the invertebrates were fished out of it. I thought it was fun and effective, as did the participants. Afterwards all the insects were counted up and the speed of the river was calculated and it was determined that in this location the river was of ok quality.

After quality monitoring, we went to the soum center where Urnaa had a serious talk with the members of the cooperative about taking better care of their fields. I took a nap in the meantime, it was not for me. We then hopped in the car and went to a farther garden to observe it. While driving there, we took lots of pictures with camels and mini horses ( i do not know why they were so small). Also saw an evaporated lake (thanks climate change). The garden was small, but decent. Afterwards we wandered the countryside. I got to milk a goat! and try more arool, and Mongolian vodka. Visited lots of gers that seemed pretty poor - they did not have beds on stands, much shelving or kitchen equipment no wall coverings. We went to a spring that is supposed to be healing for the liver and stomach as well. We then went on an adventure to find camel (only - most milks are mixed species) airag. Stopped at quite a few gers. At one ger we had horse airag and they shared their sheep head with us. In such a case, you dont eat a lot, just a bit to share with the family. Finally, we found pure camel airag. I tried it, it was rather sweet and softer in a way, quite different from than cow milk. Its hard to describe the taste of Mongolian dairy products, especially because there is no equivalent in the Western world. Driving back in the dark was rather bumpy. Tried again to sleep outside, though it rained again in the middle of the night. As per usual, wacky wacky dreams.

Friday we rose and shone, packed up our gear and tent. Went to a ger to return the sleeping mats and were treated to bread and cream (my fave!) and snuff bottles. With snuff you recieve the bottle with the right hand supported by the left. Unscrew the top a bit and then inhale from both sides. I do not think I got any tobacco up my nose. close the bottle and return to head of household.

We then met with the governor of the soum. She sounded very interested in the trainings and made it very clear that the status of the gardens was ni the hands of the local staff to imprve. After the meeting we were treated again to soup, tsutetse and airag by project officer in Bogd soum - yummy but sooo filling.
Afterwards we drove on to Jinst soum, where we conducted salad cooking training again in a sschool dormitory. There was some fluctuation of the electricity (kept going on and off) but it all worked out in the end and the training was again well received. Again meticulous salad making skills.
After training we went to the project officers house to relax and have horhot (meat on the bone, boiled) and buuz. We visited the local gardens. The ones near one well were doing alright, though they were rather parched, but things were growing. The gardens closer to the other well were severly stunted and dehydrated. The well also had about a foot of water in it, and a man was digging mud out of it. Intense. This is what I thought more of the Gobi farming would be like, though. Its crazy how people survive in places with almost no water.
We then drove 70 km through the countryside to drop off a gift and visit a ggarden of a beneficiary that had help urnaa with the car on her last visit. the family was very sweet and led us on their motorcycle to a road that took us up into the mountains where we would camp with one of Doc's friends, a former ADRA employee.

We arrived at sunset. the mountains were incredibly beautiful. We ate some bread and cream, set up the tent in the dark. Then we drank hot boiled milk (yummy - sheep and goat), passed around the vodka and just relaxed. Saw a copy of the secret history of the mongols. we turned in for the night at a decent hour. i woke up in the middle of the night because of the wind (it sounds waaaay worse than it is in a tent) and went outside to look at the stars. The night was unbelievably clear and beautiful and i fellt like i saw many many many stars. IT was soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo awesome!

Saturday morning I woke up and was not too sure what to do with myself. I watched the women milk the goats, put my stuff together and then had some tsutetse and bread and cream for breakfast. Doc and I decided that we would climb the mountains behind the ger. Before I did so I got to pour the curd into the arool bag and watch Docs friend take fresh arool and slice it with thread and lay it out on the ger roof to dry. AWESOME. I also watched them kill a goat - even less bloog around than last time. Horhot for lunch - yum!
Doc and I headed up the shaly rocky slope - it was a tad dangerous, but we did a good job. As soon as we crossed the ridge, it became green(er) valleys. We took arool up the mountain with us to sacrifice to the gods/spirits (?) for good luck. Saw many winter ger camps (identifiable by their ring of stones to help keep the ger warm), a young herder (ten, goes to school in the aimag center, herds 12 hours a day) an older herder (got to see through his monocular, ride his horse and he asked me to send him a picture of himself. All he did was give his name and say here. Mail delivery in Mongolia clearly works differently than in the states.) kept a look out for marmots, took tons and tons of photos and made it to the top. The slog down was hard and long, but we made it.

Late lunch was horhog and delicious, though I always feel kind of carnal and greedy eating meat off a bone form a huge bowl with a knife. and it was goat which was a nice change from mutton (dont tell that to a mongolian, they believe mutton is the supreme meat). I also got to see the apparatus they use to distill yogurt into vodka and the game like roclk-paper-scissors that is an airag drinking game. It was really fun. Also watched zavkhan's naadam on TV.
After lunch we all relaced for a few hours and then we pack up and headed back to Jinst soum.
At Jinst we dropped off the local officer's husband, played some catch with her sons and then got back in the car and drive towards the sunset to Bayanhongor aimag center. We made a stop at a project officer's ger (I have absolutely no idea how the driver found it in the dark) to tell him to prepare a generator for us. We arrived late in Bayanhongor (around 11:30) to the same hotel as before and turned in for the night. It was nice to have my own room and some space.

The next morning (Sunday) we were up bright and early again. We had cookies and jam and meat for breakfast and then jumped in the car to a soum nearby to do the first cooking training of the day. The ger was near huge fields, clearly run by some kind of agribusiness (as evidenced by their advanced sprinkler system), and was well decorated with nice wall hangings and beds on stands and lots of furniture,a tv and curtains around the stove. The hostess made us delicious "mongolian bread" essentially a yeast donut, cut into squares. Delicious! Especially when they are hot! With tsutetse and cream it is like heaven.
We set up the computer in the ger and had a good number of people show up. Our third time performing the training and Urnaa has it down pat. It was fun. this time she divided up the people and told them which recipes to make. They made potato soup, omelettes, potato pancakes, spinach pancakes (though we were a bit low on spinach, but it was the recipe i submited so that was fun!), beet and eggs salad and cabbage and radish salad. It was fun to help out and explain cooking to mongolian woman, I felt super useful which was really nice. Urnaa is really good at mobilizing people and making them feel included. Everyone enjoyed the salads. I took lots of photos (everyone wanted to see themselves on my camera) so that was fun.
At about 4 pm we packed up and drove about an hour to the next soum.

The next training was also conducted in a ger, but this one was much poorer. There were no wall coverings, just felt blankets on the floor, and the electricity came from an external, tempermental generator. The generator did not generate enough power for the laptop and the computer, so Urnaa did the slide presentation on her own while I sat outside with Doc.
I took lots of pictures of people, who really liked seeing themselves. I took some with some young guys (between 20 and 30), Its kind of hard to make conversation when you speak different languages and my answer to most (really basic questions like how old are you) is "megui" i dont know. but it was fun. and they let me sit on their horse and take pictures. I wish I had asked to ride on a motorbike as well. Oh well
I also explored th gardens with Doc and Urnaa (a relief not to have to take photos of everyone all the time, though they do like it). They were the best we ve seen so far overall. Right next to an irrigation channel and filled with all different vegetables, pumkins, zucchini, watermelon, peas, beans in addition to the regular crops. needless to say i was super excited about the peas and squash!
Cooking was fun, though it took a bit of organization: there were over 50 people there. I traveled around taking pictures, most of the gers were equally as poor. One ger used the cases of televisions as shelving. inventive. both men and women were eager about participating, and again everyone enjoyed the salads afterwards. We headed out, visited a man in his ger (more donut like things and tsutetse. I dont understand, no matter what time we arrive there is always enough tsutetse and its always hot). We returned to Bayanhongor at about 11 again, I said goodbye to the Bayanhongor staff and settled into an evening of journal writing.

Monday was my last day with Doc, Urnaa and Chuka in the countryside. Breakfast was quick because the airline called Doc to tell him that it was time to go to the airport. In order to check in, you pass your ticket, passport and baggage through a window and then they weigh it and give you a hand written ticket. I took a box of airag with me becasue I had extra luggage allowance. Goodbyes were as anticlimatic as usual, but still sweet. I'll miss Doc and Urnaa they are really nice and super funny. Going through security was fun. I just walked through a metal detector with all of my stuff nothing even went through an x-ray. On the plane, I met a woman who moved with her husband to Mongolia 3 years ago and live in Bayanhongor and do evangelical outreach and community development. Their faith that this is what they are supposed to do in life is totally incredible. But I am not alone in feeling the pull to Mongolia! The flight was really smooth and we touched down in UB right on time. I met up (after a bit of confusion) with Doc's friend, a taxi driver who had a sign to meet me! and brought me straight to my door (thanks doc for writing out directions to my house). Overall, it was a great trip.

Train trip to Sunshaynde and Trip to Tsetserleg

2009-07-25T11:57:00.000-07:00

Well I think I will do this two week (wow time flies) update in reverse chronological order. Because its easier, and it may be as concise as I can make it.

Sunshaynde makes me happy

The Preperations (or lack there of)

So I figured out on Monday that I would be going to Sunshaynde on Wednesday (thanks to lots of coordination between Jack, Jakub and finance dept) and on Tuesday I kind of figured out more specifics.

I met Marta (works for ADRA in finance department as an accountant) 8 am bright and early and we taxied to the train station, bought our tickets. It was decently (but not crazily busy). The station building is not very spacious, just efficient and maps showing the different train routes. We had about a 40 minute wait where we sat at the train station and talked about life for a bit. Our tickets were for section nine, so when a long green smoky train pulled up we made our way over to the right car, where we waited a bit more, but managed to be the first in line.

