Under Mongolian Blue Sky

Being Other

There's this way that Mongolian people look at me when I walk down the street. It's hard to define. I suppose because there are so many foreigners living here now and many travellers passing through, I expect something different. I forget that Mongolia as a country was closed to outsiders for decades--due to ideology and geography––and the people are still getting used to having foreigners around.

Of course, because of America's conspicuous cultural terrorism, they like so many people across the globe carry an inaccurate and refractory image of the American people in their minds. (Note: The United States is commonly known here as America, or Америк. However, I still feel strange writing this because America is so much more that simply the U.S.)

It's not that Mongols don't like foreigners for the most part: whenever I have a conversation with anyone on the street, their face quickly becomes a warm smile. However, I still find it difficult because I live here, however temporarily, and I'm not just a tourist. I want acceptance but I'll always be a foreigner, an "other".

The word that expresses "foreigner" in Mongolian is "гадаадынхан" [gadaadiinhan], which literally means "outsider". I'm always struck by how language can so often be a litmus test of a culture or people's thought.

Nothing But Fear

"Only thing we have to fear is fear itself." Thank you, FDR. Fear is immobilizing, as proven by my lack of posting for over a month, and more importantly, as proven by the vast majority of the American people who do nothing in response to the Bush administration's lies and misdeeds.

Everyone should read Reza Aslan, or at least a somewhat recent interview The SUN in which he speaks of the misinformation served up by the corporate media and the Bush administration about their war on terror that American citizens eat up like the good consumers they are.

There is almost constant dialogue in mainstream Mongolian media about the corruption in the Mongolian government; less is found there about the corruption in the education system, which is also rampant. We hear so little of this dialogue in American media, independent or corporate. (I check a variety of media on a regular basis and you just don’t find the word "corruption".) Though Mongolian journalism has a slight yellow hue––okay, okay, it's tone is quite conflamatory and condemning and it is not terribly objective. At least it’s not ignoring the elephant in the room. Although the work being done to fight corruption is not terribly effective, at least there is awareness and dialogue. Isn't that better that self-imposed ignorance?

In Aslan’s interview with The SUN he talks about how there currently is no leisure class in Iran to even think about fomenting a revolution against the ruling clerics. This reminds me so much of Mongolia where the average person has to scrape together a living however they can and so many people are scavenging from trash heaps. The ruling capitalism-worshipers care only for their own bank accounts and can’t be bothered to do what’s right; they do nothing to make the much-needed reforms.

You can download the complete interview from The SUN's web site. Better yet, buy a back issue, or hell, get an annual subscription.

Excuse This Digression

"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their own conscience."
-- C.S. Lewis

I found this quote while searching for information on socialism for the Art Council of Mongolia's "-ism" New Year's party. This quote once referred to socialism; however, I can't help but notice how aptly it applies to the United States's foreign and domestic policies.

In response to Kathryn's Questions

Since my last post about the theatre I have been back twice. Once to see the opera Chinggis Khan and another time to see the ballet Don Quixote. All kinds of people go to see opera and ballet at the State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre. I tried to convey that in my other post, but I guess I missed the mark! Elderly, teenagers, hipsters, foreigners, country folk, etc. However, the cost of a ticket ranges from 3500 to 8000 togrog. This is roughly USD $3-7.25, which perhaps seems incredibly inexpensive to foreigners, but is, in Mongolian terms, a bit on the expensive side for "average" people to go to regularly.

Nearly everyone here has a cell phone. I didn't think I'd get one when I first arrived, but my contact at the American Center for Mongolian Studies pretty much said I had to. And it has proved to be incredibly helpful.

Incidentally, no one in Mongolia ever turns their cell phone off. The only time I've heard someone ask others to do so was at meditation at the FPMT Center last week. People answer phone calls in any and every setting. However, the hold their free hand over the phone and their mouth as they talk.

I found it very disturbing when my Mongolian teacher kept answering the phone during our lessons.  He's stopped doing that now, even though I never complained. I guess he got the message from my body language or inadvertent facial expressions. (Consequently, we had a few days when he referred to me as "Queen Lisa". That was strange.)

To be continued...

I must go now to find the ingredients for the chili I plan to make for my family tonight.

P. S. I do read your comments, so please feel free to write about anything that comes to mind regarding these postings, particularly if it can add information or widen perspective. And it'd be great to have dialogue between readers here.