New Blog Address

This is my last post on this site. I recently changed my blog platform and domaine and you can now find me on http://www.asagiertz.com. Hope to see you there! 

Happy Advent!

Traditional Swedish Advent: to light a candle each Sunday for four weeks before Christmas. One of all our traditions that involves candles in this darkest period of the year.

Getting Things Done Weekend

I decided to make this weekend a Getting Things Done Weekend. Or rather, a weekend for getting rid of nagging little tasks. It started quite well yesterday (it was my Friday off) and I managed to cross a bunch of stuff off my to-do lists. And make a few new lists. What’s annoying is when you try to get things done and it doesn’t work. Yesterday, I tried to drop off three shoes at my neighborhood cobbler, but apparently, they only fix heels on the shoes these days. Since I refuse o throw my shoes away just because they need a few stitches, this item is still on my list. But it’s kind of hopeless to try to cut consumption when not even the cobbler can fix shoes anymore!

Before I start with today’s errands, I’m meeting two girls from work for brunch in Capitol Hill. I haven’t been there for a while so thought I’d combine it with a stop at the Eastern Market and produce shopping at their farmers’ market. For me, the best way to get things done is to prepare properly and to combine the errands with fun.

Back from Mongolia and Full of Impressions

I am back in DC now since a week and I am finally over my jet lag. It was quite bad this time. In addition to the 12 hour time difference between Washington and Ulaanbaatar, my trip back took over 30 hours because of the shooting on LAX last Friday. Although it was at another terminal, it happened around the time when I landed so we ended up being locked up in the customs area for over four hours, and after that the flights was really delayed. Which was nothing, of course, compared to the actual shooting – so terrible!! I don’t understand how anyone can do something like that? And it happens so often here… The flight between Seoul and Los Angeles was really nice though, because the sky was clear and I could watch the stars closely through the airplane window. And while I had breakfast, I watched the sunrise from up in the air. I often just sit through my flights like I am on a bus or a train, but when you think about it (and take the time to look) it is really quite amazing to be up there in the sky!

I still have my Mongolia trip in my thoughts. It was so different from anything I expected. As I wrote earlier, Ulaanbaatar felt a lot more globalized than I had pictured it and much more dynamic. Maybe in part because of all the construction that was going on, but also because of the people with their clothes and their gadgets, the busy streets and all the traffic. A family friend just commented here a few days ago that Ulaanbaatar used to be the most remote place anyone could ever think of, but it certainly didn’t feel like that now. Perhaps the most illustrative comment came from a Mongolian man in his 60s at a branch organization in the cashmere sector, who said that their best markets were in Europe, and although they should sell more cashmere to Russia, the U.S. was not a potential market “because Americans have no sense of fashion!” While nothing new, a month ago I would not have expected to hear this observation from a Mongolian, not the least because of how far away the U.S. is. But the world is getting smaller and countries are rapidly changing, as visible in Ulaanbaatar.

And then the contrasts between urban and rural Mongolia: the vast, stunning pastoral landscape and barely any sign of people for miles and miles and miles outside the cities. The transformation of the traditional lifestyle into something completely new with the herders who maintain their nomadic lifestyle but equipped with solar panels, satellite dishes, cell-phones and TVs. Some of their kids chose herding as a profession but some go university and get into high-educated professions. I met one herder who had four kids who had followed in his path and become herders, two who were in university, and one who worked as a doctor. A well-developed system of boarding schools for herders’ children makes the step from a nomadic childhood to university or medical school easier than it may seem.

A fascinating country – I recommend anyone to visit!

From Ulaanbaatar to the pastures//Mongolian Airline’s soft cashmere blankets (they fly in style!)//Front seat for the sunrise, though watching the stars from that altitude was even better!

Unexpected Event at Seoul’s International Airport

Just passed this traditionally dressed group on my way to my connecting flight to LA. A reminder that I’m in South Korea. Although the flight is more hours than I care to count, I’m arriving before my departure time because of the time difference. The world is really fascinating!

Snapshots from Ulaanbaatar

Sunday was a quiet day. I mostly walked around in Ulaanbaatar and did some souvenir shopping at the State Department Store and at the Gobi Cashmere Outlet Store. As oppose to State Department Stores in capitals around the Former Soviet Union (i.e. the ЦУМ), Ulaanbaatar’s Sate Department Store was completely modernized and looked like any department store in the EU or the U.S. It even had a food court on the top floor with stalls offering dishes from traditional Mongolian cuisine to burgers, past, pizza, and sushi. The main difference with this food court compared with the ones in the U.S. was that the food was served on proper plates rather than on paper plates!

It was nice to have a day off, although I spent the evening catching up on reading; reports on dzud disaster management and public expenditures, so real page turners! Here are some photos from Ulaanbaator. Again, it is a very pleasant, rapidly growing city, though road safety doesn’t seem to be a priority in current city planning and my colleagues have found my hesitation to cross roads here rather entertaining. But better safe than sorry!