The Ride

We sat on the public hard seats (cheapest, and not recommended by lonely planet, but i was with a mongolian and the train was not very crowded). I figured I would most likely come out ok with my passport and camera and have a good story to tell at the end of it all. The seats are assigned and there are bunkers - the bench where you sit, one a level above that folds down, and another which can be used for luggage or crowded bodies. The bench folds up and thats where you put your stuff. There are curtains on the window and atable between the two rows. (see pictures) There are also hooks for your jacket by your seat. The windows can open, but its a bad idea to do so because it brings so much dust into the train. There are compartments like in an airplane from which train attendants serve tea/coffee, hooshoor and cookies. The bathroom is exactly how it looks in old movies dirty, and a whole that just drops the waste to the ground. At least I know where I would escape if I needed to....

During the train ride we ate, talked, read, journaled (me), slept (Marta) and stared out the window. There are many little towns alongside the railroad and some big ones (like Choir as well). We did not really talk to the other people in our train (relatively few and rather quiet, nice). We past 2 coal mines (I was excited). The scenery is beautiful, of course. It was incredible to watch the steppe turn int Gobi. (kind of like watching the sunrise - you anticipate it and watch very carefully and then bam! all of a sudden its there). It rained on our way down and we saw a rainbow, which was exciting!

The Gobi is like a sand dune in some parts, but more like very dry steppe with fewer plants in others. Jakub told me that it was all gray and flat, but there are some low rolling hills (in some places, not all) and because this is a rainy summer (very unusual) it was relatvely green. The soil is red and ochre and gray and tan and yellow depending on where you are or all at once. There were lots of camels (lots of camel pictures) and some horses and goats and sheep as well. It was dry and windy all the time as well. The wind breaks up the heat a bit and the dry lets you sweat less, which is nice.

We arrived in Sunshaynde (the good pond) about 10 hours after we left UB. It was nice to stretch our legs, breathe fresh air and see Jack and Jakub again. The first night we went for dinner at a nearby restaurant, made some toasts, went for a walk by the fountains in sunshaynde and turned in for a relatively early night.

Gardens and Governors
ADRA has 3 gardens in the area, one in Sunshaynde (that I did not see), one in Erdene (about 100 km to the south, accessible via train and "road" and one in Dazalbajan, which is about 200 km north of Sunshaynde.

We went to the Erdene garden on Thursday. It was incredible, they are really making the desert bloom. Full of different vegetables and thriving greenhouses. The wide selection included: radish, carrot, potato, lettuce, cabbage, watermelon, cucumber, tomato, quash, seabuckthorn, amaranth (jakubs pet project ina way). It was great and really a happy place to be.
There are several farms nearby (the soil is decent, the water is good), including an army farm because it is about 60 km from the Chinese border, and the military patrols a protected no-entry zone. We also visited a nearby small-scale picking facility (where everything is done in old looking machines and cleaned ot bottles)and looked into abandoned buildings to put in a processing plant for ADrA's facility.
We took a break to visit the field officer of the project and offer some advice, and (after waiting for a while) met the soum governor. Cool, it was pretty interesting. His office was decent sided and he was bald, wore a suit and worked on an hp laptop. Not too warm and welsoming though, but he sounded excited about the idea of a processing plant in his soum.
We returned to the garden for luch where they made us cucumber salads and delicious buuz - best ive had. By then it was getting later and we got going.

On our way back to Sunshaynde from Erdene, we stopped at a small bogd (municipality) called Zuunbayan. The bogd was one of the saddest things I have seen in Mongolia. There were oil refinery silos (what do you call those buildings anyway?) and trucks and wire around the oil area, but apart from that the town was mostly abandoned buildings. Soviet style, decaying empty buildings in the middle of the desert are kind of creepy. On the field, there was a military tank as well. It was late afternoon when we visited, and the shadows just added to the emptiness of the place.
The female governor there was waiting for us to meet with her. (We were as per usual running later than anticipated). She explained to us that the soviets started this taking oil from here in the 40s till the 60s. Then it was unused until the Chinese came in the early 2000s to take drill for oil and take it, via train, to China. There were about 200 people in the municipality, and only 20 herder families. The municipality had the highest rates of unemployment and malnutrition in the soum. She was very interested in having ADRA do some projects with her bogd. She seemed very sweet, intelligent and excited about improving her soum. Very different from the governor of Erdene.
We walked through the town a little bit, to investigate a water tank. There were about 4 delguurs (stores) a playground and lots of kids playing. There were some people looking down and out, as well as buildings that were 2/3 abandoned and 1/3 inhabited. strange. There were also much fewer animal bones left and the ground as compared to other soums.
It was really interesting/sad to see so vividly the poverty and the effects of the fall of socialism in Mongolia. There are probably quite a few other towns as sad as this one, but I have not had the chance to see any yet. The Mongolians were also quite affected.

On Friday we visited Dzaldalajan cooperative garden, in the flat flat dry desert. It was the only garden in the vicinity. The water is very salty so they try to use drip irrigation, but often they flood the fields anyway. The soil (where its not watered) is very patched and there are minerals everywhere (I picked up a few). The wind storms killed some of their plants, and their tomatoes had weird decay on the bottom, but there was the BIGGEST CUCMBER PLANT EVER there and still a decent amount of carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, potatoes, etc. And lots of (decent looking, not cow eaten) sea buck thorn bushes growing.

Meditation Center

Between Erdene and Dzulbajan we went to the Kharmaryn Khiid. A lama decided that this place was the center of all energy in the universe and built a monastery and some stupas to prove it. The center was destroyed during the socialist era but rebuilt in the early nineties.
The monastery part is nothing special, but the energy center part is. There are cows and stupas all over the area. There are also two large mounds (shaped like female mammary glands) that you are supposed to throw milk and dairy products on and are supposed to warrant good health (for women). It smells like old dairy products a bit.
The actual energy center has many stages. You walk past the eyes (cleansing, related to Tibetan Buddhism) on the left side. Then you go to a pile of stones, write a sin on paper, burn it and then you are absolved. We could not get the paper to light, so we stuck it in the rocks and hoped for the best. Then you look through the three rock circles on the ground and you pray towards the black mountain. Then you sit in a pile of red stones (the epicenter of the energy) and look and pray towards the black mountain. Then you walk up to the big stupa (there are stupas surrounding the whole place). You walk around the ovoo three times, walk around the stupa, then look towards the black mountain and sing a song (that every mongolian knows). Cool and cathartic. The area is surrounded by red rocks and the wind howls but it is very quiet otherwise.
Then you drive about a kilometer, hike down and up to the spot to where the lama meditated for a year or three, then you crawl through a cave and you are reborn again. (So many new lives on this trip).

On Friday, before we left Sunshaynde, we went to the museum about the Lama. He was a child prodigy, a huge proponent of public education, an artist, a writer and more. He was honored by many international figures (e.g the dalai lama) and had many ritual objects made from skulls. His stuff was all saved, and hid during the soviet era.

Mongolian Musings
So traveling with Mongolians who speak English, helps you learn a bit more about the country and such.
EDUCATION - Marta said that in Mongolia, students only go to school for half the day, at all ages adn have split sessions. Wierd. And then they go home, watch TV or just hang out. If she could change one thing about Mongolia, it would be the education system - start from the bottom.
INDUSTRY - We passed a lot of mines to and from Sunshaynde. Mongolians see mines as a good thing, because they bring in revenue, but its hard for them to see the actual monetary results. Jack and Marta do not think that there wil be herders in Mongolia in 100 years, which they see as good, because herding is really hard. Marta and Jack both grew up in urban areas of Mongolia.
POLITICS - They see the political system as corrupt and useless. It needs to be overhauled with fresh young blood, according to Jack. They say that changes can only be made from the top and that from the bottom people have no power. That is a very different perspective from what I am used to.
We sat by the fountain in Sunshaynde and talked, drinking Borgios. Played on the playground (bars, steering wheels, climbing strustures) and made our way to the outdoor gym - 2 incline benches for crunches, a machine that makes you work your arms, a machine that makes you work your legs and a self powering treadmill (treadmill shape, but the walk pad was rolling bars nad you had to keep walking up). It was all made out of the same metal as playgrounds. I forgot my camera so no photos. There was a huge dinosaur nearby, looking over the whole area.
The car ride back was long (about 10 hours) and we talked a bit, rocked out to multiple CDs (several on repeat) and had lunch in Choir, and tried teeny tiny wild strawberries from a jar from women selling them on the side of the road.

UB Interlude
When I am in UB, I go to work, go out for lunch, do yoga, frisbee, shop, go out for dinner and hang out. I tried to go with carly to zeisan (the monument on the hill) but the road was flooded so the bus took us to the bus depot instead. Adventure! And then we went to my house with her host sister and cousin and made cookies (after having an adventure of not being able to open my door because someone shoved paper in it. But Bek helped out). Theres been lots of rain and hail causing flash floods and flooding in the ger districts. UB has no drainage. Some pubbing and clubbing and thats about it. Its pretty fun though, there are lots of awesome people here.

Highlights of the Tsetserleg Trip

Monday:
We (Hayley, Stef, Marc and Jenny) left UB with a van full of food, stuff and gear. Though all the stuff seemed to grow as the week went on, even though we had less food. Lunch was sandwiches onthe side of the road.
Our first stop was the phallic rock at Khar Khorum (I sat on it this time, made some greek tourists applaud), and some gift shopping.
Afterwards we went to the Erden Zoo (the monastery) and we got a good tour guide so I understood more about the monastery and the gods within it. Dinner was some meat on a stick and good old mutton and rice. We ate and then pressed on to the next monastery-waterfall.
That night our ger camp played lots of music, so naturally we went to go see what it was all about. Turned into a dance party inside the dining ger - dj'ed by an mp3 cd. At first it was just us and a mongolian woman, then more mongolians and men in deels, and soon enough everyone was dancing. I have never felt such rough hands in my entire life. It was like holding coarse sand paper. When the dancing became a bit too close, it was time to go. All I have to say about the rest of the night was there was scratching at the door and music till 3 am.

