You can now see some of my photos at this website:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mypacrim/
Click on `Sets` to see albums. Also, albums can be found on the right side of the screen with labels like: Korea, Mongolia, etc
You can even download big versions of the pictures by looking at all sizes.
Enjoy! Hopefully more soon!
Thursday, October 30, 2008
I have pictures up!
Road Tripping Part 2 (way late)
So its only been forever since this happened but...
Wednesday September 10!
Because illness was still hitting the group randomly, we actually stayed in the same place for today and tonight, and moved on the next day! So our main activities for the day were camel riding and sand dune climbing. Our ger camp was just maybe a couple miles from the Khongor Sand Dunes. First we took a short bus ride to the local`s home that had all the camels. I am fairly certain that they didnt own all the camels though. I think Oko had to contact a few families to get enough. When we got there, the camels werent ready, so we headed to the sand dunes. Khongor sand dunes can be 800 meters high, 20 kilometers wide, and 100 kilometers long. We brought sleds with us to, a few regular plastic type for 2 people and some of the round saucer types. The saucers didnt work at all. Rachel Johnsen and I tried the other type, and it worked, though I got massive amounts of sand in my mouth. We only did it from the very first small hill; I cant imagine what it would be like from the top... And climbing to the top, what a task. Every step you take, you sink down and slip down about half as far as you stepped. It was exhausting. But the sand was soft, nothing hidden in it that could poke you. It was a great feeling when you get to the top though. Mongolia definitely made me feel tough, even if Im not especially. I would like to say Ive climbed 3 mountains so far on this trip. At the top of the dune, you can just walk along the crest very easily. And you can HEAR the sand moving! I dont really know how to describe the sound, a hum-buzz, maybe. Going down took maybe a fourth of the time, but you had the dangers of gravity making you go faster than you want.
Back at the camp, after lunch, Oko taught us a traditional Mongolian game using some type of animal`s ankle bones. She is a pro at it. The best I can describe it... You throw many ankle bones onto a little felt blanket. Depending on how they land, they are called a different animal: horse, camel, goat or sheep. Then, you must flick one and hit another of the same animal without hitting any other one, or else it is the next person`s turn. Its simple, but fun. I`ll have to find some ankle bones back in the U.S.
Finally the camels were ready. They still didn`t have enough for all of us to go at once, so we took turns as groups. We didn`t get to try to steer the camels at all, unfortunately. One of our Mongolian friends led us around, with us holding anothers reigns in links of about 3. Camels are kind of smelly and farty. Sitting between the humps is interesting, but I didnt really feel much more safe than I would on a horse. Camels aren`t the smoothest ride and are easily upset. But they make funny noises and have warm wool.
We ended up hanging out there for a long time, waiting for each group to ride. It was really nice to not be on the go that day. We tossed the frisbee around and played hacky sack. After dinner, we tried to teach the Mongolians some square dancing and they really wanted to learn, but I suppose if you`ve never seen the patterns before (allemand left?), it would be hard. Lisa Robinson, Norah, Safa, and Rachel provided the music.
Thursday-
We drove all day to get to the provincial capital of the region. Although none of us were enthusiastic about it, we were put into a hotel. I think all of us would have prefered camping again, and we definitely did after seeing the hotel. I wish I could explain how incredibly nasty this place was (and I mean that in the best possible way because I love Mongolia; I definitely appreciate dealing with things I dislike). I took a video of the room...
I think there was a demon living in our toilet...
Friday-
We went to the local museum for that province. It had some bones and taxidermy animals... Nothing was really in English so you use your imagination. But it did have a lot of interesting stuff... a small ger, knives, pottery, carvings, war commemorative things..
After that, we got back on our buses and headed for the waterfall! We didn`t realize when we had arrived because the waterfall falls from ground level downward. At first, all I could see was a really nice river with lots of rocks in it to walk across on (my favorite).
But as I hopped along, I saw the waterfall, going down into a giant hollow , and flowing into another river in a gorge. Along this hidden river were deciduous trees, turning colors. It looked like Rivendell, no joke. It was amazing. Rachel and I climbed down to explore our `middle earth.`
While we had been away, Mistake #1 happened. As it is water so far under the bridge, it has probably reached the ocean, I will just briefly mention it. Some people decided to strip down to their skivvies and get in the water which Prof Benard was not ok with (understandably). That night we had a talk about it, which was productive. We stayed in gers again that night, but we had to squish.
