The lead goose and Oyu Tolgoi

Rio Tinto, Ivanhoe Mines, Turquoise Hill, Oyu Tolgoi, Mongolia... 
Names familiar to many people around the world. Here is the translation of an article by Uyanga G., a member of Mongolian Parliament, who has a different perception and standpoint than maybe many others, regarding the Oyu Tolgoi project. We are talking about the third-biggest copper mine in the world. It might be interesting to hear something different from inside the country, different than the ones circulated through the world media. As a Mongol myself, I felt obligated to bring this voice to the world community by translating this article, using my humble English.  The floor is yours...

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Begin of the translation

By Uyanga Gantumur

Uyanga G.

A  message has been going around quietly but surely that the two sides are  coming to an agreement about the  funding  for the second stage of the Oyu Tolgoi project. We believed the Government   back then that once we sign the Oyu Tolgoi agreement,  money would pour  in, making Mongolia   a heaven, and the next investors will come flying to us  like a flock  of geese. Well, most of us believed that,  but as for me, I didn't, and that is why I have been fighting  for more than 10 years making use of all means like from march  protesting to hunger strike, excluding use of guns, to oppose  this  unfair investment agreement of Oyu Tolgoi.   Today Mongolians pay 150 million USD each year as interest payment on the amount of money we  borrowed for the 34% of ownership while  we  have not received  a mungh  as  profit. To make the matters worse, we also have to pay an interest-on-interest according to  the  term of  that agreement. Soon we will start paying the money we borrowed. Then we might not be able to finance  even a single kindergarten. Talks are on the way to get 4.9 billion USD more for this project, in addition to 4 billion  initially  agreed. We have to take it  seriously since we  have to pay our 34% share of that amount too, which is 1.6 billion USD , the same way we do now with the initial investment.

ONE.   Simple arithmetic of Oyu Tolgoi

I cannot do calculations using 20 thousand variables. But let's do some math using a simple arithmetic. How much worth is Oyu Tolgoi deposit? It is officially confirmed by domestic and foreign specialists, and by authorized professional  institutes that this mine's deposit contains 45 million ton copper and 1800 ton gold. Let's say, we extract 75% of all that. Now, let's estimate the price of this real wealth.  As of  August 2014, the average price for copper was 7005.15 USD per ton at the London Metal Exchange.  With today's rate of Tugrik against USD (1840:1) and considering in average a 29% enriched copper concentration, the total value of copper deposit would be 434.957.715 million Tugrik. Plus, with one ounce being 31.1 gram  and the average price of gold in August  being 1294 USD per ounce, the value of 1800 ton of gold would be 103.353.569 million Tugrik.  The total revenue from copper and gold amounts to 538.311.284 million Tugrik.  This is the result of calculating the price  of  only two known metals-copper and gold- using the average value at the world market, without considering silver and other minerals which are found in the  copper concentration.
Mongolian annual budget revenue is 7 trillion Tugrik. We produce and consume only 10 trillion Tugrik worth of goods in a year. 538 trillion equals our  budget revenue of  76 years.  That is the money we can get just by selling our copper and gold while doing nothing. 76 people have agreed to a deal which would lead to a loss of the fortune all 3 million of us  could use for 76 years. I am  writing this because the present 76 must  not  allow this to continue.

The numbers mentioned above are relative. Even though it's obvious that we cannot dig out all of it at once and sell it, this is our  stand and basic assessment.  This number will go up if copper price rises, and additional resources are discovered  through  more exploration. In most cases, in addition to the first confirmed deposit, there are  more sources discovered during its development, as shown for example in Erdenet case.  There are many ways to keep the production profitable without going down from the once achieved stage during the market price fluctuation. And Mongolia has own  human resources  and professionals who can do it.

Shouldn't we start talking from this standpoint, based on that simple arithmetic calculations? It does not need to be proved that  within next decades the rising demand  of copper and gold will not go down, and the value thereof as well.  That is the main thing we have. Yes, we don't have the best management and the money to mine and process our wealth, but hey, Turquoise Hill, Ivanhoe Mines, and Rio Tinto do not have the necessary  funds  too, to finance this project. They raised funds with higher interests from the world finance market using our mine as deposit, and also charging us for  the payment of  the mediator who helped with the fundraising. To be exact, our partner who owns 66% , charges us, 34% owner, for the mediator costs, and that  means that Ivanhoe Mines and Rio Tinto are not investors but mediators.  What a finance partner we have found!  Knowing all this, our government is doing  nothing. What a useless government we have! What a nation we are, tolerating such a  government and choosing such people to  power!

If we  have had trusted our national companies and helped them to raise funds from the world banks and finance market,  things would have had  much better look  today. Mongolia is not a country without any experiences. We have been earning profits from one of the world's 10 biggest copper mine which we have developed jointly with a powerful country. People involved in exploring the Erdenet deposit, in its mining, and  in dealing with our partner, having participated in all that on  every level, are working now in private sector, as well as in state-owned entities, and some of them are also on the dole. They should have been mobilized, and if there is a lack of knowledge or experience, we could have hired necessary professionals from the international labor market. Mongolians have brains and possibilities to do the same as Ivanhoe Mines and Rio Tinto have invited best manager and professionals from the international labor market  to work for them on a very attractive conditions, and also to buy the required  equipment and techniques.

TWO.    Let's sum up what happened at Oyu Tolgoi

In 2007 the investors have made a deal with Mongolian government about the development of Oyu Tolgoi deposit after having talks in three stages, and agreed to both  drafts  of  Investment agreement and Shareholders' agreement. These agreement drafts and  a resolution draft of the Parliament were submitted by then-Prime minister M.Enkhbold , together with the Chairman of the Cabinet Office, by handing them over to D.Lundaajantsan-then Speaker of the Parliament.  In that first draft were included  a concentrator  plant  with a capacity to  process 54 million ton ore, underground and open pit, a power station, waste management facilities, infrastructure with accompanying  entities and it was calculated that for all this needed  2.724 million USD. At that time, the price for one ton of copper was 7126 USD on global market. The Investment agreement was signed two years later, in 2009, when copper price was  down to 5149 USD , but the amount of investment money was changed to 5.1 million  from 2.7 million USD,     almost doubled than as it was initially agreed to in 2007. Today, the other party  would still not give any explanation as to  why they doubled  the investment money when the prices for energy and metals on global market were going down. Even I, as MP, couldn't get any response, let alone any ordinary citizen, in regards to this issue until today after I addressed all responsible subjects with this request.  This would be the first big question we should demand  an  answer for.

Next question: Let's discuss about the 5.1 million USD investment as it is written in already signed Agreement, leaving aside the 2.7 million USD with  a question mark. Now, let's have a look at the investments introduced in the Technical and Economic Feasibility Study (TEFS) which was discussed at the Minerals Council of Mongolia:
1.   Open pit mine                                                 278 Mill. USD
2.   Underground mine                                        1512 Mill.USD
3.   Infrastructure                                                  646 Mill.USD
4.   Concentrator plant                                          832 Mill.USD
5.   Power plant                                                    460 Mill.USD
6.   Indirect costs                                                  228 Mill.USD
7.   Owners' expenses                                           176 Mill.USD
8.   Waste management                                        261 Mill.USD
9.   Currency fluctuation and unexpected costs   438 Mill.USD
10. Possible  increase of costs                              293 Mill.USD
11. Environmental and closing costs                        2 Mill.USD

The costs including owners' expenses, currency fluctuation and unexpected costs, and possible increase of costs make 17.5% (907 Mill.USD) of all costs. The costs for power plant could  be saved since there is a power plant project has started at Tavan Tolgoi mine and Oyu Tolgoi is considered as the main buyer. There are talks going on with Oyu Tolgoi as consumer and not as investor.
One can see that in that investment is included everything from  taking in account  the currency fluctuation  considering the possible risks, to  developing  of open pit and underground mining, building infrastructure, concentrator plant, power plant, and  the closing costs.  Certainly  all these calculations are not made  by just one person by heart.

Our partner and investor, superior than us in dealing with this matter, has paid the professional companies like Canadian AMMEK and Australian MINPROK to prepare a initial  economic evaluation  of Southern Oyu open pit and an extended version of evaluation including both northern and southern zones of Hugo Dummett deposit in 2006,  in order to  list the mineral reserves     in the unified registrar of mineral resources. Also the final version of Technical and Economical Feasibility Study (TEFS) for both open pit and underground mining of Oyu Tolgoi deposit was prepared by the above mentioned companies in 2007-2008, based on confirmed estimation of copper-gold deposits. This final version of TEFS, prepared for three years by those experienced companies, chosen by the investor itself, was introduced to the Mineral Council of Mongolia in January 2010 and a ruling was issued. But why is it now an additional 4.9 billion USD required to start the underground mining? What expenses have gone up so high?  We have the right to ask and get a clear answer for that question  because we pay 34% of it, and we must ask firmly because today's as well as our future generation will be paying this debt.  I demand an answer to this my second question.

THREE. In order to reach a mutual understanding, we must eliminate the differences of numbers. Without this, even a joint business in a  small trade would fail. Even though it says in the Investment Agreement that  approximately 1 billion USD was spent  for the Oyu Tolgoi exploration, Ivenhoe Mines Mongolia Inc. has reported in its exploration statement that 171.7 billion MNT in total was spent for the exploration, including 74.8679 billion MNT for drilling, 8.9295 billion MNT for lab and tests, 3 billion MNT for core processing. The sum of these three expenses  makes only 86.8 billion MNT, and the rest of 84.9 billion MNT from the total  was left unexplained. All that needs to be reported,  properly documented.

