Interesting Things I've Learned About Mongolia (Scott)

The following are excerpts from our Peace Corps Mongolia Welcome Book, which we are encouraged to share with friends & family and which can be found at www.peacecorps.gov/welcomebooks/mnwb309.pdf:

- It's a very sparsely populated and completely landlocked country about the size of Alaska. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the east, south, and west.

- The Mongol Empire of the 13th & 14th centuries was the largest land-area empire in history. At its greatest, it stretched from Korea to Hungary.

- Ethnic Mongolians make up 95% of the population. The remaining 5% are mostly Turkic people composed of Kazakhs and Tuvans.

- Mongolian is the main language of Mongolia. It is written in the Cyrillic alphabet.

- Tibetan Buddhism is Mongolia's official religion.

- The current population is 2.7 million people. Almost 60% of the population lives in urban areas. Its capital city, Ulaanbaatar has doubled its population over the past 5 years.

- Mongolia is a land of contrasts: wild forests, alpine meadows, semi-deserts, vast plains, and snow-covered mountains.

- The Gobi Desert in southeastern Mongolia supports almost no vegetation and is sparsely populated.

- With an average of 260 sunny days per year, Mongolia is known as the "Land of Blue Sky."

- The summers are generally mild and pleasant.

- The average altitude of Mongolia is 5,214 feet above sea level. Ulaanbaatar sits about the same altitude as Denver.

- Increasingly, PCVs in Mongolia are living in gers (yurts). A ger is a round tent of about 20 feet in diameter, made of a wooden lattice covered with thick felt. The inside consists of one room with furniture around the circumference and a wood stove in the center.

- Mongolia is known as the Land of Five Animals - sheep, goats, cattle, horses, and camels. Today's diet still relies heavily on meat and dairy products. Fermented mare's milk is the traditional ceremonial drink. The main meats are mutton and beef, but Mongolians also eat goat, horse, marmot, and camel.

- Turning down food can offend Mongolians, who believe meat is necessary for survival in harsh climates. A vegetarian would have to become quite good at explaining his or her "strange" diet to Mongolians.

- The "worst case scenario" for winter is -40F with a wind chill factor of -67F. While this may sound unbearable, PCVs are given many strategies for "beating" the cold from their Mongolian neighbors. It is important to remember that millions of people, including hundreds of PCVs, live and thrive here in the winter. The winter is very sunny and usually windless.

- It is very important for PCVs to dress professionally in work settings. All clothes should be clean at all times. Typical clothing for men includes slacks, a collared shirt with a sweater or jacket, a tie, and dress shoes. Women tend to wear dresses or dressy slacks with blouse-and-sweater combinations and nice boots or high-heeled shoes.

- Professionals in Mongolia wear their hair in fairly conservative styles. Long hair on men is rare in the professional environment.