Tuesday
We decided not to go to the monastery and to head to the waterfall and Tsetserleg instead. Our communication skills to the driver were not that good, but eventually it all got figured out.
The waterfall was in full force and incredibly beautiful. We stood by the stream above it, took some pictures then grabbed our "togs" (swim suits - the aussie way, I was with all aussies) and jumped in! It was a little chilly, but not too bad. We swam near the waterfall, hung out on the rocks and showed off some fly. It was fun! Lunch was sandwiches and then we drove drove drove over bumpy roads and through the drizzle to Tsetserleg.
Tsetserleg was as cute as the last time I visited. We stayed at the Fairfield, an upscale-catered to expats guest house. Dinner was delicious - I had chili. Then we just hung out and relaxed in the evening.

Wednesday
Woke up nice and early and had scrambled eggs. We visited the farm I visited on my previous trip to Tsetserleg and it was great to see it all growing. The woman was bery nice and between the five if us we were able to talk about pests, weeds and processing plants. Fun.
We went horse back riding in the afternoon. It was my first time. Steff told me the rules: only balls of feet in the stirrups, hold the reins with one hand, steer with your body, hold on, oull hard to make it stop, say "choo" as you kick it to make it go and good luck. My horse was gray, and liked to veer in the direction that I was not steering, and was more attentive to the guide's whip than my choos. Alas. However, it was really fun, though the ride was cut short, owing to thunder and lightning so we sat in the ger of the horse riders instead. More bread and cream deliciousness and tsutetse. Bimba, our driver played with the kids, and we gave them the watermelon we bought. They really enjoyed it!
In the afternoon Jenny and I explored Tsetserleg. We went to the museum (cool musical instrumental instrument collection), the monastery, the mountain, the buddha on top of the city. Then we tried to find dinner, but it was too late no place had food, so we had instant noodles instead. Spent the evening sharing stories.

Thursday
After american pancakes, Jenny and I climbed to the top of the mountain through steep rocks and drizzle. We returned to the van and headed off to the hot springs! It was a quick drive through steady rain. The tourist camp was pretty full, but we got a ger and made lunch. Pretty quick we changed into our suits and went for a dip in the hot springs, which was really nice. Afterwards was nap and read/journal time adn then dinner. The water didnt boil so our pasta for dinner was really mushy, and we also made scrambled eggs. I went for a horse ride on a random mongolian horse (tied with rider) in a mongolian saddle (ouch), but it was fun to see a bit of the countryside from horseback again. We went for a late after dinner dip, secured our ger and turned in for the night.

Friday
Woke up early and walked to the source of the hot springs. Lots of eagles hanging out nearby and
We skipped breakfast (just snacked on the road) and drove drove drove to Khar Khorum where we got ice cream and then lunch (tsueyevan, i was CRAVING it). Then we drove drove drove back to UB. When we got back, the ger districts were all flooded - it was crazy. Friday night was nice and quiet.

Now
I'm heading off to Bayanhongor for the week, to do cooking and water quality monitoring training! Enjoy the end of July!

Naadam! the three manly sports

2009-07-19T08:17:00.000-07:00

Hello! and Sorry I haven't posted for a while. I'm trying my best to upload and not give too much info at once, so expect two this week.

Naadam is a big deal in Mongolia - its family time, tourist time, and best of all wrestling horse racing and archery time! Yay for the three manly sports (though women compete in both archery and horse racing). I only kind of understood the events, but they were great for people watching and learning more about Mongolia. Again, lots of tourists but still really fun.

We actually checked out the stadium on Thursday, when everyone was setting up and they were practicing opening ceremonies. We (Chimgee Carly and I) ate our first of many Hooshoor (fried dumpling with mutton inside) of the weekend (and a delicious peroshge (perogie) that I couldn’t find again).. Unfortunately it was kind of rainy all weekend, but that didn’t put a damper on the fun!

Horse Racing

Hayley and I went with Ganz (our all purpose Mongolian coordinator and tour guide) and a bunch of other Americans to the horse races on Friday. We met up at 8:30 ish (meaning 9 I love Mongolian timing) and piled into the ubiquitous 4-wheel drive van to head up to the horse races. On the way, we picked up flags from little kids selling them on the side of the road. So many flags everywhere! Not as many as the Puerto Rican Day parade, but close. Our journey was with Joel from Miami, visiting his friend who always DJs at river sounds, and 3 Luce Foundation Scholars (like AYADs but American and only in Asia). We arrived at the horse races, and there was a section of flouro (as the Aussies say) gers for food, horse trainer tents farther up and benches set up by the finish line.

A bit of background on horse racing: the jockeys are all aged between 5 and 12. They dress in bright colors. The horses are between 2 and 5 years old. The distance of the race differs with the age of the horses (14-32 km) and the conditions of the previous year (harsher winter, shorter races). Only the top five place, and the last kid gets a prize. There are 5 judges (that we saw) who decide what place horses and riders come in. Kids do not have to qualify, they just show up.

The race is relatively exciting. It starts far off in the distance, and you watch the cloud of dust come closer and closer. Or you could watch the screen that is live footage transfer from a camera in a tv driving alongside the horses. In front of the bleachers is just a line of policemen, making a fence. According to Ganz, they are there just in case, not really because they have been needed before. As they come closer, it gets more exciting. In the races I saw, the first rider was the clear winner, by many horse legnths. Some horses and kids look fresh, some look tired. The kids just whack their horse with whips to make it go go go. Some kids are just exhausted and barely hit their horse. Some horses are exhausted and ignore the kids when they get hit. Sometimes horses come in without riders. That sucks (for the kid, and the horse places five places back). The worst thing was that about a km from the finish line, a horse just dropped. Kaput. The kid hopped off and was ok and kind of hovered around his horse and emergency personnel came about 3 minutes later and gave it horse resuscitation aka a kick to the chest. After a bit, it was decided that horse was never getting up again. However, the owner will cut off its head and put it on a mountain because it was a special racehorse that competed in the national Naadam.

After the first race, we visited a trainers tent and asked about techniques and such. Most jockeys are from poor families and the trainers pay for their school fees and give their families some sheep. Richer trainers pay bonuses in cash. its pretty dangerous, and most parents do not want their kids to participate. Afterwards we went for some fresh hoshoor (yum, greasy) and then watched another race. More expats came to join us, but it began to rain. However, we braved it and watched the race. The horse jockey we met came in the top half, not the top 25 (out of 300) as the trainer predicted.

Later that day we did drinks at Hayley's, met Jenny's brother and Tamara's friend from Sydney, then we went to go see the Lemons, a mongolian alternative band. Although they were like an hour late (had another opening at a different club before it) and played only 4 songs, it was a good group of people and reasonably fun.

Opening Ceremonies

Saturday was opening ceremonies. We met at 8:45 at Sukh square to watch the procession of the spirit banners and men intraditional mongolian garb that parade from Sukh square to the stadium. It was really crowded, but I got a few pics. We walked to the stadium as well (about a ten minute walk). Soo many tourists its crazy. outside the stadium were all sorts of tents selling things and many mongolians dressed in traditional garb as well. kid in mongolian outfits are sooo cute. It was drizzly again. We took our seats at about 10, even though opening ceremonies started at 11. However the stadium filled up and got really crowded and soon become squeezing room only.

Opening ceremonies actually opened at 11 (wow!). We were seated next to the stage, so we got a great view of everyones back, but since mongolians grow up in round gers they tend to turn to every direction a lot so it worked out well. There was lots of shows of horsemanship, a woman carrying a quiver who came in on a rope, ribbon dance, acrobats, horse-gymnastics, contortionists, parade in traditional costumes, a pop singer, president and prime minister. old politicians (in a dell and showing off their old soviet medals) and the olmpic champions paraded around in cars. lots of mongolian pride, it was really fascinating to watch. It was fun, I took lots of photos, though it was really busy at all times so I'm not sure how much you'll be able to tell from the photos.

Wrestling

After opening ceremonies was the wrestling. Men wrestle in open shrug sweaters that tie around the stomach, speedo shaped bottoms, traditional hats and boots (see picture). The qualifying matches are kind of boring, there are a lot going on at once and once you lose you are eliminated. Wrestlers start at age 13 (about) and have regular wrestling rules (I tihnk).

We did lunch - delicious meat and veggies on a stick and rice and meat and salad with spice! (Love the kazakhis!) Most of the Aussies went home but I found different people to chill with and explore naadam.

Archery

Archers wear the best outfits, full on traditional clothes. The stadium is small so you can see the whole field from all angles and under the seats is where the archers prepare or chill out. Lots of police around the stadium as well. Archery is with a huge bow and they aim at cans on the ground in front of a white cloth. It was cool to watch them in action, I do not think that they have a time limit (not 100 % sure of the rules). men shoot from further back from women, and there is a judge. When an archer makes a shot, he has teamates/aides at the other end that sing (his praises and to attract the judge I tihnk) and replace the targets. When the archer misses they indicate what they should do (aim more left, up or what have you). It was really interesting to watch.

Ankle bone Shooting

Ok, not really one of the three, but an integral part of naadam (apparaently). Middle aged men in bright colored dells (neon orange, bright pink, bright green) sit in teams of four and shoot domino sized pieces at two ankle bones set up as a target. They get points for knocking the bones off. Sometimies they hum as well but i do not know if this is supposed to help or hinder concentration...

I met some American high school kids who were doing the summer experiential living program. Cool!

After watching ankle bone shooting I mostly wandered around for a while and then headed home in the drizzle. My feet were sooo dirty when I got home. And that was naadam for me, I did not go back to the wrestling on sunday (the best matches) but Iheard it was lots of fun with great energy.