Genghis Khan Square//The Government House with the Genghis Kahn statue//The State Academic Theater of Opera and Ballet//Bell//Kids swinging at the foot of the Suhbaatar statue//Gateway to Pedestrian Street

Another Day on Mongolia’s Pastures

Yesterday was our last day out in the field. We were further up north that the day before, close to the Russian border and near the city of Darchan, and for some reason the snow hadn’t passed there so the pastures were still green. Or greenish at least. Regardless, it facilitated our work since we were partly out there to get a sense of the quality of the pastures. Another reason was of course to talk to herders, which is my favorite part of my job, and we met three herding families of different income levels that last day. Two of them lived in ghers, the type of mobile huts that herders traditionally live in, so I was able to get a good look inside of them. They are very cozy and comfortable, and surprisingly warm despite the cold weather, but it must be a hard life to live in these ghers without water and limited access to wood when temperatures can drop to -40°C (though it can be noted that one of the herders that we met said that the winter was the easy season for herders). At the same time, there is something appealing about a lifestyle that aims to keep stuff to a minimum. Limited living space and the need to move the entire household multiple times per year make too much stuff a burden (traditionally, Mongolian herders move their livestock every season, but these days, the moves are normally limited to summer and winter pastures). The gher were well-equipped – most herders have a TV now, connected to a satellite dish outside the gher and running on solar panels – but otherwise, there were few things that weren’t intended for food preparation. All families that we met served us traditional snacks and tea. Most snacks were various forms of dairy products, some of them quite sour cheeses, and the tea was boiled with milk and salt. All of it was different from anything I’ve ever had before but quite tasty. We also drank fermented mares’ milk in one home, but just a sip since it can be tough on the stomach for someone who isn’t used to it. We were told that Genghis Khan drank this before he went into battle! So we had an interesting last day out in rural Mongolia, before heading back to Ulaanbaatar.

Mongolia Dressed in Snow

I’m blogging from a small hotel room in Mongolia’s second largest city, Darkhan. For the past two days, my colleagues and I have been traveling around the North Central part of Mongolia, talking to herders, crop producers, and local agricultural institutions. It’s been interesting as always, though a little challenging to look at pastures and crop land with all the snow. Tomorrow is our last day in Mongolia’s rural areas, before going back to Ulaanbaatar, and we will meet with more herders. Livestock is the traditional agricultural sector here in Mongolia, and nomadic herders have historically been the backbone of the country. Although Mongolia is rapidly urbanizing, a substantial share of Mongolia’s population are still traditional, nomadic herding households. I hope to be invited in into a traditional gher and I’ve been thoroughly briefed in gher customs such as not to step on the wood in the door post and to walk to the right in the gher, which is women’s side. In the meantime, here are some pictures of Mongolia’s spectacular landscape:

First Impressions of Ulaanbaatar

So, after about 24 hours if traveling, I finally arrived in Ulaanbaatar Saturday night. Although this week has been filled with meetings to which I’ve mainly gone by car, I had a chance to go out for a walk on Sunday. The part of Ulaanbaatar that I’ve seen is really nice. Apparently, the Russians made a replica of St Petersburg’s main square, so there is a rather grandiose square in the center of the city with an operas and theaters around it. Ulaanbaatar has about 1.2 million inhabitants and it does have a big city feel to it. And it’s diverse history is on display throughout the city: Russian classic architecture is mixed with Soviet Style concrete apartment blocks, ghers (yurts), East Asian decorative structures, and modern office buildings with glass facades. People are extremely mild in their manners and very kind towards one another, in a very different way than I’m used to from elsewhere. Ulaanbaatar’s inhabitants are also more globalized urban than I expected: well dressed (probably an effect of their cashmere and garment industries) and with smart phones, and there are Priuses everywhere (fuel is quite expensive here). The weather is nice, it snowed Monday night and the city turned white. As a Swede who haven’t seem much snow for the past years, I love it of course! Today, we’re going to Northern Mongolia for three days, to meet herders and farmers. It’s almost unreal to be here!

I haven’t had a chance to download photos from my camera but here is the view from the window in my hotel room the morning after the snow:

On My Way to Ulaanbaatar

I realized that I spend quite a lot of time at airports. When I first started traveling a lot for work, I didn’t mind that much. I’ve always loved traveling and airports and train stations have always given me that ticketing feeling that new adventures are out there, within reach. And when I got access to lounges, traveling even felt a little luxurious. These days, hanging out in airport lounges has admittedly lost some of its charm and I find the down time between flights quite borning. I’m not going to mention any names, but some airports don’t even offer free wi-fi! Fortunately, this is not the case here at Incheon International Airport in Seoul, where I’m waiting for my flight to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia (and indeed a new adventure). Airports and lounges tend to look similar across the world, but there are small differences that gives a hint of the country outside the airport. Here, small cups with blue patterns and a larger tea selection than coffee offer were reminders of South East Asian traditions. I’m not sure of the origin of the green tea muffin that came with the tea (or, rather, I’m quite sure it’s American), but tasty neverthless!