The results of the working group established by the joint order of Deputy Minister, Finance Minister  and Mining Minister, and worked more than a year to investigate the excessive 2 billion USD investment of Oyu Tolgoi project, are still not  available to the  public. Even the members of the Parliament have not received it yet. That must be disclosed. In regards to the tax-related debt of 130 million USD, it might be a small amount compared to the numbers mentioned above,  but Rio Tinto should be sincere and pay this money.  Isn't that shameful for such a big company to dispute a tax debt of 130 million USD and intends to take it to international arbitration when Mongolians are  granting  a favorable condition to develop a treasure which can feed us for 100 years and plus   borrowing money with interests?

In  the Investment Agreement, signed and approved, the initial investment was set as 4 billion USD, but in TEFS received by the Mineral Council of Mongolia that number was given as 5.1 billion USD. Which one is the number we should stick to? One should deal with the next question after we receive  clear answers  to those  plain  questions. So, is it that the project  was delayed  by the Mongolian Government or is the other side at fault? It is all right if the Prime Minister meant it precisely by word when he said that "We are ready to resolve the investment issue."  But if he meant that we agree on additional investment if necessary, then he should face a huge political responsibility.

Can't they understand Mongolia?

480 billion MNT had to be deducted from the budget income of last year due to the investment delay of Oyu Tolgoi project.  We tightened our belt accordingly, and were not able to increase the food amount for our children at the kindergarten and daycare , let alone to raise the salary for their teachers.  New kindergartens couldn't be built and children were  to stay home forcing their mom and dad stay without jobs.
The parliamentary caucus of the  "Justice" coalition had asked Da.Ganbold , a  Mongolian representative in Oyu Tolgoi's board,   particularly about this issue in the presence of Mongolian Prime Minister, Mining Minister, Minister of Economic Development and other officials.
When I heard  a Mongolian saying that   the cost over-runs  also include   the costs for Oyu Tolgoi"s foreign directors and officials who travel around the world with their wives and children, flying business class and staying in luxury hotels with a rate of 5000 USD per day,  and when he tried  to justify it by saying that we should understand the culture of high-level-people who represent big investors  and deal with big monies, although it is not acceptable to us, I became very agitated.
Mongolians pay the 34 percent of all this  by a loan with a high interest. All right, we understand them and we pay the 34 percent of it. Why they could not understand us?

Why they cannot understand that in fact Mongolian children have no kindergarten to go, and that classrooms for 25 students are overcrowded with 45 students, and that a teacher with a meager salary of 400 thousand MNT works with 40-50 students all day, and that we all get poisoned by toxic air, and that people are suffering and dying due to the insufficient number of hospitals and services, and that the newborns sleep with their mother on the floor at the maternity clinics?  Is there no one who would  explain all this and make them understand? Why not put someone else in this company to represent Mongolians  and to explain and defend our interests? To defend Mongolia's interest in Oyu Tolgoi, we need someone who knows Mongolia, understands Mongolians, and who can sense own  national interests of this country and people, but not somebody who just speaks English and has a foreign education.

Who is the lead goose, or the investor?

There is  no one today or  will be in the future who would say, let's put the Oyu Tolgoi in reservation and send the investors home.
Instead of calling those who speak out about defending own interests as populists or nationalists, and blaming them for  chasing away investors and ruining the economy, and playing the smart ones, one should demonstrate own  facts and numbers beneficial to Mongolia, against the ones mentioned above. An investor is not a butterfly you would not want to scare away from a flower. Using this opportunity, I want to say some words about the investor.

Mongolian law on investment states that an investment means the tangible and intangible assets attributed to the joint capital and reflected in financial statements of the business entities which are for profit oriented activities in the territory of Mongolia, and an investor means a foreign and domestic investor who  make an investment in Mongolia, and that a foreign investor means a foreign legal entity or individual (a foreign citizen or stateless person who is non-resident in Mongolia as well as a Mongolian citizen residing permanently in a foreign country) that makes investment in Mongolia.

Let's see what happens in real life, comparing it to the words and sentences written in this law. Last spring Mongolians collapsed when the greenback strengthened  sharply. The government has trembled, too. Why? Because the investment was reduced and the investors were chased away by those evil nationalists, said every smart mouth.   The consequences of stalling of Oyu Tolgoi investment were cruel and Mongolians whose lives depend on dollar were almost ruined due to  skyrocketed rate of Mr.Dollar who was scared off  by those populists.

But imagine that the money called as Oyu Tolgoi investment on which depends our lives as some want to claim, does not go through Mongolian banks and financial organisations; instead it goes out directly being not a subject matter of our concern. In another words, it has not a smallest  effect at all on stabilizing Tugrik and keeping the dollar rate steady. They even don't storage the concentration ore on Mongolia's territory but keep it at storehouses outside  the border. Buying toilet papers from Mongolian stores, feeding Mongolians with rice meals bought from S.Bayartsogt's  eatery, paying salaries to some Mongolians, and paying taxes, obligatory anywhere in the world,  shouldn't  be called as investment. Contempt  might be  a  word too soft for that.

If describing the mandatory tax payments  as our profit is not an offense, what is it?  A trader does not count all his income as profit after selling all his goods. Anyone in Mongolia knows that the profit is what is left after paying  taxes, rent fees, salesman salary, and subtracting the price for goods, costs for food and travel, etc.

An another example: Mongolia's Petroleum Law was passed this spring after much struggle. One of the great improvement of that law , introduced  by the working group led by MP Kh.Bolorchuluun, is the part stating that the money flow of the foreign companies operating in this field should go through Mongolia's banks and financial entities.  With effort from MANAN this law was defeated by 50:50 and another working group was formed with  MP Ts.Nyamdorj in charge. But he reintroduced the  law without that  most important part and with approval of the majority the law was passed. MANAN still exists. We were reckless by believing that MANAN would disappear  if MAN and AN  would go separate, and reappear if they join together to govern. This MANAN was a very thick one and wouldn't disappear so easily. Every morning when we get up we should  remind ourselves  that  MANAN  which was  built up in the past 24 years by  mutual benefits and shared pockets, and trapped  and hooked up themselves with  their failures and sins, is still there  , thicker  than we thought.

It's the  MANAN what makes  MAN  do the opposite while saying , "Dollar gets out of control. The Government should resign!" That is exactly what is called populism. And such people and party should be called populists.

We now know that the definition of investor as written in the law does not match with the real life and that we should   clearly define and understand  who is   the investor- the butterfly we scared away thus allegedly triggered  the dollar go crazy. Let's stop being fond of every golden-haired  with  money in the pocket and calling them as investor-butterfly. If the investment is  the most important factor affecting  Tugrik's rate, the investment should be redefined by reflecting that  influence. As a lawmaker, I will be introducing an amendment to the investment law to make such changes. So, let's ask ourselves again:  Is  the operator company of Oyu Tolgoi project an Investor?

One. Mongolians borrowed 1.7 billion dollars with 6.5% interest in order to jointly develop the Oyu Tolgoi mine (Interest-on-interest is paid too)
Two. The loan interest fee of this company has reached 500 million dollars since 2009 and we started paying 34% of that fee.
Three. The enormous amount of money of Oyu Tolgoi and the payment from selling of concentration ore do not go through Mongolia's banks and therefore it has no influence in stabilizing the currency rate.
Four. We have practically  become dependent on  this company, hailed as  the biggest investor, because any interruption of  production would trouble Mongolia's budget.

That is how the lead goose looks like. The second one would demand more since  the first one set such an example. Are we going to survive if such geese come in flock?  May such goose not come to us in flocks.

My suggestions

ONE. We should get  clear answers to the questions mentioned above. I am going to demand it in the name of the Mongolian people along with my friends. After that, the next issues  will be able to get fixed. In order to run this project risk free, beneficial to all and properly, a right order needs to be set, and the very first thing is to have  clear, honest and complete answers to those questions.

TWO. Oyu Tolgoi project is the first aim of the  flock of geese. The next geese should have a proper information about  the development of this project and any issues or disputes  related to it. We don't have such amount of money to counter the propaganda against Mongolia"s government and Mongolians, lavishly paid  by Rio Tinto.   Therefore let's open a website which contains all the information  about the development of this project,  and let's  introduce it to the world.  This will bring all the information to both natives  and foreign people  openly in proper manner. One cries out always that the investors were scared off  because of the false information. But anyone knows that an investor would not run away from a treasure which is ready to be possessed. There is not too much money needed to prove to the world that Mongolia's government and Mongolians are not evil people scaring off the  investors, and that all they demand is only a fairness. When Mongolia's government introduces officially that website, it is enough to distribute the news to all world media organs using the only state-owned media agency Montsame  which cooperates  with major news agencies of the world.

THREE. Before all this,  it is important that we Mongolians should unify   our standpoint regarding Oyu Tolgoi, and if we could come together it can be improved. But I personally feel that it might  be very difficult. Those  who signed the agreement with an investment  increased by billions of dollars  by yielding the other side are not many, but they just represent the front. This was carried out by a whole gang. If this agreement gets nullified, everybody involved will be exposed. Maybe they are being held captive by that circumstance. Calling us populists, or as people scaring off the  investors, or as ignorant street people who cannot do calculations with 20 thousand variables  is just the cover-up,  not the answer. To tighten its grip and increase the profits, they keep pushing Mongolians along with their government to raise the investment fund. If we can make those who signed the agreement responsible, politically, then we could free ourselves from that grip. As the saying goes, committing  murder as a result of  being embarrassed, we can't let us falling  into  more debt just to cover the bribes of some people, can we?  Should we , being modest, allow us  more debt we could not possibly pay off in our lifetime, or stop it while our loss being minimal, unless  Rio Tinto becomes more reasonable and fair, since Mongolians won't die of  hunger  after all without selling Oyu Tolgoi, right?

