Being a Foreigner in Rural Mongolia

I was asked by one of my readers (Hello Rose!) to tell what it is like to be a foreigner, how Mongolians react to foreigners, and if their reaction changes when they realize the foreigner can speak Mongolian.  This is a really interesting and important issue for me as a Peace Corps volunteer in Mongolia, and I am happy to talk about my experiences as a foreigner in Mongolia over the past three months.


Overall, Mongolians are very interested and respectful to foreigners.  Since the Mongolian population is pretty homogenous (about 90-95% of the population is ethnically Khalkha, and the remainder is Khazakh, Buriat, and other tribes of Siberia and Eastern Asia), anyone who looks different really sticks out.  For example, I know of 3 other individuals and a family of foreigners in my town, and so does everyone else I meet--my coworkers know about the Canadian hockey teacher, and they know that there is a Peace Corps volunteer (Halee) that has worked at First School for a year.  They are catching on to my other site mate, Hannah, who works at our town's technical school.  My Mongolian friends can tell me about the volunteers in town from several years ago, and they still remember quite a few details about their life here.  Needless to say, it is not common for foreigners to live in Ondorkhaan, and I would assume it is similar for other towns in Mongolia of the same size and smaller.

This means that I when I am walking around, I think people often assume that I am a tourist.  They assume I don't know any Mongolian, and that I am probably Russian.  When I am walking around town, here are some of the common reactions I get from people I don't know:

• Open-mouthed stares and/or shock
• People (sometimes drunk people) yelling "hooeeyy Amerikaaa!" (Hey American!)
• Children yelling "Hi!" or "Hello!"
• People continuing to say Hi until I say Hello back
• I walk past a group of people, and they start laughing
• I am mistaken for a Russian person and someone tries to talk to me in Russian
• Someone will say something very quickly in Mongolian, and wait for a response, assuming I could understand them
• Sometimes a reaction like in the US: brief eye contact, then go about your business as usual

On most days, these reactions are something I can brush off.  Sometimes it makes me angry that people don't realize I am not just visiting--that this is my home now too.  But then I realize that there is no way that someone on the street would know this.  I look different, I probably act different, and I stick out. So its something that I have come to accept as part of life here. 


 People's reactions are very different at my workplace in many ways.  For one, they know who I am, and why I am here.  The majority of people are happy to meet me, and are pleasantly surprised when they learn I can speak some Mongolian.  This is a normal conversation between one of my coworkers and a doctor or someone that is not usually in the health department (in Mongolian of course):

• Who is this person? Is she American?
• She is a Peace Corps volunteer who works here now.  Her specialty is infectious disease. 
• Really? She is very pretty (then in English): You...pretty!
• She speaks Mongolian.  She can understand.
• Oh! You understand what we said?
• Me: Yes I understood!
• Oh, you speak Mongolian very well. 
• Me: Thank you. (and then I stand there smiling because they just want to stare at me for a while)

This basically repeats most times there is a new person in the health department, unless they know some English and want to practice that instead. Also, if you say about 4 or 5 words correctly in Mongolian, most people will say you speak very well.  They are very appreciative of people who take the time to learn some of the language.

**Side note about my looks: almost every Mongolian I have met has told me that I am pretty or beautiful (it's the same word in Mongolian, so they translate it both ways).  I think this is mainly because I have big, non-Asian eyes, and light skin, which are both standards of beauty here.  They also often think I look Russian (again because I am white).  However many times they tell me how beautiful they think I am, I still get the feeling that some people are a little grossed out by the way I look.  Like everything on my face is just slightly wrong, although they never say this to me.  My host family from this summer, after weeks of spending time together, finally told me how they all think my nose is really big and weird, since it sticks out so much farther than Mongolian noses do.  This back and forth is usually pretty amusing, and since it doesn't really matter to me much what people think about how I look, it hasn't been a big deal.  I think it does show a little of how Mongolians perceive me and other foreigners.


