Where Next? Travel with Kristen and Carol
Where Next? Travel with Kristen and Carol
Mongolia - Story with Tungso Bridging East and West
In this episode of Where Next? Travel with Kristen and Carol, we return to Mongolia—this time through the eyes of Tungso, a Mongolian native now living in the U.S. She shares a deeply personal and vibrant portrait of her home country, from nomadic life in the northern mountains to the unique blend of traditional and modern living in Ulaanbaatar. We talk about everything from shamanism and Soviet influence to the fierce independence of Mongolian women, the simplicity of daily life, and the warmth of a culture where community and hospitality still reign.
Tungso also gives us a peek into Mongolia’s biggest holidays, including Naadam with its wrestling, horse racing, and archery, and how New Year’s is celebrated with sparkle, family, and salty milk tea. She reflects on how her upbringing shaped her values around minimalism, resilience, and pride in heritage. Whether you're curious about taking the Trans-Siberian train to Ulaanbaatar or just want to understand why Mongolia is unlike anywhere else, this episode will expand your perspective and leave you longing for a visit.
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Hi, welcome to our podcast when Next Travel with Kristen and Carol. I am Kristen and I am Carol, and we're two long-term friends with a passion for travel and adventure.
Speaker 2:Each episode, we interview people around the globe to help us decide where to go next. In this episode we once again visit Mongolia. In episode 63, we had interviewed an American who fell in love with the country and moved there, and this time we are speaking to a local that grew up in Mongolia and has moved to the US. Tungso is so passionate about her love for her country and shares what makes it so special. We talk about the holidays, the history, and we discuss how the culture is very different than here in the US, especially around material items. Enjoy, dukso.
Speaker 3:Thank you so much for joining Aware Next podcast today, and thanks in advance for teaching us about Mongolia. I'm so excited. Of course, yeah, I'm happy to Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1:Sure, I'd love to start and say when did you come here to the US? You grew up in Mongolia. What did that look like All your history? Well, yeah, I was. You grew up in Mongolia. What did that look like All your history?
Speaker 3:Well, yeah, I was born and raised in Mongolia. I met my husband in Mongolia. He was a peace governor and you know like, I know I had a lot of, like, foreign friends over there. But when I decided to well, I came here to visit first and to see the, you know like after he finished a two-year period of peace guard visit first and to see the, you know like after he finished the two-year period of Peace Corps time and he came back and I visited you know who wouldn't like California in November, october, especially Bay Area, oh, it's beautiful. He took me to.
Speaker 3:Yosemite, I love this, oh, I loved it. And then, like, I went back again still not sure, you know. And then I went back again following the year, on March, and then I went out because my college friends were here. It's, you know, like diverse and different languages and food. You know, like I loved it. And then, after living with my husband six months, we were like you know what here we are talking about, like a foreigner, I can't just be your girlfriend forever. You know, I have to eat the in and out of the relationship, you know. And then we decided to get married and then that's the luckily the guy, my husband, as he lived in Mongolia, he knows my people, he knows my culture and he's from Bay Area. That really helped me to move in there.
Speaker 3:It's a lot of challenges but you know, again, you know I went to sick after several years later and I recovered and I get treatment Amazing. You know I cannot say any negative things about America, especially the medical science. You know I'm into science and it's like we went through a lot, but again, it's a great country. And it's like we went through a lot, but again it's a great country, you know, even though there are a lot of things that are still astonishing me. You know like I didn't know like women paid less than men until very recently. I was like what? And just being a woman, you can get paid less. I couldn't understand that. Still I'm having some troubles. But you know a lot of things. It's very interesting. It's still challenging to understand.
Speaker 1:It's difficult to adjust it. Yeah, and I'm so interested and I remember when we talked, you said that and it kind of shocked me because and it's kind of weird that that would be a normal thing for us to just understand, like yep, that's just the way it is. Well, why is that? Because we're still doing the same thing, like so, but in Mongolia, how is that between women and men and women working?
Speaker 3:Well, the women, because we have a lot of influence from Soviet Union. You know they were doing communist at one time. Women are really strong Most of the like. You know teachers and doctors. All the women are really educated Again, like any other country. It's like decision-making positions are mostly men, even though women's rights are much higher. Women are more respected than any other countries. I didn't know that, because even their name we don't have he, she, linguistically, we have that person.
Speaker 3:And through email or writing exchange, the person would know I'm a woman Until if we see each other we don't have the gender linguistically. Maybe that's one of the factors that can affect a woman's role. I think woman's, you know, role, I think yeah. And and then again the in the families. They invest so much for girls integration than men we believe. Oh, men can get, uh, by doing some labor, work, they can be okay, but the woman we need the integration. So if there's a family, have choices between women and men, girl and boy. It's more girls for education.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and it just kind of like the whole not really having the he-she pronouns. Is there any trans people that are non-binary as we call them here?
