Age: 32
Citizenship: Australia
Living duration in Mongolia: Since 2019
Former position: Partnership Development Officer
Current position: Geography and history teacher in a school
Zack Conn, a citizen of Australia, was invited to talk to us as the guest of our "Mongolia Through the Eyes of Outsiders" column.
FIRST WHEN I LOOKED AROUND AT ULAANBAATAR, I COULD JUST SEE THAT IT WAS REALLY A HYBRID OF BOTH ASIA AND EUROPE TO A FOREIGNER'S EYES
Please introduce yourself. Where are you from and how long have you been in here?
My name is Zach Conn. I'm originally from Melbourne. I've been in Mongolia on and off for three years, starting in 2019. I came back right after COVID-19 finished in March 2022. For those three years, I volunteered for two NGOs, the Asia Foundation and Caritas Czech Republic, through the Australian Volunteers Program.
What do you do for a living?
Now, I'm a geography and history teacher in a private school in Ulaanbaatar.
Please share your first impression of coming to Mongolia.
Of course, I still remember it so vividly. When I first came to Mongolia, my first reaction was just awe. I was stunned. I had never seen or experienced anything like it. Before coming to Mongolia, I travelled in China and Eastern Europe for a month. When I looked around at Ulaanbaatar, I could just see that it was really a hybrid of both Asia and Europe to a foreigner's eyes, at least.
From my perspective, I could see that just like in Romania, they still have those same exact Russian apartments. They're all the same. So, I was clearly in Asia looking around me, but I was seeing the same apartment buildings, and the same ornate architecture as I saw in Bucharest, Romania. And so, I felt like I was kind of stuck between two worlds and it just inspired this curiosity. I just wanted to know everything I could about this fascinating place. It feels like no one really knows outside of Mongolia much about it, like when I told my friends in Australia that I was moving here they asked me “How are you going to do that without speaking Chinese?” Most people have no idea that Mongolia is an independent country, and I think that's shocking and it's a shame because it's an incredible place that deserves to be known.
Did you travel this summer in the Mongolian countryside?
Yes. It was incredible and really challenging in a lot of different ways. Up until then, almost all of my time in the countryside was with NGOs. This was my first big holiday where I wasn't just using the trains to get around. This was also my first time on a road trip here and I really sympathise with tourists who come here and have no support.
I was immensely lucky that I had many Mongolian friends and colleagues to lean on to find information about different places. But if you don't know any of the language, or if you don't have any local contacts, Mongolia would be an incredibly challenging place to try and travel without being on a tour. I was pretty shocked that there weren't even street signs to take you to the most well-known places like the Flaming Cliffs or White Stupa. We had to rely on maps and ask drivers for the best routes. I tried to put myself in my mom and my cousin's shoes, like if they'd come here and I wasn't here, how would they have figured this out? There's just no way; it's really challenging. And it's also difficult for a foreigner to not be able to book their accommodation a week in advance, at least or even the night before. I think they were really shocked how we just went from ger camp to ger camp until we found one that had a bed for us. But it was absolutely incredible and totally worth the challenge.
There's nothing like these landscapes and the freedom that comes with travel here. We spent one night just sleeping under the stars and no tent. We just put our blankets out in the Gobi. We were cooking, and a jerboa came right up to us. It was absolutely incredible, the animals and how wild the spaces are and talking to people along the way. It's a trip that they're never going to forget, and I think it's a trip you couldn't really experience anywhere else besides Mongolia. There's nowhere as open and as free as Mongolia.
What kind of transportation do you use mostly in UB?
I mostly walk everywhere, sometimes using scooters. Last week, I rode a bus by myself for the first time.
Was that your first time to take a bus?
I've ridden buses with co-workers, but that was the first time I had done it alone.
How was it?
It’s incredibly frustrating, to be honest. I always try to observe what Mongolians are doing to figure out what I'm allowed to do and what I should do. I woke up on the bus, and it had been about an hour and we'd only gone one kilometer. I noticed six Mongolians got off the bus just in the middle of the road. I was like, okay, if everyone's getting off the bus, I should probably get off the bus too in the middle of the street, it's gonna take forever, but the bus driver wouldn't let me off.