Sometimes it is very strange to always draw attention, since I am used to just being one of the crowd wherever I have lived before.  But it isn't usually a bad thing.  I cant tell that people are just interested in me and what I am doing, and I know I stare at Mongolians sometimes too.  I am constantly surprised and delighted by things that happen here that I don't expect.  A perfect example of me being surprised by what is going on happened on Wednesday this week. The afternoon before, one of my coworkers, Zoloo, told me that there was an event happening at 8am the next day at the town square, so I should go there instead of to the health department.  She also asked me if I could bring my camera.  So the next morning, I made sure I was on time and showed up to the town square, camera and all.

As it turns out, the event was for several hundred children and adults--some sort of campaign for more physical activity.  It was tons of fun!  First, the emcee introduced the directors from several of the health and fitness-related agencies in town, who each spoke.  I have no idea what they said, so this was the most boring part for me.  Meanwhile, in the background on this mini-jumbotron, there was an informational video about fitness, with exercise demonstrations.  After their speeches, the directors and a fitness teacher lead a series of exercises for the crowd, including running in place, lunges, and squats. Then the whole group walked in a big loop around town, which took about 25 minutes.  We came back to the square for a closing speech and a mini-health fair, where doctors were checking weight, height, and blood pressure.  Overall, the event was well planned and implemented, with great turnout from what I could tell.  I hadn't heard anything about it, so it was quite a surprise.  Also, some things are just enough different from the US to be entertaining--for example, all of the people there, from the young children to the older adults, had done similar large group exercises before.  This is not something that is popular in the US, but I often see gym classes at the schools I walk by doing synchronized exercises, like walking in place or doing push-ups.  Here are some pictures from the event:

 

The emcee on the left, introducing different directors.  The health department director is the man in the black leather coat.

 

Doing some synchronized lunges with about 600 other people!I am somewhere in the middle of the crowd!

 

Then, some walking in place with hand raises. 

 

After the exercises, we all reorganized for our walk around town.

 

Some of the health department workers as we walked by, I am all the way at the end of the row.

 

Sometimes you have got to help each other out!  It is very common in Mongolia for men of any age to touch each other.  It isn't viewed the same way as it might be in the US. Adult men will frequently walk with their arms around each others' shoulders, or hold on to each other like in this photo.

 

Many Mongolian schools have matching fitness outfits that way surpass the American gym clothes I had....I am pretty jealous!

 

Here is one of the doctors from my hospital English class taking a woman's blood pressure after the event.

 

The adults were especially interested in the mini health fair!

 

After we all got back to the health department, a bunch of the ladies spent some time looking at eyebrow surgery results.  They decided my eyebrows are fine, but some of the other people could use some better defined brows!

I hope I have provided a glimpse into what it is like to be a foreigner in Mongolia.  The capital is definitely a different story, and in many ways it is like any other big city.  If you have more questions, comment below and I will try my best to answer.

Until next time!

A Work Day in the Life of Marilyn the Health Volunteer

Right now I am sitting in my office at the Khentii Health Department.  I have been working here for about a month now.  I haven't talked much about what I am actually in Mongolia for (oops) so I thought I could give you readers an idea of what my life is like, now that I have settled into a sort of rhythm.

So, my host country agency (or HCA) is the Khentii Health Department, located in Ondorkhaan, Khentii Aimag, Mongolia.  As my HCA, the Health Department is in charge of finding my housing, furnishing my housing, introducing me to the town and resources available, keeping me informed about changes in the community, and basically helping me to adjust to life here.  In return, I should be working at least 30 hours per week directly with my HCA.  The Khentii Health Department is in charge of serving the town of Ondorkhaan, the biggest population center in the province, as well as the villages and communities throughout the province. There are about 25 people that work for the Health Department, and they have all been very kind and welcoming.