Speaker 3:No, not really Again. You know I left the country almost 20 years ago. If you guys go back home, you know, after living abroad, you still have Walmart, you still have your Safeway, you know. But when I go back, there are a lot of changes, especially in the last 10 years. It's a lot of change happened, but there is now the like gay rights are. You know they're getting a lot of noise but growing up it's unfortunately in other countries, in being gay and trans people. It's very compressed.
Speaker 2:Yeah, okay, and were you living? Because we did another episode once where someone toured people for, like nomadic living. Did you live in a city when you were there, or did?
Speaker 3:you move around. Living is hundreds of years ago exactly same. The families wrap up the yurt, like for westerners call the yurt, we call a gear, wrap up, fall of the animal. They need the pastures organic pastures three times to move around around the year. So it's still same. And the kids go to school in, like I make, we call it like province center, like dormitory, stay in the family. Still, you know the corridor, still move around three times a year. My grandparents lived in in the mountains. I'm from um northern side of mongolia, close to russia, okay, so they they were um, they were in the high mountains. My grandparents lived that wow, uh, in a, in a tb, like kind of like native indians living in a tb when I went, uh, to fursome, I went to yesometer.
Speaker 3:they said native indians and tbr. It's like, oh my god, that's my grandparents, exactly. They have the same shape, after you know, living situation is very similar. And then also they, even the very spiritual, the shamans, is still same Like. It's very interesting how similar the native Indians and Mongolians, especially the facial features are very similar. I cannot distinguish between native Indians, tibetan and Mongolian. I'm really good at distinguishing oh, chinese, japanese, that's easy, but for some reason Tibetan and native Indians, mongolian, it's very, very similar.
Speaker 2:I think I was watching a show called Apocalypse, ancient Something, civilizations, and they talked about how people actually from Mongolia came over across into Alaska.
Speaker 3:It used to all be connected and then it came down.
Speaker 2:Oh my gosh, it's such an interesting show, wow. So do you speak any Russian, since you were kind of close to Russia?
Speaker 3:Well, we learned in middle and high schools. We have a lot of. That's why. I have more Russian accent than a lot of people think I'm from Eastern Europe because my second language is Russian. I really need to refresh my Russian language. If I go back to Russia, I think you know I will be okay, but I miss Russian language. I need to refresh it.
Speaker 1:And what's the native language in Mongolian?
Speaker 3:It's linguistically completely different than Chinese and Japanese in Korea. I think it's the same family as the Turkish language. We have similar words there, but it's a completely different language. We have like similar words there, but it's completely different languages. It's very different.
Speaker 2:And does the whole country speak the same language?
Speaker 3:Yeah, the whole country speaks the same language, only one language, mongolian. It's like population is growing up, you know we have it's a big sandwiched country. You know, if you guys know that it's then locked between Russia and China. In 1921, russians came to Mongolia like really Bushwicks. They came to Mongolia, helped us to kick Chinese out and Chinese has dominated Mongolia hundreds of years, Even though Mongolia we were able to keep the language and keep the culture, but even though there's still some like culture influence there. But you know, like, with the language, like Mongolian, it's like we always we keep the language and it's very amazing how tiny bit like population-wise we're so tiny, growing up like Mongolian population at 2.3 million people and now maybe close to 3 million, but still it's very, you know, comparing with the country size, population is very, very small.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, and that's like less than all of Colorado. Wow yeah, that's much bigger.
Speaker 1:I was also curious like it's cold there right.
Speaker 3:Well, yeah, the summer is very short, yeah, and then it's very, very cold and you know, like especially people in the countryside living in New York, they're like very efficient way, everything, but it's very, very cold, even though it's warmer than Chicago cold. I went to Chicago a couple of times. My friend lives there and right next to the Michigan Lake. That wind goes to your bone, but it's in the Mongolian. We have the right gear, like warm shoes. That helps. Even though it's so warm in the city, we still wear high heels, still have proper makeup, high heels. Nice, I don't know Like I used to wear high heels in the snow, in the ice. I don't know how we were able to. I was just talking about it with my sister, like I don't know how we did it, but you know, because our appearance is like I don't know how we did it, but you know, because our experience is like really important, like if I go back to Mongolia now without my nails done proper, like decent, look people like well, like you know are you okay, california?
Speaker 3:hippies. Yeah, people will ask are you okay? I cannot wear my you know yoga pants. Little yoga pants cannot go to grocery store. You have to put together. I think it's still there. I think it's a lot. It's a woman. I really will put together that. Even in the winter we had the mink coat, like you know.
Speaker 3:Now is that when you're in the countryside too, or just in the city, it's mostly in the city, even though countryside and the center still especially teach women really well. But that's how you respect yourself, that's how we tell you know, if you respect yourself, you know you stick together, you know.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that is interesting.
Speaker 3:So I just I admire Mongolian women. Now I understand more, like anyway yeah Well, and I'm also curious.
Speaker 1:first off, I was like, oh my gosh, how did your grandparents in their yurt stay warm, their teepee stay warm and fire Like what did that look like living in that growing up or when you were there? Look like living in that growing up or when you were there, my grandparents.