Saturday-
We headed to a monestary where Zanabazar, the first Bogd Khan (religious leader of Mongolia) lived in the 1600s. We explored the area, which was beautiful and really peaceful once you hiked a little ways away. There were lots of special places they had sectioned off, like buildings, meditations rocks and caves, litte monuments. A monk opened up this little cave room where Zanabazar had meditated. You basically live in a cave for however long you choose (Nema told us in Tibet people will do it for 12 years) and never leave. People bring you food, there`s little light, the room is just tall enough for you to stand, lay, and have a latrine in. Its crazy.
We had lunch at the bottom of the mountain where the buses were waiting. The sky was getting darker, and we thought it might rain. We were half right: hail. Pretty significantly big hail.
And here I will pause, partially because it`s late and because I dont have those uploaded yet.
Wednesday September 10!
Because illness was still hitting the group randomly, we actually stayed in the same place for today and tonight, and moved on the next day! So our main activities for the day were camel riding and sand dune climbing. Our ger camp was just maybe a couple miles from the Khongor Sand Dunes. First we took a short bus ride to the local`s home that had all the camels. I am fairly certain that they didnt own all the camels though. I think Oko had to contact a few families to get enough. When we got there, the camels werent ready, so we headed to the sand dunes. Khongor sand dunes can be 800 meters high, 20 kilometers wide, and 100 kilometers long. We brought sleds with us to, a few regular plastic type for 2 people and some of the round saucer types. The saucers didnt work at all. Rachel Johnsen and I tried the other type, and it worked, though I got massive amounts of sand in my mouth. We only did it from the very first small hill; I cant imagine what it would be like from the top... And climbing to the top, what a task. Every step you take, you sink down and slip down about half as far as you stepped. It was exhausting. But the sand was soft, nothing hidden in it that could poke you. It was a great feeling when you get to the top though. Mongolia definitely made me feel tough, even if Im not especially. I would like to say Ive climbed 3 mountains so far on this trip. At the top of the dune, you can just walk along the crest very easily. And you can HEAR the sand moving! I dont really know how to describe the sound, a hum-buzz, maybe. Going down took maybe a fourth of the time, but you had the dangers of gravity making you go faster than you want.
Back at the camp, after lunch, Oko taught us a traditional Mongolian game using some type of animal`s ankle bones. She is a pro at it. The best I can describe it... You throw many ankle bones onto a little felt blanket. Depending on how they land, they are called a different animal: horse, camel, goat or sheep. Then, you must flick one and hit another of the same animal without hitting any other one, or else it is the next person`s turn. Its simple, but fun. I`ll have to find some ankle bones back in the U.S.
Finally the camels were ready. They still didn`t have enough for all of us to go at once, so we took turns as groups. We didn`t get to try to steer the camels at all, unfortunately. One of our Mongolian friends led us around, with us holding anothers reigns in links of about 3. Camels are kind of smelly and farty. Sitting between the humps is interesting, but I didnt really feel much more safe than I would on a horse. Camels aren`t the smoothest ride and are easily upset. But they make funny noises and have warm wool.
We ended up hanging out there for a long time, waiting for each group to ride. It was really nice to not be on the go that day. We tossed the frisbee around and played hacky sack. After dinner, we tried to teach the Mongolians some square dancing and they really wanted to learn, but I suppose if you`ve never seen the patterns before (allemand left?), it would be hard. Lisa Robinson, Norah, Safa, and Rachel provided the music.
Thursday-
We drove all day to get to the provincial capital of the region. Although none of us were enthusiastic about it, we were put into a hotel. I think all of us would have prefered camping again, and we definitely did after seeing the hotel. I wish I could explain how incredibly nasty this place was (and I mean that in the best possible way because I love Mongolia; I definitely appreciate dealing with things I dislike). I took a video of the room...
I think there was a demon living in our toilet...
Friday-
We went to the local museum for that province. It had some bones and taxidermy animals... Nothing was really in English so you use your imagination. But it did have a lot of interesting stuff... a small ger, knives, pottery, carvings, war commemorative things..
After that, we got back on our buses and headed for the waterfall! We didn`t realize when we had arrived because the waterfall falls from ground level downward. At first, all I could see was a really nice river with lots of rocks in it to walk across on (my favorite).
But as I hopped along, I saw the waterfall, going down into a giant hollow , and flowing into another river in a gorge. Along this hidden river were deciduous trees, turning colors. It looked like Rivendell, no joke. It was amazing. Rachel and I climbed down to explore our `middle earth.`
While we had been away, Mistake #1 happened. As it is water so far under the bridge, it has probably reached the ocean, I will just briefly mention it. Some people decided to strip down to their skivvies and get in the water which Prof Benard was not ok with (understandably). That night we had a talk about it, which was productive. We stayed in gers again that night, but we had to squish.
