The Return to Mongolia

Last time I left Mongolia, I did not really expect to come back. Don't get me wrong, it's not that I don't like the place, but Mongolia is very far away and requires a very expensive plane ticket. Well, a mere three years later, here I am. PIRE Mongolia hired me on as the new project coordinator, doing administrative and scientific work for the project. (I should probably add that this blog reflects my personal opinions and account of the travel and -- not those of the project's or the University of Pennsylvania). Now I'm back in Ulaanbaatar and heading to the field site in a couple hours.

Ulaanbaatar changed a lot in the past three years. The streets are pretty dusty still and the sidewalks are the opposite of wheelchair friendly. But new skyscrapers seem to be popping up all over town. Even in the area where our hotel sits-- not necessarily a hopping part of town-- a new apartment building is going up across the street. Cars clog the streets seemingly everywhere. Brand new Hyundais and Land Cruisers fly by imported and used Japanese, right-hand drive Priuses, none of them stopping for pedestrians. I think the air quality has suffered, too. Walking around yesterday, I inhaled a good bit of exhaust.

During our sightseeing yesterday, we visited a monastery. The place was destroyed under communism, but when the US Vice-President Henry Wallance paid a visit to Mongolia, the ruthless dictator Choibalsan sheepishly rebuilt something to show of the religious heritage he had tried to decimate. Today, the place is back in working order, swarming with monks, and erecting a new building across the street. Inside, the three story tall golden buddha still dominates as he did three years ago. Amazing!

I'm off to the field site today and quite happy about it. Ulaanbaatar is nice, but Mongolia's best features are in the countryside. In a few hours, I'll breathe in fresh air, take in breath taking views, and get to see the experiments which have consumed so much of my time for the past eight months! Also, I'm traveling with the undergraduates this year. If we all make it to the field site safely, I will have completed my job successfully, something, to be honest, I was a little nervous about. Finally, this year, I'm lucky enough to be doing my own research project, looking at the competition between forest species (Larix siberica or Siberian larch) and grassland species (gramanoids, sedges, and forbs). It should be an interesting experiment, and I can't wait to get it started.

I'll be back on this blog come August 2nd or 3rd when I'm back in Ulaanbaatar and then again from August 3-9 while I'm visiting Seoul, South Korea (as a complete tourist!). Until then, definitely check out NYTimes Scientist@Work, which will be documenting our work in the field. The PIRE Mongolia project also has its own blog this year, containing interesting scientific and cultural insights. We can actually update that one from the field, so it should be up-to-date and fascinating.