I love Mondays, the first days of merry working weeks. After a quiescent weekend, I couldn't wait to start an exhilarating week to unveil the mysteries of life ahead of me, Just think about how many new friends on earth I can make, I feel invigorated. At the beginning of the second week in UB, I was eager to explore UB by myself Monday, October 20th.
After breakfast, I walked to Brigitte's bakery for her advise on my Monday itinerary in town. Brigitte told me that the cluster of museums were within 100 meters from her store. No sooner than later I left her store, I saw a road sign in English for the first time in UB at the intersection. I decided to visit the National Museum of Mongolian History first. There was a demonstration with two huge speakers broadcasting loudly. People were waiting in line to say something. I joined the crowd to enter two gers in front of the museum. I took a flier without knowing what the demo was about. The museum was closed for renovation. I had to turn around to walk to the Zanabazar Museum of Fine Arts at the opposite direction.It was worth the visit, the admission fee of 5000 Tughriks and 1600 Tughriks for the audio guide in English. I was interested in the terracotta warrior miniatures of the Turkic Khanate (6th-8th centuries). They were the prototypes of tri-color pottery in Tang Dynasty. It was fun to see the changing of everyday life of people on silk road a millenium ago. It was fun to imagine the Journey to the West by the Monkey King. I am proud to say that the best collection of tri-color potteries is at the National Museum of History in Taipei where I used to be a volunteer interpreter.
I was also impressed by the rich collection of Tibetan Buddhist woodblock printings. Every intricate painting produced by devout monks worthed careful examination. It's hard to imagine how those paintings could survive during the soviet cleansing times. I could have stayed at the Fine Arts Museum for a whole day if I had an interpreter friend with me. The volunteer interpreters system was yet to be established in Mongolia. Museums, in my opinion, provide the best stage to hone communication skills in front of foreign and locals visitors.
On my way home, I passed a fabric shop of Mongolian costumes. Out of curiosity, I inquired the price of an exquisite flowery Mongolian vest on the mannequin. The shop owner agreed to cut the price from US$135 to US$100. I could think of two reasons for the bargain. Firstly, the vest looked beautiful on me. Secondly, I was a persuasive Toastmaster. When I showed my vest to Tsend Auysh, she was impressed at the taste of the Taiwanese woman at her home.
In the evening, I went shopping for the materials for dinner at the Fresco Supermarket in the neighborhood. I made a full table of Chinese dishes, including stirred fried soybean sprouts with carrots and celeries, fried eggs with tomatoes and scallions, stirred fired garlic scapes with shredded beef.
Tuesday Tranquilities
It felt good to get up early to make fried rice for breakfast for the entire family. After Enkhee, Eegii left for work, I walked to Brigitte's bakery to finalize the decoration wordings on the cake to celebrate Toastmasters 90th anniversary at Toastmasters Mongolia Toastmasters Club Wednesday evening, October 22nd, 2014.
I had a whole day to myself and I decided to take it easy to study at home. Tsagaanaa slept quietly by my feet all the time. Tsagaanaa is a lucky old dog. At her 13 years of age, she slept all the time, sometimes in bed with me, sometimes on my laps. When everybody was out, with Tsagaanaa
keeping me company, I didn't feel the slightest pang of homesickness when I was in Mongolia.On the shelf, a book "Refining City in Mongolia" by Shigeru Aoki caught my attention. It was newly published in 2013 in three languages, Mongolian, Japanese and English. I read it to know more about UB and used it as my road map when I explored UB. As a new emerging city, UB faces many housing, transportation, pollution challenges.
In UB, there are three big traffic circles where pedestrians obey traffic rules and regulations, because there are policemen controlling the traffic flow. Other than that, people cross the street as they wish and the cars always stop in time. It was scary for me to cross the road alone in UB in the beginning. I always waited for a Mongolian crowd, and followed them. Gradually, I took the courage to cross the street alone. As for the transportation, public buses, mini vans, private cars, taxis are everywhere. No scooters nor bicycles were in sight. If you need a taxi in UB, just raise your hand, and a car from nowhere will stop in front of you. I never dared to raise my hand to stop a car, take a taxi, a bus, nor a minivan by myself, because of my lack of Mongolian language proficiency.