Better scare it off than being exploited

The  message  we deliver to the world must be clear and fair. This is not difficult, nor it requires lot of money. Would it be reasonable for others to run away following  Rio Tinto, in case Rio Tinto leaves, instead of competing  to  take its place?  Rio Tinto is scaring off  other investors in order to dominate  in Mongolia. It is their wish to scare off others by making Mongolia look bad. The development of the project has been delayed   because Rio Tinto does  not play  fair. There is a big opportunity to make money in Mongolia's Oyu Tolgoi if one plays only a fair game.

In the end the guilty parties are  the government which brought  us in such a situation and those who signed the agreement.  We should look at ourselves first and those whom we elected before start swearing at Rio Tinto. The investors are not the kind-hearted Jesus, Buddha or mother Theresa who want us to become developed and be  rich,  nor the  beautiful butterflies one wouldn't dare to scare off from flowers.  They are just people who want to invest their money in rewarding projects for profits.  They are smart. They know how to approach and talk to people who know  their rights,  how to defend their interests and have strong self-esteem. They know also how to talk  to  people who dishonor own country, don't understand  own interest and how to defend it, and those who can be trapped by money, as well as how to  tighten their grip and, what to take and how.

People who mistakenly regard their spoken English as education, view  the money as their measurement of everything and set it as their target, whose brains , far distant from the  root and not immune anymore, are washed by  neo-liberal propaganda,  cannot be the power to stand against it. Instead  they form the fifth colony, serving the other side by claiming they were loyal to their beliefs.

Lastly, I want to say few words to our dear INVESTOR.  You have started the work based on the TEFS, prepared by the company of your choice and accepted by the people you bribed. Now, do your job with the money approved because we can't allow us more loss. Complete all the work listed in the project according to the agreement  approved officially on October 6. 2009. If you want to talk about raising the funds for underground mining, a new situation will emerge where the Investment agreement and the Shareholders' agreement need to be discussed anew. Same as in, if somebody wants to sell his house for 100 million and made an agreement with the buyer, but the deal will have to made anew  if the next day  seller wanted 300 million instead, or there is going to be no deal at all.

As the world leading company and as intelligent people, you must give an answer to my questions above. Fairness is a very important, not measurable, nor comparable   thing in a cooperation. Buying a Mongolian does not mean you can do it with all Mongolian. Mongolians are people who can be fair if treated fairly. I have the hope that only after all disputed questions are cleared, our cooperation will succeed and we can work together for our mutual benefit. But if you decide to keep on exploitation, repelling shall be the right  choice for us.

This is my standpoint on Oyu Tolgoi project.

Uyanga Gantumur, Member of Parliament of Mongolia

End of the translation

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Explanation:

1. Mungh - smallest monetary unit equals 1/100 of the basic monetary unit (tugrik)
2. 20 thousand variables- referring to what MP Bayartsogt said at the TV debate about Oyu Tolgoi agreement by defending the agreement that it  includes  precise calculations made using  methods with  20 thousand variables.
3. Tugrik - Mongolian currency , abbr. MNT
4. 76 people - the total number of members of the Mongolian Parliament
5. Erdenet - a copper mine jointly developed with Russia (still producing concentration)
6. Tavan Tolgoi - a major coal mine close to Oyu Tolgoi
7. S.Bayartsogt - an MP from Democratic Party
8. MANAN - nickname for the coalition of the two main parties, MAN (abbr. in Mongolian for Mongolian People's Party)  and AN (for Democratic Party), making a term meaning "Fog" in Mongolian) 

I urge our readers to read the following assessment issued by the Oyu Tolgoi Watch almost 4 years ago: http://www.miningwatch.ca/sites/www.miningwatch.ca/files/OT_issues.pdf .    Things looked problematic back then, and as MP Uyanga mentioned in her recent press conference, the issue about the differences of salaries between domestic (Mongolian) and foreign workers still exists today and she gave just one example to prove it:
A Mongol welder gets 71.6 thousand MNT a month while a foreign worker  in the same position get paid 1.8 million MNT monthly for the same job. (With the current exchange rate between MNT and USD-1888:1, that would be  $38 VS $953). That is 25 times (!) more than what Mongolian worker receives. Is that some kind of exploitation? As they are praised as the top leading   company with a worldwide reputation, it is hard to believe that Rio Tinto is taking advantage of native workers by abusing them with  such underpayments!  Are  they trying to make a profit from it? They should be ashamed of that, and I doubt very much that with such an attitude and unfairness  towards Mongolians, they will be not welcomed,  nor respected, maybe even hated by the natives. If both sides hate each other, no business shall be made  between them. Business should be based on trust, fairness and mutual respect.

Bravo, Sarita Devi !

Sarita Devi

Sarita Devi, an Indian boxer in 60 kg category, was a class higher than her opponent, a host-country boxer, in the semifinal of the Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea, but nevertheless the judges  blindly did  a  favor to the South Korean boxer, probably in return for the "gifts" they received from the host. 

You think judges and the host are getting slandered? Well then, please explain how on earth can they decide all in favor of the one who literally beaten so bad? Ordinary people who have no idea of giving points or all that scoring mechanism can even see who was the better one. Not only the better one but , as I said, was a better class! The whole world saw it. There is an another  way to explain this "mysterious"  decision by those judges but this one also rules out any justification:  the judges  were so incompetent to make a right decision. There is no way one would hire such incapable judges who don't know how to give points or evaluate a fair and honest decision. The best ones should be sitting there to make the right judgement about the athletes performances, and I am sure they were  chosen based on their rank or status. And that fact leads the  way back to my first allegation about being bribed. Shame on those judges and shame on AIBA (International Boxing Association)!

Host country athlete gets the win even tough lost

One could  "understand" the behavior of those judges for trying to make a "little wealth" for themselves by accepting whatever the host had offered, but I cannot understand the reaction from AIBA which normally should stand for fairness in competitions but instead they blamed the Indian boxer for not accepting the unfair decision and the bronze medal at the ceremony. Can you believe this?  It's like defending the rapist while blaming the one who got raped! The spokesperson of AIBA says, they feel  offended by Sarita's action of refusing to  accept  the bronze medal.  Offended?  Oh my! Just cut the crap! Sarita is the one who should be offended, and now the AIBA threatens to ruin this poor woman's career by banning her to participate in international competitions. 

Protest in social media

A supervisor and technical delegate named David Francis has submitted a report to the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) concerning the case. You  know what he wrote in his report?  You wouldn't believe it! He wrote, "The whole incident looked like  a well planned scenario by her and her team, and it is regretful to watch a boxer refuse the medal regardless of what happened in the competition." 

Regardless what happened in the competition ? Seriously? It's like saying, "Just shut up and accept whatever you get!"  Additionally he wrote , "In this regard, as the technical delegate, I had to request OCA to review this incident , so any boxer or athlete in other sports  will not follow in her steps  by respecting the spirit  of fair-play and sportsmanship of the Olympic movement." 

The people around the world are outraged

Was he joking? Who is  the one trying to respect the sportsmanship  and demands a fair-play? Sarita Devi, not you Mr.Francis! She did it by her action, but you, Mr.Francis, did the opposite by blaming her action and defending your irresponsible and shameless judges!  Sportsmanship does not mean to stay "dumb and quiet" after being unfairly cheated and accept the outcome! If Sarita, or any other athlete who got cheated,  should shut the  mouth and accept  this nonsense  without a "fight", then  why bother to talk about a fair-play anyway? AIBA should stop talking about fair-play and pretending to promote it, really. At the end, the powerful party (AIBA or OCA) got away with a win, forcing the poor Sarita to issue an apology for her action of refusing to accept her medal. She  was "generously" pardoned with a "strong warning" for her "misbehavior."  With this decision, OSA proved that it will defend their (judges') decision, no matter whether it's wrong or right, and  gave a warning to all athletes not to mess with the governing body. 

A fair-play? Fuck you!

Well, forget about the fair-play and all that bullshit. As the OCA president Sheikh Ahmad Al -Fahad Al -Sabah mentioned, any athlete should respect the referee's decision, right or wrong, and that says everything.  

They just ruined all the yearlong hard-work and   effort of this Indian boxer, a potential gold winner, by a "finger-snapping", just like that. And all that was to save their reputation and image. I thought like many others that sport should serve the friendship and peace between the people from around the world and bring them closer to understand each other, but it has changed a lot "thanks to"  those people in charge of the organisations  like AIBA or OCA.  Because of the lack to maintain  the fair-play in competitions, the sport has become a "war without arms" between nations and a root of hatred towards each other. All countries and athletes who ever experienced such unfairness, should protest and change the rules and fire the ones who ignore this kind of shameless practice, otherwise it will not stop!

Social media protest

Rich and big  countries could influence the judges or referees to decide favorably for their athletes, and this injustice causes outrage and even hatred.  The idea and goal of the sport is being more and more manipulated  by those in charge, but they don't care, and keep "promoting" fair-play and sportsmanship. OCA president said that they received 5 letters from different National Olympic Committees complaining about the boxing at this Asian Games. Here he talks about the boxing only, and but there are more about wrestling competitions too. What's the use of organizing such events if these were to make people's relations worse? I am sure that Sarita's family hate the host for being so cruel to rob her the silver (and maybe the gold medal). Believe me, it's not an exaggeration. I would do the same if I was the family member of the "victim." Why would you make people "enemies" I wanted to ask AIBA and OCA. Just to keep your seats and your earnings?  Don't you feel a shame? Even a little bit? 

Incheon = Incheat

Mongolian athletes were also not saved from this kind of trouble, with at least one top athlete in boxing (Tugstsogt) was eliminated because of the unfair decision by the judges when he was the better one in the ring. Mongolian team appealed the decision but the decision remained unchanged. Besides, there were some awful incidents happened to our athletes and   our country's image was humiliated.