Speaker 3:Unfortunately, I didn't know them. They passed away before I, no, before. I think they passed away when I was three years old. Well, like any, they have, like they grab the wood and they make a firewood, but it's again. The place is small and then they need. They had what they need. They don't have extra.
Speaker 3:Still, grown up during communist time, you know the happiest childhood my parents have, like employment, very secure, they're free education, free healthcare and then. But we didn't own anything. You know like my father bought a car when I was in high school. I didn't like it. He wanted me to take to school. I didn't like it because I didn't want to look like capitalist. You know like we didn't need it. We need more. I think about it. We had everything there but we didn't have extra. But we didn't need the extra. That's why the first time I went to Safeway I was really overwhelmed. I wanted to buy a green tea. Entire shelf was tea selection. Still, I can go to Safeway, I go to. I like farmer's market, I like Whole Foods. If there's anything I can handle, I traded yours. If there's anything Safeway handle, I'll trade it yours. If there's anything safe, my husband goes there. It's just too much. Costco don't even think about it Costco's good.
Speaker 2:There's not so many choices, it's a little bit easier. That's true, there's too much, it's too much.
Speaker 3:But it's too many quantities. How overwhelming for me. Yeah, I like the small supermarket. We call it supermarket, but it's not super. But I like good and small, you know, like especially groceries, that you know. Yeah, anyway, yeah, so when I oh baby size it used to be baby size I remember when I get pregnant and we're like buying all of these things, I tell my husband we don't need this, why do you need they changing the pad?
Speaker 1:like it just changed.
Speaker 3:Now we need to have everything. That's a whole different conflict. Oh yeah, we need to buy a binky, you know, yeah, pacifier tire shelf was binky again. All the hormones I'm pregnant like I.
Speaker 1:Just I need to lose too much, I can imagine like no wonder I have one child. I couldn't do anything twice so when I was curious how is it living? At like when you grew up in Mongolia, were the schools similar? What kind of like did you have? Breakfast, lunch, dinner, kind of similar with their? What are the foods?
Speaker 3:and just like yeah, again, simple, like a breakfast line. Um, I'm more like growing up, more like we don't snack the thing I learned recently. We don't snack. We have breakfast, lunch and dinner, dinner. All was like a family gathered. And then because we have everything small there, we growing up in an apartment we didn't have like big house and price, especially in the city, like if you watch the soviet union, all still now in russia, like multiple layer, like floors of big apartments, that's how. And then you know each family have a rift. You're small. Every time in the evening my mom will get the fresh groceries, make a dinner and then dinner and eat and the next day, if they left our groceries, we can cook and then we'll buy gone the way it's like we buy small things, not that big amount like oh right and then.
Speaker 3:But the schools we don't have like schools, we have the cafeteria but we need to buy it there, like, like here, like every school has a cafeteria. Buy like, eat, eat our food. You know, I don't remember, we don't, we didn't have it. The school is we don't have kindergarten, we have a preschool, but first grade till 10th we have only one school, so 10 years you are the same people. That's why we are really community-wise very close-knit. Like if my mom now passed away my high school, not my middle school, my school friends will come to visit me, to sit with me to grieve, Like that's the thing, I miss it a lot, you know, like good times, bad times. The community-wise it's very, very strong. My mom come to visit here, she will look for her present here, high school friends, daughters, newborn, like it's very, very well-connected. I was like, what does it look like? Anyway, it's like, yeah, I miss the class, community sometimes.
Speaker 1:I agree, I really love that sense of community is so powerful and uplifting and just kind of sharing. I mean I try to create it here just around where I live and other things, but so is there. Are there big families in Mongolia? It sounds like you've got one child. Did you have any siblings?
Speaker 3:Yeah, I have one brother in Mongolia, one of my sisters here Now, like women families, and again, population is growing, the grown-up 2.3 million people, the families like three and four kids, not, and oh there, one thing is if woman have delivered, you know, fourth child, you get a very prestigious medal from the government. Being raising, like what's the recognition Like? I think it's like a being, like reward, like medal.
Speaker 1:It's very prestigious if you have a child, your purple heart or something like you? Yeah, the similar, honorable, very honorable.
Speaker 3:And then when you go to the government building they wear proper, really nice outfits and then you know, here is the government, really appreciate your like, you know it's a hard work, appreciate your work. It's like fun. And then if you have seven child, a great mother, it's called a great mother, middle one, and then you get more than seven children, get the second one, wow, and the mothers are really well-respected there. It's very interesting yeah.
Speaker 1:Do moms work as well? Oh, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3:Growing up all the mothers. There's no homestead mothers. Everyone works there because you know child care is very secure, your work, employment is very sustainable and then free education and free medical care and you need to work. Everything is.
Speaker 2:So what kind of government is that that offers all that free? Is it socialist?
