Wild Horses

A little about Mongolia…it has a population of close to 3 million. Under Soviet rule from 1924-1991, it became a democracy the same year Croatia proclaimed its independence. About a third of the people live in the capital Ulaanbaatar, which is the coldest capital in the world. The lowest recorded temperature was roughly -40F, but it usually hits -20F in January. Good thing I have my wool socks and “under armor.” The landscape includes the Gobi Desert, mountains, steppes and green fields. Mongolian is the official language, with Russian spoken by some of the older generation and very little Mandarin.

The nomads still roam with their herds and their gers. I think it of utmost importance that they continue this way of life, and a good way of life it is, for the sake of cultural preservation. Tendencies of Western civilization, capitalism and corporations pose a dangerous threat to this pristine land. It is a place where some of the last wild horses of Earth roam. What do we do when our last wild horses are no longer free to roam? It is an unthinkable notion. What usually happens, foreign investors and corporations enter a country, basically make loads of money off the land and its people and then high-tail it out of there leaving behind ashes and toxicity. The world is already overpopulated with concrete and industry. Mongolia is gaining greater appeal and I fear for its integrity. Politicians will be politicians, but hope is for ever around the corner. Some Western ideas and practices can certainly be beneficial to the land, however much of it can be detrimental.

On a side not, I am ecstatic as I have just purchased a Voltaic Solar Backpack (http://www.voltaicsystems.com/). Using solely the sun (though you can plug it into an outlet), it charges mp3 players, cameras, cell phones, GPS, electric shavers, etc. I have never been so truly amazed. I can be stuck in the Gobi Desert with no water and yet still be able to listen to music and have an electrical shave! Free and clean energy is here. Now. Use it. We have the technology to run cars on various oils (vegetable to name one), to power homes and electronics using the sun and also to create energy using the wind. Go solar, go biodiesel. Lift this veil of ignorance enforced upon us ever since Rudolf Diesel was thrown into the English Channel for even thinking of running his engines on vegetable and peanut oil.

T-Minus 2 weeks.

Die gedanken sind frei…

Current Location: Chicago outskirts
Lift-off: 3 weeks

This is my first “blog” posting, even though I vowed never to write one. Leviticus 5:4…swearing is not a good idea. This is for myself and the handful of people who know (or don’t know) me and are interested in the “Mongoli-Hrv Experience.” I figure this the easiest method with which to stay in contact with folks. Updates will be as consistent as is Internet access and “free” time not spent harassing the locals.

That being said, I will be posted as a Peace Corps TEFL Volunteer in Mongolia until mid-2008. Usually, the plan is to have no plan, for the tides of life shift far too often. You meet a girl, kingdoms call, ideas spark…whatever. The plot includes teaching ESL to Mongolians as it is now their official second language. I will also try to make a positive impact on the local community. This may include working with technology (setting up computers or teaching folks how to run them), evening ESL classes, culture workshops or exchange ala Project Quebec Mongolie. I'm open to ideas. There are also problems in the education sector regarding resources and such things as discrimination towards poor children both by their peers and teachers!

I failed to mention how I felt about moving from the familiar to the foreign. I am leaving behind big "cash money" opportunities, bills, fast cars, credit cards, traffic, pollution, concrete, a diabolical and apocalyptic administration, consumer culture and the trappings of the mechanical American lifestyle. It’s not all bad. Still, I trade it in for altruism, a curious mind and liberation. Liberation from the capitalist “matrix”, the illusion of living a good life and not realizing what life is really all about. What is out there? It's good to weigh in the options and it's good to slow down sometimes. You really DON'T miss that much these days if you stop to think.

Hopefully, the Mongols get as much from me as I from them. It looks to be such an amazing land, where roam the last of the wild horses. I see my journey as a return to the essence of existence. Below freezing weather? No running water? Sporadic electricity? That's the life. To see what you're made of and stop living this cozy, sheltered American lifestyle, to learn, to reinvent myself...and to "go away and dream it all up again." A bit romantic, but aren't we all at a young age (or shouldn't we be)? I couldn’t be happier...with life on the road, or in a ger.

"We've been too long American dreaming, I think we've all lost the way..."