   

Warning (Korean Embassy website)

The Korean embassy in Mongolia has  recently issued a warning to Korean citizens who are in Mongolia to be careful and advised them not to go out at night or get in argument with Mongolians, and  refrain from going to restaurants or bars at night, and take precautions when accompanied by Mongolian woman and wear sunglasses. The reason? Very simple. There are some reasons why they are  concerned about the safety of own citizens in Mongolia. It is all related to the fact how they "treated" Mongolian teams and Mongolia as a whole during the Asian Games 2014 in Incheon, South Korea.  What did they do "wrong"?

1. In the website of the Asian Games  the name of  Mongolia was written as Mongolia-China which perceived by Mongolians as an insult with intention. It's hard to believe that Koreans have such an ignorant people maintaining this website , without any knowledge or proper information about the countries competing in this Asian Games in South Korea. (They have it corrected later after complaining)

2. Mongolian flag was hoisted upside down. Again, careless action or a provocation? Mind to mention that no other countries' flag was raised upside down!

Mongolian flag seen upside  down (red circle)

3. In the meal  given to Mongolian  athletes were found a used  pad (or liner) with blood. Yes, I am talking about those liners women use during  their monthly period! An accident? I don't think so. How would a used liner end up in the meal they served to our athletes? Why it was not in the meal served to athletes from other countries?

A clean pad or liner

Mongolian Facebook users share a photo-shopped picture of the Korean flag in protest of feeding Mongolian athletes with women's pads. Well, who would like to be fed like this? I don't buy the version that  Korean female cooks  threw  their used pads into the food meant to be given to Mongolian athletes by mistake. 

So, I feel insulted and the Koreans should blame or be angry at their own people who were in charge of this stupidity or initiated this idea of  humiliating  Mongolians. Here is the response to this offense - a picture showing Korean flag with used women-pads, all bloody.

One can say that Koreans running this Asian Games have disappointed also in securing a fair-play in some disciplines like boxing and wrestling (Check this out how they robbed Iranian wrestler the win) . Mongolian and Indian boxers were "robbed" of their wins by the judges who might be bribed by Korean officials. What else can it be (or how can you explain) that an athlete who dominated gets the lowest score while the host country-athlete (Korean athlete) who was hammered wins? ( Read more about this here .)

Doing a favor for  the host country   should be not that cheap because those judges put their reputation or position at risk by doing so, but the International Boxing Federation and the Organizing Committee  of this Asian Games don't care. People comment on this:  "If the bribe is right, you win the fight." Seems like it. Fair nations should protest this kind of "robbery" with one voice, otherwise your athlete might be the next victim. Besides, why compete if there is no fair play? Why bother to gather together and talk about friendship between nations and athletes? 

According to the head official of the Mongolian athletes, the Organizing Committee of the Asian Games in Inchoen, South Korea have discussed about disqualifying all Mongolian athletes from the Games in response to the reaction of some Mongolian fans who in protest of unfair judgement threw water bottles to the floor and booed so loudly. Well, then we should maybe just leave this Asian Games and return all the medals to the Committee. 

After all the incidents happened already and Mongolians have protested through their Embassy in South Korea, the Organizing Committee has sent an apology letter to our  Embassy in South Korea, but the damage is done and the Koreans hurt their image and reputation  badly. Shame on you, Korea! Boo-o-o!!

p.s. Unfortunately, those who were not treated fairly (India, Mongolia, Iran) reacted differently to this unacceptable behavior and practice by the ruling body and its executives (officials and judges). While Mongolia's officials protested and fought for justice and fairness defending own athletes, Indian officials were "ashamed" of Sarita's action. They say, "We cannot let her malign India's stature in front of the world media". Unbelievable! 

Chinese bullying

President of China Xi Jinping and Mongolian President Elbegdorj Ts. 

Just before   the Chinese President  visited   Mongolia,  Chinese social  media was busy spreading an article posted on August 6th at the website http://www.xilu.com/ , so called "China's first military portal." As some of you might have guessed it, it deals with Mongolia. ( Click here for the Chinese link if you can read Chinese and  here for translation into Mongolian if you know Mongolian. )
Before I comment on this ridiculous article with some phony claims, I should repeat, as I do always, that this kind of behavior and attitude towards the Mongol nation and Mongolia as a whole, seemingly ignored and tolerated by the Chinese government, is one of the main reason why we Mongols cannot get along with the Chinese. This shameless lie and distortion of the history went so far that the majority of the Chinese people , young and old, home and abroad, believe this propaganda and thus behave "accordingly." Let me quote some parts from this article and correct it for those who are not familiar with the history of these two nations or those who might be confused or brainwashed by  Chinese propaganda similar to this.

In part 1, it begins with  a pity statement that Mongolia is having a hard time and the "motherland" should help the "own part of flesh and bone" which was separated from its "home". It says, literally translated: "China and Mongolia were one family, connected  through flesh and blood. History has ruthlessly divided us, brought us together and divided again as a result of our own causes and interests of foreign powers. And that is how Mongolia was put  in a difficult situation where it cannot return to its homeland, left  alienated outside of its home for a long time.  Especially, by the end of  the World War-2, Mongolia was ruthlessly cut off  from its motherland and became  an "independent state", as a condition for  starting  a war against the Japanese military. This was not just an incompetence of the motherland but also a disgrace. Can we as a multi-ethnic nation neglect this nation of some million people? No, absolutely not. Has this nation abandoned its own homeland? The answer is no."
Furthermore there were given 3 reasons  which caused the "loss" of Mongolia : The strong national pride was ignored by the motherland, the policy of  neighboring powers to expand their territories, and the weakness and incompetence of motherland.  Part 1 ends with  a question: Right and wrong has become a history, so why we cannot start it all over again and determine  our future? 

Here's my  response.   First of all, Mongols and Chinese are totally different nations with different cultures, lifestyle, languages and occupied own  separate  territories for thousands of years, as neighbors of course. The history tells us that we (Mongols and Chinese) were not always good neighbors. There were many clashes and wars between these two nations, occupying each other's territories , taking turns. One represented a sedentary lifestyle (the Chinese) while  the other had a  nomadic way of living (the Mongols). A donkey-rider versus horse-rider, so to speak. Or rice-eater vs meat-eater. So we were NOT a  family, let alone relatives with "flesh and blood  connection." Want a scientific proof? Here we go. My DNA tells me that I belong to Haplogroup C,  or C3 to be exact. Chinese people belong to Haplogroup F.
A haplogroup is a group of similar haplotypes that share a common ancestor. (More on this pls read here  Mongol gene ).

As for being "united" and "divided",  the author of that article is just playing with words. From the ancient times on the steppe nomads were always a "pain in the ass" for the Chinese people who lived to the south of the Mongolian steppes  and desert. The physical barrier  they built at their northern border (to protect themselves from the attack by their northern neighbor-nomads) well-known as the Great Wall of China , now a tourist attraction  and a UNESCO World Heritage site, couldn't be much of help later on when Mongols invaded China in 1271. Construction of this wall which marked the mutual border between the warring nations, started during the Qin dynasty (221 BC) and  was later improved  during the Ming dynasty (1368-1644).
In 3rd century BC, nomadic tribes were united and established so called Hunnu empire (also spelled Xiongnu empire) which is considered as the first statehood  of the nomads- the ancestors of the Mongols. The threat was enormous and it is no wonder why Chinese came up with the idea to build such a huge wall; probably they were desperate. All territories north of that wall belonged to the nomads, but today we see a totally different picture. So there is no "family re-union" or "separation" bullshit.

But instead if we are talking about invading each other or forcing the other to do something against their will, yes there were times that kind of things happened in our history. What country or nation didn't  experience  such troubles? There was times when Mongols invaded the whole China and ruled for almost a century (Yuan Empire, 1271-1368). Kublai khaan was the King. He was officially declared as the Great Khaan of the Mongol Empire which consisted  of 4 Khanates one of which was that Yuan Empire (homeland Mongolia, whole China, Tibet, Korea) ruled by Kublai himself. One can say, Mongols created a united China which was divided before the invasion. (more on Mongolia's history see here )
Yes there were times when Mongolia was officially (de jure) considered as an autonomous region of China after the three-party agreement between Russia, Mongolia and China in 1915 (Treaty of Kyakhta). A weak Mongolia was forced to sign it under pressure and a plot organized by its two neighbors.  Only after WW2, in 1945 Mongolia's neighbors (Russia and China) recognized its independence. So,  that means Mongolia was "part"  of China for 30 years (1915-1945) although Mongolian troops chased away Chinese soldiers out of the country already in 1921.  And that means also that Mongolia was NOT "part of China"   before 1915!

Now the Chinese would say, Mongolia was part of Qing dynasty known as Manchu dynasty (1644-1912)  and that is why China as  the successor of the Qing dynasty can claim  Mongolia as its "own."
Well, first, Manchu people are not Chinese, therefore Manchu Empire is NOT Chinese,  second, as one of the "slaves"  suffered under Manchu rule,  the Chinese have no right to claim  "ownership" of Mongolia. Maybe Chinese have hurt more than Mongols did under Manchu rule. It was the Manchu people who invaded Mongolia piece by piece using the internal feud among major Mongol khanates. The Chinese didn't do it. Ironically and tragically, it was the Mongol kings who gave  the Manchu armies military assistance to invade China. What would you be called when you claim someone's work as your own?  I would be a shameless  A-hole! Even if... even if it were  the Chinese who invaded Mongolia (not the Manchus), they should have no right to claim for others'  territories.

