Day 3 in Kyrgyzstan- Morning-Settling into Borbash Village
I (my ego rather) had foolishly agreed to go jogging with Balot, the 17 year old son the next morning.
Tag Travel
Seeing ourselves in animals
In the same way that humans may abandon, give up their children for adoption for otherwise just refuse to acknowledge them, so do these animals. We (humans) can see our own behavior in animals. Biology and psychology transcend the line…
Day 10- Trash Duty
It seems like I’m doing less and less every day as the end of my visit approaches. I thought it would be the opposite. I woke up feeling a bit regretful because the night before Annjah had invited me to…
Evenings in the Ger
The early evening work would usually end between 800-830pm. The very last task of the day was to “hobble” the riding horses (tying three of their legs together) so they could graze but not wander too far. This usually occurred…
Day 6 afternoon and a “Boats” Dinner
After returning from the morning herding and having a quick lunch, I was again asked to pasture the goats. I think my usefulness is starting to come into play and Durukh and his wife Biyambai are starting to do things…
Is agriculture the origin of these two sayings?
I was just reviewing some video the other day and noticed that I used some phrases/sayings that we may use in everyday language in the USA to mean something similar. Phrase #1: “The local watering hole” People use this (…
Day 5-The Well Mission and The Boy Who Cried Wolf.
The type of work I do at the camp generally depends on the particular need for that day. I made this video the following morning which sums up day 5: So as I said in the video, After the ritual…
Day 4 addendum- A late night party
I usually go to sleep at 930 pm in the nomad camp. Work finishes between 730-800pm followed by a couple of hours of Satellite TV. The most popular show among all the nomads (and I’m betting in all Mongolia) is…
Sharing observations for a newspaper article.
This is just a quick update. A reporter from Chabot College in Hayward, CA USA wants to write an article on my trip and asked a few background questions. I thought it would be informative to share my answers in…
Day4-Cold and Wind, a look inside the Ger, and some herding.
This morning was very cold (4/10). I would guess it was about 10 degrees colder than the previous day. If you add in the wind, it makes the working conditions rather tough. It started out as usual with the search…
Day 3-Rest and Goat Sorting
I forgot to mention the night before I had a real Mongolian treat of Khuushuur, which is similar to what we know as a Piroshki. Minced horse meat Khuushuur Yes, the caption says “horse meat”! If your response is…
Day 2-Searching for Horses and Shearing Goats
The night before (and every night afterward) we had to “hobble” the horses. This means binding three of the horses legs together so that they can roam around looking for vegetation to graze, yet not roam away too far. This…
Day 1 Ulan Bator and off to the Nomad Camp
I finally arrived in Ulan Bator on April 7 around 1:00AM. My host Altai and her brother were patiently waiting for me at the airport. We proceeded to her parents apartment where we spent what was left of the night.…
The name “The Rover”
When I was a kid, my dad had this book he kept around called “The Rover” by Joseph Conrad. Conrad also authored the book “Heart of Darkness” which isn’t really too well known unless you’re a literature buff. However, the…
What I learned in Cultural Anthropology 101
Short Answer: Not very much (even when I paid attention 😛 ) Actually it was Cultural Anthropology 2, many years ago.
Why Mongolia?
I’ve been interested in geography and the world since I got my first map at 9 years old. When I was bored I’d try to match the country’s flags to the country on the map. As a young adult…
Welcome and Thanks for Reading!
Hello friends and readers! Welcome to my blog! I’ve created this site to document and share my experiences on my upcoming trip through a few countries in Asia, as well as any future forays. My goal for this site is…