Saturday-
We headed to a monestary where Zanabazar, the first Bogd Khan (religious leader of Mongolia) lived in the 1600s. We explored the area, which was beautiful and really peaceful once you hiked a little ways away. There were lots of special places they had sectioned off, like buildings, meditations rocks and caves, litte monuments. A monk opened up this little cave room where Zanabazar had meditated. You basically live in a cave for however long you choose (Nema told us in Tibet people will do it for 12 years) and never leave. People bring you food, there`s little light, the room is just tall enough for you to stand, lay, and have a latrine in. Its crazy.
We had lunch at the bottom of the mountain where the buses were waiting. The sky was getting darker, and we thought it might rain. We were half right: hail. Pretty significantly big hail.
And here I will pause, partially because it`s late and because I dont have those uploaded yet.
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Beijing: I've got a plan.
So we are currently in Datong, but I'm going to write about Beijing, the city we left yesterday... though it seems like a few days because so much is going on.
We arrived pretty early in the day and checked into our "hostel" which was REALLY nice. Basically that means it would be an average place in the US. I am now rooming with Katerina, which is really good. We have similar schedules. I don't stay up late here. I think I've been up til 1 once. Usually its more like 11. Spent the afternoon walking around, eating delicious chinese food. When you eat family style, its so cheap. Well, pretty much everything is cheap here. But I haven't been using that as an excuse to buy stuff which is great for me. That afternoon some of us met with Mark Maples (lived across the street from me last year) and we all walked around the imperial gardens which has a hill that looks down on the Forbidden City. The sky was blue and clear.
On our first day of TOUR, we went to Tian'amen Square and looked around briefly. They still have lots of stuff up (all over the city) for the Olympics. Personally, I love that. Its just a reminder of how recent this event that I love so much was right here. We didn't go see Mao or anything, just walked through it. Got assaulted by Chinese tourists (most of the people there) who wanted their pictures taken with us. Family after family. Its different, but nice, I guess. Then we went into the Forbidden City which is just huge. So huge you can't take it in. And there
s so many people. I felt like I was in a daze. There's a central axis we walked with our guide, Frank or Ya Lei, then we had free time. I went with some people to the side with residences, which was somewhat interesting but a lot of the same. There was an interesting section on concubines though. Lisa thinks she may have been one in a past life. After that we had a group lunch, and then the afternoon on our own. Kat and I took a nap. It was very refreshing.
Then we went out walking the Pedestrian shopping street with some people, after failing to find the Urban planning museum. Eventually Kat and I split off because its hard to walk around and look at stuff with lots of people. Some want to move on quickly or look at different stuff. We ended up finding the Night Market, which is famous for food on a stick, including the scorpions and lavae. We didn't eat either, but we did get glazed fruit, squid, corn, a torilla thing, and I got some noodles. It was pretty neat. Except that before they cook the scorpions.... they are still alive... on the stick... I kinda wanted to try one, but Kat wasn't up for it, and I never made it back with people who did want to. Maybe Shanghai. It was a good dinner though. This day's weather was smoggy.
At night I went out with Jeff Schmitz and Rachel Johnsen to find an "alternative" aka gay bar (Jeff is gay). We only knew the district and that its near the apple store. It took us forever to find the apple store, but once we did, I became, as Jeff describes it, possessed and suddenly led them to the right side street where the bar was. It was rewarding to find what we were looking for.
The next day was our fully day TOUR. We started off at a Jade factory. Which is a huge scam to get you to buy stuff, I think. The guide was this overly happy Chinese woman who addressed our group as "friend" as in "Now friends, which of this jade is real?" "Come this way, friends" etc... I didn't buy any of it.
Then onto the Great Wall. Wow, I've been there now. And the weather was perfect. We went to the 'most famous part.' You saw it a lot during the commercials during the Olympics. Lots of people, but if you climb the steeper parts (and believe me, it gets steep sometimes) there are less people. It wasn't great though. Good, but not great. I think a less touristy part would be better, and just less people in general. But it is pretty impressive. After lunch, we went to the Ming tombs. Its in a nice part of the country, lots of trees, and you can hear the wind in the leaves. Only one of the 13 tombs are "open." meaning you can go see the buildings near it, but you can't even see the actual burial site and you definitely can't see the actual tomb. And only one (a different one) of the 13 has been excavated. Lisa thinks the Chinese don't want to find out that their ancient emperors were actually Korean or the like. Then we were told we would stop to see the Olympic buildings before dinner. But we stopped way far away! Very disappointing, and I wasn't going to let that be as close as I got to my Mecca. I now had a goal for my free day. After a hurried Peking duck dinner (which is all about the skin and the fat, not the wonderful dark meat which is never even served to you), we went to a cultural/entertainment show called the Legend of Kungfu which was cheesey and predictable but entertaining. Some good tricks in it too.
