(no subject)

So Dorothy works at the US embassy and has lots of access to weird press releases and such.

She told me that if you are in a car accident in MOngolia, it is a crime to move the cars or the victim of the accident. THis explains why people just stand around after a car accident here. The phenomenon of not moving the victim worries me. That's pretty brutal.

Dorothy also told me that she found a press release on the only escalator in Mongolia. The only escalator in the entire country is located at the Sky shopping Centre, which is a store that sells a lot of Korean imports. It's a pretty decent shop.

Anyway, the press release read something like this- "Mongolians from all over the country came to ride the new escalator and marvel at the new technology."

Which made me imagine the following scenario-

Countryside Mongolian 1- So I was watching tv last night and I saw that they have these new movable stairs in a store in UB.

Countryside Mongolian 2- Moveable stairs? Are you nuts? Have you been hitting the vodka again?

CM 1- No, I'm serious. And I was thinking that I'd really like to see these moveable stairs.

CM 2- All right. You know I think we should do it. We can slaughter up some sheep, and take the hides into Ulaan Baatar. It's not that far a drive. Only about 2 days.

CM 1- Well, we need to go to the market anyway. We're getting low on things out here.

CM 2- Why don't we take the kids? They would probably love to go up and down these stairs.

CM 1- Good idea. Let's just discuss it with our wives, get the kids ready, and figure out which sheep to slaughter.

(Apparently I need to go back to sleep)

Chollywood news...

Since we have the DVD pirates here, Mongolia has access to a wide variety of movies. One of the movies that I've seen on sale here is "Hero." For those of you unfamiliar with "Hero", this is the movie about the Qing dynasty and an assassination attempt on its emperor. The movie is directed by Zhang Yimou and stars Zhang Ziyi (!), Jet Li (!), Donnie Yen and Maggie Cheung. So basically, the film will feature lots of pretty people, shiny swords and beautiful costuming.

I've been waiting for this movie since I first read about it when I was in Jakarta in September. It will be in theatres in North America in November 2003.

Unfortunately, the movie isn't available in English here. It's in Russian, with Polish, Serb, and Czech subtitles. Gah!!

I recently read that China or Taiwan will be making a movie about the SARS epidemic. The proposed title is "City of Sars" and the movie will star Chinese actress Gong Li. I have my suspicions about this movie.

In completely unrelated news, I learned my first Mongolian swear, "shar mur". It means "yellow cat" and it's really insulting.

This is so true....

Mixed people have traditionally been forced to fit into one racial category, and oftentimes, they assume the role of "the other" - those that aren't Caucasian. But Prof. Allen insists that these categories "don't make sense except from the standpoint of racial oppression," and therefore are becoming "more and more archaic."

"The concept of mixed race is ambiguous and evolving," Allen observes, "but at least there is a recognition of it now." No longer are mixed people considered "pathological" or "degenerate", as they once were, for example, when anti-miscegenation laws prohibited interracial marriages prior to 1967. However, there still exists an "exoticism" towards people of mixed racial descent. Allen says, "that makes it hard for them to express their personal identity."

-from an article at eurasiannation.com

Here's a selection of gifts for Eurasian children http://www.eurasiannation.com/generic66.html

I especially like that they're trying to pimp Keanu Reeves and Brandon Lee

The language barrier

Today I was walking near the parliament building when I saw a child of about five lying on the pavement, crying. I looked around, but there was no one around that I could identify as a parent. I went over to the child, and put out my hand.

"Mom?" I said in Mongolian. I pointed in all directions.
The child looked at me, still crying. I motioned, and the child got up and we began walking together slowly, towards the security booth at parliament.

I had to stand there, just watching, as the child cried, and I was finally able to get someone to notice us, so I could get them to ask the child where her parents were.
I really wanted to help, I really wanted to do something, and I couldn't communicate.

Life is hard without words. I have been wondering why I've been writing here so much, and I've been thinking that I might not write as much when I get back to Canada. But right now is a time of change, and transition and I need to document it to prove it happened.