Yeah yeah.. The Qing empire was based in China and Manchus were later assimilated to Chinese culture and adopted Chinese way to administer and run the government. But in the end it was a foreign occupation anyway,  under which the Chinese population much suffered and eventually it led to a revolt and  finally the foreign ruler was overthrown in 1911.  As much as the Chinese want to make and believe Qing empire as their "own", it is not. It was a foreign rule under which not only Chinese people suffered, but also Mongols, Koreans and Tibetans.
In contrary, we Mongols should claim for the lost part of our territory, called Inner Mongolia from the Manchu era, which belongs now to China. Inner Mongolia or aka Southern Mongolia is the southern part of  then-Mongolia and it was  the first land invaded by the Manchus who later occupied the rest of Mongolia after some years, wisely profiting from the struggle for power among the Mongolian kings and using them against each other. Mongolian warriors fought against each other, killing themselves  for nothing because of some stupid khaans.

China is NOT my motherland and never was, and Chinese is not the language I speak. My mother tongue is Mongolian. If the Chinese insult us and keep publishing such a propaganda, we Mongols shall not consider them as a friendly neighbor and  respect them. Forget about being partners and even friends. Let me repeat: Respect for respect, and insult for insult. Make your choice.

p.s. The article discussed here was a long one so I didn't follow or quote , and responded to every  offensive remarks about Mongolia's history, or current situation, or threats. The main idea of that article was that we have no choice but to follow what Russia and China tell us, and forget about others (US, EU, Japan) because they are the "bad guys." The author threatened us that if we don't follow their steps we would be ruined, and maybe Russia will allow China to take Mongolia back! What a big mouth!
Anyways, I am writing this so that the world gets a real picture about what is going on between Mongolia and China, and especially what their people talk and think respectively.

In an  article posted on a Russian website tells about the Chinese migration to Russia. The author says, there are two nations on earth who think that they are different  (better)  than the others; others being the ones of lower "class."  The one is the Jew who publicize openly that they are the better race, and the other one is the Chinese who thinks everyone else is a barbarian. (read in Russian here )
It is not that difficult to understand that racism alone does not cause  hatred. People's attitude to one another and behavior is the main reason why people dislike each other. And how far we can go like this? Till the earth vanishes? Will  China's President Xi Jinping still tolerate something totally contrary to what he said in Mongolia  during his official visit?  He said: - We should respect and trust each other, and we should be good neighbors. 

Disliked Champion

Judo World Championship commentators 

The time showed 1:29:00 in the World Champoinship Day 1 video posted by the International Judo Federation (IJF)  on Youtube.com  ( watch here ) when one of the commentators called Ganbat's action "ridiculous." They were referring to Ganbat's attack and his glance  at the referee afterwards. And this glance was a "ridiculous" action in th eyes of those commentators who were not so excited at all that a Mongolian wrestler won the final. Apparently they preferred others (the Russian who won Silver or the Georgian who won Bronze, or maybe the Japanese who shared the third place) to win the gold, but not the Mongol. The more I listen to what they say during the fights involving  Ganbat, the more I got the feeling that they have a strong antipathy or a big disfavor towards the Mongolian wrestler. I think any sport commentators should not be biased or take one particular side, especially if we are talking about big international events like world competitions, but  these commentators did just the opposite. They "represent" the IJF as you will,  but they forgot to stay "neutral" and be "fair" to everyone whatever country  she/he is from. They are not some fans who cheer for their favorite competitors.

As you can see in that video, Ganbat had brought down his opponent on his back, a move he hoped was worth a point  and checked it by throwing a quick look at the referee. What wrestler don't do it? Why was it "ridiculous"? There wasn't anything "ridiculous", it was the reaction of those commentators which I'd  call really ridiculous. In that  whole fight it was obvious that Ganbat was the one who attacked  all the time trying to score, but  he couldn't. That is totally  normal  when top wrestlers compete against each other in big events like this Championship or Olympics. It happens often that the fight is decided by penalty scores. And the one who  was more active, wins, and that was the case here. The commentators know it very well, but then  why they "complained" about the "not impressive" wins by Ganbat, you think? Again, the explanation is simple: They didn't like the new Champion from Mongolia. They say, Ganbat was the spoiler and it wasn't best of finals. What did they  expect? You have two evenly strong  wrestlers and expect a fight like a teacher demonstrates some show to his pupil? Be real! Besides, this is judo and not a freestyle wrestling! During the ceremonies they were laughing about "just one smile" shown on Ganbat's face , apparently referring to his "lack of emotion". They again belittled Ganbat for showing "not attractive" judo and talking some bullshit meaning that all that mattered for him was the win of gold medal and not how to win. I wouldn't necessarily call them racist; they just don't like to see a Mongol on the very top. They just don't. Why? You have to ask them.

World champion Ganbat B. (Mongolia)

These guys even went so far that they call the two Mongolian wrestlers in this category as "dark horses." And one of those "dark horses" stepped  up and won gold, they say. Are you kidding me? Ganbat, a 3rd ranked wrestler of the world, is a "dark horse"? And his opponent in that final was the Russian Mudranov who was seated 4th in the world rank. But it seems like,  as number 3-seat, Ganbat was still a "surprise"  for them. In the end, all top seated 4 wrestlers were on the podium. So there was no surprise at  all! Just the color of the medals changed their owners, and that happens. Hope that these commentators didn't think that number one-seat should win the gold, and number two the silver etc. No, no, they didn't. They just didn't like the persona of the gold medal. The reason? Again, email them and ask.

By the way, that kind of behavior and attitude towards sportsmen from "little" countries, shown by the commentators like these two guys and especially referees who decide the fate of the competition, do  still exist, and one can witness it often. If sport should serve the friendship and peace between the people of the world, that kind of nonsense should not be tolerated. Unfortunately it seems to continue.

Crimea and Mongolia's status

Crimea has become one of the top topics in today's world. It is also an interesting subject  in the eyes of the Mongols since our northern neighbor Russia was involved in that whole thing. Seems like Crimea has chosen  their "master" to be this time Russia, again. Ukraine was the legitimate "owner" of this peninsula after 1954, during the Soviet Union  era. Poor Crimea has switched many times its owner in the  history. Once it belonged even to a  Mongol Khanate called Golden Horde (State of Jochi; Jochi was the eldest son of Chinggis Khan; actually it should be spelled like  Zuchi), one of the four Khanates which made together  once the Great Mongol Empire.

 The Grand Principality of Moscow (or Muscovy, the predecessor state of modern Tsardom of Russia) was the vassal state to Golden Horde back then when the Mongols ruled in that area, including the Crimea. Internal struggles and fights among the Mongols allowed the northern vassal state of Muscovy  to free itself from "Tatar Mongol yoke" in 1480. During the 15th century the Crimea and the adjacent territories were united in the Crimean Khanate but in  1783 it fell to the Russian Empire. So, the Crimean Khanate and the Kazakh Khanate , the last remnants of the Golden Horde, persisted until 1783 and 1847, respectively.  Since then the Russians didn't lose the grip. Now when Ukraine was tilting more to the west, Russia wanted to have it back. Much to their delight , the majority of the population was Russians who would easily defeat their Ukrainian friends  in that referendum, deciding to go back to their  previous  "Master".


But the question is, was it legitimate according to the "Rule of the World"?  Most UN countries condemned Russia's action. The UN General Assembly approved a resolution calling the Crimean referendum to secede from Ukraine invalid with  100 countries in favor  and  11 against. Is that a sign that Russia is being more isolated form the global  community?
Mongolia was among the 58 "abstaining" countries. Maybe we didn't want to hurt the  "feelings" both of Ukraine and Russia. Our southern neighbor China was among the "abstained". As Security Council member , China "abstained" also in the Security Council Resolution vote, "being supportive" to its ally Russia who voted "No". Nothing unusual that China supports Russia as it always did  lately to keep a balance against western powers, by partnering with Russia on almost every world-level issues. On the other hand, China's decision contradicts with its policy to keep the "World map" as it is drawn today. In other words, China would not allow or encourage any "separatist movement". What if the so called Inner Mongolia (aka Southern Mongolia, today an autonomous region in the north of China)  wants to have a referendum about joining the Mongolia, the core of the native Mongols. Or what about the Xinjiang (Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous region in northwest of China) ? What if the Uyghurs wanted a referendum to get the independence?

Back in the 13, 14th centuries when Mongols raised to world power, invading its neighbors, Russia and China, and ruled for many years thereafter, it really was not  possible then to withstand the "nomadic dominance". With fighting in all over the foreign lands which caused a great  shrinking of the population and losing of the man power, and by spreading its people all over the places to settle down,  it  influenced very negatively on reproduction of Mongol people. Plus the endless internal fights between the Khans (Kings) caused division ( four separate Khanates emerged) among the Mongols  and made them weak, and eventually all led to dissolving of  the Mongol Empire. A weak  Mongolia was  an easy prey for others who managed to save themselves during the Mongol rule, especially in regards to the man power.
Russia and China were  getting more powerful and Mongolia was a helpless "disabled" man whose fate  was to decide by those two neighbors. Until actually 1990, Mongolia was de facto "not independent" (de jure: yes) , but since then everything has changed and Mongolia is on the rise again.