On our free day.... we had class 9-11. Not that I can really complain because we haven't had it for a while and I'm in China having a blast. But it does mess up your plans because your morning is shot (I need sleep). Kat, Norah, and I headed by rented bikes to Beihan park which is huge and pretty nice, but full of tourists, and you keep having to pay to get into other parts. It has a giant, and I mean giant, stupa in the center of the park. We rented a paddle boat (very squeaky) and paddled around for a bit. The sun tried to come out from the clouds and smog but was quickly being squashed by rain clouds. We went back to the hostel because Norah needed to get back, and then it poured, but only briefly. Kat and I both were set on getting to the Olympic Park which meant braving the subway.
I wasn't actually worried about the subway, having done it so much in Japan, but you never know. It looks like it has been totally revamped for the Olympics, it was so easy. It took us a while to realize it, but you can basically get anywhere for only 2 yuan (like.. 30 cents). And the special Olympic line... so nice. White, clean, trendy designs, clever advertisement, great english, slow smooth stops. Also, as far as we could tell, you MUST take the subway to get right next to the stadium and water cube. Clever... but it was so worth it. I was about to pee my pants with anticipation and happiness. We got right next to the water cube! Because it had taken us so long to get there, it was dark and the building was lit up. Very cool. What a great building. The stadium isnt lit up at night, but its not as cool anyways. We walked around for a bit and enjoyed it. Then headed back.
It took about 2 hrs even though this time we had it figured out. Probably only 1.5 hrs without our stop for food. And even then almost a half hour goes to walking from the closest station back to our hostel. I really like well planned subway systems, public transit in general. Japan...
The next morning, we left for Datong. We took a 7 hr train ride. 4 person comparment and you each get a very spacious bed (considering you're on a train). Jane and I were with an old Chinese couple who were cute. The husband fell asleep and the wife put his jacket over him. They were nice though we didn't exchange any conversation beyond hello. I slept a decent bit. And looked out the window and listened to music. The scenery actually kind of reminded me of Europe... or Mongolia with trees.
After meeting our new tour guide, Judy (that's her English name, I can't remember her chinese name) and having dinner, it was bed time.
Today we went to the ...something Grottoes. It has 45 caves with carvings. I think all the caves are actually man made, which means they did some mad carving out of cliffs. Even if they were caves already, they still had to do a lot of remodeling to get square chambers...and carvings even on the ceilings! The famous caves are ornate, bottom to top. There are some really big buddhas, around 15 m tall. It was impressive. You should go see it. We also visited a couple other temples in Datong that were alright. I know they are old and have 1000 yr old statues (which is very cool, especially when I think back on how young our country's heritage is--excluding Native Americans who we don't give enough attention to) but you can only take so many temples. We came back near our hotel, and some of us walked around the city center for a while.
Now here I am. Basically.
I am really enjoying myself. I came into China with little or low expectations and have definitely had something be sparked. I may try to take Chinese next year. I may try to teach English here. I really enjoyed Beijing, even if it is only what they want me to see. So they planted a lot more trees and gardens and used more sustainable energy all because of the Olympics and impressing other nations.. its there now, and its a good thing, so I'm going to support that decision.
Doing well and staying healthy.
We arrived pretty early in the day and checked into our "hostel" which was REALLY nice. Basically that means it would be an average place in the US. I am now rooming with Katerina, which is really good. We have similar schedules. I don't stay up late here. I think I've been up til 1 once. Usually its more like 11. Spent the afternoon walking around, eating delicious chinese food. When you eat family style, its so cheap. Well, pretty much everything is cheap here. But I haven't been using that as an excuse to buy stuff which is great for me. That afternoon some of us met with Mark Maples (lived across the street from me last year) and we all walked around the imperial gardens which has a hill that looks down on the Forbidden City. The sky was blue and clear.
On our first day of TOUR, we went to Tian'amen Square and looked around briefly. They still have lots of stuff up (all over the city) for the Olympics. Personally, I love that. Its just a reminder of how recent this event that I love so much was right here. We didn't go see Mao or anything, just walked through it. Got assaulted by Chinese tourists (most of the people there) who wanted their pictures taken with us. Family after family. Its different, but nice, I guess. Then we went into the Forbidden City which is just huge. So huge you can't take it in. And there
s so many people. I felt like I was in a daze. There's a central axis we walked with our guide, Frank or Ya Lei, then we had free time. I went with some people to the side with residences, which was somewhat interesting but a lot of the same. There was an interesting section on concubines though. Lisa thinks she may have been one in a past life. After that we had a group lunch, and then the afternoon on our own. Kat and I took a nap. It was very refreshing.