In the afternoon, I decided to take a walk in the neighborhood. I got lost walking around the oldest ger area near Gandan Temple where lived approximately five thousand monks. I saw people collect water with buckets from the water pipe station (a liter of water for 20 Tughrik). Basic amenities in ger area are a luxury. The bathroom is just a hole in the ground. When I saw a grandmother in ragged clothes holding her grandson tenderly on her laps. She caressed and kissed him all the time and whispered to him in his ears. I was so much moved and I wish I could say something in Mongolian to wish her a happy and healthy life. No matter where human beings are, the unconditional love between parents and children is the most beautiful thing in the world.
Wednesday Excitements
Enkhee got up early to bake a plate of small curry pies. It's been a long time since the family last used the oven. The kitchen was full of smoke with the window closed. Being choked in the smoky kitchen, I was, however, pleased with the outcome of our experiment.After breakfast, I began another day of solo adventure. I planned to walk from Gandan Monastery to Choijin Lama Monastery. I made up my mind to explore UB by walking non-stop. My pilgrimage would definitely be good for my body, mind and spirit, if not for the peace on earth.
Wandering around without knowing directions, I saw the Statement Department Store. I knew that I was on the Peace Avenue, the main street stretching from east to west through the center, the main street where I shopped and dined during my first and second visits in Mongolia. It was a good beginning of my exciting day. To my delight, I saw two big numbers in red on top of the State Department Store, 1924 and 2014. Oh my God, State Department Store was opened in 1924, and it's her 90th anniversary in 2014. What a serendipity Toastmasters was celebrating her 90th anniversary. And I was in UB at the most glorious moment in Toastmasters.On my way, I asked directions twice. Once was in front of the Turkish embassy. I asked a young woman where Choijing Temple was. She was a law school student, but she didn't know where Choijing was. Then he asked a senior citizen about the directions. The old gentleman told me to turn right at the next big intersection, keep on walking, pass a river. It was very far. I'd better take a bus. I told him that bus would be out of the question as I couldn't read and speak any Mongolian language. The old gentleman looked at me and complimented me on my beauty and my courage to travel alone in UB. I was cheered up with the praise from the stranger on the street.
I kept on walking and walking. I turned to the right at Chinggis Avenue, passed National Library of Mongolia, passed Kids Song's Statue, crossed the Peace Bridge over the Dund Gol River. I saw construction workers playing cards under the bridge. I passed a community park and saw an old couple with their grandchildren. I asked them where Choijing was. They shook their heads. I asked where the museum was. They shook their heads. I asked them where the Buddha was. They showed me the directions.
I was happy I made it when I saw a Temple at far. It turned out to be the Winter Palace of Bogd Khan. It was closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. But the security guard was kind to have a photo taken with me in front of the gate. In fact, I couldn't visit the palace due to the time constrain as I needed to walk home as soon as possible. Besides I visited the palace during my first visit in 2004. Later on, I knew that the Choijing Temple was just a block away from the National Library of Mongolia.
After the Toastmasters trainings at NCMCH, I rushed home to get ready for the Toastmasters meeting in the evening. It was my first visit to the first Toastmasters Club in Mongolia--Toastmasters Mongolia Toastmasters Club. Javkhlan gave me a ride to Brigitte's bakery to fetch the cake before 6:30. I was pleased to see the beautifully decorated birthday cake to celebrate Toastmasters 90th anniversary at a cost of US$50. Then Javkhlan drove me to Mongolian Bar Association where the special 90th anniversary meeting took place. 
