Our second fundraiser followed well in the footsteps of the first. We had a blast playing Rock Band with our friends last Wednesday in what is sure to be the first of many karaoke fundraisers. The Spectator was a great location for this event so I suspect we’ll probably continue to have these there…
We had such a great time Friday night at our kickoff Holiday Party and Fundraiser! Friends, new and old, and family all joined us at Roq La Rue to celebrate with wine and music. We presented our plan and everybody donated generously to help us make it to Mongolia. Not only did we raise funds to get started, but we’ve acquired reserve fuel tanks (jerry cans), a tent, sleeping bag and a donation of environmentally friendly soap!
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Archery, wrestling, and several hundred miles of horse racing… every July the Naadam Festival takes place all over Mongolia. These are the 3 “manly” sports… although the jockeys in the horse races are exclusively children, and the chestless wrestling uniform exists to keep women from competing (and potentially from winning).
In two weeks we will be celebrating the holidays at local art gallery, Roq La Rue, with our first fundraising event. We hope to entertain and educate our friends and family with more info about the Mongol Rally and Mercy Corps. We also have morin khuur (Mongolian horse hair cello) players lined up to give everybody a taste of what we saw at the Khoomei-Taiko Ensemble performance. It’s shaping up to be a fun evening! I can’t wait.
Post-Soviet Mongolian Hip Hop explores a new found freedom of expression, cultural identity, and… nationalism? Incorporating khoomei throat singing and traditional themes, Hip Hop in Mongolia takes fewer cues from the West than it has in other countries. Definitely more Genghis Khan than Chaka Khan.
Lousia Lim examines the long lasting effect cheap alcohol, used as a tool for colonizing Mongolia by both the Russians and Chinese, has had on the country’s culture and economy.
Mongolia may seem like one of the most remote places on the planet, but it still couldn’t escape the reach of sub-prime lending. Even as the IMF declares the worst of the global recession is over, and the economy starts to rebound here at home, Mongolians are feeling the pain of depressed commodity prices. Many herders who turned to sub-prime loans are suffering increasing balloon interest payments similar to the adjustable rate mortgages that have made so much news here.
NPR recently had a week long series on Mongolia that I wrote a little bit about on Current.com. Each day of the series focused on a different aspects of the Mongolian culture or economy. I’m going to repost one of these articles each week for the next several weeks. This first report about the Ninja Miners gives insight into some of the challanges Mongolians face managing their wealth of natural resources
Last night Baatar Hero witnessed an awesome and rare performance.
We went to a World Affairs Council Global Classroom event at Town Hall to learn a little more about Mongolia, and my expectations were blown away. Our evening began with a presentation for local teachers by Dwight Gee, President of the Arts Council of Mongolia, and Pat Burleson, Director of Japanese Connections (a high school study tour program to Japan). Both presentations were informative and inspiring. We were even invited to get up and say a few words about the RoamGreen and the Mongol Rally which was very cool, but the best part was meeting Dwight and watching the presentations…
I sent this email out today to launch the site and announce to friends and family that we are participating in the Mongol Rally.
The time has come again when Kim and I set about taking another long and far flung journey around the world. And this time we are taking you along for the ride! Literally.
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It’s taken a while to get the fundraising widget set up and put the finishing touches on this site. There is actually quite a bit still to work on, but I think we’re ready (enough) to launch this thing!