Next update over the weekend about my impromptu trips to tsetserleg (photos already up http://picasaweb.google.com/e.abramo/ImpromptuTsetserlegTrip?authkey=Gv1sRgCIDajJrbpZ7gxQE&feat=directlink) and Sunshaynde (leaving tomorrow!)

Summer goes so fast!!

Ellen

4th of July and Mongolian Folk Rock

2009-07-08T21:24:00.000-07:00

This week has been pretty interesting, with lots of cultural highlights. There have also been a ton of Westerners as its almost time for Nadaam! Just a quickie:

July 4

Who knew where all of these Americans came from?!?! There was a barbeque at the Star Apartments (where lots of diplomats live) sponsored by the Church of the Latter Day Saints (sooo many Mormons - I have never seen so many Mormons - even in Utah!). I had my first 4th of July hamburger in years, met lots of Americans (some even my age - University of Pittsburgh students and volunteers) and ran into lots of PeaceCorp Volunteers. No fireworks, but American music, tug of war and sack races. Also, some nice Mongolian crafts as well.

After the picnic I did my laundry (successfully) and then I went to a party (with lots of Americans of course, but some new Scotts and aussies) where I ran into everyone I had met earlier that day (oh, mongolia). And then Karaoke! which was ridiculous.

Other highlights of the Past Week or So

Lecture on Environmental History by a grad student at Harvard. I ran into my friend Timon who said he was going to this lecture, and I was down for going. Brian Donahue would have approved. Talking about how cultures create a place based identity. He also could read classic chinese, chinese, manchurian and mongol (i tihnk) wow.

Indian Restaurant On my list of ridiculous things in UB, totally for ex pats but delicious!

Quiz Night At Budweiser Budvar by Sukh Square. Fun, crazy, met lots of Texans and other expats. It was really fun! The themes were ABC, America and something else. We were the fermented mares, as I had bought my waay too fermented bottle of Airag to share.

National Geographic Team from UCSD (Small world much?) Mostly electrical engineers (and my first israeli in Mongolia. Who's excited? I was! ) who are really into Mongolian shamanism (go figure). But they got national geographic interested, and a national geographic paid explorer to go and explore with them. Lots of bromance - on a super buddy system. They also came over and did like 2 huge loads of laundry in my tempermental machine...good times, but korean after was better (soo much korean food in mongolia). Ran into them like 3 times between the july 4 picnic and when they left for the countryside...Pretty awesome

Cashmere Shopping at the outlets in UB. That was really fun! Cashmere is sooo soft and nice. Not too cheap but still lovely. Also in the Gobi store there was a cashmere fashion show (with a runway and 5 models) and traditional instruments and throat singing. And its all made (start to finish) here! We also went back to the Black Market where Hayley and Stef got MJ pins (yeah we know hes dead here too, its just not sucha big deal) and I got awesome warm fuzzy fuzzy boots for winter. Great!!!

Breakfast with Ruth who is building the Mongolian Children's Aid Foundation for orphans. Very interesting. Mother of two brandeis alums.

Ultimate Frisbee Yay exercise! organized by a lovely motivational french woman. Lots of fun. Ran into the frisbee crew 3 times in the next 24 hours as well.

ALTAN URAG CONCERT
Mongolian Folk Rock - What could be better?
Honestly, this was the most fun concert EVER!! Traditional mongolian instruments (with alien instead of horse heads on the fiddles), throat singing, women with operatic sopranos and traditional costumes mixed with rock, rap, synthesizers and awesomeness. Soooo fun! Kind of hard to explain. This may help

And tonight I'm doing Pizza and Bowling at Jeff Falt (American that I know because my mom went for a walk in the Bronx with my grandfather who started talking to this woman who studied in Japan (like my mom did) who mentioned she has a father living in Mongolia (I know, what?) and the woman lives in Jackson Height (near my other grandma). Fun stuff! Next post after naadam

Ellen

Trip to the Countryside!

2009-07-02T19:02:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone!

I have just returned from a trip to the Northwest of Mongolia that was 12 days long. I went from Ulaanbaatar to Orohangai, saw Khorkhorum (Chinggis's capital) and the White Lake in Arhangay, Visited many farms and viewed the largest mountain in Mongolia in Zavkhan, visited Lake Khovsgol - contains 1-2% of the worlds fresh water!, saw Bulgan and the second and third biggest cities (erdenet and darkhan). it was INCREDIBLE!!!!!!!!! Also got to know Mongolians much better, and more about their culture and food and was able to survive many many hours in a van on bumpy bumpy roads!

Here is a map of my trip (you may have to scroll east a bit):

View Trip to Mongolia in a larger map

Since there is soooo much to write, I think I will try to organize by chronological topic because that will be more fun:

MONGOLIANS
Mongolians are absolutely wonderful and hospitable people. They are wonderful about sharing and looking out for people.

My Crew
My van was the Disaster Mitigation SPADE Gobi Team, who were going on a study tour of the farms in Zavkhan. It consisted of Jack, a young Mongolian Food Technologist who has been working with ADRA for two years and is the program manager and our general translater; Bayurma who is an agronomist and was very good about teaching me Mongolian and giving me flowers for my hair; Yakub from the Czech Republic who is overseeing the project in the Gobi; and Oyuna who is ridiculously clever and very good at keeping an eye out for me! She made sure I was fed, warm and happy. They were all decent at English (though I was told I talk too fast sometimes) so we got by pretty well. I also have the unfortunate habit of zoning out when too much mongolian is being spoken - theres no way to keep up with it!
The other Spade Team (when we met up in Khovsgol) is also very nice and lots of fun as well.

Visiting Gers
Visiting a ger is really exciting. I did not take too many pictures because I did not want people to feel like they were in the zoo, but I think on my next trip I will ask to take more. A ger is like a one room apartment that is everything at once. There are some rules - accept food with your right hand only, walk clockwise, the first serving goes (ceremoniously) to the head of the household, try a bite of everything - but it is also ery relaxed. People can wander in and out (because many people have duties outside the ger), you can sit on someone's bed, eat with your hands andtalk or not talk, depending on your mood. Generally, they seem to be pretty quiet. Gers are decorated in many different styles. In some, there are many different kinds of cloths covering the walls, and very ornate poles holding the ger up. Others are plainer, or covered in one type of cloth only. Additionally the beds are metal (or wood if its fancy) covered in ornate wool blankets and there is usually stuff crammed under them. The stove (metal) is central and serves as heater and stovetop. All of the pots and pans fit into the hole on top for cooking, and when its not used for cooking there is a special lid. There is a TV usually (and sometimes a satellite dish and a solar power panel) and always a shrine to Buddha on the north-west(?) side. It was really interesting and exciting.

Cultural Observations
Mongolians are less formal, and like to spend time together. For instance, people live at home with thir parents until they are married. And they spend a lot of time at home, going out (if you are not between the ages of 15-30) is not really popular (like going out to dinner on a regular basis). Kids have a lot of freedom - they can run, play pretend to fight with saws and axes wherever they want, at least all over the cooperative. However, they do know how to be helpful and when to behave. They are also really cute. Women work hard and long, carying out many of the responsibilities of running a ger. taking care of children and more. Everyone in this country could use some sunscreen and its very hard to tell people's ages. Men are weathered and hard working, generally. In the countryside people wear deels (traditional clothes) and modern clothes, generally in decent condition, though very interesting color combinations.
In Mongolia, early morning is about ten. The most frustrating part of the trip for me was the lack of communication of plans, I do not know if this is just becasue I do not speak the language, or I do not know. But when I would ask for the plan i would get vague answers, or somehing would happen hours and hours later while three other things I did not know about but everyone else seemed to know what was going on. (When I talked to ex-pats later, they said that ws usual Mongolian behavior....).
I got a few stares in the countryside, but no more than expected.

Environment
Mongolians realize that they live in a great, sensitive environment, and they are very proud of the steppe. That being said, they have no concept of cleaning up after themselves, in a way. They drop trash out the windows, water bottles on mountian paths, and to them this is ok. Because the steppe is so big that it is impossible to pollute it all (thats what they think...) so there is a considerable amount of trash not decomposing all over Mongolia. Pack it in pack it out has a very interesting meaning, as for hundreds of years Mongolians used mostly natural materials which would biodegrade, so it didnt matter where you threw your trash. Also there are animal bones all over everywhere. Its very weird to me how Mongolians mindlessly destroy thier environment. Granted, most of the steppe is pretty prestine now, but what about in 50 years?

Hygiene
There isn't running water in most places in the countryside, let alone hot water. I showered once on the trip (which really isnt that bad for me). I used lots of hand sanitizer and wipes. People here are really into wipes, they do not like the smell of hand sanitizer.
In mongolia people eat with their fingers, and there are a lot of communal bowls and knives and silverwear o its not all that clean. They must have VERY GOOD immune systms. I guess mine is pretty good too, as I'm not sick yet, though i do hold on to my own knife and spoon.
In most places in the countryside, the toilet is a hole in the ground surrounded by wood or plactic on three sides as walls and woodenplatform to stand on. They are generally ok, just dont look down. Also, in the bigger towns they make stalls. its funny. i still try to have my own toilet time...no need to see somebody elses stream. and even in the guesthouses with running water(exciting!) its BYOTP (bring your own toilet paper).

PLACE-BASED OBSERVATIONS

Scenery
The Mongolian country side is incredibly beautiful. I love the steppe, I really do. I just want to hang out in the short dry grass all day. Its vast - and since its undeveloped you can see entire valleys (like 10 miles wide) and the mountains on each side. Lots of cloud watching as well. The steppe is green and brown and the sky is very very blue. Its not the same in all places though, some places the grass is dryer (orohangay, zavkhan) someplaces lusher. Also you can see sand dunes on the steppe in orohangay. In zavkhan, the steppe gives way to rocky mountains and forests (yes, forests - they cover 11%% of the country!) and so that was exciting too. Also there were a few rivers and lakes that we passed by, which was awesome to see so much water in a desert country (then again we were travelling through the corner of the Lakes Basin). So many horses,yaks, sheep, goats, cows and camels (even in the north - they survive anything and carry lots of gear. Gers dot the landscape, with satellite dishes, pickup trucks, animal shelters and corrals. So far I have only seen one mine. I could (and did) just spend days staring out the window, looking at all of the bautiful scenery!!!