What? Did he refuse to let you off even though let the Mongolians off the bus?
Yeah. And I asked, “Why? You just let this guy off like 30 seconds ago. I can see them walking on the sidewalk why can't I get off?” He's just like, “No, go to sleep”, speaking English. The traffic was already frustrating, and this just added to it.
That's so ridiculous. That’s one kind of racism.
Yeah, and then I went to the back of the bus and stood there, and I saw him letting another Mongolian off the bus. I ran to the front and pushed out the door before he could shut it. He was just picking on me. Those things don't happen often, really rare.
It's just unusual that it happened my first time on the bus by myself.
But have you encountered any occasion like that before?
Sometimes taxi drivers do it. Sometimes there are just no taxis on UB cab. So, you have to take a taxi on the road and wish for luck. This is a really funny one. Two years ago, I was leaving a concert in the Corporate event hall with my Mongolian friends, and there was a taxi driver “Hey I have a taxi for you.” I asked him how much it would cost and he said 90,000₮.
He didn't know that I could understand a bit of Mongolian when he told my Mongolian friends, “Don't worry, this rich foreigner will pay for it, just go with it.” I replied to him, “Юу вэ, ямар аймаар үнэтэй юм бэ?” /”What?! That is so expensive”/ and then he realised that he wasn't going to scam me. So, it's super rare; it doesn't happen often, and there have been many more occasions where Mongolians have been incredibly generous and kind and gone out of their way to help me. Racism is very rare. I think I've only experienced it maybe three times in three years, but I experience Mongolian generosity at least once a month.
Please share with us the bright occasion that you remember.
These things happen so often in Mongolia and it's why I love living here and came back after COVID. They literally happen so often that I started keeping a journal when I moved here because I realised I was forgetting them.
There are all these really magic moments that if they happened in Australia, you would just always remember it. Memorable things happen so frequently here that you start to forget them. I think one of the most incredible ones was Car Free Day 2022.
I was just leaving my apartment, and you know how the Russian apartments have this big arch that you walk through? I was walking through that, and I had just finished working. So, I was trying to transition from my working frame of mind into my photography frame of mind because I was about to go shoot street photography. I had my headphones on, and I was trying to decompress and de-stress.
I crossed that corner at the same time as these two little kids, maybe 4-6 years old, and we bumped into each other. They both looked up at me with big, cute children's eyes. The little girl was holding this pink hat closed in her hands. She opened the hat, and there were two little, tiny baby chicks. I was just so surprised; it just kind of shook me out of whatever I was thinking about.
And that was my first photo of the day. Her mom came around the corner and said it's okay for me to take a picture of them. And so, I'm lining up this photo. While I was focusing the camera, one of the chickens jumped out of her hat, and now these two little kids were chasing around this little chicken in that Russian archway, and it was just such a magic and unpredictable touching moment. That happened two years ago, and I still think about it.
What is your favorite Mongol traditional meal?
Horkhog. But I've only had it twice. It's hard to find, but it's been delicious every time I've had it. I absolutely love it. I wish I could figure out how to make it though, but the pressure cooker is hard.
How do you spend your free time here?
I'm a photographer, when I have time for photography, that's what I'll do. When I first moved here, there weren't any film labs that would develop colour films. So, I went on this mission of making a film lab in my apartment bathroom so I could develop my own film and do the editing at my house. And the other thing I'll do is I'll play music.
What kind of music?
Bass guitar. I like to play at home after work to relax.
What kind of services or innovations do you want to implement here?
From my time working with youth in NGOs here, I would like to see more young people becoming more active in their communities. I think there is a sense of fatalism amongst young people especially. When I talk to them about it, they often say they feel that government decisions are going to be made whether they are active and participating in democracy or not. So, they don't really take responsibility for the actions that the government takes.
I understand that it's difficult and that it takes time to do petitions and write to your member of parliament about whatever you're passionate about. But not everybody needs to be so proactive and take those steps. If just 3.5% of the population demands a change, then it typically happens.
