Ever live in Mongolia?
Ever live in Mongolia?
Specifically Ulaanbaatar. I've been offered a job there but I'm not sure, haven't heard much (good or bad) about the country.
reply
Lived there no, not very an amount of time id consider long enough to live. I did visit there. The girl (well one of them) I was very serious about in China came from Mongolia. I visited during the lunar new year to see her family and ancestors.
The best summary i can give to you is that its a western oasis in an otherwise harsh region. Its a lot like the asian side of Istanbul if youve ever been. Its a COLD place to be though, and what bothered me most my short time there was the wind. Its a lot like living in a fishbowl though, there just isnt anywhere to go outside of the city, and the while there are a few tourist things to do (would take you a single day on the weekend) the city is very much a commercial business place. My girlfriend at the time said that its very important to develop a routine and create "things to do" to keep yourself sane, and she was very happy when she had left for university, because in many ways the people only have a reading understanding of the world outside.
Costs very considerably. Most everything is imported except meat which is very inexpensive compared to imported produce. Somethings you cant find at all or need to be special ordered, and while i was only there for a few weeks, the wait times on some orders is long and many residents have long standing regular special orders. We were at the market and her mother is shopping with a little basket and gets very little which for a family meal is really odd. then she get to the counter and they bring out this cart with all her special orders. Despite all this time they never regurley carried the many things she needed.
I cant comment on the school really, its one of the few places ive never worked in/at and dont have a contact who has. I wouldnt want to take a posing there being a stranger and newcomer. Likely your school and coworkers will be your social circle. If your routine is work, going out to dinner, then going home and watching a DVD with maybe a couple beers on the weekend you would be fine. You would also save a pretty high saving potential, as there just isnt a lot to really spend money on.
The best summary i can give to you is that its a western oasis in an otherwise harsh region. Its a lot like the asian side of Istanbul if youve ever been. Its a COLD place to be though, and what bothered me most my short time there was the wind. Its a lot like living in a fishbowl though, there just isnt anywhere to go outside of the city, and the while there are a few tourist things to do (would take you a single day on the weekend) the city is very much a commercial business place. My girlfriend at the time said that its very important to develop a routine and create "things to do" to keep yourself sane, and she was very happy when she had left for university, because in many ways the people only have a reading understanding of the world outside.
Costs very considerably. Most everything is imported except meat which is very inexpensive compared to imported produce. Somethings you cant find at all or need to be special ordered, and while i was only there for a few weeks, the wait times on some orders is long and many residents have long standing regular special orders. We were at the market and her mother is shopping with a little basket and gets very little which for a family meal is really odd. then she get to the counter and they bring out this cart with all her special orders. Despite all this time they never regurley carried the many things she needed.
I cant comment on the school really, its one of the few places ive never worked in/at and dont have a contact who has. I wouldnt want to take a posing there being a stranger and newcomer. Likely your school and coworkers will be your social circle. If your routine is work, going out to dinner, then going home and watching a DVD with maybe a couple beers on the weekend you would be fine. You would also save a pretty high saving potential, as there just isnt a lot to really spend money on.
Psyguy is so off on this one. If he did indeed date a girl from Ulaanbatar then they wouldn't have been celebrating a lunar new year. That is China, Mongolians are not Chinese make this distinction very clear as there is a decided difference between China and Mongolia. There is Outer Mongolia which is China, not Mongolia! Mongolians hate the Chinese and will get very aggressive with you on that one! Mongolians celebrate Tsgaan Sar.
They have so many grocery stores with so many western products there wasn't much I missed, I was even able to get Dr. Pepper for my daughter. There was a shop that carried stuff directly shipped from the states, a lot of Western Family brand products. There is meat everywhere as the Mongolian are major carnivores...they believe that vegetables are for animals and meat is for men. Got some of the best pork products I have ever had in my life from the German butchers there. There was also a British bloke one could order all sorts of cuts of meat from and have them delivered as well as a heap of other readymade meal products.
