Travel Blog Mongolia

The bad news is that time flies, but the good news is that you’re the pilot!

Wow I cannot believe that I am already 3 month in UB! Time is running and when I think how many weeks are left in school I get on the one hand excited but on the other hand I feel sad. I do not really want to think about coming home, my plans for 2016 and so on, but I cannot really avoid it because there are already so many thing in planning.
Lucky I, the flat problem is already solved and I will live in a shared flat 1 minute away from my old one ☺ I am very much looking forward to get to know the two girls!
But now no talk about the future, better about the here and now.

There have been a lot of projects the last days and a lot of topics came up….

#UBImpulseExpertTalksonQualityGrowth

This was a very important and interesting talk about trust in societies and trust between people. Would have been also interesting for my teachers as we had some problems concerning this but lucky us we are now back on the track and everything is working fine! The British man talking to us is a very well known peace scientist called professor Mike Hardy. He is head of the Centre for Trust, Peace and Social Relations. Very charismatic person! For more information click here

#smogtime

Winter means smog time in UB and it is getting worse! I found an international scale called IAQ (International Air Quality) and they showed me one evening at 8pm already five hundred something, 3 hours later eight hundred something… All already on top of the scale “hazardous”. So sad to see all this and know that you cannot really do anything against it. But just on the one hand, because there are things I completely do not understand: Starting the car and letting it run without driving, having no real waste recycling, but instead burning all the waste and having really no sense of what is good and what is bad. People cover their mouth with scarfs by thinking this will help against the smog 😀 Crucial. I can understand why so many children get sick and why the life expectancy is at 67… The huge problem is on the one hand this air pollution but this is also due to the geographical circumstances. Mountains surround UB and therefore there is no possibility that the smog can get off the city. Furthermore I think they try to hide their problems by shutting down the power plants before an important international politician come. Example Gauck: They shut down all the power plants 3 weeks before he came to clean the air a bit. What a shame not to stand to their problems!

#Bayanzurkhdistrict

I have not talked about my hood 😀 Where I do live…
I live in the Bayanzurkh district, the largest district consisting of 28 khoroos. 330000 people are living there. A new maternal hospital opened recently to be able to provide at least most of the future mothers. It is located right in front of a ger area, which means in the evening it smells like the city is burning and going out not masked is horrible. This is why I either try not to go out or just short… The district is located in the east of the city, crossing a river (they call it river or in Mongolian гол but is is more a little brook). It is called Selbe River. I walk about 25 minutes to the city centre, which means the Sukkhbatar Square. Next to my school (the school 48, with around 3500 pupils), there is the British School, one of the most expensive private schools here and my fitness club also has a private school next to it named the same (Orchlon International School). You can see that the fees are high because just huge cars bring the pupils to school. Crazy, those differences. I know that they even exist in Germany but most of the German pupils go to public schools.

#familylife

Since my family offered me to make buuz, accompanied by drinking a bottle of Jack Daniels, I do eat every evening with them and they care so lovely for me! I am very happy about this! The oldest kid is called Tsogtorgil Bayarbat, short just Tsogo (his mom calles him Buumaa :D). The second name is here the fathers name. So they do not really have a family name as we do have. My hostmom ist called Chimed Baysaa on Facebook, I believe her true name is way more difficult 😀 Then we have the dad, Bayarbat, whose birthday is on the 25th of December and the two little ones: Baysgalangiin (the girl, but the mom calles her Tsogo as well, as I do understand) and the little one has a pretty weird name which I do not understand. I do get to know the Mongolian food by name and how I have to eat what.
I do know now that I am really a part of the family as my hostmom went to China for a few days and even brought me a little souvenir ☺ Absolutely over the moon about their kindness!Even sometimes educational methods seem a bit different to ours and that I was confronted with the alcohol problem a lot people do have here everything is right, and this just once was a problem….

#eatinghabits

Well apart from the gigantic masses of meat and the absence of veggies there are some eating habits different to ours in Germany. It is normal to smack and to leave always a little rest on the plate. Second thing would be lovely for my sister (sorry Malli). She is a real champion in this 😀 First thing will be something maybe difficult to stop in Germany because you just get used to it and do not think about it after a while. If you do not smack, this means the meal was not got. So better smack!

#stepinthefrechcommunity

I finally found a French conversation club every Saturday and every Wednesday there is a French cinema evening ☺ yeahiiii multi language is safe now! I really love the fact of being able to speak so many languages, even though not really Mongolian… But it will get better by meeting my B1 level students every once in a while 😉 They push me a lot!