I hear a lot of young people say that they don't really see a future for themselves in Mongolia. But young Mongolians are more than a third of the population. If they really want to change this country, they can. But they need to be more proactive and they need hope. And I understand that it's difficult, we live in the most challenging century humans have ever experienced. It’s hard to look at all this and figure out where to start.
But the first and easiest thing is to vote, letting the government know what youth want and what they’re upset about. With hope, youth can be a part of the world they want to create, whether it’s through volunteering, getting involved with NGOs, or creating community groups. Those are all mechanisms that ensure the government champions what youth value.
I don't have any opinion one way or the other about what the government should or shouldn't do in Mongolia. It's not my place to have that kind of thought. But when I talk to young Mongolians about why they want to move and live overseas, this is something that they bring up a lot of the time. And it's a new culture. It's a new thing, but it's needed if Mongolia is going to be a place that represents all its people and has a place for all its people.
IT’S A DYNAMIC PLACE WHERE THINGS HAPPEN LAST MINUTE OR HAPPEN IN AN UNPLANNED WAY
Your job is connected with the young generations. So how do you see their future growth?
When it comes to the opportunities that are present in Mongolia for young people, the opportunities are in just how big of a demographic they are. Like I mentioned before, young people have the power to shape this into the country that they think is best suited to handle what is coming in 2050 and 2100. They really do have the power.
In Australia, the young generation is much smaller, so we can fight all we want about climate action or social justice, but even if every young person under the age of 34 voted for that issue, we still don't makeup 50%. So, we have to come up with compromises and try to persuade more people from other demographics that this way is the best way for everybody. But young Mongolians really can shape it. If they would vote in higher numbers, I think in this year’s election, 67% of young people voted, which is quite a big decrease from the previous parliamentary election. I think it shows that maybe young people are losing faith a little bit. The biggest opportunity they have is they can create the world that they want by voting for candidates who are accountable and who will answer the call that young people are making.
Why did you decide to stay in Ulaanbaatar working as a teacher?
The main thing that I came back to Ulaanbaatar for after COVID was to work for the “All for Youth, Youth for All” project with Caritas Czech Republic, which finished in December of 2023.
When that project finished, I felt like something was missing. I'd found a new passion that I didn't know I had when I was working with young Mongolians.
So, I wanted to keep pursuing that passion. I still wanted to be engaged with young people because I see so much potential and opportunity. Working with young Mongolians, they are just so eager to learn.
They are so driven to find the best new ways to do things. I think it was their motivation and curiosity—both of those things inspired me to continue working with them and try to give the young generation the best chance that they have at making the future a place where they can actually thrive. Because we're facing a really challenging future. There's no doubt about it with climate change. No matter which country you're from, that will universally impact all of us.
What did you learn the most after you came to Mongolia?
Probably adaptability. Learning to adapt and go with opportunities and solve problems as they come up, always having a solution in your back pocket. A good example is that I always prepare really visually engaging presentations when I do workshops with governments in the countryside. We’d be talking about less than thrilling things like stakeholder engagement or storytelling and it's not how most people want to spend their afternoon. My solution was to make these really beautiful presentations with loads of beautiful photos, but persistently, I would find that HDMI cables would be broken, and I started packing my own HDMI cable. So we're plugged in, everything's working, but there's no remote. So I can't switch the TV to HDMI. There are all these little unusual problems, or suddenly we change the venue at the last minute, or we change time, or there's no gas, and we're not sure how to get back. Mongolia throws unique problems at you that you don't face in many other countries.
So, I find problem-solving really enjoyable, and I think, comparatively, if I ever moved back to Australia, it would be very boring after living here for so long.
MONGOLIANS ARE SO FREE AND EASYGOING AND JUST SMILING, AND LAUGHING
What do you like the most about Mongolia?