Speaker 3:Socialist? Yeah, what kind of government is that that offers a lot of Soviets influence there, a lot of Russian influence there, and then like Russians, all of the products, everything imports everything from Russia, soviet Union and Soviet Union left. We are on our own. So we start to face a lot of difficulties, like your mom and dad left. You're on your own. When you're a child, you have to learn how to survive the entire country. We had a very different for five years during this transition period. I was pre-teen and we shortage of food, shortage of medical care and we had like special, like small, like registering book from the government distributing food based on the family number of families. You know, that's like weekly, like essential groceries and just great tough time that time.
Speaker 2:So was that because you were more in the northern part of the country? Is the southern part that's closer to China, were they more China-influenced, or is it the whole country is more Russia-influenced?
Speaker 3:More Russia-influenced.
Speaker 3:Interesting Since 1921 till 1991-90, if you guys learn back to how Soviet Union class all the former socialist communist country Eastern European countries, how class it that's Mongolian was Central Asian Mongolia was one of these countries. That's why we had a lot of difficulties that two or three years. Then you know it's a lot. It's really hard work In a working for years. Entire government changed even though we didn't have one single gunshot. The government changed dramatically, even though dramatically there's no conflicts. We didn't have like hunger strike, like any gunshots, any government from socialist to free market democratic system, you know, and then we really really smooth transition by then. So my childhood I see the communist socialist and transition and then it kept the free market. It's a different period happened back in.
Speaker 2:Mongolia. Do you think they still have free health care?
Speaker 3:Um, no, of course you know like there's nothing is free there. But still now, like I was talking to my mom like a week ago, when you get sick, you call to your hospital doctor and they will come to your house, go to ER. The doctors will come to you to check your blood pressure and basic checkups and then if you really need to go to hospital, you would go. Otherwise they would prescribe certain things from the pharmacy. There's no again. If you need better health care, you will go to private hospitals, you know, but you have to pay. Now there's a lot of change happened when I was away. But growing up, you know, my health care was free. Like even the place we, even our apartment, doesn't even belong to this state. And then, after transition, we had to own this place. My mom was like no, this is not mine, this is the government thing, I don't need that. Like yeah. So a lot of changes happened by then. Wow.
Speaker 2:Okay, and then the southern half of the country. On a map it's much like whiter. Is that where the mountains?
Speaker 3:are, yes, mountains are in the northern side, in the southern side it's a gobi, it's like a desert, like all the way, like you know, camel and sand. Like southern, it's like the northern side, it's like Lake Tahoe, you know, like mountains, mountains.
Speaker 1:Oh.
Speaker 3:My family's from there. Every time we go to Mongolia we go to southern side. It's like Lake Tahoe the southern side is.
Speaker 2:No, the southern side. The southern side is.
Speaker 3:No, the southern side the southern side is a few people, but just desert okay, so not a lot of, not a lot of towns in that area yeah, there's a lot of towns actually.
Speaker 1:I'm just looking at the map and it's just the very top of it looks green and the rest looks brown, and then there looks like almost a whole bunch of white towards the bottom, which may be, yeah, the sand.
Speaker 3:Yeah yeah, desserts, yeah, and then again every. We used to have 18 provinces, like like states kind of, and then and now maybe have changed government 18 and then again some divided by then the biggest side is smaller side. They all the centers, that's how they're like, all the hospitals and schools and then other like small families. Heard this around, you know?
Speaker 2:And then just south of Mongolia it looks like actually in China it says Inner Mongolia. I just saw that.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it's, I think, chinese. I think they got that part. The other people more proud to be Mongolians. They think they are Mongolians, but outer Mongolians we think they are Chinese, even though they are the ones who keep the traditional scripts from top to bottom ones. We had the Russian influence, we have Cyrillic, we use the Cyrillics, yeah, but they're speaking different dialect and again, the Chinese. My mom said they used to have a lot of Mongolian culture there but during the Chinese Revolution they sent a lot of Chinese people. The book you know like Destroy the Temples book, you know like karaoke and like all of the supermarket. A lot of Chinese people they bought, you know like destroyed the temples, bought the you know like karaoke and like all of the supermarket. A lot of change there.
Speaker 2:Okay, it's almost like we're in New York or something. It's not really.
Speaker 1:I know I was going to ask you do you, can you understand them when they talk? Is it just kind of a little different accent or?
Speaker 3:A different accent. Yeah, I can. Yeah, if I go to you know Inner Mongolia, even the blue capital, I don't know why they keep it still there, but still we have to cross the border, international border, and then I can understand them. But there are people also, are you from outer Mongolia? Inner Mongolia? I couldn't understand. There's only one Mongolia. You know, maybe my proud ego maybe kicks in this, but there's inner Mongolia.
Speaker 1:So did you say blue capital?
Speaker 3:Yeah, that's the inner Mongolians. The capital called, not capital, the city called inner blue. Hukhut Hukh means blue.
Speaker 1:Okay, yeah, I haven't seen. And then Ulaanbaatar is that?