Then we went out walking the Pedestrian shopping street with some people, after failing to find the Urban planning museum. Eventually Kat and I split off because its hard to walk around and look at stuff with lots of people. Some want to move on quickly or look at different stuff. We ended up finding the Night Market, which is famous for food on a stick, including the scorpions and lavae. We didn't eat either, but we did get glazed fruit, squid, corn, a torilla thing, and I got some noodles. It was pretty neat. Except that before they cook the scorpions.... they are still alive... on the stick... I kinda wanted to try one, but Kat wasn't up for it, and I never made it back with people who did want to. Maybe Shanghai. It was a good dinner though. This day's weather was smoggy.
At night I went out with Jeff Schmitz and Rachel Johnsen to find an "alternative" aka gay bar (Jeff is gay). We only knew the district and that its near the apple store. It took us forever to find the apple store, but once we did, I became, as Jeff describes it, possessed and suddenly led them to the right side street where the bar was. It was rewarding to find what we were looking for.
The next day was our fully day TOUR. We started off at a Jade factory. Which is a huge scam to get you to buy stuff, I think. The guide was this overly happy Chinese woman who addressed our group as "friend" as in "Now friends, which of this jade is real?" "Come this way, friends" etc... I didn't buy any of it.
Then onto the Great Wall. Wow, I've been there now. And the weather was perfect. We went to the 'most famous part.' You saw it a lot during the commercials during the Olympics. Lots of people, but if you climb the steeper parts (and believe me, it gets steep sometimes) there are less people. It wasn't great though. Good, but not great. I think a less touristy part would be better, and just less people in general. But it is pretty impressive. After lunch, we went to the Ming tombs. Its in a nice part of the country, lots of trees, and you can hear the wind in the leaves. Only one of the 13 tombs are "open." meaning you can go see the buildings near it, but you can't even see the actual burial site and you definitely can't see the actual tomb. And only one (a different one) of the 13 has been excavated. Lisa thinks the Chinese don't want to find out that their ancient emperors were actually Korean or the like. Then we were told we would stop to see the Olympic buildings before dinner. But we stopped way far away! Very disappointing, and I wasn't going to let that be as close as I got to my Mecca. I now had a goal for my free day. After a hurried Peking duck dinner (which is all about the skin and the fat, not the wonderful dark meat which is never even served to you), we went to a cultural/entertainment show called the Legend of Kungfu which was cheesey and predictable but entertaining. Some good tricks in it too.
On our free day.... we had class 9-11. Not that I can really complain because we haven't had it for a while and I'm in China having a blast. But it does mess up your plans because your morning is shot (I need sleep). Kat, Norah, and I headed by rented bikes to Beihan park which is huge and pretty nice, but full of tourists, and you keep having to pay to get into other parts. It has a giant, and I mean giant, stupa in the center of the park. We rented a paddle boat (very squeaky) and paddled around for a bit. The sun tried to come out from the clouds and smog but was quickly being squashed by rain clouds. We went back to the hostel because Norah needed to get back, and then it poured, but only briefly. Kat and I both were set on getting to the Olympic Park which meant braving the subway.
I wasn't actually worried about the subway, having done it so much in Japan, but you never know. It looks like it has been totally revamped for the Olympics, it was so easy. It took us a while to realize it, but you can basically get anywhere for only 2 yuan (like.. 30 cents). And the special Olympic line... so nice. White, clean, trendy designs, clever advertisement, great english, slow smooth stops. Also, as far as we could tell, you MUST take the subway to get right next to the stadium and water cube. Clever... but it was so worth it. I was about to pee my pants with anticipation and happiness. We got right next to the water cube! Because it had taken us so long to get there, it was dark and the building was lit up. Very cool. What a great building. The stadium isnt lit up at night, but its not as cool anyways. We walked around for a bit and enjoyed it. Then headed back.
It took about 2 hrs even though this time we had it figured out. Probably only 1.5 hrs without our stop for food. And even then almost a half hour goes to walking from the closest station back to our hostel. I really like well planned subway systems, public transit in general. Japan...
The next morning, we left for Datong. We took a 7 hr train ride. 4 person comparment and you each get a very spacious bed (considering you're on a train). Jane and I were with an old Chinese couple who were cute. The husband fell asleep and the wife put his jacket over him. They were nice though we didn't exchange any conversation beyond hello. I slept a decent bit. And looked out the window and listened to music. The scenery actually kind of reminded me of Europe... or Mongolia with trees.
