It’s summer, too late?
June 26, 2009
Growing up in Korea, I remember many parents cutting their children’s hair bold. I did not know where the tradition came from. Now, I know. Mongolian families have a big celebration when they first cut their children’s hair. Family members and relatives gather around and give the child presents.
Our Mongolian language teacher, “Sarra”. We visited her home.
In the middle of June, we had a rain, but up in the mountains, it snowed.
Just before Chiggis Khan Airport, there is the “White Gate”. It is the symbolic gate when entering Ulaan Baatar. Many of Mongolian cities have a similar gates before the city entrance. But sometimes, this becomes a problem as more people drive cars and we need wider roads.
Chines government has set aside fund to build an International Sports complex in Mongolia. Many neighboring countries contribute aids as a good will gesture for Mongolia’s abundant natural resources. However, there is limited infrastructure to support and develop these resources. There is simply no paved roads outside of cities (except from Ulaan Baatar to Darhan and Darhan to Erdenent).
This is the Mongolian International Airport. An air pllane is just about to land in the middle of the steppes.
We saw a pig roaming around the open field just like other livestocks! A pig would go around the field and returns home at the end of the day.
Just 20-30 minutes outside of a city, there is simply no paved roads for vehicles. Of course, there is no postal system, either. We had a school trip and the entire group got lost three times, trying to find a “house” on top of a hill. It gets very dusty and bumpy.
Our host is cooking “stone” for “hur-huk”, a traditional Mongolian meat dish. They cook the stone, using horse poops and then put the stone and the meat inside of a tight metal container. Yummy! You don’t smell the poop.
Mongolians eat lots of sheep meat. This one is a goat meat. Our host just grabbed one of his goats and prepared a meat dish for 30 of his guests. Mongolian hospitality is second to none!
It requires a lot of work, milking hundres of sheeps and goats every day. During the summer months, many of country side people are busy, tending to their sheeps.
A bathroom.
In Mongolia, there are 10 times more livestocks than people. Many of Mongolian children learn to ride horses when they are 3 or 4 years old. There is a summer festival (Naa-tham) where 7-11 years old boys and girls compete for the horse race. Here, horse is the main means of transportation for country people.