Speaker 3:That's where I'm from? Yeah, ulaanbaatar, yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, got it. And then I was looking at Inner Mongolia. I don't see where it says that. I'm totally butchered.
Speaker 3:Oh yeah, Ulaanbaatar, yeah, yeah yeah, okay, ulaanbaatar. Yeah, Ulaanbaatar yeah.
Speaker 1:Okay, got it. It's like I don't know if I'm saying it correctly, but the buildings there's like regular buildings, and then there's these beautiful old, you know it looks it's sorry to say if it's the palaces.
Speaker 3:Oh, the temples.
Speaker 1:Oh, the temples Okay.
Speaker 3:Temples like this kind of building, like it's temples. We are Buddhist, the Mongolians are Buddhist, we were Buddhist until 1921, but during, like socialist country, you're not supposed to have any religious, you know?
Speaker 2:Oh, really, you're not supposed to have any religious you know? Oh really Not supposed to have religion.
Speaker 3:No religious growing up Like, if you be not even allowed to. You know again, russians. Soviet Union did fantastic job 1921. You know Mongolian. We did like again, educational literacy was 97% and the women's right and education and the health care. That was a fantastic. We did like women again, literacy was 97% and the women's right and education and the health care. That's a fantastic job. Though, being in a socialist communist country, there's no religious.
Speaker 3:That's why during that time, a lot of temples are destroyed, unfortunately and then, growing up, you know there's no god, there's no religious, but all the families. Maybe a very modest way to celebrate lunar new year you know it's a religious. We have you supposed to celebrate only new year? You know, not the lunar new year. Yeah so they were one temple in the capital but very. They were too big monster but very modest. You know, growing up, if you see, if I see North Korean, it's very similar growing up, but they are awful. You know they cannot.
Speaker 3:But like the, structure yeah, the structure is very similar. You know we not allowed to leave any other countries except communist countries Romania, czechoslovakia. You know, like Soviet Union, you know they're okay, but we're not allowed to go to visit any in former Soviet country, soviet Union and in Eastern European countries. But not for you know, not for America, not even think about that. America is gun money. They will like all this like propaganda. You know, like Americans, which still to the gun and money. But you know.
Speaker 2:Okay, so was it hard for you to come to America then?
Speaker 3:No, by then it's changed a lot. I had traveled a lot internationally for my work, but still getting we need to get a visa, you need to get a visa. So under my passport I had a lot of countries visa, but still it's safe. A woman invite me, so my American friend, she invited me. That's easier than a man invite me, you know. Still it's very difficult to get a visa. American visa, A tourist visa, is still very strict in other countries.
Speaker 2:Oh, okay, yeah, oh, my goodness, I thought, for Americans going to Mongolia is that pretty open.
Speaker 3:Now very open, yeah, and I think I don't think you need a visa on like 30 days, yeah. Oh okay, yeah, but if you live there longer, you need certain other documents days. Yeah, okay yeah, but if you live there longer, you need to like certain other documents recorded.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we had someone on the podcast that is from here, loves Mongolia, goes in kind of the you know outdoors areas and loves it.
Speaker 3:Last time when I was in Mongolia, I took two sets of family. Ten of us went, my son's friend's family, ten of us went from San Francisco to Shanghai, shanghai to Beijing, and then we took a trans-Siberian train from Beijing to Ulaanbaatar and then we traveled to North and South and then I was really proud of, like, my country. You know, like when you stop by in a countryside, the yurt, like nothing, is a couple of yurt. When I go there, there's no even lock. You can come in and then family will have tea and sit and talk. It's really nice.
Speaker 3:I really wanted to show them real, you know how, what the countryside is. So they were like big gathering is happening. I was like what is it? Let's go there. And then we went there like family reunion and then when joined it, they asked to come sit and then play and then very curious about foreigners. It's nice. You know we cannot in Texas, if I go there, I cannot crash the family reunion. You know, going back there, they're very, you know, like, family open. Oh, I went to America years ago this, this, and then had tea and then play and like I was like, oh, this is my people, everyone is welcome and yeah, that's so wonderful.
Speaker 1:What kind of tea do you typically have um?
Speaker 3:we back then we call it green tea, but it's not the green tea we drink here. I think it's a black tea bit with tiny bit salt, with cream, with salt, salt and cream.
Speaker 1:Yeah, wow, it's so funny, because usually here it's sugar and cream. Sugar and cream, yeah, and they're like salt and salt and cream.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I think it's a black tea. But because of color, we always say, oh, we drink, uh, green tea. It's a green tea. But now when I think I'm just not a green tea, it's like yeah, I think we get it from a lot, from uzbekistan or tajikistan. They have a very big tea. I think it's more from there yeah oh my Wow.
Speaker 1:And then what about jobs? People? I'm just curious. I find people jobs. So I was curious is it all? Because it looks like the Ulaanbaatar is a city, so people, I'm sure there's banks. Oh yeah, yeah, it's like any other big cities.