It was a warm and joyful meeting with a full house of charter members and more than 10 guests. We enjoyed the cake during the intermission. When the tabletopics master asked for volunteers, I didn't hesitate to raise my hand, and I won the tabletopics speaker by interpreting one of many famous quotes, the difference between success and failure. As the General Evaluator of the meeting, I was pleased with the quality of the meeting, both educational and entertaining, even though it started a little late. After meeting, Enkhee and I walked home. Enkhee told me that she enjoyed the club meeting very much and she would invite friends to visit the club in the future.Thursday Thrills
Enkhee's company sent a car to take me to Mongolian State University of Education early in the morning. I left the apartment to find a car with a flat tire. The driver told me that he had contacted another driver to give me a lift. I took the chance to chat with the driver while he tried to fix his car. The driver was easy-going. He spoke English because he used to work at a restaurant while his wife studied in London. We talked a lot about his family and his life in London before the other car finally arrived. And I was late for the class because of the morning rush hour.
Ms. Beree Banjil waited from me at the entrance and took me to her class immediately. Standing in front of a room of young Mongolians, I felt young and energetic immediately. With the active participation of students from Department of Social Work, we had a fruitful and interactive lecture on communication and and leadership for two hours. All students seemed to have a good time learning by doing. It would definitely be good if Beree took initiatives to charter a campus club to help her students. Beree got her master degree in Social Science in Australia. There are many Toastmasters clubs in Australia.
After the lecture, I asked for directions from a group of students. They told me it was not far to walk to the Sukhbaatar Square. I took their advice to walk along Olympic Street, turned right at the Peace Avenue, I knew where I was when I saw the Blue Sky Hotel and Tower and I felt hungry. I decided to find a small Mongolian eatery. I walked pass a restaurant, just about I wanted to peek inside, the chef opened the door and invited me in. I couldn't read the menu, I couldn't read the list of dishes names on the wall. All I could do was point the food on other customer's table. And I had my steamed dumplings and salad for lunch. The food was yummy and the price was reasonable. On my way home, I also stopped by a Korean Karaoke. It was yet to be open, but the door was slightly open, and I walked in to take a look at the karaoke boxes, the songbook. There were not any Chinese songs. I had a pleasant talk with the owner about the karaoke business, young Mongolians and their night lives in UB.Friday Abundances
Enkhee, the head of Unuruu HR officer, invited me to give a half day training for all mid-level managers at her company this morning. I was happy to meet with her company director Gantumur, a middle age business man with charisma and energy. It was an awesome experience talking to managers at one of the biggest trading companies in Mongolia. Most employees were young and eager to learn. When I demonstrated how to find a Toastmasters club on the website, only 2 toastmasters clubs in Mongolia showed up, MBC was suspended from September 2014.After training, I rushed to the Rotarian Luncheon. I arrived early and I saw the meeting room decorated with many colorful miniature Rotarian club banners, Grand Toastmasters club banner was one of them. It is hard to think about the connections between Toastmasters and Rotarians. Rotarians are interested in charity activities. Toastmasters are interested in personal development. But when Toastmasters and Rotarians meet, they share common goals to lift up peoples lives to the next level. As Brigitte Cunnings was in HK and most club members didn't show up, only Margaret Curie and I were at the luncheon. Margaret ordered s bowl of soup. I order fried noodles and a small Chingiis beer. The noodles were served on an extra huge plate. I gave Margaret some, I ate some, and I packed the rest to take home. Margaret and I had a wonderful talk about Prison Fellowship in Mongolia and their challenges.
Margaret speaks Malay and Mongolian. She used to work in Malaysia before she moved to Mongolia. If you look at the woman at 80 years of age, fighting the rights for the prisoners in Mongolia, wouldn't you be touched? I admire Margaret from New Zealand, her faith in God and her strength to serve. I picture my self twenty years from now, do I see me in a foreign land helping people in the most devastating situation for life? After lunch, I invited Margaret for coffee at a newly opened Korean coffee chain store--Caffe Bene. The coffee house was full of young people. There are many chain store coffee shops in UB. No wonder Brigitte's bakery was facing a big challenge.
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