#interrimbalance2

To draw another a conclusion concerning the first half of my stay here (things have changed a bit): I can state that this is definitely not the easiest stay abroad concerning different areas. It is harder to find friends than in France and Australia, as I am not surrounded by more or less permanently by students around my age. So even when being in France I stated that it is difficult to find French friends but now I can state that is even harder here. Not only the absence of university life in my everyday life but also the language barrier are reasons for this. This is something what I definitely do not like about my stay here and this is just up to me to change it at least a bit. But as I do know from my attempts to learn Spanish I know that it is not possible to get over the A1 level. So the everyday communication, the politeness things and that’s it more or less. And even with English you are lost here.
Concerning my time in school I can say I feel like trying to understand at least a bit of the system, which helps to understand some acting of the teachers. But all in all I have not been a lot in school the first month, which luckily changes now a bit as I have to do more Work groups in the afternoon. Exhausting for the children. I have so many things in my mind to do with them but I know with all those holidays coming up I am more or less done in school and do not have to try more than necessary. I see as well that I like more working with the motivated once even if this is not fair in terms of the weaker pupils but that’s life, no motivation, no effort from their side means no effort from my side.
My free time is legendary here and I have got a real training routine –J. I really love this and also all the other things going on here. Skiing, Climbing, going for dinner or a coffee, supporting some other events such as a reading from the Goethe Institute, a little presentation at the French school about Germany and more have been on the agenda. Even learning for an exam at home and organizing the student association, the triathlon league 2016 and more are possible here. And because of my Jack of all trades life I decided to enjoy the summer, finishing my courses tranquille and writing my thesis in winter. I think this is quite the better decision and I feel more comfi and less stressed with it. Thank you mom and dad supporting me always without any hesitations and negotiations! YOU ARE TRUELY THE BEST!

#mybirthday

Not my first birthday abroad (already had my 22nd in France) but definitely one I will remember not only because it was my 25th 😉
In the morning it did not really felt this birthday like, no cake, no one came in with candles and woke me up with a birthday song but as soon as I switched on the internet this changed! My lovely family from back home sent me the most beautiful voice message ever ☺ Ok now it definitely felt like birthday day! In school I was surprised by a huge fancy looking cake! Mongolian way to celebrate: colourful looking very sweet and unhealthy cake! And not just one, also grade 9 came in as we had two lessons together in the afternoon and surprised me with a cake and a lovely happy birthday performance, so did grade 12 without a cake but the rockiest and best performance I have ever had on my birthday! So up to now the best day ever here ☺ Even lovelier was that my 60 minute “What is Christmas?” Session was so successful. None of the pupils knew about why Christians do celebrate Christmas 😀 Pretty successful I hope were my power points, nativity play, songs and little movies ☺ I get better in planning my lessons and this just feels perfect!
In the afternoon I had to get two parcels from the Goethe Institut back home, because finally just in time my moms and dads parcel had arrived <3 AGAIN MOM AND DAD YOU ARE THE BEST! From Christmas tea, over gingerbread up to an external DVD drive everythin was in and I was sooooo lucky…. And finally the best of the best: Vincent, Lennart, Jessy, Jonas and Kirsten surprised me with a dinner at the Shangri-la Restaurant, where I always wanted to go! So yummie and lovely and a huge thank to you guys for having given my special day such a lovely final topping! And especially for the epic picture 😀 And the Vince story to it 😀

Eine glückliche Familie feiert Weihnachten.
Leider trinkt und schlägt der Vater, besonders seine ungezogenen Söhne. Dies führt dazu, dass der Ältere von ihnen es ihm gleichtut. Der andere flüchtet in die Filmwelt und wird ein gesellschaftsuntauglicher Nerd. Die Mutter geht ihm in ihrem Schmerz fremd und vergrößert so seinen Alkoholkonsum. Ein Teufelskreis ohne Ende.
Die beiden adoptierten oder vom Postboten stammenden, auffällig blonden Töchter distanzieren sich von all dem, schauen weg und bilden einen eingeschworene Gemeinschaft auf die niemand einwirken kann.
Doch die Fassade hält. Noch.
Eine mongolische Weihnachtsgeschichte

by Vincent

#moreUBstuff

#christmastrees

The christmas trees are not here fort he 24st but for New Years Eve… Good to know.

#fridaypartyDJworkshop

I am such a lucky person, friday evening after a week full of stuff, even two film sessions (Sophie Scholl and Das Wunder von Bern), I was able to start the weekend with an exhibition organised by the Goethe Institut and a DJ Workshop together with the Seifferts, Kirsten and Jessy. In between we had a little drink with one of my favorite girlies here #tseegii – yeah awesome the UB life. We had a great night out with a lot of dancing, making funny stuff and just had a great time!

#sundayfunday

It is already the 3rd Advent! Wow time flies! Our christmas still does not really feel organised, as Malte and maybe Jessy will go to Russia, Jonas has to go out of the country and will fly to the Philippines to visit a friend and so well a part of the group will not be in the city… But better not to think about it! Sundayfunday means trying out a new trail, 3.5 hours with Joanne, Jonas, Enkhba and me 🙂 Lovely all fresh air in!

But enough from my side now and I let some pics speak for themselves…

xxx greeetings from the smog fog fancy epic UB city life xxx