Speaker 3:Again, a lot of young generation struggles finding a job. You don't see any homeless people in the city but still like any other countries, because people's appearance is really well good there. But actually what you know, what's behind that, what they struggle with you know, unless your family relatives are you know, really struggles we would know, but for the appearance you can't. Really it's hard to know them If someone are not doing well financially or like you know. It's hard because the people look good.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's so great.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah. It's like people really put together families, young people like do well and looking happy, but even though they still struggle behind that, like financial and employment and everything. But it's yeah, it's like I like to. When I go back, I like to observe the people, you know, it's yeah.
Speaker 2:That's so interesting. But, like you know because you said, erin, like you know, your appearance is really important. You look good, but you also don't buy a lot of things, do you?
Speaker 3:So do people like have a pretty small wardrobe and they just it's clean and pressed but it might not be clean. We iron things all the time iron bed sheets, iron shirt, even bed sheets, huh, oh yeah, bed sheets, grown up, all those iron we like, yeah, like we don't have like big wardrobe, you know, like every still now, like a free, free, four bedrooms and then maybe five family, five, six families. But you know we have to share everything, you know, share the space, share the wardrobe. Still, you would know, you would know, because we don't buy things that a lot. That's also really still I have some difficulties to adjust here. Oh, yeah, still I have some difficulties to adjust here.
Speaker 1:Oh, yeah, I have difficulties.
Speaker 3:Especially Christmas time. You know, like how many presents one person can open, like I always have this like difference with my husband. I had to face it. You know we have one child and then, okay, this is enough. Now I think it's just a few. Maybe we need no no, yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I can watch the. There's a a documentary called buy no. That'll stop you from shopping ever again, oh really buy, be, buy now.
Speaker 1:I don't know if it's on netflix or apple, or but yeah, buy now now, yeah, I'm gonna watch it because I I feel this is a big thing for me too and I, especially when the kids are little, they just I want that, I want that, please, why? You know you get a lot of that and you're like, yeah yeah, well, yeah, that's how you grab it.
Speaker 3:We didn't know. Yeah, I, I'm very careful about quality and quantity and um, even though I can buy everything for myself, but when my husband thinks, oh you don't.
Speaker 2:Yeah, less is more. I actually remember talking to someone in Europe I can't remember and they said when people go like was the men go to work? They wear the same outfit all week. It's almost like a uniform. And I was just thinking about that the other day. I'm like men's suits probably were really uniform. Men would probably have like two suits, a clean one and a dirty one, you know. But now men have, like you know, people that wear suits every day probably have like 15, 20 suits and then different ties. You know, probably the tie was like originally the only difference Like you wear the exact same suit every day and just change your tie to mix it up.
Speaker 1:Yeah, interesting it's. So I, I uh. So for just curious. I know we're coming up on christmas, so what does christmas look like? Uh, in mongolia?
Speaker 3:oh, we don't celebrate christmas, okay, okay, but we, we celebrate new year again. I don't think russians celebrate christ Again. We didn't have any religious. There's no religious. We can celebrate New Year. Oh, new Year. I miss New Year. Every companies have paid big, big parties, people warm and dress nice and everything is like oh, I really miss that. It's like all parties are real parties all day, nice, yeah, so that's a New Year like our calendar. New Year, it's like all parties are real parties are there, you know, like Nice yeah.
Speaker 2:So that's a new year like our calendar New Year's, not like the Chinese New Year.
Speaker 3:Yeah, calendar New Year, yeah 31st, december, 30th, even though it's a family holiday, like every family has a Christmas tree and then cake and flowers and champagne I don't know why cake, but like we my parents not let us to sleep until midnight because we celebrated like happy new year, you know, like, even like it's very, uh, family oriented holiday year, it's like we have to like, it's like it's like Thanksgiving, you know, like we have to sit, eat together, kind of Thanksgiving. Yeah.
Speaker 1:Oh my gosh. So they, you do get to stay up till midnight or you don't get to stay up till midnight.
Speaker 3:I have to, I have to, I have to stay up. We have to receive the New Year like that. I don't know why even for small kids can't go to bed.
Speaker 1:Totally. I remember going to Midnight Mass and I was like, oh, this is so hard with them.
Speaker 3:Does Midnight Mass have to be in midnight too? I guess it is.
Speaker 1:I felt like it was 11 o'clock or something. 10, 11. Yeah.
Speaker 2:I think that was typical on Christmas, so they'd always have like a midnight mass. So then, like not for New Year's, no.
Speaker 1:Christmas Day.
Speaker 2:But then a lot of people, the kids, couldn't stay up. So then the churches started having 11 o'clock and at 10 o'clock and at 8 o'clock Now, I think it's like 5 o'clock.
Speaker 1:Yeah, exactly so did you say they have a Christmas tree at New Year's? Yeah, we call it.
Speaker 3:New Year's tree. We didn't call it Christmas tree. People start to put it at New Year's Christmas tree around 26th, 27th. That's funny Way after Christmas.
