7/9/07 Labor Camp
I just got back from spending about 3 days at labor camp for Mongolian children. Labor camp is not as intense as it seems. The kids do work in the fields, but it is not like this is all they do and the work that they do directly benefits them. This was my first time being in the deep country. It was absolutely phenomenal. The scenery, the kids, the energy, it was all amazing! There was the ‘horse man’, the goat and sheep hearders, a miners rest camp, a customs rest camp and the camp that I was at. This camp was used as a part of my training and a time to do life skills presentations, practice games in Mongolian, practice teaching English, and a chance to hangout with the kids. These are all the reasons the peace corps sent us there, but I got way more out of it than these aspects. I went on an AMAZING hike though one of the thicker forests of Mongolia, I tried airag, and I had mares milk while it was still warm from the horses body.
Mongolias forests are thinning out, due to everyone cutting down the trees. It is something that is sad, but you can’t explain to somebody why it’s not good to cut all the trees down when cutting these trees is his lively hood. It’s how he eats, how he builds his home, how he stays warm in the winter. My stomach was bothering me that day and I almost didn’t go on the hike. At the last minute I decided to suck it up and do the hike because I didn’t know when I’d be back in this country paradise. For the record, I’m soooo glad I went on the hike and got to see a view of Mongolia that can’t be duplicated! We started out filling our water bottles in the river (fresh mountain water). It was this moment that I knew the hike would be amazing. There was no trail, the destination was up. We picked our way through bushes and around trees, finding our footing wherever we could. This hike was not as hard as I was expecting, due to the soft ground, covered in green nature. On the way up we picked strawberries and ate them right off the plant. They were tiny strawberries, but were amazing! As we continued the climb, we ran into a pack of wild horses. It’s funny, the hearder puts a bell on his horse and then falls asleep. They graze and when he awakes he rounds them up again. I snapped a few photos and appreciated the beauty of this scene and we continued on our hike. When we reached the top, the view was amazing and worth the swarms of flys around our heads. We sat and talked about peace corps for a little while and then headed down, eating strawberries on the way.
There is a guy in this part of the khudoo, that is known as the “horseman”. Every summer a horse hearder brings his horses here and the horses are milked every two hours. During one of these sessions, we walked over and watched the horses being milked. There is a lady who sits a little further away with a bucket of the milk and people from the mining rest camp walk out to get a glass of milk. I was a little nervous, but I tried the milk anyway. I don’t really like milk, but it was seriously the best milk I have ever had. Mares milk is really sweet, almost with a hint of coconut flavor. The milk was still warm from the horses body, which wierds me out when I think about it too much. If I could just take some of the milk and stick it in the fridge, it would really be the best refreshment!! After drinking the milk we were invited into the family’s ger where we sat around and drank Airag. This is a Mongolian alcoholic beverage. It is not very potent and is given to children on a regular basis. The customs of drinking alcohol with Mongolian are interesting. They had a beautifully carved pail that the airag was in. The horseman filled a wooden bowl with the white substance and handed it with his left arm crossed, and right arm extended to the oldest male guest. At this time, the guest drinks as much as he wants and passes it back to the horseman. Even if the guest only takes a sip, the horseman adds more to the bowl and hands presents the bowl to the next guest. I had been warned about the effects of airag on your stomach and was not feeling well that day. I took a few sips and was surprised that it was not as sour as I was expecting. We sat and enjoyed the airag with the horseman and he told us that his horse had won a Naadaam race. The prize? A washing machine. It is interesting to be in the middle of the country, in a ger, and see a washing machine. You can tell by the amount of horses that this man is well-off.
It is so exciting to be learning all these different customs of Mongolian culture. Trying new things really adds an element of excitement to life that is vital to general happiness. It has become a part of my everyday life, to encounter something new and interesting. I think that when we are “home” we are in our comfort zone and often forget about the importance of new experiences. As in a Fiona Apple song, “I’m good at being uncomfortable”, it is this uncomfortable state that helps keep us on our toes. I can only hope that I will continue to constantly try and learn new things throughout the rest of my life. It is easy to fall into the comfortable and the average, but I want to take this moment to encourage everyone who is reading this to take the time to try something new….even if it’s a little uncomfortable.
By the way….I also saw my first goat being skinned while I was in the countryside. I thought it would be much more bloody and graphic, but it was almost like they were taking off his jacket.
My time in the country was truly amazing. It really is an awesome and meaningful way of life. So much of Mongolia is wide open spaces! It’s something I feel I have missed out on living in Orange County my whole life.
Labor camp was truly a great experience. I slept in a ger, got to experience the countryside and got to hang out with Mongolian kids. It’s so nice to finally be doing activities with kids. Only in an atmosphere like this would you hear an American from Milwalkee say “get your goats off my field”…..only to solicit the response, “those aren’t my goats” from a boy about 13 years old. Chasing goats and cows is actually a useful past time in the country.