After meeting our new tour guide, Judy (that's her English name, I can't remember her chinese name) and having dinner, it was bed time.
Today we went to the ...something Grottoes. It has 45 caves with carvings. I think all the caves are actually man made, which means they did some mad carving out of cliffs. Even if they were caves already, they still had to do a lot of remodeling to get square chambers...and carvings even on the ceilings! The famous caves are ornate, bottom to top. There are some really big buddhas, around 15 m tall. It was impressive. You should go see it. We also visited a couple other temples in Datong that were alright. I know they are old and have 1000 yr old statues (which is very cool, especially when I think back on how young our country's heritage is--excluding Native Americans who we don't give enough attention to) but you can only take so many temples. We came back near our hotel, and some of us walked around the city center for a while.
Now here I am. Basically.
I am really enjoying myself. I came into China with little or low expectations and have definitely had something be sparked. I may try to take Chinese next year. I may try to teach English here. I really enjoyed Beijing, even if it is only what they want me to see. So they planted a lot more trees and gardens and used more sustainable energy all because of the Olympics and impressing other nations.. its there now, and its a good thing, so I'm going to support that decision.
Doing well and staying healthy.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Interruption to Road Tripping
I don't have my journal with me, so I can't write a good entry on the rest of the Gobi trip, but I will eventually!
The week after we got back, my body finally couldn't withstand the cold (virus) that was going around, so that week is a bit of the tired blur. That following weekend, we experienced our second Mistake (the first was on the road trip which I will get to). Because it's water under the bridge, I'm not going into detail. Basically, our hostels have a 11pm curfew, but you can stay out later if you tell the housekeeper (who opens the doors for us) when you'll be back. And people came back 2-4 hours later than they said, and it was poorly thought out. And lots of girls got harassed and overcharged by taxi drivers. Because Norah and I were both sick, we stayed at home and didn't see any of this happen first hand. But since then we've had an imposed curfew of 11 pm, with tardiness resulting in bad things, but luckily none of that has happened, and things have been smooth so far.
We've been BUSY after class in the morning! Prof Benard has found lots of things for us do.
Tuesday 23-
We went to the Winter Palace, where the 8th and last Bodg Khan (religious leader, like the Dalai Lama) of Mongolia lived. We saw some of Zanabazar's famous sculptures in the temples. Unfortunately, I was suddenly struck with really bad cramps and couldn't really appreciate the rest of our field trip. But GUESS WHAT!! George Lucas stole Mongolian culture for Star Wars! Remember episode I, everyone was like 'where did Amidala/Padme get that crazy hair stuff?'
ITS MONGOLIAN TRADITIONAL CLOTHING!
They have some of the original clothes of the first Bodg Khan and his wife from the 16th century.
Wed 24-
We went to one of the cultural performances at one of big soviet theater buildings. It had traditional dancing, folk singing, THROAT SINGING!, and at one point, the curtain went up and there was an orchestra and it was very unexpected. Because Ulaan Baatar is the biggest city, all the best performers are here... and the throat singing was sooo amazing. 3 people, one of whom was a woman! It may seem very touristy and stereotypical to do, but definitely go to one if you're in Ulaan Baatar.
Thurs 25-
We went to see Don Croner, a scholar on Janabazar, talk at the Amsterdam Cafe. It was... hard to follow and the guy was kinda awkward. But interesting. I hope he doesn't read this (he has a blog).
For the weekend, we went to Terelij National Park to a Buddhist retreat center that (I think) is owned by the abbot of the monastery where we have class. It was so beautiful. Of course, I can say that about all of the Mongolian countryside. Hopefully I'll be getting around to putting pictures on a flickr site. We got to ride horses--Mongolian saddles are not as comfortable as American, and I don't think American saddles are that comfortable! Rachel M, Todd, and I went for a hike that afternoon. We got to the top of the hill we were climbing, and there was this awesome rock/giant boulder that we wanted to get on top of, but Rachel and I don't have the spider legs that Todd has. Rachel decided to go back and help make dinner, and Todd helped me find a somewhat safe to the top of the boulder. We have a sweet picture from the top. Just wait.
That night we had pizza (without cheese because thats hard to come by). But it was still very delicious. After dinner, we had a bonfire that some people had set up... the stick formation was over 12 feet tall... so it led to a massive fire. We just hung out and talked. And Lisa Long is a pyro haha.
Next day we didn't have much for plans, just enjoying not being in the city. I went to look at the actual monastery, which was pretty cool, on the side of a mountain. Scary rickety bridge leading to it too. Oh man, and we filmed the first sequence of the Pac Rim video. It's being done in bollywood style. Norah choreographed a sequence for us to do which is pretty hilarious. I can't wait to rope in the freshmen for PacRim next year back at UPS!