Speaker 1:Oh, my God. And so is it a pine tree. Is it the same oh?
Speaker 3:it's a plastic one. Yeah, it's freaking cold over there. There's no, yeah, and we even have a Santa, but Santa we don't call Santa Winter Crumper. I think it's all. If you see the? We have a traditional outfit, that's Santa, but we big cave and big white bear and then certain gloves, and then Santa will come visit families, give the presents to small kids.
Speaker 1:Uh-huh, and it looks like Mongolia. Santa looks like he belongs in the North Pole with a very fluffy big hat yes, a beard and a big coat. He looks very he looks. It's interesting the look, you know. He looks like you said, native American, but Mongolian right, oh, yeah, like yeah.
Speaker 1:And he's got. It looks like he's well the picture I'm seeing. He looks like he's riding a horse, but it has antlers. And then he has a big backpack sack. It almost looks like one of those fabric things that you wear babies with, but a huge, bigger one that's honestly filled with things.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, it looks like a wizard yeah.
Speaker 3:It's very mixed with Santa's traditional old man.
Speaker 2:That's so funny, so interesting.
Speaker 3:During communist time. I think we created it.
Speaker 1:Wow, oh my gosh. So would you get presents for the New Year's?
Speaker 3:Yeah, new Year's the presents are all like mandarin, tangerine and candies. Okay, we didn't get like actual present by then, it's just the like candies and yeah, candies and tangerines and fruit in winter, like growing up. Yeah, we didn't. But in the lunar year we we have a calendar same as tibans, different than Chinese for some reason, all similar like two or three days either behind or in front. It's like it's never been lined in the same day, it's always different day. The Chinese Lunar New Year. That one is a big celebration. We have to have constant visitors. Relatives visit you. If you have older elders in your family, the relatives visit you and then we eat dumplings and sit, talk and then the family, the elders, will give a present. That's, that's. It's like. It's like a week-long holiday. You know, like, like and it's nice. You know, once a year you will see all of the relatives you know, two become three, three become four, all of them bringing kids, and then sit and talk and eat dumplings.
Speaker 2:Oh, nice, yeah, so I definitely have some of our rapid fire questions. I sent that to you so long ago, I don't know if you remember, but they're pretty easy. Yeah, pretty easy, okay. So other than Christmas or New Year year's, is there another popular holiday tradition?
Speaker 3:oh yeah, in july, uh in uh. July 11th, it's a independence day. I think it's a day we kick the chinese out. I think it's like that's a really big holiday. We call it free means, we call it nadam, it's like free it's a horse racing and a wrestling and then archery. That's a big celebration. That's the most popular tourist season by that.
Speaker 3:And every other place is celebrating a week-long celebration horse racing and wrestling, and then archery. A week-long celebration, horse racing and wrestling, and then archery. It's summertime and people relax watch the horse racing and wrestling. It's a big sport. And then archery too.
Speaker 1:And it's actually. It looks like it goes for four days.
Speaker 3:Yeah, maybe, like officially four days, but like you're not going to do any business that week, whole, entire, even for a month. Yeah, it's like everyone is like is a tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow, like no business, and then gotta enjoy summer right yeah, because our summer is very short, we have to celebrate it, at least one week?
Speaker 1:yeah, exactly, it looks like it. Does the date change because or you said july 11th and that yeah, it's almost july 11th yeah it says um on, not um n-a-a-d-a-m. From friday july 11th to tuesday july 15th. Yeah, oh. And it says mongolia, inner mongolia, and tuva is where it uh oh, this is.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I think I don't know yeah, it's too bad.
Speaker 1:Another country?
Speaker 3:yeah, I think to. Where is that? I think that was a part of the soviet union and I think maybe it's a country now like with the standard touch is done like central.
Speaker 1:I think it's a central or asia yeah, oh wow, it looks uh, this is really uh interesting, and I see what it says. It looks like girls with a whole bunch of like a sash, with a whole bunch of patches all the way down. Oh, like horse riders. Well, I actually clicked on it. Oh, wow, they have a. Yes, there's a whole bunch of horses and they're just running across a field. There's a whole bunch of horses and they're just running across a field. Yeah, is that, and everyone's got helmets and a name? Or is it a horse race?
Speaker 3:Oh, horse race, yeah, yeah, I think nowadays wearing helmets. But you know, growing up no one is wearing helmets. And you know like horse riding is like you can learn stuff. You know when you're free. You know three years old you will see three or four years old you're riding horse and cattle like it's very normal.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I see horses. You said archery, which I see as well. I see traditional outfits, beautiful outfits with a very long yeah, that's for men with.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it's, it's very colorful and yeah and did you I?
Speaker 1:I thought I heard you say wrestling and I actually see some men wrestling yeah, only men wrestle, not women.
Speaker 3:That uh uh doing an atom, yeah very interesting outfit, by the way. Yeah, bikini you see, that bottoms with very, very, uh, very big like cow.