On the Road
There is a mongolian road map, and it says that there are roads. And there are. Very few paved roads (unless your are in UB, or driving from Erdenet to UB, or are in a legit tourist place, like KharKhorum - on the last day when we were travelling on paved roads the whole way, I was legitimately amazed). Some roads are packed gravel, but they will usually randomly stop because the gravel has not been packed yet and is just a large mound on the road way. There are many many dirt roads and tracks. They tend to zigzag and dot the land scape because if one track becomes too bumpy they will just make a new one. not so good for the environment, but it works for getting around. the roads are very very bumpy, imagine being on a rough sea and hitting a big wave every few minute - thats driving in Mongolia. The car I was in had seat belts, but still. Bridges are harrowing - wooden and narrow but all the ones we crossed supported us so thats a good thing.
Also, there are many people and cars available as drivers for hire (which was good when our car broke down). Drivers get to pick the music (lots of traditional mongolian music and russian songs from the 70s) and they have a GPS in their heads, I swear. there are no road signs, and manytracks crossing the landscape. just you the driver your map and a gps. its exciting, and pretty incredible that we et anywhere. Average speed is 30-40 km an hour. not so fast.
The only time people honk in the countryside is to get the animals out of the road. Or when they pass each other, they honk 3 times.
Lots of horses by the roadside, and lots of motorcycles on the roadside. I have seen 4 people on a bike, and 2 people carrying a goat. It is soooo dusty on hte road, its crazy how they can stand it on a motorbike. Also lots of trucks carrying stuff in and out of UB.
In the car we zoned, ate lots of candy, learned some mongolian and english, had a really awesome illustrated dictionary, made lots of jokes and had a decent time all around, even on day 11.

Orohangay
Here we visited the Uighur capital (circa 900-1100s) which had a lot of stones, but not much archaelogical stuff. I thought it was interesting that there did not seem to be many excavations there. But still cool. We stayed by Uguii Nuur - my first ger camp. It was exciting! and the sunset by the lake was also incredible

Arhangay
We spent a little more time here than planned, owing to the lack of speed and breakdown of our car.
First stop: KharKhorum - the original capital of Chinggis Khan.
When we got there it was snowing. The monastery has about 6 buildings that a tour guide took us through - she kept asking "in the tme of communism..do you know communism?" but it was fun. Took lots of pictures and visited a temple that the dalai lama (named by a khaan) so that was cool the actual palace itself wasnt that impresssive, but it was still cool to see. We alo went to visit the phallic rock - shaped like a penis in order to keep monks celibate. legend has it if you sit on it, you get pregnant. I did not sit on it.

We visited a wonderfful coopreative in Tsetserleg (the aimag or province capital) with such lovely dirt. Very productive, growing lots of potatoes and cabbage. Also planning a pickling operation which should be interesting. We camped by a big rock in the field, which legend says a wrestling champion put down on top of a big snake. good luck finding that in loney planet. i actually forgot my lonely planet, but it was ok yakup had a copy in czech and we were with mongolians, so it all worked out. Tsetserleg is in the mountains, but pretty poor,not too much going on, even in the way of shops.

We also visited Jack's relatives (my first ger!!!!!!) and climbed a volcano and slept by the shores of the White Lake. The lake is reasonably large, and ery beautiful. There is also a collection of black stones there that were built into ovoos (like cairns) which was interesting. Also went on a hike up the mountain to get a better veiw of hte lake. It was incredible!

Breakdown!
The next day our car broke down, or rather could not really make it up hills, nor go over 20 km/hr. we stopped in a soum machina place. it was great, mechanics all over th world are greasy smokers, really excited to take apart cars. in fact when we got there, there was a van with its engine out. Oh well. THey opened up the van, took some peies out, figured out what was wrong, called for the parts from UB and then just played with the engine for fun. in the meantime we hung out, journaled, and ate lunch. We finally got another driver to take u to tosentengel, so we (5 of us and yakub is rather large) squished intoa land cruiser, and got there quite speedily. in totsnsengel we got dinner, provisions and a new driver. This driver took us to Ulliastai, the capital of Zavkhan. We got there at like 1 am. somehow our driver knew the way in hte dark.

Farms in Zavkhan
We visited a few ADRA Farms which was fun - lots of rows of potatoes, beets, cabbage, and cucumbers, peppers and tomatoes in the greenhouses. I learned a bit of mongolian cards. I also learned some new agriculture techniques. most of the irrigation here is done either by wells, hand dug channels from the mountains, or pump it directly from the river. it is pretty interesting. its pretty cool. some cooperatives are very experienced, while others are not. at one of the larger cooperatives, yakub made a boat for the kids to play with (whittled). that is a good skill - giving someone lasting entertainment and teaching them osmwthing (the ids could repairthe boat on their own). We were given quite a bit of hospitality and it was great.

Tosentsengel, which is where the farm I will mostly be working on is, is a decent sized city. We met up with the Aussies who were visiting tosentsengel, and after eating homemade khoooshoor (dumplings) we went out to find a bar. we found a place where local boys go, just to dance, literally. they had a dell computer and just put it on shuffle. me and hailly def had a realy fun dance party and mongolian rap isnt that bad. but too much electronica is....but it was quite fun. we finished all of the tiger beer in the bar. there was also some weird drunk man who pretty uch went from ok to out of control in .35 seconds, but the bar tender sorted that out. it was my first experiene with drunk mongolians (in a bad way). besides that it was really fun.

Road to Khovsgol
Heading to khovsgol (with our early start of 11 in the morning) was fun. A long drive but with absolutely beautiful scenery! We lunched that day on the road, watching a thunderstorm on the oher side of the steppe. We spent the night in moron, which is like the wild wild west. People looking tough in leather, trying to sell the tourists things, horses (and yak carts) in the streets, motorbikes, and kind of dirty. We wentto the market for some snacks (no pictures, too many people). And stayed at a place on 50 N 100 E GPS point. cool. the whole group (spade zavkhan and spade gobi) Hung out that night, drinking, eating and getting excted for the next leg of our journey. it is really a great group of people.
The next day, the scenery got even better and we got provisions and stopped for lunch in Khatgal. This is the entrance to the lake, and a popular though rundown destination, at least as a way point. After driving a bit we finally made campsite near a ger on the western shore of the lake.

Lake Khovsgol
The lake is beautiful. it contains 2% of the worlds fresh water and our campsite was right on the shore, shared with two mangy dogs and a yak. There are trees everywhere. There were 4 tents for 15 people, so everybody had enough space. We also ate pretty well (more on food in a bit). We stuck our feet in the river, skpped stones and just watch hte sunset on hte first day. Lots of hanging out and getting to know ppl. On the second day I woke up early (like 6) it was quite chilly, but I got to enjoy the early morning lake and then have a conversation with a local about im not sure what. i think he thought i was 35, and there were 22 mongolians in my group and that it costs 15000 tugriks to get to the united states. clearly some translation issues.
We hung out, ate breakfast, Yakub went back to UB to work, and then me and Jack went for a walk. We found aboat to stand in and took lots of fun photos. including one of a stallion.

Reindeer Herders
We visited the Tsaatan - the Reindeer Herders!!!! Sooo exciting. well kind of, these are tourist reinsdeer so they are not so healthy bc they need a very specific climate and diet, but oh well. the reindeer herders would only let us use one camera, so all of hte photos are on jacks camera. we got to pose, take pictures, pet a reindeer, and then I RODE A REINDEER! SOoooo COOL !! and only like 1,000 t. it was exciting, i bought some souveniers.

After reindeer herders, we climbed a mountian and got a full view of the lake. it was beautiful and really fun! Then, on hte way back, I taught all of the women the BUSDT swimmer boy dance (for those of you who know what that is) on the way back and we performed it later that night by the campfire. I also taught the mayiim dance to the group. yeah israeli dance!!

I even went for a dip in the lake!! It was REALLY COLD. like 40 degrees. but totally worth it. I bought my bathing suit before i left for like $15.took some silly pictures, but it was really fun! the mongolians dipped in too, even though most of them donot know how to swim, but they waded for bit. After my dip there were some rainshowers, and then we packed up, went back through Khatgal where I had some fish khooshoor and bought some souveniers and then headed back to Moron.

Bulgan and Selenge
From Moron we spent the whole day in the car (the whole day starting at 11) mostly, on our way to Bulgan. We did stop for lunch (more khoshoor) and a nice hike up a mountain covered in flowers and forests. and Birch trees! rather exciting to see. We drove long and late, and arrived in Bulgan ( the aimag capital of Bulgan aimag) pretty late. Did not help that our car was still really slow. Bulgan is a really pretty aimag capital, very clean and neat.

We went next to Erdenet, the second largest city and the largest coal mines in Mongolia. Bulgan aimag is best known for airag, fermented mare's milk. When you go to buy it, each seller gives you a plastic bowl of their product. Airag tastes different depending on where its from and how many days old it is. Also everyone drinks from the same bowl (seriously) and what you dnt finish, the seller does. Hopefully alcohol klls all the germs, so you do not have to worry too much...

After Erdenet we visited the Ambalasogalant monastery, which is pretty large and well restoresd from the communist period (more below). We drove quite a bit to Darkhan, the third largest city, which has a rather large steel factory and a lit pedestrian bridge, and ate a quick dinner there. We then drove straight to UB, arriving at about 1:30 am.