The Khentii Health Department is located right next to the hospital, in a very nice, new, 2-story building.  The first floor is mostly larger training rooms, and the office space takes up the second floor.  My office space is in a good sized room that 6 of us share.  It makes the days pretty fun, since there is usually someone else in my office who isn't too busy (and I am never really busy, at least not yet).  The ladies I share my office with are all health specialists in charge of planning trainings, compiling health reports, and completing all of the other mysterious tasks that fill their time that I don't know about yet. 

I spend most of my time trying to think of suitable activities to fill my time.  I am teaching English for doctors and nurses at the hospital twice a week, so planning and teaching takes up a good portion of my time.  I attend health department meetings whenever I know about them, which is about twice a week.  They are not very informative for me yet, since I don't understand most of the Mongolian that is said, but I learn enough to help me figure out what is going on.  I have also observed several different trainings that my coworkers have planned, which has been a fun and interesting way of learning how they plan and carry out events.  So far I have seen trainings on adolescent health, sexual health, pregnancy health, and a provincial-wide report of services including health services.

In the future (hopefully the near future), I would like to get more involved in the planning steps for trainings and seminars.  My coworkers also want me to get involved and help with this, but I think they don't know how to address the fact that we can't always understand exactly what each other is trying to say.  This has definitely improved with time as we get used to each other and know how to understand each other, but is still an issue.  One thing I have learned in this month is to not expect things to move at the same pace that they do in American businesses and organizations.

**A note about time and scheduling in Mongolia: It doesn't matter to Mongolians the way it matters to Americans.  In the US, for example, if you set a meeting up and say that it will begin at 2 PM, you can figure that most people will be there by 2 or at least 2:15, and if they are not there, they will have contacted you to let you know why they are running late.  In Mongolia, it seems common for people to show up more than 30 minutes or an hour late, and no one seems to think anything of it.  Family or friend issues are just as important, if not more important than work related responsibilities, and everyone understands if you need a few hours or a day to go help your friend fix something or go to the countryside to check on a cousin or uncle.

This attitude is refreshing in many ways, because much of the American obsession with letting your schedule and your work rule your life is gone.  Mongolian people are proud of the work that they do, whether it is working as a taxi driver or as a program director, but they are also very proud of their families and their home life.  The vast majority of Mongolians get married and start having children when they are maybe between 20 and 25, so it is very common for me to meet a doctor who just graduated from medical school and is married and has 1-2 children.  More on this phenomenon another time--back to my work day!



So, now that I have been working for a few weeks, I have the start of a weekly schedule forming.  On Tuesday and Friday afternoons, I teach English at the hospital.  This means that I spend some of the day before planning out my lessons.  I also am involved in usually at least one training that goes on each week, so I have time working with my counterparts on their training, and attending the training.  I am still working with my counterparts and supervisor to fill out my schedule and have more set plans for each week--I can't help it, I am American!  Having a schedule makes me feel good.


This Tuesday, one of the sexual health trainings for high school students was completed with a presentation about health and community services at the school.  About 20 students attended a weekend workshop on sexual health and STI prevention, and then they helped to present the information to their classmates.  I attended part of the weekend sessions, and then I helped out a little for the presentation.

These are two of the doctors that attend my English lessons at the hospital and were also presenting at the school.  I haven't memorized their names yet, Mongolian names are really hard for me to remember!  I am working really hard on it though, so hopefully by next class I will remember.

Some of the students that attended the weekend seminar.

The (mostly) attentive audience!

After the presentation, the Health Department ladies led a fun game: it's called AXA (like aha!) in Mongolian, and its a trivia game. 

Participants stand in a line, and the first person gets a question.  If they know the answer, they return to the back of the line. If they don't know the answer, they lose one of three stickers they started the game with, and keep playing until they are out of stickers.  You can see me in the background of this picture, doing what I do best now--observing.

You can see the stickers on this participant, he still has two left!

The students were totally into the game.  Even though I couldn't understand a lot of the questions, I was totally into it too.