Speaker 1:I'll call them cowboy boots, but very big boots like yeah, no boots, yeah. And then a very small halter top that looks like it's tied on the sides here. Yeah, very different, very different. Yeah, like wow. So yeah, horse race wrestling archery knucklebone shooting.
Speaker 3:Oh yeah, knucklebone shooting. I think that's a, but not the official talk of like free games, but that's the like you can be a part of. I think it's. I don't really family with it. I think they're like it's like how far you can, what do you call this one? Like how far the knuckle binners go? It's wherever it goes, it's the farther away, I think yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it says ankle bone and shooting and must be knuckle bone, something like that. That's definitely different.
Speaker 3:Yeah, a lot of foreigners go to that N during uh tourist season.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, so they go in july to check out july.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it's very crafted. Everything is really busy at that time, like busy, like holiday busy yeah is that.
Speaker 1:Are there other holidays that someone, or if if you're wanting to travel to mongolia and check it out, that would be an event too yeah, event yeah, but again that will be like business time, but even after, uh, not them.
Speaker 3:Maybe some of their countryside, some of them they have like mini, not them, you know, to attract the tourists. Otherwise, that's the like a main, we don't have many, many like celebration holidays only luna, new Year and then Adam, like only two. Yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:I love it, and so what is your favorite meal when you go back?
Speaker 3:It's like kind of like perushki, but it's like I think we get it from Russia. It's like a fried. It's called khoshur. It's like a dumpling but flat. It's a fried, fried dumpling called hoshu. It's like a dumpling but flat. It's a fried fried dumpling. But what's inside? Just, you know, food we have like most boring food in the world we have, because it's hard to grow vegetables there because of season. You know, right, I remember it's like a lot of beets, right yeah, it's like beef in salt herbs and then flour, you know.
Speaker 2:Oh okay, it sounds really good. And what's a typical breakfast?
Speaker 3:I go on a breakfast. We eat a lot of like eggs and toast.
Speaker 2:Oh, okay, yeah, Pretty similar, yeah. And what is the money call? And how would a tourist handle the money there when they go?
Speaker 3:I think Tukruk, call it Tukruk. I think $1 or maybe, I don't know, 30 Tukruks now.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and I think they bring the cash. Okay, I wouldn't be surprised if, when someone is there, oh, you can pay through Apple. You know, like there's certain things way, I had my phone when I was 2000, in 2000, I had my cell phone. My even husband was like, oh my god, you have cell phone. Like, yeah, everyone has a cell phone, but but here the cell phone came way later. Like, yeah, it's like some certain things we have very like we get it way before america like technology, but a lot of things like way after, yeah, we had, like I wouldn't be surprised, all the like money transactions goes through the phone. You know, apps, yeah all righty.
Speaker 2:And then one question we ask is we just ask every time the closest place to surf? Um, I would say, probably in the lake Is there like anything such as like wake surfing or wake boarding out there or water skiing?
Speaker 3:No, we're afraid of water. And we're not even growing up. Water is a very precious thing. If you go see any lake in spring, we just we cannot even put our feet on there because it's very spirit things. We only we can't even go, can't even think about peeing there. It's very sacred things. We should just go like tap, the water put in the head first. You know, it's like we can't even I don't know nowadays, but like growing up, we can't even put your things anything, even your feet, because it's nature of cigarette things.
Speaker 2:Oh that's so interesting, yeah, and it's probably so cold too, right, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3:And then less.
Speaker 2:It's cold. Yeah, Are you. Well, you said you drink cheese. Most people drink coffee or tea or both.
Speaker 3:Tea, tea, but nowadays maybe in the capital, but we don't have Starbucks, but there's a lot of coffee shops, people drink coffee?
Speaker 2:Yeah, okay. Well, that's it for my rapid fire questions. Yeah, thanks so much.
Speaker 1:Thank you. Thank you so much, of course. Thank you for having me. Yeah, we loved it no-transcript.
Speaker 3:You will see how people lived 300 years ago. It's still the same nothing has changed but it's in a good way, how everything you cannot waste, but still people are going this way. And then again in the capital you will see people like any other big cities, the things that some of them is too materialistic for me, but it's one way you can see two buff sides in one place.
Speaker 1:It almost seems like everyone needs to go there or watch the Buy Now video.
Speaker 3:Oh yeah, I would love that, especially before Christmas. We need Absolutely.
Speaker 1:Wonderful. Well, thank you so much, of course. Thank you, it's been a pleasure. Thank you, Grace. It's really nice to meet you.
Speaker 2:Bye- thank you so much, of course. Thank you. It's been such a pleasure. Absolutely. Thank you, grace. It's been really nice to meet you. Okay, bye-bye, have a good weekend. Bye you, too. Happy holidays, happy holidays, bye. Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed the podcast, can you please take a second and do a quick follow of the show and rate us in your podcast app? And if you have a minute, we would really appreciate a review. Following and rating is the best way to support us. If you're on Instagram, let's connect. We're at Wear Next Podcast. Thanks again, thank you.
