Peace Corps Mongolia!

Mongolia: a country with a long history.  A country of nomadic people.  A country with mountains, deserts, and everything in between.  Here are some of the cool facts that I have learned about Mongolia since discovering that I will spend the next two and a half years there:

• Mongolia is historically known as the kingdom of Ghengis (of Chingis) Khan, who ruled the Mongol hourde at its height in the 13th century.
• Side note on Ghengis Khan: about 1 in every 200 men in the world (0.5%) share the same y chromosome.  It is hypothesized that all of these men share the same y chromosome because they are all descendants of Ghengis Khan!
• Mongolia is a landlocked country located between China and Russia.
• Mongolia was a part of the USSR, and gained independence in 1992.  Since then, Mongolia has been a democracy.
• Mongolia, with just over 3 million citizens and around 1.5 million square kilometers of land, is the most sparsely population country in the world.  It is roughly the size of Alaska.
• It gets very cold during the winter.  It is common for temperatures to drop down to -40 degrees Fahrenheit (or -40 degrees Celsius, as they are the same temperature).
• Mongolia is said to have incredibly beautiful blue sky and sunny weather a majority of the time.
• More Mongolian women attend college than Mongolian men.
• The official language of Mongolia is Mongolian, which is written in Cyrillic (although it is more similar to Turkic languages than Russian).
• The most common religion in Mongolia is Tibetan Buddhism.
• The Peace Corps has sent volunteers to Mongolia for over 20 years, since 1991.
• As a volunteer, I will live with a host family during the first three months, when I will be in training.  After that, I will move into one of three possible living spaces: an apartment complex, a two-room wooden house, or a traditional Mongolian 'ger,' which is a type of round semi-permanent tent.  

More information to follow!  Please comment or contact me if you have any information about Mongolia or would like me to focus my Mongolian research in a certain direction.  I am very excited to learn more about Mongolia and the Mongolian people.  I think that the Peace Corps did a great job placing me in Mongolia, and I hope that I will be able to make a difference during my time there.  I know that it will be a life-changing experience for me!