Tag: Mongolia
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The Creative Woman of the Year Award!
Last weekend I went to London, so excited to see the Mongolian singer Jargalsaihan’s concert. Well, ok I admit it I was excited because I was nominated for an award – Woman of the Year 2012 for Mongolians in Europe. This was the awards ceremony in Copthorne Hotel in Kensington I was going to. A…
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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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S is for Smokie
Thanks to Anne I remembered Smokie! Anne watched them in Blackpool and I watched their visit in Mongolia on Mongolian TV and danced to their songs in the late 1990’s in the night clubs of Ulaanbaatar. Smokie played a two night sell out concert to 25,000 people in Ulaanbaatar. As the open air stadium was…
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D is for Duu
Duu can be Дуу (song) or Дүү (younger sibling) in Mongolian. My sister Tseye I chose this word because I miss my only sister Tseye. She lives in Mongolia. She really wanted to be here when our son Billy passed away. She misses me and listens to this song ‘Ijiin Entei egch’ in Mongolian. I’ll…
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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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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…