Difficult access to the Internet in Ulan bataar does not allow me to really post when I was there. Back in the world of higher temperatures 0 ° (2 in Roissy yesterday, what fun!), and after 12 hours of delicious sleep 20h rewarding travel door to door and 7am time difference in the teeth, I will try to draw some lessons from this trip.
city: Youbi Big Blue on Friday, and it changes many things. When the temperature rises, smoke and pollution rising as well, and allow the city to breathe a little better. The horizon clears, and we realize that indeed Youbi is surrounded by mountains and blue gray. The feeling of oppression disappears gradually, and we said we would take a good look in the summer.
(http://missionmongolie.blog.lemonde.fr)
Friday morning, departure for a town about forty miles south of Ulan bataar. Once the boundaries of cities taken, the scenery is breathtaking ... flocks of sheep in the steppe, tents dotted ... total absence of trees and vegetation is simply a few tufts cramées emerging from a thin layer of snow (yes, it is less cold so it snows), sufficient to visibly nourished sheep, cows very hairy and stocky little horses that in the tens of millions in Mongolia (population 2.5 million). The city that we reach a few thousand inhabitants. Built by the Soviets, there were many factories of cement and bricks, most of which were closed after 1990. The architecture corresponds to the image that can be done in Siberia: small colored wooden houses crowded against each other and protected by fences. A very "Far East" boomtown thrust in the middle of nowhere. Three sisters hold a South Korean school, serving children whose parents can not afford education and school materials.
Cut off from everything, without employment, the city seems more Livable the suburbs of Ulan bataar, consisting mainly of tents traditional (Ger) piled without electricity or running water. Deplorable conditions plus alcoholism and domestic violence ... interesting theory developed in "History of Mongolia" by a scholar named "Baabar" (sic): it is social engineering promoted by the Soviets from 1921 that is causing problems for women in Mongolia. By destroying the framework of the traditional family, in which the woman was powerful and respected, Bolshevism has made the Mongolian woman victim of domestic violence that did not exist before ... the mirage of the capital, around which crowded former nomads who sometimes sold their herds and settled there, is comparable to that of Europe or South Korea, which are directed towards the thousands of Mongolians deceived by "couriers" to which they go into debt for thousands of dollars ...
People: A reading of the history of Mongolia in the twentieth century can perhaps understand why it is rare to see a smile on a face Mongol. It is in any case a possible explanation for the total lack of friendliness and warmth that I received in this city. This does not seem to be an attitude toward Aliens: on the street the Mongols collide without looking, without smiling, without eye contact. A dull, icy hostility that frankly the bumblebee sheet. Across a crowded university to meet the Dean of Social Science, I have not seen a single smile or the slightest spark in a look ... a bit worrying nonetheless. According to a foreigner who learned fluent Mongolian, Mongolians do not have language in their usual expressions to say "thank you" or "forgiveness". Obviously, having trailed in Kurdistan, we develop some expectations in terms of human contact. I still have a journey, to get used to the idea that there are places where people are even more heinous than an RER station in the Paris suburbs.
Fortunately, the visit of two "kindergarten" supported by a local NGO, allow me to make a supply of big smiles and looks pleased. Mongolian kids do not seem to be touched by the blues from their parents and are delighted to recite long poems Mongolian one deals with small hello worthy in the end!
Photos to come, I have to get those taken by my colleagues. Me my camera was "stolen" under my eyes by four pickpockets. Little education, if you feel a hand in your pocket, and you grab that hand, you are not more advanced when you do not speak the language, that everyone around you contrefout it, and you say it is better to let the guy who you could pass on a shot blade. .. the same scene in Kurdistan or Turkey, and the thief was lynched by a pre-mob making me the camera with a smile ...
city: Youbi Big Blue on Friday, and it changes many things. When the temperature rises, smoke and pollution rising as well, and allow the city to breathe a little better. The horizon clears, and we realize that indeed Youbi is surrounded by mountains and blue gray. The feeling of oppression disappears gradually, and we said we would take a good look in the summer.
(http://missionmongolie.blog.lemonde.fr) Friday morning, departure for a town about forty miles south of Ulan bataar. Once the boundaries of cities taken, the scenery is breathtaking ... flocks of sheep in the steppe, tents dotted ... total absence of trees and vegetation is simply a few tufts cramées emerging from a thin layer of snow (yes, it is less cold so it snows), sufficient to visibly nourished sheep, cows very hairy and stocky little horses that in the tens of millions in Mongolia (population 2.5 million). The city that we reach a few thousand inhabitants. Built by the Soviets, there were many factories of cement and bricks, most of which were closed after 1990. The architecture corresponds to the image that can be done in Siberia: small colored wooden houses crowded against each other and protected by fences. A very "Far East" boomtown thrust in the middle of nowhere. Three sisters hold a South Korean school, serving children whose parents can not afford education and school materials.
Cut off from everything, without employment, the city seems more Livable the suburbs of Ulan bataar, consisting mainly of tents traditional (Ger) piled without electricity or running water. Deplorable conditions plus alcoholism and domestic violence ... interesting theory developed in "History of Mongolia" by a scholar named "Baabar" (sic): it is social engineering promoted by the Soviets from 1921 that is causing problems for women in Mongolia. By destroying the framework of the traditional family, in which the woman was powerful and respected, Bolshevism has made the Mongolian woman victim of domestic violence that did not exist before ... the mirage of the capital, around which crowded former nomads who sometimes sold their herds and settled there, is comparable to that of Europe or South Korea, which are directed towards the thousands of Mongolians deceived by "couriers" to which they go into debt for thousands of dollars ...
People: A reading of the history of Mongolia in the twentieth century can perhaps understand why it is rare to see a smile on a face Mongol. It is in any case a possible explanation for the total lack of friendliness and warmth that I received in this city. This does not seem to be an attitude toward Aliens: on the street the Mongols collide without looking, without smiling, without eye contact. A dull, icy hostility that frankly the bumblebee sheet. Across a crowded university to meet the Dean of Social Science, I have not seen a single smile or the slightest spark in a look ... a bit worrying nonetheless. According to a foreigner who learned fluent Mongolian, Mongolians do not have language in their usual expressions to say "thank you" or "forgiveness". Obviously, having trailed in Kurdistan, we develop some expectations in terms of human contact. I still have a journey, to get used to the idea that there are places where people are even more heinous than an RER station in the Paris suburbs.
Fortunately, the visit of two "kindergarten" supported by a local NGO, allow me to make a supply of big smiles and looks pleased. Mongolian kids do not seem to be touched by the blues from their parents and are delighted to recite long poems Mongolian one deals with small hello worthy in the end!
Photos to come, I have to get those taken by my colleagues. Me my camera was "stolen" under my eyes by four pickpockets. Little education, if you feel a hand in your pocket, and you grab that hand, you are not more advanced when you do not speak the language, that everyone around you contrefout it, and you say it is better to let the guy who you could pass on a shot blade. .. the same scene in Kurdistan or Turkey, and the thief was lynched by a pre-mob making me the camera with a smile ...
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