Rioting in UlaanBaatar

Just a few days ago, I posted about the elections that are going on in Mongolia. Voting day was Sunday.

The results won't be finalized until July 10th, but the news today was that the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party (which is communist) has maintained the majority seating in Mongolia's parliament. Immediately after the results were announced at 1:30pm, thousands of Mongolians headed to the main area of town -- Sukhbaatar Square -- to protest what they are claiming was a fixed election. Even though it is now nearly 10pm, friends of Mike and CB's who are down in the square are saying that the rioting is still going strong.

I've added a news stream to the sidebar of the blog in case you're interested in staying abreast of the the situation here in UlaanBaatar. Here's a link to a brief story that touches on the history of party politics in the country as well as what's going on right now.

We want to assure you that we are safe. There has been no violence against foreigners. This anger is internally focused. Most (if not all) of it is being directed at the MPRP.

Please be praying for the political situation.

a trip to the countryside

Today was a BLAST! We had so much fun ... I'm not sure where to begin.

Mike took our team and three of our new Mongolian friends (Olaana, Mendee, and Dulguun -- members of the worship team) out to see the sites in the countryside. We drove an hour and a half out of UlaanBaatar and this is what we encountered.

The Cave of the 100 Lam

Shortly after the Soviets liberated the Mongolians from Chinese rule, they began what came to be known as "The Purge" during which most of the Buddhist temples were destroyed and many of the monks (or "lams") were executed. We stopped at a mostly nondescript rock formation by the side of the road that was a hiding spot for lams during the Purge. Somehow, this group of lams was discovered and 100 of them were executed on the spot. It has become a spot were most Buddhist Mongolians will stop and pay tribute.


Question: What do an Eagle and two Camels have in common?
















Answer: They are the stars of a roadside petting zoo of sorts. A family of Mongolians spends the day sitting by the side of the road with their two camels and their golden eagle awaiting anyone who might be interested in a ride on the camel or a turn holding the bird. Since Ardi and Rachel had been hoping to ride a camel before the trip was over, we just couldn't pass up on this opportunity.


Turelj (or) Turtle Rock

It really does look like a turtle, doesn't it? Shortly after arriving, four of our group decided they'd like to ride Mongolian horses (which are smaller than the horses we are used to in the States). Scott, Sharon, Ron, and Dulguun set off on a short journey down the valley and back.

After their return, all of us except Ardi and Sharon decided to try tackling Turtle Rock. We climbed up the back of the formation and -- after squeezing through an exceptionally small hole at the top -- came out on the face of Turtle Rock.

Just after taking our group picture, the 19% (statistic made up on the spot by Mike) chance of rain jumped to 100% when the clouds burst out with rain and hail and we all had to high-tail it back down the rocks as fast as we could without twisting our ankles. Don't worry, we all made it and piled back into the van where we proceeded to steam ourselves dry. :)


UB2 (not a character from Star Wars)

After escaping the rain, we headed to the UlaanBaatar 2 hotel for lunch and a stroll along the river that runs behind and beside it. We enjoyed our own private dining room (we're not sure why) and after a yummy meal (at which some ate Mongolian dishes and some American) we headed back towards the city.

Visiting a Ger

As we were driving back to the city, Mike decided to pull off the road at one of the ger camps and ask someone if we could see the inside of their ger. Now, before you think Mike unbelievably impertinent, let me assure you as he (and our Mongolian friends) assured me: This is totally normal and is not considered rude in the least. In fact, they probably thought it was more strange that we wouldn't expect a meal or some milk tea as part of the visit (Mike had Dulguun assure them that we didn't). And so we got to see the inside of a ger -- the way that many, many Mongolians still live. It came complete with the traditional cooking fire in the center of the ger, a Mongolian husband asleep on the bed, a recently severed goat's head on the floor, a TV, and a freezer. Interesting, huh?

Hitchhiker

Though you can call for a cab (in the American sense of the phrase) here in Mongolia, it is much more common to just step out to the curb and raise your arm a foot or two up from the side of your body (not raised in the air like we do). This is the sign for a taxi to stop, but it is more often answered by some random person driving down the road who happens to be heading in the same direction or is interested in making a few extra bucks. We experienced this part of Mongolian culture when we passed by the camel/eagle petting zoo on our return trip. The little girl who had led one of our camels was standing by the side of the road trying to wave down cars. We pulled over with a "Hello! Remember us?" and she said that her mom needed a ride to UlaanBaatar. Since it was only one person, Mike said SURE and she hopped on in.

Learning Mongolian

Rachel and I had a lot of fun trying to learn how to say some phrases in Mongolian. It's a very difficult language for our tongues to master ... so many of the sounds are nothing like anything we say in English. Our favorite?

Caйн бaйнa yy миний uxэp нuug ээ!

which means ...

Hello, my cow friends!

There is no way I could possibly explain how it came about that we even needed that sentence in Mongolian. Suffice it to say, we were trying to play "Hey, cow!" in Mongolian. At this point in the day, we all found this rather amusing -- especially the Mongolians.

And that, my friends, was our day.