I think Asians tend to look alike. Mongolians have almost the same look as Chinese (be it Chinese from China, Malaysia or Indonesia etc), but there are some special features that actually distinct them from the rest. They usually have higher cheekbones, chubby cheeks, smaller eyes, brown skins and straight black hair (woman) and curly hair (usually guys). I think I kinda look like them because of my fats on the cheek (Baby Fat :/) and thus many tried to speak Mongolian to me. And it is so sad that I couldn't understand nor talk to them, even though I really really want to. Can really sense the disappointment from their eyes. :( So lets continue back to the story from Day 0! And so I get off from the plane, and start to queue in the immigration checkpoints. And it took me 2 HOURS standing at the same spot. I was super worried because AIESECers from Mongolia that came to pick me up may be puzzled with what's going on with me and may even just leave. BUT THEY DIDN'T. Damn I'm so surprised. They are so kind and makes me feel so touched. Summing up the immigration checkpoint waiting time and the flight delay, they could have possibly waited for me for more than 3 hours! Not to mention that airport is located at the outskirt of the city, and it took them more than an hour to reach here. The first thing they tell me is: I AM SUPER EXCITED!!! YOU ARE OUR FIRST EP FOR MONGOLIA, AND WE ARE SO PROUD YOU'RE HERE! Well, I am not the First one actually (I'm the second) but I still feel proud too omg!! So we took taxi from airport to city centre. It took almost an hour to reach as the airport was located in the outskirt of the city. The first thing I felt about this city was that: There is sand everywhere. Buildings are located far way from each other (perhaps they have too much land) and the weather is hot and dry. But the people are so kind and genuine, they make you feel like you're precious to them, and they are more than welcome to share this amazing journey with you! :) And so I learnt some quick new facts about this country during the car ride: 1. Mongolia has extreme weather. Min: -40DC during winter Max +40DC during summer. (omg) 2. Mongolian generally only speak Mongolian. Older generation do speak Russian and German, but it is less common. 3. Ulaanbaatar (the capital city) is only a small part of Mongolia, but is home to 50% of Mongolian population. This makes the city super-crowded, and rents/house prices was super high. The traffic is super heavy as well. You can be at the same spot for more than 15 minutes if you were on the road during peak hours! 4. Mongolians prefer Korean food over Chinese food. Korean restaurants are EVERYWHERE. Basically every 2 minutes you'll see one. I suspect people eat Korean food more than local food. 5. Some basic concept of the living costs in Mongolia. Currency conversion: £1 = 3000tögrög ; RM1 = 562.64tögrög It is so cheap if you convert everything to pounds, but "kind of the same" if convert to Malaysian Ringgit. People's salary in average is 1 million tögrög. Rental/housing loan stand most of their monthly expenditure, especially those that live in the capital city. And so, after an hour ride from airport, I'm finally "home". My host welcomed me with a heart-warming smile. She's a single lady, living in a flat which is 15 minutes away from the city centre. Below are some pictures of the flat which I will be staying in for 5 weeks in Mongolia. I was actually pretty nervous as this will be my first time to live with a stranger for more than a month. But everything goes well. My host is a banker in the Mongolian local bank. Her name is Ganaa. She speaks fluent Mongolian, Russian and Turkish, but with limited English proficiency. Body languages helped a lot, so far nothing "big" has been misunderstood. (But quite a lot of small things are, HAHA) One last thing to tell you guys before I end this post! So the day I arrived: 1st June, is basically a national public holiday for Mongolians. It's a mother's and children's thanksgiving day in the country! But different from other countries, everyone (both kids and adults) get a day off to celebrate it with family, and the attention and effort given into this day is comparable to New Year celebration or Christmas in Western countries. (You can read more about it here) People usually celebrate it in the Sukhbaatar Square, but you can also feel the atmosphere in other smaller squares in different regions. That's all for the first day! Hope you enjoy my sharing! <3
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