We just got to Dalanzadgad after a break in Ulaanbaatar to make repairs to the Moveable Museum, replenish our workshop supplies, and catch up on all our emails.
Arvaikheer welcomed us with sporadic rain last week and a cozy classroom the color of key lime pie, tucked in the back corner of a children’s library.
Our oldest kids so far, a class of 14-year-olds, seemed bored until we passed around some fossil replicas and suddenly they were as animated as the kids half their age.
Our middle school class was one of the most interested and interesting so far. One boy asked if he could be a junior paleontologist, a handful of other students got excited and they spontaneously formed Mongolia’s first kid’s paleontology club. Bolor promised to take them to a fossil quarry next year if they kept it up. Good luck, junior paleontologists!
Many of the Arvaikheer kids had smart phones and took their own photos and videos. It was pretty cool to see them sharing their pictures with each other as they left.
Today I want to introduce you to Gana, the hired driver hauling us all over Mongolia in his green Toyota Land Cruiser. I could write an adventure novel about the offroad driving miracles he’s performed. He speaks about as much English as I speak Mongolian, but Bindi was kind enough to translate an interview so I could tell you more about him.
Gana grew up in Ulaanbaatar and left for East Germany in his early 20s to become a chef. He studied there for six months and returned to a career that eventually led him on tourist expeditions as a back-country cook. He fell in love with the Mongolian countryside and decided to explore as much of his homeland as possible by becoming a driver for tourists. He’s since seen every part of the country and found a couple of favorite locations, including the Hongor Dunes of the Gobi and the Altai Mountains in the west. He’s become very well liked by the group and has a way of lifting our spirits when we’re feeling exhausted and overwhelmed.
I mentioned Yeweng was covering the cost of a driver for our Western Mongolia trip. Since we made new arrangements in the Gobi and only need one driver for the second leg, Yeweng and Bayaraa split off to tourist destinations. I never got to introduce you to them and I don’t have room now, but I’d like to say a little goodbye. To Yeweng: thank you and I’m glad we had a chance to become friends! And to Bayaraa: bayarlalaa Bayaraa, bayartai!
Next time: the Gobi!
Yours truly,
Thea
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Posted: September 14, 2016 by Bolortsetseg Minjin
2016 Campaign Update 6
We just got to Dalanzadgad after a break in Ulaanbaatar to make repairs to the Moveable Museum, replenish our workshop supplies, and catch up on all our emails.
Arvaikheer welcomed us with sporadic rain last week and a cozy classroom the color of key lime pie, tucked in the back corner of a children’s library.
Our oldest kids so far, a class of 14-year-olds, seemed bored until we passed around some fossil replicas and suddenly they were as animated as the kids half their age.
Our middle school class was one of the most interested and interesting so far. One boy asked if he could be a junior paleontologist, a handful of other students got excited and they spontaneously formed Mongolia’s first kid’s paleontology club. Bolor promised to take them to a fossil quarry next year if they kept it up. Good luck, junior paleontologists!
Many of the Arvaikheer kids had smart phones and took their own photos and videos. It was pretty cool to see them sharing their pictures with each other as they left.
Today I want to introduce you to Gana, the hired driver hauling us all over Mongolia in his green Toyota Land Cruiser. I could write an adventure novel about the offroad driving miracles he’s performed. He speaks about as much English as I speak Mongolian, but Bindi was kind enough to translate an interview so I could tell you more about him.
Gana grew up in Ulaanbaatar and left for East Germany in his early 20s to become a chef. He studied there for six months and returned to a career that eventually led him on tourist expeditions as a back-country cook. He fell in love with the Mongolian countryside and decided to explore as much of his homeland as possible by becoming a driver for tourists. He’s since seen every part of the country and found a couple of favorite locations, including the Hongor Dunes of the Gobi and the Altai Mountains in the west. He’s become very well liked by the group and has a way of lifting our spirits when we’re feeling exhausted and overwhelmed.
I mentioned Yeweng was covering the cost of a driver for our Western Mongolia trip. Since we made new arrangements in the Gobi and only need one driver for the second leg, Yeweng and Bayaraa split off to tourist destinations. I never got to introduce you to them and I don’t have room now, but I’d like to say a little goodbye. To Yeweng: thank you and I’m glad we had a chance to become friends! And to Bayaraa: bayarlalaa Bayaraa, bayartai!
Next time: the Gobi!
Yours truly,
Thea
Category: Blog Posts