Mongolia's history is a mystery. After  one of the four Khanates, Yuan empire (or Yuan dynasty)  which controlled a large territories including all of China, Tibet, Korea, and homeland Mongolia, was overthrown by the native Han Chinese (Chinese Ming dynasty was established) in 1368, Mongols returned to their homeland Mongolia.  There wasn't much going on between China and Mongolia afterwards, both minding their own troubles within their borders, when Manchu people, a non-Chinese people from Manchuria, got powerful and invaded China in 1644 and  established so called Manchu empire (aka Qing dynasty). Mongolia wasn't saved from  this semi-nomadic people's invasion too. Manchus occupied the southern part of Mongolia first, giving it the name "Inner Mongolia", and later defeated northern Mongolian kings, using their disunity, and made it a vassal state, calling it "Outer Mongolia". Outer Mongolia was granted more autonomous status and an agreement was signed. Mongol warriors gave military assistance to the Manchus during the Qing period. Calling Qing dynasty as Chinese is totally wrong, even though the Manchus later adopted more culture from the natives. Manchus' policy was seeking friendship and cooperation with  the Mongols, and  the Chinese were not allowed to settle down in Mongolian territories and to marry  Mongolian women during the Manchu rule. But in  1907 Manchu rulers declared the law of 1762 as invalid hence stripping off the special status they granted to  "Outer Mongolia".  

Soon after that Han Chinese revolution in 1911 put an end to the Manchu  empire and the Republic of China (ROC) was established. Using this opportunity, Mongolia declared  its independence since Manchu empire didn't exist anymore. Manchu authorities were kicked out of Mongolia and Bogd Khan was declared as the Mongolian king. The fate of Inner Mongolia was not decided.  Tibet declared also its independence, and Mongolia and Tibet have  recognized each other in a treaty. The Republic of China didn't want to recognize Mongolian independence, and Mongols wouldn't accept the new Republic as the Manchu empire's successor.  Due to the turbulent situation in the world and wars, Mongolia's independence couldn't be an important topic for the other countries and it wasn't recognized by others.
In 1915, Mongolia was forced by Russia and China to sign a treaty (named the three-parties-treaty with Russia, China,and Mongolia) which made  Mongolia  a part of the Republic of China. Later on, in 1924 and 1934, both powers confirmed Mongolia's status in their agreements and talks.

During the World War 2, Soviet-Russia's interest in Mongolia grew more, considering to make Mongolia  a buffer state, a zone which would protect southern borders of Soviets in case of a third-party- attack.   Stalin insisted on Mongolia's "independence" during the Yalta-meeting of "Big three" (US, US, SU) and for Mongolia that was the begin of being recognized as an independent country by the world countries.  China was of course against this decision, but couldn't do anything against the "Big three". As a last resort, China wanted to "make sure"  if the Mongols wanted the independence and asked to have a plebiscite. The choice was unanimous and in January 6, 1946, China recognized Mongolia's independence, and little later, on February 28th, Soviet Union did the same.  In fact, before that  Mongolia was long ago  a satellite state of Soviet Union since 1921, a Soviet-dominated Mongolian People's Republic, even tough it was de jure still a China's  region by 1915 treaty. But every  Mongol thought that his country has become independent in 1921 already  when Mongolian army defeated Chinese forces stationed in Mongolia and kicked them out of the country. Soviets helped the fleeing Chinese soldiers to go home safely by granting them a transport through its territory to China. But we were not "independent" as we believed or told, and the dream came true only in 1946 as mentioned above. Our Soviet friends had been showing  two faces since 1921, saying to us  "You are the second Socialist country in the world!" (the first being the Soviets),  tapping on our shoulders, but turning around, they would say to the Chinese, "We know that Mongolia is yours".

Republic of China's (Taiwan's) "regions" 

I think most Chinese consider this treaty of 1915 as still valid and think Mongolia should be theirs. Well, if one subject of a treaty does not exist anymore  in the form of sovereign subject, then there is no ground to consider this treaty as valid. The Republic of China (ROC- nowadays it is also called  Taiwan) is now part of People's Republic of China (PRC). So it is no more an independent country. And PRC (known as mainland China)  has no reason to claim for Mongolia, either.  If the claim derives from the Manchu empire (aka Qing dynasty) period, then it is a nonsense too, because Manchu empire was not Chinese ruled dynasty, and secondly, after it was overthrown by the Chinese revolution in 1911, the subject (Manchu empire)  has vanished from the earth. And the Chinese cannot be regarded themselves as the successor of a foreign invader. That would be like spitting in their own faces. And considering Mongolia still as its "region" and keep it so written in its constitution, Taiwan's people cause nothing but hatred directed against them. Taipei Times wrote once,  that around "1950s Taiwan revoked its recognition of "Outer Mongolia", reclaiming it as ROC territory."  In 2002 however, Taiwan announced that it was administratively recognizing Mongolia as an independent country but didn't bother to make an amendment in its 1947 Constitution where Mongolia is still claimed as ROC territory. How should one understand all this? A joke? Wanna talk about friendship between these two  nations? Oh , yeah? How then? Besides, we don't need to be "recognized" by a subject which is a part of an another country.

By the way, I have read once that there is an historical  document revealing  an agreement between a Mongol Khan and a Chinese King stating that both sides will obey that all territories north of Great Chinese Wall belong to the Mongols, and all territories to the south of that wall should be Chinese lands. If we should stick  to this document, since we all consider ourselves as the successor of the Mongol khan and the Chinese king respectively, then we Mongols should claim  the territory to the north of the Great Chinese Wall for ourselves, if not all, then at least the Inner Mongolia's  territory, right? And people know that the Great Chinese Wall was built to mark the northern border of  Chinese territory and should be  a barricade or a fortress  to protect from the attacks by the Mongols.  Even though  it was not much of use during the Mongol invasion ( Mongol Yuan empire), one should nevertheless always consider this  fact when talking about historical boundaries between China and Mongolia.   I don't think that this wall was built to make a tourist attraction, making even the American President Obama so curios that he even couldn't help to stroll along it. No, nobody would buy it, trust me.

With Crimean referendum being a hot topic, I heard that Chinese twitter users have recently discussed about the possibility of having a referendum in Mongolia with couple of Russian-style  questions, and with this behavior  they proved again that they don't want (and don't like) to acknowledge Mongolia's sovereignty over its territory and its  independence. One might wonder why are the Chinese so hated by the Mongols. Well, the answer is obvious. The  Chinese people, of the ROC and PRC  alike, are the ones who nurture this mentality. Don't they get it?

Sumo becomes a "Mongolian" wrestling sport

Mongolian wrestler (traditional wrestling)

Wrestling. One of the toughest physical sports which requires lot of skills and strong muscles. Many nations have own  traditional wrestling games which differ in appearance, regulation and techniques. Mongols have own traditional wrestling sport called "Undesnii boekh", Japanese have their "Sumo", the free style wrestling is considered as the traditional sport in Azerbaijan, the Senegalese call their national wrestling as "Njor", Koreans call theirs "Ssireum", Turkish have this "Oil wrestling", which is know as "Kurash" in Uzbekistan, British Isles have also different styles including "Cumbrian wrestling" , the Austrians have their "Ranggeln", the Swiss have that "Schwingen", the Iranians call theirs as  "Koshti", one of the many styles in India  is called "Mukna", "Bok Chan Bab" is the name of the Cambodian traditional wrestling, the Burmese call theirs "Naban", "Die Jiao" being as the traditional Chinese wrestling style among the others practiced by the non-Chinese minorities in China, the Mexicans have their "Lucha Libre", Sweden's folk wrestling is called "Kragkast", and this list is going to be a very long one if one would include all types and names of wrestling  existed and/or still exist  in the world.

Kakuryu Anand

A Mongolian sumo wrestler named Anand (his Mongolian name) just became the Yokozuna (the highest rank in Sumo) in Japanese professional Sumo. Kakuryu Anand is the 71st Yokozuna in the Sumo history, the sixth foreign-born Yokozuna, and the fourth from Mongolia. The last 4 Yokozunas are all Mongolian citizens, with 3 still active and one retired.  How come the Mongols are so successful in a different type of wrestling than their own? With the last four Yokozunas and more wrestlers in the Makuuchi (top division in pro  Sumo) and other lower divisions, climbing up to the top, this success cannot be called as "accidental". The secret is actually not a "secret", and I'll be more than happy  to share it with you:

1. the ability to adjust
2. the endurance
3. the physical foundation

Just like as one of my co-worker, a black  dude, used to say that the habit of "laying eyes on females" is in their "blood", the toughness and the talent to be "universal" are  in our blood. We have been created so by the nature. There are plenty of examples to prove this. The biggest one would be the invasion of  almost half of the known  world back in 13- 14th centuries. Yes, they could not have  accomplished this if they were "chickens" and weak. They didn't have the  "Kalashnikovs" or tanks, so they had to ride thousands of miles, exposed to all kind of weather conditions, and had to use their  sheer muscles and brain to defeat their enemies.  Why couldn't Germans or Russians do it? Caucasians are of bigger statures than the Asians but they couldn't do do it because they lacked the three "elements" I just mentioned above. Remind you that with "physical foundation" I didn't mean pure the size (height and weight) of the body. Characteristics like the firmness  of the skin and toughness of the flesh should be included in this complex term. The shortness of their body height   must have been a disadvantage on their part, but they could overpower their enemies because their advantages outweighed their disadvantages.