I think it's just how easily Mongolians smile. Mongolians smile freely and easily, and they're just innately curious. Mongolia is so far the only country that I've been to where I can go walking around and not know anybody, and random people will just come up and start talking to you. In China, that happens, but all they want is a selfie usually and as soon as they have a picture with you, then they leave and they don't really want to talk to you or get to know you. But here, Mongolians are so curious. They want to know where you're from, what you are doing here, what you think about Mongolia, and whether you have heard of Chinggis Khan. And I think it's nice. Mongolians are so free and easygoing and just smiling, and laughing and even if there's a language barrier, they're still gonna try and have a conversation, which I really appreciate.
You mean we are extroverted people, right?
Yeah, mostly extroverted, at least towards foreigners. But they can be a little bit shy, especially when speaking English. But I think it's how you as the foreigner react to that. Mongolian's pronunciation is really amazing. Mongolian's pick-up languages unlike any other culture that I've seen. I've met so many people here who speak four languages. In any other place I've travelled, I've never seen that as a common thing. Mongolians’ pick-up language naturally, their accent when they speak a second language is clear and easy to understand. I understand it's something to be shy about, it's challenging, and you probably don't get a chance to practice English every day in daily life here.
Are you studying Mongolian?
Yeah, it's incredibly challenging. I think the thing that I struggle with the most is the double vowels.
Like, морь, муур, мөр /horse, cat, shoulder/... Trying to get all three of those, and уул, үүл. /mountain, cloud/. They sound exactly the same to me, and I cannot for the life of me figure it out.
What do you enjoy the most when you're staying in Mongolia?
The thing that never gets old here is how dynamic it is. It's always changing. That's why I go back to having that journal. It's because every day something unique and unexpected happens. If you're open to receiving that, then it's incredible because most of the time the surprises that happen every day are good. Sometimes they're bad, but they make really good stories. It’s a dynamic place where things happen last minute or happen in an unplanned way but if you roll with it, it’s an incredible way to live.
The thing I disliked the most about living in Australia was it was so predictable or monotonous like I could know exactly what I would be doing on Monday four weeks from now because my work schedule was so well planned. That's great and it's really efficient. But so boring. There's no spontaneity or thrill to life just because you know exactly what you're doing a month from now. Here you don't know what you're doing tomorrow a lot of the time and I love it.
Thank you for your time.
Age: 32
Citizenship: Australia
Living duration in Mongolia: Since 2019
Former position: Partnership Development Officer
Current position: Geography and history teacher in a school
Zack Conn, a citizen of Australia, was invited to talk to us as the guest of our "Mongolia Through the Eyes of Outsiders" column.
FIRST WHEN I LOOKED AROUND AT ULAANBAATAR, I COULD JUST SEE THAT IT WAS REALLY A HYBRID OF BOTH ASIA AND EUROPE TO A FOREIGNER'S EYES
Please introduce yourself. Where are you from and how long have you been in here?
My name is Zach Conn. I'm originally from Melbourne. I've been in Mongolia on and off for three years, starting in 2019. I came back right after COVID-19 finished in March 2022. For those three years, I volunteered for two NGOs, the Asia Foundation and Caritas Czech Republic, through the Australian Volunteers Program.
What do you do for a living?
Now, I'm a geography and history teacher in a private school in Ulaanbaatar.
Please share your first impression of coming to Mongolia.
Of course, I still remember it so vividly. When I first came to Mongolia, my first reaction was just awe. I was stunned. I had never seen or experienced anything like it. Before coming to Mongolia, I travelled in China and Eastern Europe for a month. When I looked around at Ulaanbaatar, I could just see that it was really a hybrid of both Asia and Europe to a foreigner's eyes, at least.
From my perspective, I could see that just like in Romania, they still have those same exact Russian apartments. They're all the same. So, I was clearly in Asia looking around me, but I was seeing the same apartment buildings, and the same ornate architecture as I saw in Bucharest, Romania. And so, I felt like I was kind of stuck between two worlds and it just inspired this curiosity. I just wanted to know everything I could about this fascinating place. It feels like no one really knows outside of Mongolia much about it, like when I told my friends in Australia that I was moving here they asked me “How are you going to do that without speaking Chinese?” Most people have no idea that Mongolia is an independent country, and I think that's shocking and it's a shame because it's an incredible place that deserves to be known.
Did you travel this summer in the Mongolian countryside?