At some point in one of these weeks, we also went to Gandan Monestary, which has a 26.5 m statue of the Bodhisattva of Compassion Janraisig (the Tibetan name, Mongolian style). Mongolia mostly follows Tibetan Buddhism. I'm a big fan of the 8 auspicious symbols you see everywhere.
Mon 29-
We went to the Jana Bazar Art Museum (I think thats the name). It was really nice, but sadly very few people. I got a really nice book on Mongolian traditional ornamentation/designs. The museum had paintings, thongkas, statues, 2000 bc stone carvings, masks for shamanistic ceremonies, and a giant 3D mandala for kalachakra.
Tues 30-
Oko, our tour guide from the Gobi trip who organized everything and is awesome, took us to the university where she used to teach. It was... an experience. We were being led somewhere in the building, finally to a door, and as we entered, it was just full of students clapping for us and people welcoming us. And there were 2 long tables for us to sit at, in front of everyone, like a panel. It was overwhelming and unexpected. We listened to some speeches on the university and Chingis Khan, that had to be translated, but I think we got a basic, basic idea. Some students did traditional dancing and throat singing, and then it got weird. They had a male student just do pop karaoke for us. Then 2 students did beat boxing!! And we were just like 'what is going on!!?' but in a good way. Next all the students rushed up to us and asked us for our email addresses, so that we can become 'great friends!' or because you were an American girl and they were Mongolian boys (or vice versa). They also gave us little presents. But the end held the most random part. After some thank yous etc... suddenly the song Yeah by Usher started BLASTING so loud, and it turned into a weird/crazy dance party. With really only a few of us dancing and a few of the students dancing. But a couple of the Mongolian boys were really good at break dancing. Basically it was insane, but a good time. Lots of us were excited when JT starting playing.
Yesterday was Stephanie's 22nd birthday. Jane, Norah, and I decided to doll up. Norah did my make up, and I actually got out one of my skirts. Everyone went out to the Taj Mahal Indian Restaurant at the top of the Ulaan Baatar Hotel. Apparently its a really high class place for Mongolians, as in, parliament members go there. We're all so used to paying approx. 3 american dollars for a meal, that we think that the 10 you may pay there is high. Going to Japan will be a shock for us. Unfortunately because it was such a large group, we had some problems organizing the bill.
Afterwards, some of us made it to the last half of a lecture by Jack Wetherford (author of Ghengis Khan and the Making of the Modern World, which I bet is very good because he was a GREAT speaker.) He's very passionate, and a knows so much about Chingis Khan. He thinks so practically, like Chingis Khan! He's just finishing a book up on the daughters of Chingis Khan that I bet is going to be very good.
Some people had instead gone straight to a classy lounge/bar for the other half of Steph's celebration, and some of us stopped by for a little while.
Ok I have a test tomorrow that I should study for!
The week after we got back, my body finally couldn't withstand the cold (virus) that was going around, so that week is a bit of the tired blur. That following weekend, we experienced our second Mistake (the first was on the road trip which I will get to). Because it's water under the bridge, I'm not going into detail. Basically, our hostels have a 11pm curfew, but you can stay out later if you tell the housekeeper (who opens the doors for us) when you'll be back. And people came back 2-4 hours later than they said, and it was poorly thought out. And lots of girls got harassed and overcharged by taxi drivers. Because Norah and I were both sick, we stayed at home and didn't see any of this happen first hand. But since then we've had an imposed curfew of 11 pm, with tardiness resulting in bad things, but luckily none of that has happened, and things have been smooth so far.
We've been BUSY after class in the morning! Prof Benard has found lots of things for us do.
Tuesday 23-
We went to the Winter Palace, where the 8th and last Bodg Khan (religious leader, like the Dalai Lama) of Mongolia lived. We saw some of Zanabazar's famous sculptures in the temples. Unfortunately, I was suddenly struck with really bad cramps and couldn't really appreciate the rest of our field trip. But GUESS WHAT!! George Lucas stole Mongolian culture for Star Wars! Remember episode I, everyone was like 'where did Amidala/Padme get that crazy hair stuff?'
ITS MONGOLIAN TRADITIONAL CLOTHING!
They have some of the original clothes of the first Bodg Khan and his wife from the 16th century.Wed 24-
We went to one of the cultural performances at one of big soviet theater buildings. It had traditional dancing, folk singing, THROAT SINGING!, and at one point, the curtain went up and there was an orchestra and it was very unexpected. Because Ulaan Baatar is the biggest city, all the best performers are here... and the throat singing was sooo amazing. 3 people, one of whom was a woman! It may seem very touristy and stereotypical to do, but definitely go to one if you're in Ulaan Baatar.