Per Inge Oestmoen wrote, "...In spite of their  being small, Mongol men were in average a little below 170cm [67 inches] , their bodies were powerful. Their weight was about 70 kg [154 pound] trained muscle. Medieval accounts from Persia and elsewhere testify to their great physical strength, disproportionate to their small frame. Still another indicator of prodigious power is the famous Mongol bow. Recurved and powerful, its draw weight lay around 166 pounds. Most grown men of  today will find that a 50-pound bow is about the upper limit of what they can comfortably handle, and modern bows used for competition have draw weights around a mere 30-40 pounds..."   (from "The extraordinary physical ability of the Mongols"  :  http://www.coldsiberia.org/webdoc5.htm )

Not long after the Mongols "discovered" the Sumo in 1990s, and sent some youngsters to Japan, the Mongolian Sumo wrestler  started  causing "troubles" for the native Japanese as their most feared challengers. Among the first Mongolian pioneers, Kyokushuzan Batbayar who retired long ago, was  well-known  for his techniques, and Kyokutenho Tsevegnyam, a veteran,  is still active , amazing the Sumo fans  with his fighting spirit.  Other kids soon followed their steps and in 2003 the first Mongolian Yokozuna, Asashoryu Dagvadorj,   was born. In 2007 Hakuho was promoted to Yokozuna, followed by Harumafuji in 2012, and this month of March a new Yokozuna, Kakuryu Anand, is born. (see:   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_yokozuna )
More on Kakuryu Anand, see:

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kakuryu

 http://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2014/03/23/sumo/mongolian-kakuryu-captures-first-emperors-cup-with-14-1-record/

http://www.japantoday.com/category/sports/view/mongolian-kakuryu-promoted-to-rank-of-yokozuna

http://www.infomongolia.com/ct/ci/7588

One can feel the "pain" of the Japanese Sumo fans and the  nation as a whole, but there is not much to do unless they prohibit foreign-born wrestlers to compete in Japan. In order to stop and eliminate the Mongol dominance, they should change the rule and forbid the foreigners as a whole, otherwise leaving out only Mongols would look "discriminatory" and make the host country  look "bad".  But I don't think that is going to happen, and that means the Mongol domination will continue. On the other hand the Japanese should be thankful to the Mongols for making their Sumo so attractive and well-known in the other parts of the world, beyond the Japanese borders. Especially, during the "Asa-rule" (68th Yokozuna Asashoryu) the Sumo's popularity grew sky high. And today one can be sure that these three Mongolian Yokozunas will do everything to make the Sumo more attractive and competitive. Every Sumo fan, domestic and foreign alike, will enjoy many fierce fights in the future thanks to the Mongol wrestlers who are born to be "wild".

The Mongol gene

Most legendary Mongol wrestler Bayanmunkh Kh.

It happened to me at least twice,  greeted with a  very friendly attitude,   Koreans declared me as a "close relative"  of theirs. By blood and origin. A slightly drunken native American (wrongfully called also as American Indian) approached me once and while holding his bare arm to mine's, said, "Aren't we brothers? Look at our arms; don't they look the same?", meaning the matching skin colors. Kazakhs say that Chinggis Khan (or Genghis Khan if you will) was a Kazakh and therefore they deserve some credit in regards to his fame and name he made in the world history. So, in any way all this makes me feel like I am very "attractive" persona. Indeed, I am not only "attractive", but also a "rare" one too. The fact that the Mongols belong to the remaining 10% of the human beings who originated from the  Haplogroups other than F, proves it. The 90% of the world's population  originally comes from the Haplogroup F.

Now we talking about human genetics.  A Haplogroup is a group of similar "haplotypes" that share a common ancestor. A Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) test determins a haplogroup. In human genetics, most commonly studied haplogroups are Y-chromosome (Y-DNA) haplogroups and Mitochondial (mtDNA) haplogroups. Y-DNA is passed from father to son and mtDNA is passed from mother to child of both sexes. Haplogroups are assigned letters of the English alphabet , and refinements consist of additional number and letter combination. You can find more information on that on Wikipedia and elsewhere.

Genetics tells me where I came from and who I am.  Y-DNA tells me that I belong to Haplogroup called C3. Haplogroup C3 is a Y-Chromosome DNA mainly found in indigenous Mongolians. The subgroup C3b is quite common among males of the indigenous people in North America, so my drunken native American friend could have been  right. As to the  claim of those kind Koreans, I must disappoint them because they belong to the other group: Haplogroup F. We said "Goodbye"  to each other  60.000 (sixty thousand ) years ago when haplogroups C and F were separated. Koreans are more "related" to the Chinese, Arabs, English who all belong to group F. Hard to believe  that they "fell"  from the same "tree" because   they look so different today! (imagine an Englishman standing next to a Han-Chinese). But genetics wouldn't lie and we all  have to believe the science, right?

So, where is the C3 mostly found, you may  ask. Most of the Mongols (including those Mongols living in so called Inner Mongolia/China and Buryat Mongols living in Buryat republic/Russia), Khazara (minority in Afganistan, descendants of Mongols, terrorized and killed by mass during the Taliban regime; C3 up to 40%),  Kalmyks ( Republic of Kalmykia of Russian federation, a Mongol tribe much suffered especially after WW2 during the Soviet regime), Kazakhs (people in Kazakhstan, and Kazakh minority in Mongolia) have a higher C3 percentage.

Kazakhs are descendants of certain Turkic tribes and have own language. How come they have such a  high C3? Kazakhstan's scientists have been working on this for   many years now to answer this question. Of course, one can imagine many different attitudes from them towards the Mongols; some are nice, and some are not. Yet, there is a great propaganda going on to make Chinggis Khan as a Kasakh, as I mentioned before. During the Soviet era, Soviet-Russians wanted the people to  believe  that Kazakhs used to be tall Europeans with blue eyes until Mongols invaded them and raped their women, which  resulted  in how they look today. Namely a Russian named Sergey Karjavin noted in his "study" that the higher C3 percentage among the Kazakhs comes from this invasion, and he dared even to state that today's Mongols are not the ancient Mongols but Manchus and Chinese. What a bastard!

Irish short-story master George Moore (1852-1933) wrote in one of his stories  ("A Russian husband") that if you "Scratch the Russian and you will find a Tartar".  With "Tartar" he meant the Mongols  because  back then Mongols were called mistakenly as Tartars (or Tatars). (There was a tribe called Tatar though).   Of course he meant by that the "barbaric" nature of the Russian who "inherited" it from Tatars (Mongols) by blood.  But genetic studies showed today that the Russians don't carry any "Mongol gene". So, if you "scratch"  them you  shouldn't "find"  any Mongol. I think this  is a good news for them, and the Russians should be relieved, but  still, there are some people who don't want to accept  it. A Russian Health ministry official named Vladimir Nujnii   declared  recently  that half of the Moscow's population carries a Mongol gene and that is why they are alcoholic. What a shame! Now that the science proved that the Russians don't have Mongol genes, it means that he literally insulted own  Russian people, specifically the Moscow's residents, including himself.   I'll  leave him to the native Muscovites regarding the punishment for insulting the entire city and its population. Зараза такая!

Of course, there are other nationalities who have C3 in lower percentage, but with up to 60% of C3, the Kazakhs are definitely closer to the Mongols than any other Asian nation.  We have to wait though until the scientists find out  how and why.                                                                                              

10 Facts people should know about Mongolia

I have just come across an article written by an American named Grace Jacobson who spent some time in Mongolia with his family when she was  a kid. I assume that person is a grown-up now but the memories of her childhood in Mongolia are still fresh and you can be easily convinced of that when you read the article below.  I liked the way she put everything honestly and straight out without any intention just to be nice or to seek  sympathy from the natives (Mongols).

I thought, why not re-post  her article in my blog since  I see it as a "voluntary contribution"   to our purpose  of being  understood correctly and fairly by the other people of the world. Yes, Grace   Jacobson made a big contribution on her part, and I wish  there  are many others who are gotten familiar with Mongolia and Mongols in some way,do the same by sharing their  experiences and spreading their word after they returned home.  I mean the telling the truth and nothing but the truth, i.e. both the good and bad.

I just want to mention  though that some of her  information seem to be  outdated because  it's been  a long time since Grace Jacobson left Mongolia, and/or little bit incorrect. But not many. Like, Mongolia's population is not 3.2  million  as Grace wrote;  we are not even 3 million, yet. Or in terms of the roads, things are getting better  since the new Government is in charge after 2012 election. All  the provinces are going to get connected with the capital city - UB - by asphalted  roads in the coming year or two; I think 4 or 5 provinces, or more,  are already "hooked up" with UB. The new Government has built more roads in 1.5 years than the ex-Government (run by our ex-Communists) has built in its 4-year-office-time combined. So, one an imagine that lots of infrastructure-building-projects are in process. But of course, not every village is going to get connected soon with a decent road, and people still would have to be "challenged" while traveling on the  countryside dirt roads for some time in the future. Lot of investment would be needed to build a criss-cross-type of road net which covers the entire country- 1.5 million square kilometer in size. Just saying that  those who visit Mongolia on later date should expect more improved road conditions and availability outside the capital city and other major cities.

In regards to "Inner" and "Outer" Mongolia question, about which Grace had no idea, I would like to refer you to my earlier post:  http://mayaguais.blogspot.com/2013/05/inner-and-outer-mongolia.html

Grace's article is worth of re-posting because the people of the world are confused, done intentionally by certain subjects or due to the lack of education, and the peace among the people could be never achieved when there is a misunderstanding or confusion. Having a wrong idea about each other leads to complications and hostility. Who would want that?

One more word about calling us Mongols as "barbaric" and brutal. Well, we are talking about 13th century events. Since the human beings started dividing into certain groups (races) and claiming  some territories they call as own, the killings and wars were unavoidable. Long before "barbaric" Mongols appeared on world stage and made some names, in other places people would kill each other merciless. Just think about the famous Christian Crusades (1095-1291).

Let me just quote an extract from historian Raymond of Agiles' description of the capture of Jerusalem by the Crusaders: "Some of our men cut off the heads of their enemies; others shot them with arrows, so that they fell from the towers; others tortured them longer by casting them into the flames. Piles of heads, hands and feet were to be seen in the streets of the city. It was necessary to pick one's way  over the bodies of men and horses. But these were small matters compared to what happened at the temple of Solomon , a place where religious services were ordinarily chanted. What happened there? If I tell the truth, it will exceed your powers of belief. So let it suffice to say this much at least, that in the temple and portico of Solomon, men rode in blood up to their knees and bridle reins."  So, I don't think that anybody would call these crusaders "humane" and not "barbaric". But by "picking on" the Mongols and calling them as murderers and barbaric, some do think that everybody else was "civilized" and "humane". Unfortunately this kind of understanding still exists today. Even in later centuries human beings were "not tired"  of  destroying each other. Think about the millions of lives lost during the world wars. Were they "humanly" killed? Come on now.