Yes. It was incredible and really challenging in a lot of different ways. Up until then, almost all of my time in the countryside was with NGOs. This was my first big holiday where I wasn't just using the trains to get around. This was also my first time on a road trip here and I really sympathise with tourists who come here and have no support.
I was immensely lucky that I had many Mongolian friends and colleagues to lean on to find information about different places. But if you don't know any of the language, or if you don't have any local contacts, Mongolia would be an incredibly challenging place to try and travel without being on a tour. I was pretty shocked that there weren't even street signs to take you to the most well-known places like the Flaming Cliffs or White Stupa. We had to rely on maps and ask drivers for the best routes. I tried to put myself in my mom and my cousin's shoes, like if they'd come here and I wasn't here, how would they have figured this out? There's just no way; it's really challenging. And it's also difficult for a foreigner to not be able to book their accommodation a week in advance, at least or even the night before. I think they were really shocked how we just went from ger camp to ger camp until we found one that had a bed for us. But it was absolutely incredible and totally worth the challenge.
There's nothing like these landscapes and the freedom that comes with travel here. We spent one night just sleeping under the stars and no tent. We just put our blankets out in the Gobi. We were cooking, and a jerboa came right up to us. It was absolutely incredible, the animals and how wild the spaces are and talking to people along the way. It's a trip that they're never going to forget, and I think it's a trip you couldn't really experience anywhere else besides Mongolia. There's nowhere as open and as free as Mongolia.
What kind of transportation do you use mostly in UB?
I mostly walk everywhere, sometimes using scooters. Last week, I rode a bus by myself for the first time.
Was that your first time to take a bus?
I've ridden buses with co-workers, but that was the first time I had done it alone.
How was it?
It’s incredibly frustrating, to be honest. I always try to observe what Mongolians are doing to figure out what I'm allowed to do and what I should do. I woke up on the bus, and it had been about an hour and we'd only gone one kilometer. I noticed six Mongolians got off the bus just in the middle of the road. I was like, okay, if everyone's getting off the bus, I should probably get off the bus too in the middle of the street, it's gonna take forever, but the bus driver wouldn't let me off.
What? Did he refuse to let you off even though let the Mongolians off the bus?
Yeah. And I asked, “Why? You just let this guy off like 30 seconds ago. I can see them walking on the sidewalk why can't I get off?” He's just like, “No, go to sleep”, speaking English. The traffic was already frustrating, and this just added to it.
That's so ridiculous. That’s one kind of racism.
Yeah, and then I went to the back of the bus and stood there, and I saw him letting another Mongolian off the bus. I ran to the front and pushed out the door before he could shut it. He was just picking on me. Those things don't happen often, really rare.
It's just unusual that it happened my first time on the bus by myself.
But have you encountered any occasion like that before?
Sometimes taxi drivers do it. Sometimes there are just no taxis on UB cab. So, you have to take a taxi on the road and wish for luck. This is a really funny one. Two years ago, I was leaving a concert in the Corporate event hall with my Mongolian friends, and there was a taxi driver “Hey I have a taxi for you.” I asked him how much it would cost and he said 90,000₮.
He didn't know that I could understand a bit of Mongolian when he told my Mongolian friends, “Don't worry, this rich foreigner will pay for it, just go with it.” I replied to him, “Юу вэ, ямар аймаар үнэтэй юм бэ?” /”What?! That is so expensive”/ and then he realised that he wasn't going to scam me. So, it's super rare; it doesn't happen often, and there have been many more occasions where Mongolians have been incredibly generous and kind and gone out of their way to help me. Racism is very rare. I think I've only experienced it maybe three times in three years, but I experience Mongolian generosity at least once a month.
Please share with us the bright occasion that you remember.
These things happen so often in Mongolia and it's why I love living here and came back after COVID. They literally happen so often that I started keeping a journal when I moved here because I realised I was forgetting them.
There are all these really magic moments that if they happened in Australia, you would just always remember it. Memorable things happen so frequently here that you start to forget them. I think one of the most incredible ones was Car Free Day 2022.