Monasteries and Ovoos
Religion in mongolia is a mix of no religion (from the communist period), buddhism and shamanism. I definitely like learning about other religious beliefs and being in places that are spiritually significant. I gives me a good vibe, to know that I am in some kind of holy place, even if it isnt my own.

Buddhism

Although thereis a buddha in almost every ger, and at monasteries a mongolian will often stop and pray before a buddha, most people know very little about the rituals and symbolism of buddhism. As one ADRA member put it,"this generation of mongolians is learnign again how, what and why to beleive in buddhism."
The monasteries have been restored fairly well, after communism. Although I think the restoration and preservation is best in UB, the other monasteries also have their stregnths. In Erdene Soum (KharKHorum), there are many older artifacts, some of which are preserved quite well. However, they did have old cakes made from goat and sheep fact - those were gross, smelled gross and did not preserve well. However, in Erdene soum you can watch the monks chant, and even buy holy water and incense to be blessed by the monks. I did not buy any becasue I did not tihnk it would make it home.
In Amabasogalant, it is free to enter and take pictures - inside and out. It is very beautiful and in fairly good condition. THe monks were not in their traditional robes, rather they were just dressed in red and yellow clothes. There is a special thing at the monastery which is like a stupa (stupas are buddhist focal points of energy - they are everywhere) that you crawl into, walk around three times clockwise, look out the hole, then crawl out the other side. It symbolizes getting reborn, and it feelslike that because you are coming out from a cramped dark place and everyone who does it looks awkward and has more humility, so that was very interesting. I also lit incense in the lantern.

Shamanism

Shamanism is alive and well inMongolia: people often talk about the spirit of the water, the fire, the mountains. Its very interesting. The most telltale sign of shamanism are the ovoos, landmarks made of wood or stone, covered in blue silk scarves, prayerflags and bits of other things. You are supposed to add rocks or wood to the ovoo for luck, and they will protect you on your path. They are often found on ridgelines, near bridges, cliffs, interesting sights and rivers. If you are going to honor an ovoo, you walk around it three times clockwise and throw white foods (rice, milk, crackers, etc) on to it. We did this around a few ovoos, including the Tree with 100 branches in Arhangay, and on the oerlook to the tallest mountain in Mongolia.
When getting the ingredients for the offering to the mountain, we went to a mini market (which sell 1/2 candy nad alcohol 1/4 toiletries and 1/4 anything else. The rice was weighed on old metal scales, with the balances shaped like ducks (in mongolia when you are shoppin they give the customer the benefit of the doubt). The milk we bought on the street from a woman who poured it into a random waterbottle - it was totally straight from the cow had lumps and hair in it and everything. also fresh milk bubbles a litle when poured. I shoud have taken photos, but sometimes I am uncomfortable pulling out my camera as a person who comes from so much. You trow the milk 3 times to the mountain,and the rice mixture in every direction once. Wesaw lots of ovoos, and Oscur (the driver of the other ADRA vehicle) made one on the mountain overlooking khovsgol!
Actually the area around Khovsgol (and most of northern mongolia) is known for its shamanism, but I forgot my lonely planet and the mongolians only told me after we left, so i did not get blessed by a shaman. next time, maybe.

FOOD

I know you are all wondering, "Well, what did she EAT?" I mean I am a recovered vegetarian. In Mongolia there are five food groups: Wheats, meats, sweets, dairy, other (including fruits, vegetables, and ways of cooking not on a stovetop). Despite it all, I have had minimal stomach problems eating and drinking. I learned alot about really traditional Mongolian food.

Sweets
I tried a lot of different Mongolian and Russian (they are better, in Mongolia, things from Russia are "quality") candies. Any chinese food (which, if you ask a Mongolian will generally say that they like chinese food best of all ethnic foods) i bad, everything from china is bad, even if they like it (lke dried kiwis. yum. though they really like korea. A lot os chocolate candies, and chewy ones as well. I also had some bagged pastries (mazzalai are my favorite) and ice cream (also go for the russian brand, if given the choice). Also you can get Turkish snacks pretty easily, including my all time favorite, Biskrem (yay! I love biskrem! and Yakub did development work in Turkey so we def boonded over that), and got really into this russian chocolate bisquit delicious food.

Wheats
This was the hard (usually) bread that we found everywhere, the covering of dumplings, the layered patries you were given in a ger, and the homemade noodles. And that's pretty much it.

Dairy
The dairy in Mongolia is great!!! It is all fresh and very rich, which I find very exciting. There is su, milk, very creamy (from a cow). Oroom, cream - so rich and fresh and delicious and you put it on the pastries mentioned above. Aroom which is dried milk curd brick, though in arhangay you can get it less dry and then it is much better and softer, but still kind of tough. Terem, is their very fresh and very light yogurt and delicious. Eetski is milk that is dried overnight and then put out in the sun to dry and cracked with an adze. Hadmut is cream, flour and a little salt and sugar boiled, also delcious. And airag, the fermented milk. There are a few other ones that I haven't tried yet, but I will probably eventually. its weird, but in mongolia they do not really refridgerate dairy products...but somehow they stay ok, maybe becasue so far it has been pretty cool.

Meats
Meat mostly means mutton. Generally boiled. Some of the following might be a little graphic - not for the weak stomached or PETA. I find that there are 2 ways to think about meat here (if you are a foreigner): 1. Its all really really disgusting 2. Its all part of the adventure, and if you watch long enough you will learn something new. I have been following option 2 for the most part. its the best way to go.

I watched them kill a sheep. They cut its stomach open, and then stick their hand and knife in the stomach while it is still alive (for a while) and try to kill it by slicing the vein. This is so that all the blood stays in, pretty much the opposite of kosher. There was no ceremony or anything, it was in the backyard of the guesthouse in tosentsengal. interesting. very new and different. however, i feel better about eating the meat here because it is generally fresh and of decent quality, and the animals here have a pretty good life while they are alive and decent diets.

There is meat in everything. Some of the most popular foods are goulyash (meat chunks in sauce, rice and pickled salads), schnitzel (still mutton), tsuevan (likemoongolian stirfry minus oil and flavoring, usually with a few vegetables), khoshoor (fried dumplings), buuz (steamed dumplings) and mutton ribs. You just kind of get used to it. Mutton isnt really the greatest meat, and usually its fine, I got a little tired of it boiled. ALso there is always a lot of fat and sometimes weird cartiledge parts, not so good, but you either pick them out or just chw a bit and swallow quickly (depending on your company). Also the cooking fat has a very ditinctive, not so pleasant smell. and you smell it everywhere in mongolia.

My first countryside meat experience was in Zavkhan, when they made "mongolian barbeque" for us: stones heated in the fire then placed in alternating layers with meat on the bone (and some onions) into a huge metal container that is then sealed and left for a few hours to cook. Before you eat, you hold the greasy rocks, tossing from hand to hand, they are supposed to be good for your health. Its pretty cool when they put the meat in and they serve it in big bowls that everyone sticks their hand into and you cut off the chnk you want. My method is cut, put into your bowl and cut again. If there is a lot of cartiledge and fat, chew a bit and then swallow as soon as you can. My cholesterol must be through the roof! If you don't want a peice anymore, put it back in the bowl. Also you drink the broth which is pretty good. Mongolians clean bones exceptionally well.

The meat is hung up in gers in peices tied to the bed, the curtains, etc. Apparently it rots slower that way. I guess they have been doing it for millenia so I guess it works for them.

We also had meat and noodle soup in another ger - so interesting that there was like no idea that a vegetable should be in the soup. Welcome to Mongolia. Welcome to the culture I am here to adapt in a way.

In Mongolia there are no cuts of meat, really. But there are certain parts. For the khovsgol section of the trip, we bought an entire sheep. the first night was organ soup. it was literally an edible anatomy lesson. Lungs, heart, kidney, liver, blood, blood intestine, stomach stuffed with meat, and tail (which they blow torch off the hair and then cook the fat). it was interesting. i tried some stomach stuffed with meat, liver covered in tail fat and the cooked blood. It was interesting. The liver was fine, the stomach was a little acidic, and blood still tastes like blood (I know not very kosher, but I'm in Mongolia). There were leftovers the nextday - the blood sausage and some organs chopped with rice addded. I had very little of that soup.
The next meal was grilled meat, made by Gerry from the Phillipenes, so it was spiced. Nomgolians also really like kimchi and korean spices. Dinner that night was soup with noodles and meat pieces. The next day was soup with meat and traditional mongolian noodles (that was pretty good) and dinner was grilled meat. Breakfast the next day was meat stew with vegetables, and the same for breakfast the next day.

I also tried various parts of the sheep skull - cheek meat , ear or jaw meat (i tihnk) , tongue , and eyeball which is tastes like salty fat and booger and is rather chewy. But not too bad. Hey, you only live once, and when again will I be able to try free range boiled sheeps head? Though I did decline brain - the Mongolians dont really even like it, though they do eat the meat between the skull and the nose. Crazy.

The meat was not refridgerated, it wa just laid in the tent when we were camping (on the ADRA banner, ironic because Adventists are vegetarians) and when we were driving (the sheep lasted like 4 days) it was wrapped in a plastic large trash bag and put in the car. Somehow, I'm fine.

Other

Fruit: we were able to find apples in tosensengal, and brought apples with us. I generally dont eat too much fruit here because of the risk of disease and pesticides associated with them.

Fish: Since we were in the lakes region we had fresh fish at the white lake. We also had smoked fish at khovsgol as well as fish khoshoor. The fish is all a white fish, between ten nad 16 inches long. There is also canned tuna from korea, which is decently popular.

Vegetables: You know that things are bad when I was really excited about the boiled cabbage from the organ soup. The country grows a lot of potaotes, tunips cabbage, and such that are popular. But soups are still predominantely meat. Leafy vegetables, like lettuce and spinach are unpopular, and salad is usually pepper, cucumber, onion drowned in mayo. When I asked once if we could put vegetales in the lunch soup I was tole we were making traditional mongolian soup with meat, noodles and onions. SO i made mongolian style salad and ate like half of it (no one else wanted!). We had more vegertables when we egan running out of sheep (yes!).
Pickled vegetables are really popular though and are a good way to add some taste to the bland meals and help cut through the grease.