 Lastly, I want to thank Grace Jacobson for her article!


10  FACTS PEOPLE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT MONGOLIA 

by Grace Jacobson

When I was nine years old, my family moved to Ulaanbaatar Mongolia. We lived there 4 years before moving  back to the United States. I know that doesn't sound like a very long time, but it was my home.  And I loved it.  Since I moved away, I have often had  to explain the  mysterious Mongolia. It seems that although the famous Mongols once possessed   of the great portion of the known-world , they have since crept back into the shadows.
In light of that I thought I would  share with you  10 Facts People Should Know About Mongolia.

1. It is in Asia (not Africa) 

Sometimes, people ask me where home is. I look at them for a moment and then  say slowly,  "I am not really sure. I lived in Mongolia for four years though." That usually changes the subject (thank goodness) to, "Oh! Mongolia!  That's interesting. It's hot there, right?"
I hesitate. Could Mongolia be described as hot? Well, I used to think the summers were hot. They could get up in the 90s. But, no, of course not. Mongolia would never be described as hot. It has basically  9 months of winter.
- "Are you thinking of Angola?"
- "Oh! That's right. I am. Where is Mongolia again?"
- "Sandwiched between Russia and China", I respond.
- "Ha! That's funny. I forgot there was even a country there."
You are not alone, my friend. You are  not alone.

2. They speak Mongolian (not Chinese)

- "You lived in Mongolia! How interesting! Do you speak Chinese then?"
- "..No. No, I don't speak Chinese because they don't speak Chinese in Mongolia. They speak Mongolian."
A common misconception about Mongolia is that they are some sort of territory or province of China.
As much as China might like that, this is not the case. I know this is confusing with the province in China  actually called "Inner Mongolia".  Let me explain. Inner Mongolia is outside of Mongolia - in China.  Outer Mongolia is actual Mongolia. Don't ask me why this happened, I have no idea.
Due to the fact that Mongolia is not a part of China, it speaks a language  not even remotely like Chinese.  Strangely enough, it is more similar to Arabic than anything else. It is not tonal, it doesn't use characters, and, to be honest, t doesn't sound very pretty. But I love it because it's theirs.

3. They eat Mutton (Not "BD's Mongolian Grill")

- "You are so lucky you got to live in Mongolia! I LOVE Mongolian food!"
Few things in life make me want to cuss. However, hearing these words makes this girl want to scream some foul language. I did not eat 500 mutton dumplings or drink a 1000 bowls of milk tea  to be told I was lucky to eat it.  I ate it to be polite. I am sure there are some people in the world who really appreciate a hearty Mongol meal. If you like mutton and fermented mare's milk, you really are in for a treat. Wait, are you surprised that this doesn't sound like BD's Mongolian Grill?  That's because that  restaurant is one  big fat lie.
BD's serves seafood, NY strip steak, and every kind of beautiful fresh vegetable you can imagine. It has workers, with swords, flinging your food around on a grill while they sing a happy "Mongol" song. Just...what the heck.

Mongolia is a  landlocked country - it's a rare day when they get seafood. NY strip steak? Are you kidding me?  I'd saw off my right leg for one of those in Beijing alone. Mongolia is a land of permafrost - getting a lot of different kind of veggies is a miracle.  I just can't tell you how much BD's goes against every memory of my Mongolian childhood. I do understand that it is a delicious restaurant, but I am not really sure why they picked Mongolia. Maybe the idea that no one would ever know they were crazy?  On a positive note , I do hope it's helping  Mongolian tourism. What a bummer for the tourists though, when they realize there is no delicious seafood on the menu.

4. Roads are privilege (Not a right)

I have noticed that complaining about poor road conditions is just something humans like to do. When I first visited Leif's home in downeast Maine , I learned that America still has a final frontier in regards to roads. They twist, and they dip, and they bump. I feel nauseated every time we fly down the street to his old home.
However, nothing compares to the "roads" of Mongolia. Almost as soon as you leave the capital, Ulaanbaatar, you find the end of the pavement. You cross over into the nomadic steppe that is the Mongolian countryside. The roads become dirt paths  that have so many potholes and rocks you often better off just driving on the grass. 

My dad would often weave our jeep in and out of power lines, saying, "We know power leads to something!"  Of course, that meant getting stuck in a bog for six hours until a Russian truck tow us out.  The time dad stayed faithful to the dirt "road", the jeep rolled three times and he almost died out in the Mongolian steppe. 
I would just like to take this moment to thank the American  government for their beautiful  highways.
Thanks, America. 

5. It's pronounced OO-LAN-BAH-TER (Not OO-LAN-BAY-TAR)

Ulaanbaatar is a fascinating  city that I hope everyone has the privilege of visiting. It is nestled in a valley, surrounded by rolling hills with ancient Mongolian script painted upon them. A developing city , it is under almost constant construction as it seeks to better itself  for the world stage. And, currently, Mongolia is actually considered one of the world's fastest growing economies. 
Surrounding modern Ulaanbaatar is the ger district.  The ger district is where more than half of Mongolians live. It often, if not entirely, lacks access to basic amenities like water, sewage systems, and central heating. 
Gers (Yurts) are  the felt tents you may have seen in pictures when talking about northern Asia. The ger district is mostly made up of these gers, wooden fences and poorly constructed houses. 
Now that you know little more  about Ulaanbaatar, just remember to pronounce it correctly. Or you could always just call it "UB" for short. 

6. There are people there (Not just animals)

In university, I took an  international relations class that required each student to religiously read the BBC news every week.  Each week, I waited and waited for there to be an article about Mongolia. I thought about how wonderful it would be to finally be able to share  my favorite country with my class... No article ever came.
I can understand why people aren't sure anyone lives in the country. I mean, we never hear about them in the media. My dad. being the wise father he is, did a lot of research on Mongolia before we moved there. One of the few things he uncovered during his research was that Mongolia has more horses than people. So...it is an empty land running free with horses?
Well, yes and no. There are, indeed,  a lot of horses. And sheep. And goats. And yaks. And reindeer. And hawks. And vultures. However, I am here to tell you today, there are also 3.2 million people in Mongolia.
3 million people with a unique culture  and fascinating traditions. Just because you never hear about them, doesn't mean they don't exist.

7. Chinggis Khaan is their hero (Not a villain)  

When we were feeling particularly optimistic about life, my family and I traveled around the countryside of Mongolia. Usually we decided to venture out for a camping trip or some other kind of vacation. Every time we got in the car, my brother, Jonan, and I would sit by our windows and stare intently out at the steppe.
Our parents had told us that Chinggis Khaan was buried out there somewhere and, gosh darn it, we were gonna be the ones to find him.
Chinggis Khaan (Genghis Khan), as you may  remember from history class, was the founder and the Great Khan of the Mongol empire.  He was able to unite the nomadic tribes and conquer most of Euroasia. He was a fearless leader, willing to do whatever necessary to further his people's iron grasp of the world. Their conquest was brutal.
Despite the brutality Chinggis Khaan used, he is never a villain in the eyes of the Mongols. He is their founding father. Their hero. Statues of him are found all over Mongolia  and,  honestly, can you blame them?
Chinggis Khaan, although  horrendously vicious, got the job done. A tip of the hat to the brilliant warrior.
As rumors have it, Chinggis Khaan had a very serious burial plan in the event of his death. He was to be buried at an undisclosed location and anyone who was involved in the burial process was later to be killed.
As you might imagine, Jonan and I never found his grave. Bummer.

8. It is frigid (Not just cold)    

Our first winter in Mongolia, our radiators in our apartment froze. It was -40 Celsius and our heaters froze. We could put hot soup on the counter and it would freeze in 5 minutes or less. I have decided that I didn't know cold until I didn't know what warmth felt like any more. You know it's cold when your snot  freezes to your nose hairs. You know it's cold when your eyelashes get so many ice crystals you can't see anymore. And you know it's cold when you are wearing seven layers and you are still cold.
Strangely enough, thanks to the polar vortex this year, a lot of you may actually know how this feels. It is freaking miserable. Not just miserable. Freaking miserable.
However, when it gets warm enough to snow again, suddenly your are running around in shorts and a T-shirt. Mongolia and the cold give you  tough skin.

9. It is an undiscovered beauty (Not a desolate wasteland) 

Yes, Mongolia doesn't have a lot of people. And, yes, Mongolia isn't well known. Yet, Mongolia  still has so much to offer.  My memories of Mongolia are absolutely beautiful. There is a sea of rolling steppe where you can watch the shadows of clouds roll over the land for miles. In the north, there is beautiful Lake Khovsgol, where mountains, forests, and plains collide. In the west, towering, snow-capped mountains. And, in the south, there is the Gobi desert with towering sand dunes and springing tumbleweeds.
Part of me loves that Mongolia is so little known. Part of me hopes it'll stay that way forever, because it is charming in its endless emptiness of beauty.

10.  It is always an adventure (Not ever boring)

All of my best stories have come from  Mongolia. My family and I were trapped in a blizzard in the Gobi Desert. Nine stories of sewage backed up into my family's toilet and tub. I stepped on a mouse that died in my boot. I could tell you story after story, but all of  it to say, Mongolia is the best kind of adventure.
It's the kind of adventure where you don't know how it is going to turn out. You never know what the next day will bring. You never know how it's going to change you. I am incredibly grateful my parents moved me to the unknown nation of Mongolia. It taught me the  life-long lesson:  There should always be adventure.