I was just leaving my apartment, and you know how the Russian apartments have this big arch that you walk through? I was walking through that, and I had just finished working. So, I was trying to transition from my working frame of mind into my photography frame of mind because I was about to go shoot street photography. I had my headphones on, and I was trying to decompress and de-stress.
I crossed that corner at the same time as these two little kids, maybe 4-6 years old, and we bumped into each other. They both looked up at me with big, cute children's eyes. The little girl was holding this pink hat closed in her hands. She opened the hat, and there were two little, tiny baby chicks. I was just so surprised; it just kind of shook me out of whatever I was thinking about.
And that was my first photo of the day. Her mom came around the corner and said it's okay for me to take a picture of them. And so, I'm lining up this photo. While I was focusing the camera, one of the chickens jumped out of her hat, and now these two little kids were chasing around this little chicken in that Russian archway, and it was just such a magic and unpredictable touching moment. That happened two years ago, and I still think about it.
What is your favorite Mongol traditional meal?
Horkhog. But I've only had it twice. It's hard to find, but it's been delicious every time I've had it. I absolutely love it. I wish I could figure out how to make it though, but the pressure cooker is hard.
How do you spend your free time here?
I'm a photographer, when I have time for photography, that's what I'll do. When I first moved here, there weren't any film labs that would develop colour films. So, I went on this mission of making a film lab in my apartment bathroom so I could develop my own film and do the editing at my house. And the other thing I'll do is I'll play music.
What kind of music?
Bass guitar. I like to play at home after work to relax.
What kind of services or innovations do you want to implement here?
From my time working with youth in NGOs here, I would like to see more young people becoming more active in their communities. I think there is a sense of fatalism amongst young people especially. When I talk to them about it, they often say they feel that government decisions are going to be made whether they are active and participating in democracy or not. So, they don't really take responsibility for the actions that the government takes.
I understand that it's difficult and that it takes time to do petitions and write to your member of parliament about whatever you're passionate about. But not everybody needs to be so proactive and take those steps. If just 3.5% of the population demands a change, then it typically happens.
I hear a lot of young people say that they don't really see a future for themselves in Mongolia. But young Mongolians are more than a third of the population. If they really want to change this country, they can. But they need to be more proactive and they need hope. And I understand that it's difficult, we live in the most challenging century humans have ever experienced. It’s hard to look at all this and figure out where to start.
But the first and easiest thing is to vote, letting the government know what youth want and what they’re upset about. With hope, youth can be a part of the world they want to create, whether it’s through volunteering, getting involved with NGOs, or creating community groups. Those are all mechanisms that ensure the government champions what youth value.
I don't have any opinion one way or the other about what the government should or shouldn't do in Mongolia. It's not my place to have that kind of thought. But when I talk to young Mongolians about why they want to move and live overseas, this is something that they bring up a lot of the time. And it's a new culture. It's a new thing, but it's needed if Mongolia is going to be a place that represents all its people and has a place for all its people.
IT’S A DYNAMIC PLACE WHERE THINGS HAPPEN LAST MINUTE OR HAPPEN IN AN UNPLANNED WAY
Your job is connected with the young generations. So how do you see their future growth?
When it comes to the opportunities that are present in Mongolia for young people, the opportunities are in just how big of a demographic they are. Like I mentioned before, young people have the power to shape this into the country that they think is best suited to handle what is coming in 2050 and 2100. They really do have the power.
In Australia, the young generation is much smaller, so we can fight all we want about climate action or social justice, but even if every young person under the age of 34 voted for that issue, we still don't makeup 50%. So, we have to come up with compromises and try to persuade more people from other demographics that this way is the best way for everybody. But young Mongolians really can shape it. If they would vote in higher numbers, I think in this year’s election, 67% of young people voted, which is quite a big decrease from the previous parliamentary election. I think it shows that maybe young people are losing faith a little bit. The biggest opportunity they have is they can create the world that they want by voting for candidates who are accountable and who will answer the call that young people are making.
Why did you decide to stay in Ulaanbaatar working as a teacher?