I lived in two locations in Ulaanbaatar. It is so not a western oasis, ha! The people speak very little English, if any. I used German in a few businesses because of their former ties with East Germany some of the people spoke it. Other than that I had to learn enough Mongolian to get by....rough language to learn. I had a friend write the names of places on index cards and I had them laminated so when I traveled by taxi I could show people the place I wanted to go. This aspect of life there improved after I found a taxi driver who was lovely so I just used him all of the time. In Ulaanbaatar taxis are often random people who will pick you up in their own car and transport you for a fee. Negotiate your price before ever getting into the car. Learn the numbers because they will not speak English ----
People either love it or hate it, there are no in betweens. Young people found clubs and people to hang with and had had a good time. A lot of young teachers from different schools would get together on the weekends and play a variety of sports. Don’t be surprised if you see your students in the clubs. There is a place to ski, kind of rugged, located outside the city. Psyguy is right on one thing only, which to me is just a no brainer; it is COLD, but wear enough layers and one can manage most of the time. Every building there is centrally heated in the winter and they can get really warm. Pollution in the city in the winter is on par with Beijing and is dangerous in the winter due to all of the coal being burned. The brown clouds literally envelope the city and is so thick you can cut it with a knife.
Mongolia can get expensive and your money won't go as far as they might tell you it will. There can be many things to do once the weather warms up but know that the River Tuul there freezes over about the end of October and thaws maybe in May.
The country is dreadfully expensive to travel in if you want trips to the Gobi and other locations. Although the trips I did take outside of the city were fantastic with wide open spaces and amazing scenery. They even have a military tourism camp that a group of us went to one time and drove a soviet tank. So cool!
Mongolians are not too keen on foreigners. I personally knew two women who were punched in the street and pulled to the ground by their hair.. Don’t expect the people to behave in a civilized manner. Be prepared to see vomit frozen in the snow and drunken people passed out in the roads when the weather is warm, You must protect your wallet and phone with your life as crime is rampant. They are equal opportunity thieves as they rob each other blind as well. Mongolians can be really wonderful people when you have personal relationships with them.
Anything else you want to know let me know new guy and as someone who has been around the world teaching know this…. Psyguy is good for the statistic of places, but any real working knowledge he professes to have about many places is suspect. I know, I have been there...he obviously has not! I have read so many erroneous reports he has written here and ignored, but I couldn’t on this one. That is why he does the heads in of so many of us.
I have a working knowledge of the schools there that would hire westerners since my daughter graduated high school there, I taught there, and my daughter had friends at every school that had English teachers. So if you would like me to write about a particular school let me know. I hope this has been helpful as I will never regret my time there…but it was hard!
They have so many grocery stores with so many western products there wasn't much I missed, I was even able to get Dr. Pepper for my daughter. There was a shop that carried stuff directly shipped from the states, a lot of Western Family brand products. There is meat everywhere as the Mongolian are major carnivores...they believe that vegetables are for animals and meat is for men. Got some of the best pork products I have ever had in my life from the German butchers there. There was also a British bloke one could order all sorts of cuts of meat from and have them delivered as well as a heap of other readymade meal products.
I lived in two locations in Ulaanbaatar. It is so not a western oasis, ha! The people speak very little English, if any. I used German in a few businesses because of their former ties with East Germany some of the people spoke it. Other than that I had to learn enough Mongolian to get by....rough language to learn. I had a friend write the names of places on index cards and I had them laminated so when I traveled by taxi I could show people the place I wanted to go. This aspect of life there improved after I found a taxi driver who was lovely so I just used him all of the time. In Ulaanbaatar taxis are often random people who will pick you up in their own car and transport you for a fee. Negotiate your price before ever getting into the car. Learn the numbers because they will not speak English ----
People either love it or hate it, there are no in betweens. Young people found clubs and people to hang with and had had a good time. A lot of young teachers from different schools would get together on the weekends and play a variety of sports. Don’t be surprised if you see your students in the clubs. There is a place to ski, kind of rugged, located outside the city. Psyguy is right on one thing only, which to me is just a no brainer; it is COLD, but wear enough layers and one can manage most of the time. Every building there is centrally heated in the winter and they can get really warm. Pollution in the city in the winter is on par with Beijing and is dangerous in the winter due to all of the coal being burned. The brown clouds literally envelope the city and is so thick you can cut it with a knife.
Mongolia can get expensive and your money won't go as far as they might tell you it will. There can be many things to do once the weather warms up but know that the River Tuul there freezes over about the end of October and thaws maybe in May.
The country is dreadfully expensive to travel in if you want trips to the Gobi and other locations. Although the trips I did take outside of the city were fantastic with wide open spaces and amazing scenery. They even have a military tourism camp that a group of us went to one time and drove a soviet tank. So cool!
Mongolians are not too keen on foreigners. I personally knew two women who were punched in the street and pulled to the ground by their hair.. Don’t expect the people to behave in a civilized manner. Be prepared to see vomit frozen in the snow and drunken people passed out in the roads when the weather is warm, You must protect your wallet and phone with your life as crime is rampant. They are equal opportunity thieves as they rob each other blind as well. Mongolians can be really wonderful people when you have personal relationships with them.
