The Journey Up
I was lucky enough to return this year to the beautiful West
Taigaa camp in the northern province of Khuvsgul where the Dhuka community
lives. It is a very long journey to get
all the way to their summer camp (the Dhuka tribe moves every season following
the cold for their reindeer to survive). The journey starting from Ulaanbaatar
was first a 14 hour bus ride (now that the road is paved) to the province of
Murun; then there was 10 -12 hour purgon (Russian jeep) ride to the Tsaaganuur
village—where we spent one night for rest near a nice lake before heading all
the way up. The next day the purgon picked us up for an additional 1 hour ride
to the place where our horses would be waiting to continue the 6.5 hr horse
ride journey up to the Taigaa through forests, cliffs and rocky mountains. It is an amazing trip but I have to say it
requires resiliency, a good attitude for when things don’t go quite as planned
(often) and lots of flexibility as well as a good team of people to travel with
to keep things light as much as possible.
Going back to the drop off point where we waited for our
horses—we hung out with the guides that were already there while we waited for
our host dad “Naranjuu” to meet us. While we waited, Enkhe, this very kind
young woman made us some tea and we all sat around with our guide on the grass
near a fresh water spring drank tea and ate bread they shared with us. Once Naranjuu got there they packed some of
the horses with our stuff (food, clothing donations, etc) and we headed up.
The first 3 hours of the ride are
the best as far a comfort, after the third hour – you definitely start
feeling it, your knees are not happy with you and you start asking yourself “are we there yet?”. Thankfully, we
stopped at a family’s teepee on the way up who were kind enough (as it is
custom is Mongolia to welcome any and all travelers) to offer us shade in their
home and delicious reindeer milk tea. There were two little ones at this home,
a 3 year old and a tiny baby who was in his home made baby cradle that mom hung
up on the teepee—the baby was adorable, all bundled up like a burrito (the
whole thing was one of those moments that is a bit difficult to describe why it
was so special, unless you are there).
We then thanked the family and continued the trip; sadly, a
couple of our guides were feeling a bit sick—some factors were heat exhaustion
and dehydration ,we thought; so we gave them water and snacks along the way and
some baby wipes to put on their heads to help them cool off. We did find out one of them ( a pretty young guy) had a blood pressure problem; unfortunately he had lost his medication and the village was too far away to get more meds. There was definitely a feeling of powerlessness to not be able to provide more that would ease his discomfort so all we could do was monitor how he was doing as a team with our other guides. I admire their
determination and strength – they would just rest for a bit and continue
on—giving up is not an option for them.
As we continue on our horse ride passing beautiful green
lands and hearing the nearby spring—some of us sang Mongolian songs with our
guides (“those moments”) laughed and joked around. One of the guides had
learned “I love you” in English, so he kept flirting with Enkhe jokingly
telling her “ I love you”—it was the best, riding behind them and seeing Enkhe
blushing and giggling while she refused his advances. A little while after, I ended up right behind
Enke and then she started singing-wow! What a beautiful voice and what a
feeling to be on that journey, on that green land, with that blue sky all
around us and hearing that voice with traditional Mongolian songs and with such
sentiment.
Finally 6.5 hours later, with the last bit of energy in us
we reached the camp where our family was waiting for us. The best part for me
as I was greeted was “mama” (my little host sister) saying “Hi Saura!” (she almost got it right) to be remembered by
her and to be greeted with such a warm smile was priceless. Then, I don’t know
how we managed to get off our horses with our knees locked but we did as
reindeer milk tea and bread were waiting for us in our family’s home.
Community Work
All of us PCVs there were in different sectors: health,
community youth development (CYD) and TEFL. We divided according to sectors;
for health we did a review on hand washing and tooth brushing, we also had a
women’s hygiene session and a sports day and we tried to answer health related
questions on a case by case basis (nothing diagnostic as we are not doctors)
just things such as an older lady telling us her knee was hurting and what
could she do to prevent more pain. The CYD group did lessons on communication,
self- esteem and relationships and TEFL taught basic language skills that could
be useful for the community when dealing with tourists and selling their
handmade traditional items.
Throughout the week we also distributed the clothing we
collected from the donations we got from Mongolians and expats. The community
was very thankful and our grandma told us how useful these things were since it
is so hard for them to go down to Tsaganuur from their camp (about 8 hours away
by horse or reindeer).
Another fun chore was picking up reindeer poo with our host
family in the mornings so that the reindeer don’t sleep on their poop. In the
absence of gloves we picked it up with our hands (don’t cringe)all these
creatures eat is green, fresh pasture from the mountains and salt- there are
many things we touch every day that are way dirtier, I bet.