The main thing that I came back to Ulaanbaatar for after COVID was to work for the “All for Youth, Youth for All” project with Caritas Czech Republic, which finished in December of 2023.
When that project finished, I felt like something was missing. I'd found a new passion that I didn't know I had when I was working with young Mongolians.
So, I wanted to keep pursuing that passion. I still wanted to be engaged with young people because I see so much potential and opportunity. Working with young Mongolians, they are just so eager to learn.
They are so driven to find the best new ways to do things. I think it was their motivation and curiosity—both of those things inspired me to continue working with them and try to give the young generation the best chance that they have at making the future a place where they can actually thrive. Because we're facing a really challenging future. There's no doubt about it with climate change. No matter which country you're from, that will universally impact all of us.
What did you learn the most after you came to Mongolia?
Probably adaptability. Learning to adapt and go with opportunities and solve problems as they come up, always having a solution in your back pocket. A good example is that I always prepare really visually engaging presentations when I do workshops with governments in the countryside. We’d be talking about less than thrilling things like stakeholder engagement or storytelling and it's not how most people want to spend their afternoon. My solution was to make these really beautiful presentations with loads of beautiful photos, but persistently, I would find that HDMI cables would be broken, and I started packing my own HDMI cable. So we're plugged in, everything's working, but there's no remote. So I can't switch the TV to HDMI. There are all these little unusual problems, or suddenly we change the venue at the last minute, or we change time, or there's no gas, and we're not sure how to get back. Mongolia throws unique problems at you that you don't face in many other countries.
So, I find problem-solving really enjoyable, and I think, comparatively, if I ever moved back to Australia, it would be very boring after living here for so long.
MONGOLIANS ARE SO FREE AND EASYGOING AND JUST SMILING, AND LAUGHING
What do you like the most about Mongolia?
I think it's just how easily Mongolians smile. Mongolians smile freely and easily, and they're just innately curious. Mongolia is so far the only country that I've been to where I can go walking around and not know anybody, and random people will just come up and start talking to you. In China, that happens, but all they want is a selfie usually and as soon as they have a picture with you, then they leave and they don't really want to talk to you or get to know you. But here, Mongolians are so curious. They want to know where you're from, what you are doing here, what you think about Mongolia, and whether you have heard of Chinggis Khan. And I think it's nice. Mongolians are so free and easygoing and just smiling, and laughing and even if there's a language barrier, they're still gonna try and have a conversation, which I really appreciate.
You mean we are extroverted people, right?
Yeah, mostly extroverted, at least towards foreigners. But they can be a little bit shy, especially when speaking English. But I think it's how you as the foreigner react to that. Mongolian's pronunciation is really amazing. Mongolian's pick-up languages unlike any other culture that I've seen. I've met so many people here who speak four languages. In any other place I've travelled, I've never seen that as a common thing. Mongolians’ pick-up language naturally, their accent when they speak a second language is clear and easy to understand. I understand it's something to be shy about, it's challenging, and you probably don't get a chance to practice English every day in daily life here.
Are you studying Mongolian?
Yeah, it's incredibly challenging. I think the thing that I struggle with the most is the double vowels.
Like, морь, муур, мөр /horse, cat, shoulder/... Trying to get all three of those, and уул, үүл. /mountain, cloud/. They sound exactly the same to me, and I cannot for the life of me figure it out.
What do you enjoy the most when you're staying in Mongolia?
The thing that never gets old here is how dynamic it is. It's always changing. That's why I go back to having that journal. It's because every day something unique and unexpected happens. If you're open to receiving that, then it's incredible because most of the time the surprises that happen every day are good. Sometimes they're bad, but they make really good stories. It’s a dynamic place where things happen last minute or happen in an unplanned way but if you roll with it, it’s an incredible way to live.
The thing I disliked the most about living in Australia was it was so predictable or monotonous like I could know exactly what I would be doing on Monday four weeks from now because my work schedule was so well planned. That's great and it's really efficient. But so boring. There's no spontaneity or thrill to life just because you know exactly what you're doing a month from now. Here you don't know what you're doing tomorrow a lot of the time and I love it.
Thank you for your time.