Category: Curiosities
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Another Award!
Yes, I ‘met’ some wonderful people online through blogging, Twitter and Facebook. I apologise to Guilie who gave me this fantastic award for my blog. It has been a few months since I was given the award. I went to Mongolia and just back. I want to say thank you to Guilie for the award.…
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Z is for Zavhan
Zavhan is my home province in Mongolia. It is a bit bigger than countries like Scotland and Austria and it is in the western part of Mongolia. My childhood was spent in these mountains and deserts, riding horses and milking cows, goats and sheep. My book Mongol covers my childhood and it was lovely to…
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U is for Ulaanbaatar
Ulaanbaatar (Red hero) is the capital city of Mongolia. In English it is written as Ulan-bator. It is the largest city in Mongolia with over one million (2008) people. In Britain, people seem to know it from mostly pub quizzes and Discovery channels. I went to university in Ulaanbaatar. I was a country bumpkin with…
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T is for Tetris
Do you remember Tetris? Have you ever played it? I do and I did. My dad brought a handset for us and we played with it a lot, in fact we were addicted to it. My parents were addicted to it too. My mum used to say: – Come on, who fancies a game…
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O is for 00
When I learnt to say the numbers in English I was surprised that zero can be letter O. The same symbols mean different things in different countries sometimes. I can imagine if I say I need to go the nil/zero room some might not understand. In Mongolia and Russia toilet signs were 00 in 19th…
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If Pigs Could Fly!
‘Willie, can you come here, please?’ called this woman across the hotel reception area where I worked. I couldn’t believe what I just heard. I quickly ran into the tiny staff room. I was so embarrassed and didn’t know where to look. I hoped nobody heard that. What did she just say?!! She said ‘Willy’…
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Love is not enough
photo credit: Investing in Gold ‘Mum, how much is it to raise a child?’ asked my 13-year-old hardly closed the door behind her, came from school . ‘Well, I guess it depends on where they live and what they have.’ I answered realising I never thought about it before. She immediately started looking for information…
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Letters from Patna Primary school
When I was feeding my baby girl I heard this thump in the hall. That was the postman delivering the post. I opened this heavy brown envelope addressed to me in a hurry. ‘Dear Mrs Ramsay I am writing to thank you for coming to our school and giving us a taste of Mongolian life…’…
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5 Good-to-Know Customs in Mongolia
When I left Mongolia over 10 years ago I never read any travel books and knew nothing about travelling and other cultures. I learnt through my experience. Here are some customs I had to alter and change living abroad. In Mongolia: 1. Shake hands if you stepped on someone’s toes. You can say ‘Uuchlaarai’ meaning…
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Visit Scotland, but know these…
I’ve been living in Scotland over 10 years and these are 5 Mistakes foreigners make 1. It’s called England. Please don’t do that. They won’t correct you, but they’ll be pretty annoyed. There are 4 countries in the United Kingdom: Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and England. 2. Everyone in Scotland loves whisky. True, Scotland is…