There were a couple of other nice moments we had this year
based on our trip last year. Last year there was a little girl who had open
wounds on her face due to dryness, cold and sun exposure. We taught her and her
mom some preventive measures on how to keep the wounds clean and how to prevent
further damage by always wearing a hat in the sun and trying to keep her face
moisturized. So this year when we saw her we were so so happy to see her
wearing a lovely hat every day and to see her face clear with no wounds. Another
highlight was our young brother Erdene coming out of his teepee, calling me and
showing me how he brushes his teeth the way they had learned last year. It is
impossible to make big a big impact in a week but when you see even a small
change in one life and you can recognize that—it becomes everything, it is the
reason we are here, the reason we stay and why it is so hard when it’s time to
go.
Our Visit to our West
Taigaa Shaman
So we met the Shaman for the West Taigaa; he came to our
camp to meet us and we sat in a circle for a while chatting while he graciously
answered our curious questions. Questions about the spirits he praises which
are his ancestors that he reaches through praising all things in nature (the
mountains, the sun, the rain). He comes from a family of Shamans and it is an
honor to him to be one and to help his West Taigaa community. The community
comes to him to ask many questions about health mainly and also about the best
location for their camps to have a productive season each season. Before he
left, he agreed to have a ceremony with is and he asked us to come to his camp
the next evening at about 12 AM when the sun has gone down and the stars are
out. A night full of stars is the best night to have a ceremony and to get
answers from the ancestors if one is seeking them.
The next day, we headed over to his home at about 11:30pm.
We got there a bit early so while we waited for the stars to come out, we drank
tea and chatted. The stars were finally shining so as he started getting ready
he told us to think positive things for our lives and future as he did his
ritual. He then showed us a paw—a wolf paw—that he would be throwing to each of
us. He explained that if the paw landed paw up, that was very good; on the
other hand, if it landed paw down, that was bad and if it landed on the side it
was so so. The ceremony started with soft drum beats and chanting and as the
spirits entered his body the drumming and chanting got a bit louder and he
rocked his body in a light dancing motion. He then started asking for things
(well the spirits were) milk tea to start, then other items. Then as the
spirits took over him, he starting throwing the paw, I got it second. I regret
to report the first throw landed face down- no good- so then I was asked to
pick it up and handed to him saying a word I cannot recall right now. Anyway,
because the paw landed face down, he needed to clean my spirit and make things
good and balanced so I had to bow down as he drummed and chanted over me,
burning “arz” (pine tree incense, over my head too), then he threw the paw
again and this time it landed face up- I had to pick it up again with both
hands and handed to him saying “ tuurig”—this meant he had cleaned my spirit
and it was now good. He did the same to
all 9 of us who were there and to his family who were there to help with the
ceremony as well. After the ceremony
ended, we were allowed to ask questions—he provided answers and advice until
about 3:00 AM (thank you Darii for your awesome translation, kindness and
willingness to help!) when we headed over to our camp-- excited for what we had
just experienced, exhausted and reflective under thousands of stars,
accompanied by the noise of the spring, the funny laughing bird and the amusing
reindeer noises.
The Daily Life
From sun up to sun down our family works although there is a
little nap time every day. They get up early in the morning each ready to do
their chores. The women to bake bread, prepare reindeer milk tea and milk the
reindeer, the children to help a bit and play outside and the men to herd the
reindeer. The poop pick up is done by everyone, the more people help the faster
it gets done. Throughout the day, the men monitored the herd; the women do
house chores, watch the kids and watch after the reindeer that stay near their
home. In the evening everyone herds the reindeer in—the men go find them by
horse making a very sharp sound and once the reindeer arrive home, everyone
starts tying the younger ones to their little bed posts and feeding them a salt
snack. Reindeer looooove salt which is also the reason that motivates them to
follow us to the field when we go to the bathroom and to stand behind us as we
do our business too- the company can be nice…I guess J.
Taigaa Naadam
Another highlight was the community deciding to put together
a small Naadam where we watched Reindeer races, wrestling and played tug of
war. Best part- our little 3 year old host brother Tuvshiin tightly strapped to
a reindeer that was being pulled by his dad. As Tuvshiin made it across the
finish line with his dad we all cheered and gathered to see him get his winner
award. As he received his award he pressed it gently on his little forehead—a
sign of appreciation all people do here when they receive a gift.
I can explain what we did and what I felt at times but it is
impossible to completely describe what all the little moments we experienced
meant and the feelings they bring. Feelings of true appreciation, moments of
being in awe of everything-- the place, the people, the smiles, the noises, the smells and the
love we were given by our family and the way they made us feel part of them. I
am thankful to have been able to do this again as I close my Peace Corps
service; this has been one of the best experiences in PC and in my life. On the last day, our host mom, Bolormaa, gave
3 of us who will not be going back next year an embroidered pillow she had made
the night before with our host sister—I cried as I received it and hugged
her—she lovingly told us “come back again”—It was a very loving and genuine
moment—it is what Peace Corps is about- it is those connections, those
impressions you get and you give, is being able to walk away with so much love
towards the community and feeling loved and knowing that somewhere far away in
a very very remote community of Mongolia near the Siberian forests you have a
home you can always come back to—that is beyond words.