Breakfast: Besides the beef stew mornings, this was usually a conglomeration of bread, honey, jam, margarine, americn cheese, sausage, cookies and tea. Not too bad, usually stuck to the cheese sandwiches.

Drinks: Tsutetse (salty milk tea) is offered at pretty much every meal and is pretty good. In the ger, tea comes in a brick that can be broken apart by a hammer. Tea is also popular and everyone shares tea bags and puts in lots of sugar. Beer of choice is not chinggis but tiger (bottled in mongolia, canned in indonesia) though other beers (local and foreign) are also popular. One night there was Czech beer and Yakub got realy excited and ordered one- turns out it was bottled in germany. There was a bit of vodka passed around - all vodka tastes the same to me so i cannot ascertain as to its quality and such. we bought lots and lots of bottled water (so i did not need my water purifier).

Well I guess those are the highlights of my trip in a nutshell, though there are many many many more little stories to tell. It is a really incredible experience, I am loving it!
Now I am back in UB, eating lots of vegetables, doing lots of laundry and coming up with project reports. I will celebrate July 4 at the US embassy tomorrow!

Happy Weekend Everyone!

Ellen

Trip to North Western Mongolia!

First Full Week Update

2009-06-18T00:30:00.000-07:00

Quick update before I go to the countryside!
Well this week so far has been fun.

Monday still adjusted to work and started on my agriculture policy review. Went to a yoga class at the US embassy. Nice mix of people. Yoga on tape, and you just follow the moves of someone who looks like they know what they are doing if you are unsure. Went with Tamara and Hailey. Tons of fuN! I was sore for days - so worth it, I do NOT work out enough here...but thats ok, I'm in MONGOLIA!

Tuesday I met Jannie, my boss. He is INTENSE. Always thinking and figuring out things. Very quickly. However he is nice, smart, to the point. I think he hails from New England. My counterpart, Gantuya is very sweet and a bit quieter. Since May she is the project manager in Tosontsengel, Zavkhan. She is very helpful and is eager for my input. That's exciting. I have grilled her quite a bit about questions and projects. For lunch, I went to the canteen nearby, where many ADRA people go. Its cheap, clean and everything is meat in sauce, cabbage, potatoes and rice.
For dinner, I ate with Timon (who was on my flight) and Joe, an american I met over the weekend. Went to Korean-Mongolian fusion restaurant. Lots of interesting side dishes. Korea is definitely the favorite Asian country here - they love it.

Wednesday I recieved news that I would be leaving on Friday, not Monday to the countryside because of the lack of translator. Cool. I went to lunch with Carly and Hailey to a Russian restaurant nearby. It was yummy and the decor was great. Also they served us seabuckthorn vodka shots (on the house). When in Mongolia, do as the Russians do. (I think the bar tender was just bored). Seabuckthorn is a native berry that is rather popular here - its a little citrus-y. They make a juice out of it usually. After work, I met up with Joe and Carly to find the Mercury market, which reputedly has great fruits and veggies. However, we found another market instead and I bought some supplies for Tamara's birthday picnic and saw things like buuz dumplings with camel spine meat and very interesting candies. We toured the State Department Store Tourist Section - HUGE! it is tourist season though and the fun, locally owned women empowering felt store. Dinner was trying to finish up perishables in my fridge - eggs and cheese and peppers!

Today, learned more about the SPADE project and the details of my trip. Everyone tells me all sorts of different things to pack and bring. I got money from the bank (talk about a good exchange rate - 1,400 Tugrugs to $1.) Afterwards, I made my way beack to Sukhbaatar Square to watch what I could of the Presidential Inauguration. Much more peaceful than last year when there were riots. There were a lot of police doing crowd control, but no more than 10,000 spectators regulated to the edge of the square, a few with flags others with cameras. I ran into some expats and Mongolians I had met earlier. Press was up close to the Khural, but the entire ceremony takes place inside the Khural building and was projected on two video screens. The President wore traditional Mongolian clothes to the inauguration. The square was filled with all divisions of the militay, including the ceremonial troops (new, from 2002). It was a very interesting scene. Tilaubek (who works with me) explained the situation as such: In the countryside, people are glued to their TVs, in UB they are jaded. Additionally, the president here does not have the power, the Khural does. This was interesting, especially because when obama was elected EVERYONE was watching. EVERYONE.
Lunch was a picnic for Tamara's birthday. Sandwiches, salads, and fried dumpling things (hovsgursh i think) and delicious cake made by Hailey. I think I'm spelling her name wrong. Sorry. A bunch of people who work nearby came, which was really nice.
This afternoon is mostly finishing stuff up and Tamara's birthday dinner.
I'll post again in July!!! (with inauguration photos. i forgot my chord today)

Saihan amarareei! (Good evening!)
Ellen

My Washing Experience That Marina Says I Should Have Taped
Yesterday i tried to do the wash

but the hose that connects the washer to the tap leaks, so there was water all over my floor

so i try to use a bucket instead to fill it up

but i thnk that over a certain level the water starts draining

idk

so then i finally get enough water in

and im doing sheets (finally) and towels and then plug it in and turn it on

and it doesnt do the washing m achine churning thing

idk i let it run the full cycle

and keep letting it go and nothing happens

so after i finish mopping my floor, i churn it BY HAND

and its a twin top

so one part washer and one part spin dryer

but everythings all soapy so i have to rinse it

so i wind up rinsing one towel in the shower

and slip and my portable shower head soaks me

and then i try to wring it out and put it in the spin dryer

but that isnt working either

so i had to hang that out side, which is fine

i know, seriously

and then i try to drain the water (which is really gray and nasty) but it WON TGO DOWN all the way

so now there is wet soapy laundry in my apt and i need someone else to fix it

i know

and i have to figure it out today bc im going to the countryside tomorrow

Chimgee said she would help me today to try and figure it out, but it may be broken :(

An UB-er Weekend!

2009-06-16T01:23:00.000-07:00

Adventists believe that the Sabbath starts on Friday night (just like Jews!) - yay! Friday afternoons off!

I went for lunch with Carly, Hailey (Aussies) and Auyengerel at a vegetarian place nearby (Adventists are also traditionally vegetarian) and had some tsuevan (noodles with veggies and meat substitute) and perogies. Afterwards, Carly and I took a taxi to the black market.

The black market is incredible (sorry, no pictures, its notorious for pickpokets). There are just rows and rows of everything you may need ever. (I needed bedsheets, soap, and sponges). Everything is by category. There are clothes (t-shirts, dress clothes, mens clothes), felt coverings for the ger, deel (traditional clothes), trim, leatherwork, boots, shoes, toys, biies, household items, items for your horse, buddhist items, jewelery, kids selling candy and waterbottles, all manner of traditional dairy products and foods, whole goats hung up (inside) on display, vats for storing milk and fat and anything else you may want. It is crowded crowded crowded with people and everyone physically nudges you out of their way. Its very dusty (like everywhere else in Mongolia) and there are lots of potholes (Mongolia is NOT handicap accessible) and people try to wash the dust away with water. Go figure. We found what we needed and more. Everything is pretty cheap (200 tugrugs for a t-shirt - like 20 cents, not even) so it was fun. Best to come with a shopping list.

After the Black Market, I relaxed for a while, made dinner. I am still getting used to living in an apartment by myself. Did lots of cleaning and organizing and making sure things worked this weekend. Today, I figured out how to iron (the equipment is here). Tomorrow, my washing machine (I think I need to fill it up by hand from the shower) Go me!

I went out to a pub and some clubs with Tamara, and got to know more of the ex-pat crowd. Fun! They are from all over and most people are doing development work here. People in Mongolia dance like it is 1999. Lots of sparkly (on Mongolians) and bopping to the music.

Saturday, I did the tourist route of Mongolia - went to Sukhbaatar square, where the Khural (Parliment) is located. Its very large. Lots of statues of the Khaans on the Khural building, and Sukhbaatar on his horse is impressive as well. I also visited the marker from which all distances are measured, and the Lenin statue. There were fewer tourists than I expected. Afterwards, I went to the National History Museum (interesting - lots of Petroglyphs, a joint room with Turkey about the Turkic tribes, a lot about Genghis Khan and the Empire, one room on the Qing occupancy, a lot on the Soviet time (photographs and awards and such) and some on the past 20 years as a democracy. Ran into some French people I had met the night before and some PeaceCorp Volunteers I saw again later that night. In UB, the ex-pat community is small and can isolate itself as it wants. I also went to the Zanzabar museum of fine arts - mostly Buddhist works because for 6 centuries it was under lama-fuedalism which were incredible. A museum is 1,000 Tugrug. To take photos, 10,000. Also a few modern art peices as well, all for sale. The museums are small and you can tell by their exhibits that their budget is small as well.
Saturday night I went with Tamara and her roomate to Veranda, a restaurant-bar, and then to a Canadians goodbye party. Met more peacecorp volunteers and american grad students and ex-pats of all ages. I met some Mongolians there as well - Moose the devout Christian-Buddhist, and Ganz the tourguide-big brother. Conveniently, I live next door to other Australians, so I always have someone to walk me home. And I bring my own torch.

Sunday, Carly and I went on a walk through the Mongolian Childrens Park. The park is completely overrun, and barely cared for. There was only one homeless guy but lots of scattered animal bones from barbeques. There were a few cool sculptures, and there used to be some nice paths, fountains and play areas, but now it needs a massive rehaul. We did see men planting trees though, so thats a good start. Its supposed to be redone, but who knows when. Just another thing that shows how poor and ineffective municipal government is here.

