Ever drunk camel milk? Well, Karen did...

Karen Weldon ‘14 

Environmental Studies

SIT Geopolitics and Environmental Studies in Mongolia  

Karen with a baby camel 

Can you describe your program in Mongolia? What led you there?

I was attracted to the program, firstly because it brings a small group of students from the US and organizes an academic experience with field trips, learning the local language, home stay etc. Additionally, I was already very interested in Mongolia, since when I did a research about traditional Mongolian music in middle school. I had made a horse-head musical instrument which is a traditional instrument in Mongolia. It still sits in my doorway. I also thought the program was a good fit for me because as an ES major, I am really interested in food and agriculture, and Mongolia is one of the few pastoral nomadic societies in the world. It is a very different way of producing food, so I thought that would be interesting to observe.

Can you describe for me your life there? What was it like to be in Mongolia? 

The experience varied a lot based on the location. In the beginning of my program, I was based in Ulaanbaatar, the capital city, where 40% the population lives. So I would wake up around 6:30am, eat a quick breakfast with my host sister, and chat with my broken English. Then we both would get the public buses. I would usually be standing in the jammed crowd on the bus to go across the town, riding for about an hour for only a 5 km (3.1miles) ride because traffic there is really bad. Then I would go into my classes. There were a bunch of lectures, and guest speakers coming to visit from either local political organizations or parliament. Sometimes we also would go to their office to discuss the most pressing environmental and geopolitical issues in the country.

Watching the milking in Arkhangai Aimag (prefecture), the cow country of Mongolia

 What other parts of the country did you visit? 

I went to the countryside to live with a herding family for a couple weeks. Traditionally, Mongolians herd five different livestock, but this family I lived with herded four. They herded sheep, goats, horses and cow-yak animals. 

Was it challenging for you to live there?

Yeah, but this was one of the particular experiences I was looking for. That was the main draw for me. It was confusing a little bit. I would wake up in the morning and my host mother would tell me to do something in Mongolian, and my Mongolian is only beginner’s level. Usually I had an idea of what she said by catching a few key words. I would be like; “Oh so, she said sheep, and moved her arms inwards so maybe she wants me to bring the sheep in”. I would always try to combine the keywords with hand gestures and get it wrong half of the time.  But in general, I helped with my family with their herding the animals, collecting snow to melt for water etc. I went out with my host brother a couple times to ride the horses. In Mongolia, only the men in the family ride the horses.

What is the political scene in Mongolia?

Karen with her host father

It is pretty corrupt. It was the election season when I was there. I got to see a campaign of one of the political leaders. The big deal that was pressing for my program was the huge mining boom that was happening. Traditionally, Mongolia was a socialist country until 1990s. There is still the contrast between people wanting support from the government, but also wanting more capitalist, free-market oriented system. On the one hand, there are already-existing government regulated mines, and on the other, there are the international ones regulated by Canadian, American, Chinese mining companies, those would take away all the funds from the people. Local people were not allowed jobs in these companies, so there is still a tension between these two “regimes”. I think overall the mining system in the country illustrates the political tension happening there. 

Did you do any independent study while you were there?

Yes. At the end of my studies there, I wrote a paper on Community based Pastor Management in Mongolia. It was funny because my program really insisted me to call this translator for my project, and she turned out having studied in the Twin Cities at the University of Minnesota. We bonded over this Minnesota connection. I told her my interest in studying the pastor management in this particular town, and all of a sudden, she told me her relatives were from that area. Mongolia is a really small place. In some ways, it is not very surprising but all these coincidences led up to our collaboration to conduct this project. It was very exciting. Two of us visited that town, stayed with her cousins and talked with the government and local herders to discuss certain programs executed, and how effective they were in trying to prevent the degradation of these pastors. 

Karen visiting the camel herders in the Gobi desert

How did you find the program in general?

I think it was a really good program. The staff was very supportive, and very knowledgeable about the country. They provided very insightful information about experiencing Mongolia as in drinking camel milk, exploring the spiritual sites there, visiting the Gobi desert, going to a mining city in the country etc. Traveling opportunities provided by the program were great, but also having the opportunity to speak with people who are doing important things for the development of Mongolia, such as running a small political organization, being involved with the government. 

If I were to visit Mongolia next month, what kind of tips would you give me about the culture and social life there? 

As a visitor going to Mongolia, there is some bit of an anti-foreigner sentiment due to this mining boom as in we are all taking their money etc. But they are also very welcoming to foreign students. So some cultural norms and traditions you could know before you went: 

• Both Tuesdays or Sundays are the unlucky days to travel so buses won’t run. If you have to travel on those days on your own, our program instructors advised us: “put your luggage in your car ahead of time because you want to confuse the spirits, so they will think you are to leave on Monday or something”. 
• You cannot put your backpack on the floor. 
• There are also newer traditions being created. One of the host sisters of the program told me: “if you clip your nails, you clip it outside and say ‘I want to be as tall as a camel’”. 
• You have to pass out things with your right hand. Left hand will be considered rude. If you walk inside and trip, it is good luck. But if you trip outside, it is bad luck so you have to come inside and step over the entryway.