I just got back from spending about 3 days at labor camp for Mongolian children. Labor camp is not as intense as it seems. The kids do work in the fields, but it is not like this is all they do and the work that they do directly benefits them. This was my first time being in the deep country. It was absolutely phenomenal. The scenery, the kids, the energy, it was all amazing! There was the ‘horse man’, the goat and sheep hearders, a miners rest camp, a customs rest camp and the camp that I was at. This camp was used as a part of my training and a time to do life skills presentations, practice games in Mongolian, practice teaching English, and a chance to hangout with the kids. These are all the reasons the peace corps sent us there, but I got way more out of it than these aspects. I went on an AMAZING hike though one of the thicker forests of Mongolia, I tried airag, and I had mares milk while it was still warm from the horses body.
Mongolias forests are thinning out, due to everyone cutting down the trees. It is something that is sad, but you can’t explain to somebody why it’s not good to cut all the trees down when cutting these trees is his lively hood. It’s how he eats, how he builds his home, how he stays warm in the winter. My stomach was bothering me that day and I almost didn’t go on the hike. At the last minute I decided to suck it up and do the hike because I didn’t know when I’d be back in this country paradise. For the record, I’m soooo glad I went on the hike and got to see a view of Mongolia that can’t be duplicated! We started out filling our water bottles in the river (fresh mountain water). It was this moment that I knew the hike would be amazing. There was no trail, the destination was up. We picked our way through bushes and around trees, finding our footing wherever we could. This hike was not as hard as I was expecting, due to the soft ground, covered in green nature. On the way up we picked strawberries and ate them right off the plant. They were tiny strawberries, but were amazing! As we continued the climb, we ran into a pack of wild horses. It’s funny, the hearder puts a bell on his horse and then falls asleep. They graze and when he awakes he rounds them up again. I snapped a few photos and appreciated the beauty of this scene and we continued on our hike. When we reached the top, the view was amazing and worth the swarms of flys around our heads. We sat and talked about peace corps for a little while and then headed down, eating strawberries on the way.
There is a guy in this part of the khudoo, that is known as the “horseman”. Every summer a horse hearder brings his horses here and the horses are milked every two hours. During one of these sessions, we walked over and watched the horses being milked. There is a lady who sits a little further away with a bucket of the milk and people from the mining rest camp walk out to get a glass of milk. I was a little nervous, but I tried the milk anyway. I don’t really like milk, but it was seriously the best milk I have ever had. Mares milk is really sweet, almost with a hint of coconut flavor. The milk was still warm from the horses body, which wierds me out when I think about it too much. If I could just take some of the milk and stick it in the fridge, it would really be the best refreshment!! After drinking the milk we were invited into the family’s ger where we sat around and drank Airag. This is a Mongolian alcoholic beverage. It is not very potent and is given to children on a regular basis. The customs of drinking alcohol with Mongolian are interesting. They had a beautifully carved pail that the airag was in. The horseman filled a wooden bowl with the white substance and handed it with his left arm crossed, and right arm extended to the oldest male guest. At this time, the guest drinks as much as he wants and passes it back to the horseman. Even if the guest only takes a sip, the horseman adds more to the bowl and hands presents the bowl to the next guest. I had been warned about the effects of airag on your stomach and was not feeling well that day. I took a few sips and was surprised that it was not as sour as I was expecting. We sat and enjoyed the airag with the horseman and he told us that his horse had won a Naadaam race. The prize? A washing machine. It is interesting to be in the middle of the country, in a ger, and see a washing machine. You can tell by the amount of horses that this man is well-off.
It is so exciting to be learning all these different customs of Mongolian culture. Trying new things really adds an element of excitement to life that is vital to general happiness. It has become a part of my everyday life, to encounter something new and interesting. I think that when we are “home” we are in our comfort zone and often forget about the importance of new experiences. As in a Fiona Apple song, “I’m good at being uncomfortable”, it is this uncomfortable state that helps keep us on our toes. I can only hope that I will continue to constantly try and learn new things throughout the rest of my life. It is easy to fall into the comfortable and the average, but I want to take this moment to encourage everyone who is reading this to take the time to try something new….even if it’s a little uncomfortable.
By the way….I also saw my first goat being skinned while I was in the countryside. I thought it would be much more bloody and graphic, but it was almost like they were taking off his jacket.
My time in the country was truly amazing. It really is an awesome and meaningful way of life. So much of Mongolia is wide open spaces! It’s something I feel I have missed out on living in Orange County my whole life.
Labor camp was truly a great experience. I slept in a ger, got to experience the countryside and got to hang out with Mongolian kids. It’s so nice to finally be doing activities with kids. Only in an atmosphere like this would you hear an American from Milwalkee say “get your goats off my field”…..only to solicit the response, “those aren’t my goats” from a boy about 13 years old. Chasing goats and cows is actually a useful past time in the country.
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