The line got shorter...

...and shorter!....

...and shorter!

Then we were down to less than ten competitors, who all got a prize.  But they really wanted to know who would win overall!

And then this dude won!

He got a special prize, presented by my supervisor, Dashnamjilmaa.

The school doctor, who helped plan the training and the presentation, was also given a gift. Overall, the activity seems to have been a success!  I hope I will be involved in more events like this and help with the planning stages as well.

Sorry for the excessively long post. I will get to what it is like to be a foreigner (where I stick out like a sore thumb) in my next post! 

Until next time!

Apartment Life with my Super-Cute Roommate!

Greetings from Mongolia!

Sorry my posts have been infrequent lately.  I have had multiple issues with my internet connection, both at home and at work, and for several days I did not have power.  But hopefully these issues will be sorted out soon! 

Anyway, I wanted to talk about one of the best things that has happened since I came to Ondorkhaan: I got a puppy!  She is a female 'bankhur' mutt.  Mongolians call any dog with her markings a bankhur, but it is actually also the mongolian name for a Tibetan Mastiff.  She is just a puppy, so I don't know how big she will get, but I am almost positive that it will not be Tibetan Mastiff-sized.  

There are many, many dogs in Mongolia.  There are tons and tons of street dogs that roam around, eating all the edible (and some non-edible) trash that lines the streets before it is cleaned up.  There are also dogs that are usually chained up inside a haashaa, or fenced in yard, to protect the space.  These dogs are often beaten to toughen them up, and some can be very vicious.  There are basically no pet dogs in Mongolia.  People do not fully understand having an animal for the purpose of companionship, like what is so common in the US.  Even the word 'pet' does not have a good translation into Mongolian.  The closest is 'animal that lives with you' and anyone that has had a pet knows how far from accurate that is.  I decided soon after I arrived in Mongolia that I wanted to get a pet dog, since it would help keep me active and help me deal with loneliness.  And all of the puppies and dogs around are so cute!!  I had looked into the possibility of bringing a dog back to the US before I even left the US, and so I knew that I would be able to take in a puppy and not just leave it to fend for itself after 2 years.  

When I met my supervisor in Darkhan, I asked her if I would be able to get a puppy and keep it, since I would need to have approval from my landlord.  She said it would be fine, and the last volunteer at my health department had adopted a puppy as well!  I was glad that she didn't think I was insane, which was the reaction that many mongolians had already had when I told them I wanted to get a dog.  

My supervisor, Dashnamjilmaa, the US Ambassador to Mongolia, and me after the M-24 Swearing In Ceremony.  Dashaa is a sweet, quiet lady with three children.  She is my next door neighbor, and loves to talk to me in English to improve her speaking.  She is very capable at her job and I am glad I have her watching out for me.  

So, when Dashnamjilmaa and I arrived in Ondorkhaan, the very next day she asked her son (8 years old) and daughter (9 years old) to help me find a puppy to adopt.  That evening, the kids in the apartment complex showed me a litter of 5 puppies that live near our apartment building.  Their mother was nowhere around, so I guessed that they were abandoned.  All of the puppies were so cute, I couldn't make a choice on the spot which one to choose, so I told them I would think about it and decide the next day.  That is when I decided to adopt this beautiful and fluffy puppy, who I named Sukhbaatar, or Suki for short!

Suki on day 1: she was so tiny!  I estimated that the puppies were about 5-6 weeks old when I adopted Suki, but I really have no clue. 

A couple weeks later, Suki is playing outside after getting yogurt all over her nose!  She is a really picky eater--I have only been able to get her to eat meat and yogurt so far.  I am working on getting her to eat rice and fruits and vegetables as well.

Suki is a very attentive puppy, when she feels like it.  She knows 'sit' and we are working on more commands!

Here is Suki playing with the antler that Tracey sent.  She isn't a super playful puppy yet, but every week she is more active than the last.