Thurs 25-
We went to see Don Croner, a scholar on Janabazar, talk at the Amsterdam Cafe. It was... hard to follow and the guy was kinda awkward. But interesting. I hope he doesn't read this (he has a blog).
For the weekend, we went to Terelij National Park to a Buddhist retreat center that (I think) is owned by the abbot of the monastery where we have class. It was so beautiful. Of course, I can say that about all of the Mongolian countryside. Hopefully I'll be getting around to putting pictures on a flickr site. We got to ride horses--Mongolian saddles are not as comfortable as American, and I don't think American saddles are that comfortable! Rachel M, Todd, and I went for a hike that afternoon. We got to the top of the hill we were climbing, and there was this awesome rock/giant boulder that we wanted to get on top of, but Rachel and I don't have the spider legs that Todd has. Rachel decided to go back and help make dinner, and Todd helped me find a somewhat safe to the top of the boulder. We have a sweet picture from the top. Just wait.
That night we had pizza (without cheese because thats hard to come by). But it was still very delicious. After dinner, we had a bonfire that some people had set up... the stick formation was over 12 feet tall... so it led to a massive fire. We just hung out and talked. And Lisa Long is a pyro haha.
Next day we didn't have much for plans, just enjoying not being in the city. I went to look at the actual monastery, which was pretty cool, on the side of a mountain. Scary rickety bridge leading to it too. Oh man, and we filmed the first sequence of the Pac Rim video. It's being done in bollywood style. Norah choreographed a sequence for us to do which is pretty hilarious. I can't wait to rope in the freshmen for PacRim next year back at UPS!
At some point in one of these weeks, we also went to Gandan Monestary, which has a 26.5 m statue of the Bodhisattva of Compassion Janraisig (the Tibetan name, Mongolian style). Mongolia mostly follows Tibetan Buddhism. I'm a big fan of the 8 auspicious symbols you see everywhere.
Mon 29-
We went to the Jana Bazar Art Museum (I think thats the name). It was really nice, but sadly very few people. I got a really nice book on Mongolian traditional ornamentation/designs. The museum had paintings, thongkas, statues, 2000 bc stone carvings, masks for shamanistic ceremonies, and a giant 3D mandala for kalachakra.
Tues 30-
Oko, our tour guide from the Gobi trip who organized everything and is awesome, took us to the university where she used to teach. It was... an experience. We were being led somewhere in the building, finally to a door, and as we entered, it was just full of students clapping for us and people welcoming us. And there were 2 long tables for us to sit at, in front of everyone, like a panel. It was overwhelming and unexpected. We listened to some speeches on the university and Chingis Khan, that had to be translated, but I think we got a basic, basic idea. Some students did traditional dancing and throat singing, and then it got weird. They had a male student just do pop karaoke for us. Then 2 students did beat boxing!! And we were just like 'what is going on!!?' but in a good way. Next all the students rushed up to us and asked us for our email addresses, so that we can become 'great friends!' or because you were an American girl and they were Mongolian boys (or vice versa). They also gave us little presents. But the end held the most random part. After some thank yous etc... suddenly the song Yeah by Usher started BLASTING so loud, and it turned into a weird/crazy dance party. With really only a few of us dancing and a few of the students dancing. But a couple of the Mongolian boys were really good at break dancing. Basically it was insane, but a good time. Lots of us were excited when JT starting playing.
Yesterday was Stephanie's 22nd birthday. Jane, Norah, and I decided to doll up. Norah did my make up, and I actually got out one of my skirts. Everyone went out to the Taj Mahal Indian Restaurant at the top of the Ulaan Baatar Hotel. Apparently its a really high class place for Mongolians, as in, parliament members go there. We're all so used to paying approx. 3 american dollars for a meal, that we think that the 10 you may pay there is high. Going to Japan will be a shock for us. Unfortunately because it was such a large group, we had some problems organizing the bill.
Afterwards, some of us made it to the last half of a lecture by Jack Wetherford (author of Ghengis Khan and the Making of the Modern World, which I bet is very good because he was a GREAT speaker.) He's very passionate, and a knows so much about Chingis Khan. He thinks so practically, like Chingis Khan! He's just finishing a book up on the daughters of Chingis Khan that I bet is going to be very good.
Some people had instead gone straight to a classy lounge/bar for the other half of Steph's celebration, and some of us stopped by for a little while.
Ok I have a test tomorrow that I should study for!
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