Anything else you want to know let me know new guy and as someone who has been around the world teaching know this…. Psyguy is good for the statistic of places, but any real working knowledge he professes to have about many places is suspect. I know, I have been there...he obviously has not! I have read so many erroneous reports he has written here and ignored, but I couldn’t on this one. That is why he does the heads in of so many of us.
I have a working knowledge of the schools there that would hire westerners since my daughter graduated high school there, I taught there, and my daughter had friends at every school that had English teachers. So if you would like me to write about a particular school let me know. I hope this has been helpful as I will never regret my time there…but it was hard!
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shadowjack
- Posts: 2140
- Joined: Sat Oct 06, 2012 9:49 am
Newguy, re: the school - American, British, or International? Seems there is a real difference between the three...
I have a friend living there (non-teacher), but she was formerly a teacher. Now she is in private business. Anyways, she likes it, finds it much like the frozen north of America, but with a tiny frisson of adventure. She seems to be able to get everything she needs and dives into cultural activities quite a bit. She did speak about all the opera, ballet, music, art events, which go on most weekends in the capital city. So, not the cultural desert one would expect. Apparently many Mongolians are into the arts. Who knew?
I have a friend living there (non-teacher), but she was formerly a teacher. Now she is in private business. Anyways, she likes it, finds it much like the frozen north of America, but with a tiny frisson of adventure. She seems to be able to get everything she needs and dives into cultural activities quite a bit. She did speak about all the opera, ballet, music, art events, which go on most weekends in the capital city. So, not the cultural desert one would expect. Apparently many Mongolians are into the arts. Who knew?
Comment
My ex was half chinese on her fathers side and half mongolian on her mothers side. They celebrated lunar new year and made the ritual cleaning of her ancestors. Your opinion has zero reflection on reality. her family was also not the only one that celebrated lunar new year or even other holidays.
I can claim with complete and utter certainty that you are not qualified to speak on behalf of all Mongolians everywhere that they ALL hate the Chinese, thats BS.
I really have very limited experience focused ona very short piece of time. Yes there are lots of markets, if none of them carry what you want or they all carry the same things it doesnt matter how many there are if they dont have what you want. Her mother had a large amount of special orders, and it seemed pretty common for others as well.
Dr. P, thats the standard of convenience for you? Ok we have different standards, i couldnt find Diet Dr. P, so not all that much availability for me (then again I had a hard time finding Diet Dr. P in China as well and had to order it)
No, your just wrong. Ulaanbaatar is definitely an oasis, when compared to the rest of Mongolia.
Only took one taxi when i was there, her family had a car, and my gf was the one who talked to the driver before we got in. Wasnt too hard to find one though.
Never had any trouble with petty crime, or unfriendly people. Certainly didnt feel like the wild west or anything.
Thanks for otherwise agreeing with me on the protein/produce issue and the weather (though living in Denmark, Mongolia was a deeper more bitter cold). I certainly ahve been their, though not for the length of time you have, and im very happy you decided to contribute.
Thats how this forum and community grows.
I can claim with complete and utter certainty that you are not qualified to speak on behalf of all Mongolians everywhere that they ALL hate the Chinese, thats BS.
I really have very limited experience focused ona very short piece of time. Yes there are lots of markets, if none of them carry what you want or they all carry the same things it doesnt matter how many there are if they dont have what you want. Her mother had a large amount of special orders, and it seemed pretty common for others as well.
Dr. P, thats the standard of convenience for you? Ok we have different standards, i couldnt find Diet Dr. P, so not all that much availability for me (then again I had a hard time finding Diet Dr. P in China as well and had to order it)
No, your just wrong. Ulaanbaatar is definitely an oasis, when compared to the rest of Mongolia.
Only took one taxi when i was there, her family had a car, and my gf was the one who talked to the driver before we got in. Wasnt too hard to find one though.
Never had any trouble with petty crime, or unfriendly people. Certainly didnt feel like the wild west or anything.
Thanks for otherwise agreeing with me on the protein/produce issue and the weather (though living in Denmark, Mongolia was a deeper more bitter cold). I certainly ahve been their, though not for the length of time you have, and im very happy you decided to contribute.
Thats how this forum and community grows.
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shadowjack
- Posts: 2140
- Joined: Sat Oct 06, 2012 9:49 am