Suki has helped to make my apartment more welcoming and less empty.  She keeps me busy, and her siblings, two of whom still live outside, keep me up most nights!  In addition to a growing puppy, every week it seems that I get more things for my apartment, either from my agency, or that I buy in the store to fill some need.  So, my apartment is slowly becoming more living-friendly and more homey as well.  Last week, I finally got my wardrobe (woohoo for no longer living out of 2 suitcases!), a fridge (yay for milk and non-spoiled food!), a hot water heater (hot or maybe luke warm showers!), and today I got a manual washing machine from a previous volunteer in my town.  I have so many appliances and shelves, its so great!

My new wardrobe: finally those suitcases will be empty!  Maybe (just maybe) I will clean off my bed instead of using half of it as a big shelf.  

My fridge, which is so handy!  Since almost everything in the shops here is family sized (Mongolians basically never live alone or cook alone), it really comes in handy to be able to refrigerate things.  Once it gets a bit colder, my window sills will also probably be the temperature of a fridge or freezer, but its good to not have to wait for cold weather to keep things cold!

The hot water heater all ready to be hooked up to my space-age shower.  Believe me, the shower looks much cooler than it actually is, but the hot water is pretty revolutionary for my cleaning habits!  I try to wash my hair about twice a week, and spot clean everything else 'as needed.'  

I am really settling into my apartment, and life in Ondorkhaan, Mongolia.  I have been told many times that the highs are higher and the lows are lower when serving in the Peace Corps, and this has definitely been the case for me.  I have already had days that even small wonders will make it an amazing day, when i feel invincible and great about all of my life choices that have led me to such a great experience.  Then other days, when I am feeling particularly purposeless or family-and-friends-sick (like homesickness but so much worse), I curse myself for my craziness at agreeing to sign myself on for a 2 year experience in isolation and despair.  I think that as I give myself more time to adjust to my surroundings, I will hopefully have less low days and more even and good days.  

Other than getting used to Ondorkhaan, I am preparing for the cold weather coming.  Winter is coming, and every week has been getting colder than the last.  Temperature fluctuates extremely in Mongolia--in the morning I might wear a sweater, jacket liner and jacket to work and feel a bit cold, and then at lunchtime I can wear a sweater only and feel pretty hot in the sun.  But still it is easy to feel the cold creeping in the weather.  The heating system in my town is being turned on on October 1, and I think the next couple of weeks will start to be pretty rough as the temperatures dive overnight.  I have a warm sleeping bag and lots of layers, so I will be able to handle it just fine!  But it definitely doesn't make getting out of bed in the mornings very easy.  I will keep everyone posted of what the weather is like in one of the coldest countries in the world!

I have had a few responses to my post about what the audience would like me to talk about, which I am going to start addressing in my next post.  Thanks again for reading my posts!  I am glad that I am able to keep in touch with so many of you, and feel free to contact me on facebook or through email (marilynalice@gmail.com) if you want to catch up!  

Peace out for now!

Thank You, Loyal Readers! Any Questions from the Audience?

Hello again!

I want to thank everyone who comes to my website to read about my adventures, or catches a copy that my mom tells me she shares with our many family friends.  My page is just about to hit 6000 views, which is so many!  I am so glad that people are interested in what I have to share, and I hope that everyone will feel welcome to give me tips or ideas for new blog posts, or questions that you want answered.  Just comment below, or in whichever blog post you have open, and I will address your questions with my next post.  I am hoping to post more regularly now that I am starting to work out my schedule, but it seems that my posts are dictated mostly by how much internet access I have. 

I am going to write about my town, Ondorkhaan, soon, as well as how my work at the Khentii Health Department is going. I also want to talk about many of the unique cultural traditions and ways of life here in Mongolia, so if anyone has some pressing questions, I can tackle those first.

I am sorry that this is not an informative post, but I will be back soon!