We went to the last Buddhist Monastery of the Choloi Lama that was left in UB after the soviet purges. It is now a museum. The artifacts are very ornate and incredible! There are peaceful deities, warrior deities and lots of shrines. The warriors could be very gruesome, with livers hanging off the ceiling and pictures of people being eaten by beasts and killed in horibly cruel ways. It was interesting to go with Carly, who is very religious. I love religious art, I think it is fascinating.

Lunch was at another vegetarian restaurant de la Luna. It was yummy. Afterwards, we walked around the city more, bought ice cream (it comes in a chocolate roll!) and then Carly visited my apartment and explained the washing machine. All in all, it was a very good weekend. Hopefully, next weekend I will go to Terelj, in the countryside, about an hour away.

Yesterday, after work, I went to yoga with Hailey and Tamara. It was at te US embassy. It was yoga on tape. Really fun, but now I am a bit sore. I am hoping to start language lessons this week and I have more direction at work, so I am doing lots of figuring out stuff. Life is good. I still cannot believe I am here in Mongolia sometimes. I get lots of stares and lots of hellos from people practicing their English. I'm definitely learning a lot!

I will be going into the countryside on Friday for ten days ! Awesome!

Also my photos are in my Picassa Album so look here to see them!

Cheers
Ellen

Arrival and First Few Days in UB!

2009-06-11T20:28:00.000-07:00

View Trip to Mongolia in a larger map
Well I finally made it here, after about 40 hours of travel. I left NY on a 15 hour flight to Beijing. It was cool to follow the sun and fly over the poles. USS Healy (ice breaker ship) here I come! I made a friend from Beijing, and we talked a bit so that helped to pass the time. China is super concerned about H1N1 flu. I got my temperature checked by laser gun 5 times (twice on the plane, twice in the airport, and once going into the hotel). and you have to sign everywhrtr that you do not have it. I also got lost trying to find my hotel pickup shuttle, so I made friends with the parking employees and they called on their cellphones for me. The hotel was really nice - thanks mom.
Bright and early (I barely slept so it did not matter) I headed back to the airport. Met a miner from the Yukon, lots of telecom people, a student from Westchester visiting a friend in the Peacecorp and a man from the Netherlands interning for the UN Development programme and some very sweet Mongolian women. There were also 2 people from ADRA Australia on my flight. The flighttook off on time, but 20 min from Ulaanbaatar (UB) we were told we could not land and had to fly back to Beijing! Back in China, they put us in the Air china lounge and fed us lunch dinner and snacks. We were told our flight would take off at 8 pm butit did not take off until 10. Chris Jensen, the Country Director of ADRA Mongolia offered me a place to sleep with the caveat of two young daughters but I took it. Much easier that way.
I woke up as predicted to the sound of a two year old being hushed. I met Michelle the program director, as well. After breakfast she gave me a tour of the offices (there are 6 in 3 apartments) and then Chimgee the incredible secretary/all purpose wonder woman took me to my apartment. (They made fun of all my stuff - Oh well)
My apartment is rather large - VERY spacious and lots of detailing - embroidered pillows, table cloths and bedsheets as well as patterned tiles in the bathroom (separte for toilet, and then another room for shower, sink, and washer/dryer). It is very sunny, and there is a patio next to the kitchen and next to my bedroom. I will have to post photos next time, as I forgot to bring my camera chord today. Also I have two doors (inner and outer) and some interesting shaped keys. And a TV with 50 stations! (remember, i do not have cable)
Afterwards, I went back to ADRA (walked by Chimgee) dropped a few quick emails and then had Hailey (Australian Intern for 6 months; there are 3 australian interns) show me around the downtown area (VERY close by). Saw the state department store, the bank and some cool other areas. I was super jet lag, but it still helped to get a feel for the city. We stopped at a german cafe and I actually ran into the man from the plane. The Mongolian ex-pat (non Mongolians) community is pretty small, and easy to click into apparently. However, most of them are like 25, not 20, but thats ok.
Ulaanbaatar is an interesting city. My inner urbanite makes me want to regard everything as a bit sketchy. There are less homeless people than I thought. People on the street sell bananas, lollipops, single cigarettes, and the opportunity to weigh yourself (idk why but they seem to make money). There are lots of Cafes, bars, kiosks, and shops. The traffic is pretty bad (narrow streets, lots of cars and crazy drivers) and cars are of all makes, models, years. So drivers drive on both sides, windows are tinted black and there are no inspections. Rather different
People dress pretty well. Mostly t-shirts and jeans, though I have seen some interesting stuff. A denim onesie, a man with a zebra print cowboy hat and some strange pattern combinations.
I have made my way to the bank, the state department store and gotten lost once. Its not so bad, I found a nice mongolian woman who spoke decent english to point me in the right direction. After work yesterday, I got a mobile phone (10,ooo Tu (like $10) for the sim card and like 20,000 tu for the old school nokia i can be thrown against a wall phone.)
At ADRA, my purpose is vague. I have spent my time emailing and researching different aspects of Mongolian environmentalism and agriculture. It is interesting but not so easy to find stuff. I think I will be doing that until Tuesday and then when Jannie returns from Zavkhan province, Ill figure out more what is going on. Everyone in the office is very nice. I work so far with Tillabek, a Kazakhi whose wife has incredible embroidery skills (definitely buying some of that!), Oyurna who got me the apartment and Doc who showed me how to use the office phone. Next week the rest of the office will return with Jannie. The other staff seem nice as well. Must learn more Mongolian in order to communicate better.
I have been in a taxi on my way to sign into immigration. One, they drive crazy. Two, you just stick your hand out and you get one. Three, no seat belts, the back is covered by a rug. Four, one back door seems to always be broken.
I am working on weekend plans, probably hang out with some Aussies and explore the more touristy parts of UB and soon decide when I am going to the countryside!
Thats all for now, I guess
Photos on the next update!
Love
Ellen

Introduction to Summer

2009-06-05T06:06:00.000-07:00

Hello All-

I started this blog, so that all of my friends and family could see my adventures as I travel Mongolia (and a little bit of China) this summer!
-- Wait, What?

Why Mongolia?
Well, I've always wanted to go to Mongolia, after I read an article in Muse magazine and had to sit through Freshman year global. I just decided that I had to go, I had to do it. Its such a beautiful and dynamic country with excellent people (I've been told). Last spring at Brandeis, a student brought in Sas Carey, a wonderful woman who does Nomadicare, bringing vitamins, medical education and more to Mongolian nomads. I got to thinking about what I would do there, and eventually it all clicked.

What will I be doing there?
After doing some research, taking the environmental field semester (yay), getting hooked on farming, sustainability and community from Dan and Brian, I found an internship and met many fabulous people along the way. I will be working this summer with Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) with thier food security program. I will be helping with their sustainable agriculture program and agriculture policy. I think it will be pretty incredible.

How are you getting there?
Well physically, I will be getting there from New York to Beijing, Beijing to Ulaanbaatar (the capital; I tried to make the map work, I really did). But reallyI am getting there with lots of help, encouragement and support from friends, family, professors and really helpful people in Mongolia and Brandeis. Also, I am able to make this trip really because of the Hiatt Career Center, which funds undergraduate internships that will help send students on their career path. The fellowship I recieved is the Univeral World of Work Fellowship (hence the title), which is a huge help. Thanks, Hiatt!

No, but really? Why Mongolia?
Why not Israel, Australia, California, upstate New York, Canada, Europe, Japan...
wouldn't that be better? No. I just really want to go to Mongolia and do some good work there, and I'm making that happen.

And China?
I'm already halfway across the globe (about 6,400 miles according to google maps), might as well. I will be staying with friends so that will be great!

So thats my story so far, I'm getting ready to leave on Sunday I'm packing, "having a week of goodbye parties" as one friend put it, trying to update my life, reading everything I can about Mongolia, trying to learn the language and still find some quiet time. This will be quite the adventure!
Keep checking up I'll try to update as much as I can!!!!

-ellen

A Week in Washington DC

2009-05-30T14:30:00.000-07:00

I spent the past week in Silver Sprin gs, MD at orientation for the NOAA Hollings Scholarship.
What is that you may ask? It is a two year scholarship from NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) for 110 students that gives us the opportunity to do an internship with any NOAA scientist in the US and its territories next summer. awesome! (They send us down year early so we can understand the program and make a good decision for our internship for next summer.)

NOAA does tons and tons of awesome stuff all over the country and the world. Weather forecast and imagery? NOAA Climate change data? NOAA Status of monk seals? NOAA Mapping the arctic ocean? NOAA Worldwide drought information? NOAA I am super psyched about the opportunity!

The other students (undergrad and grad) were pretty awesome as well. Everyone has all sorts of exciting skills and projects going for them, it was really incredible. Yeah, no wonder we are each 1/600, lol. Everyone at NOAA was super excited about their job and the NOAA mission. Ok, I'll stop pitching NOAA and how stupendous it is, but its great!...

One of the coolest parts was visiting the Goddard Space Center (NOAA launches its satellites with NASA, so we got to check it out) and the NESDIS satellite operations center (thats totally not its name, but ok). We went to the Hubble Command Center, the NASA "clean rooms" (the long hallway - the complex in HUGE) where they test and create everything that goes into space (like the new Lunar Satellite its behind plastic to keep it extra clean). They centrifuge, vibrate (the vibrating table is the square plate below), yell at (seriously, they try to see how much noise a thing can stand), put it through temperature testing and more to make sure that it will survive in space. Then we went to the GOES and POES operating centers and the National Ice Center. Cool!
Don't worry, I also made some new friends, checked out Silver Springs (fountain at bottom) and the mall in DC and lots of Smithsonians. Saw Becca, Jampot and Dana! for the last hurrah before we really all go separate ways.
Not gonna lie, my week in DC was pretty awesome! and now I'm getting ready for my big trip!!!!!!!!

P.S. Will work on formatting skills for next time