Introduction
The Khatgal homestay proved to be a completely different experience from Delgerkhan in every way possible – starting with the landscape. There were trees. I have never contemplated my relationship with trees before even though my home and University in the States are surrounded by trees that are particularly noticeable during the current season. I would not pick this as an example of something that I did not appreciate until it was no longer there, but rather of something that affects one in ways never examined unless specifically forced to do so.
But even so, I had not realized how absent they are in Mongolia until I found myself surrounded by trees in Khatgal. The trees gave the entire area a different feel and added attractive variation to the endless steppe. They hinted at a separate world beneath their protection. These particular trees, the Nordic Pine, look like a common Pine tree you would see in the States, except they had changed colors to a rich yellow rather than green and their pines were soft to the touch rather than prickly. While I saw them consistently on the drive from the Aimag center, they seemed to only surrounded the perimeter of Khatgal. They were also the first indication that Khatgal is environmentally unique and delicate, two things that always seem to go hand in hand.
The second indication was the lake, Huvsgul Lake. The lake, like the trees, was a shock to my senses. My home in the States is located on the Ohio River and I consider its existence to be an important feature of my community. While Lake Huvsgul provided the same comfort as the body of water I am used to at home, I would only learn the significance of and true dependence on the lake after living with members of the Khatgal community.
I am grateful that one of my first introductions to Khatgal was the environmentally focused welcome center, which displayed information about water use and quality, diversity of animal species, land protection and laws, and results of many ongoing environmental studies of the area. This included beautiful bird species, which I had read to be a staple of Mongolian country side but had not seen until then. Beyond that, I would learn that this community is one tied to the environment - particularly economically through tourism, individually as direct consumers of its resources, and morally as protectors of its future.
The Homestay: One Family, Two Houses
While unnervingly confusing at the time, I now realize I was lucky to experience two different homestay families while in Khatgal. My host family had not returned from Murun, the Aimag Center, so I was picked up by my host father’s sister. When my host mother had still not returned, it was decided that I would be more comfortable in a house with several people – the grandfather, aunt, and cousin – rather than at my assigned house with only my father.
Indeed, it was a comfortable set up. The house was a part of a relatively large plot of fenced land containing several structures. Facing outward to the public was the family’s store, the main source of income for my host father and several of his siblings. The store appeared to me to be similar to the others in the town, but I would learn later that this store had been recognized with an award as best store in the Soum.
Sleeping (I say sleeping rather than living because many regular visitors would qualify as living in my book) in the same house was an older man, the sister of my host father and her daughter. She was a thirteen-year-old girl who not only was kicked out of her bed for me but also encouraged and forced to practice English with me. My most valued moment with her occurred during one of these forced conversations. I believe she was told to show me a pile of new books she had just acquired. While flipping through the titles, I asked what her favorite book was. She pointed to the Mongolian Language book, and turned to the poetry section. When I asked her what her favorite poem was, she pointed to “Bi Mongol Hun” (translated directly "I am a Mongolian Person" or better translated "I am Mongol").
I asked her to read it to me, and she did. It was not before that that I realized how long, indeed, the poem is, and that it is awkward for both the reader and the listener to sit through such a long reading when neither is sure the other actually meant for it to be read in full. However sitting next to a child, reading her favorite poem, especially one that I believe to contain patriotism and passion for Mongolia, was extremely powerful. I wrote the poem out in my journal, but still have not been able to translate it properly:
Аргалын утаа боргилсон
Малчны гэрт төрсөн би
Атар хээр нутгаа
Өлгий минь гэж боддог
Цэнхэр манан суунагласан
Алсын барааг ширтээд
Цэлгэр сайхан нутгаа
Сэтгэл бахдан харахад
Үлээж байгаа салхи нь
Үнсээд ч байгаа юм шиг
Өршөөлт ээжийн минь гар
Илээд ч байгаа юм шиг
Энэрэнгүй сайхан санагдахад
Элэг зүрх минь догдолж
Хосгүй баярын нулимс
Хоёр нүдийг минь бүрхдэг
Also interesting about this family was the wolf chained up in the back yard. Yes, wolf chained up in the back yard, no big deal.
As best I understood, the family captured the wolf as a baby, and they are waiting for it to get fully grown before killing it for its ankle bones and fur. I had trouble not passing judgment about this, I think particularly because I did not have the opportunity to talk with the family about it through a translator and know the situations surrounding it.
When my mother returned, I was happily collected from the first house and moved farther from the school to my second family. I instantly felt at home. My host mother walked me around their land showing me each of the structures. She rents two houses on her land. One was currently vacant, the Peace Corps volunteer who lived there for the past two years had moved back to America. The other was rented by a doctor, her husband, and their child. My host mother was a Monglian Script teacher at the school. My host father was a driver who supplied the family’s store by driving to the Soum Center as needed. My eight year old host brother spent most of the time doing homework and watching TV.
The Interview: Environment and Teaching
Similar to the Delgerkhan interview, I was once again impressed with the knowledge of vast topics and the global awareness that came through the interview. The first topic that to prove this was that of the environment. Clearly Huvsgul residents are more inclined to be aware and concerned of the environment, since they live in an ecosystem that is recognized and valued by the whole of Mongolia. However their awareness surpassed the casual knowledge a person might have of their surroundings, simply because they live there. Not only that, but their knowledge also transferred into action. A large part of the interview consisted of my host family describing a type of community organized watch group. Community volunteers divided into different groups one to protect the lake, one to monitor logging, and other areas of protection. The groups organize different things throughout the year, but the most important function is monitoring. People in the group divide up the land to watch for improper use. If, for example, someone is cutting trees without permission (all fire wood must come from trees that have fallen naturally) the people in the group report it to the Soum government who calls a patrol unit to enforce it.
When I asked my host mother why the environment was important to protect, she gave an answer that even through interpretation would best an environmental expert. She said the environment is the future. “Everything we do, everything we have is connected to the environment. I do things like use a concrete latrine system and only use wood that came from trees that have not been cut because I want my son to have a clean place to live when he gets older. If we do not protect the environment, who will?”
My host mother’s eloquent dialogue continued as the conversation transitioned to the topic of education. My host mother was a Mongolian Script teacher and she appeared to be beloved by her students. When I asked her why she became a teacher, she said that when she came to the Soum from the country side, she knew nothing. Her teacher taught her everything, and from a young age she decided to become a teacher. She traveled to the Aimag center for various teaching workshops, and each night she prepared for the next lesson. This gave me the impression that she was involved in curriculum development and higher levels of education. When I asked about it, she confirmed my guesses.
After teaching several days in the same school, I was interested in knowing more about the spread of English, and what a Mongolian Script teacher thinks about foreigners coming to her school and teaching English without a firm grasp on the Mongolian language. She was perfectly qualified to speak to this as she rented a house on her land (for 30,000 MGT a month) to a PeaceCorps Volunteer who taught English for the past two years.
“English is such a basic language,” she said. “If you can speak English, you can do many things. I do not think Americans are pushing English onto other countries, it’s just a basic language that many people speak.” Perhaps my worries hesitations about teaching English are not validated by how people actually feel.
For a long time, I have struggled with Americans right out of college moving to a developing country with some program that pays for them to teach English. Without real teaching preparation or knowledge of the local language, Americans move to a different country with an air of self righteousness about the important work they will be doing since they are teaching English.
After my two experiences teaching, however, I think differently. First of all, with no formal training as an educator, I did realize I had innate skills that allowed me to communicate effectively with the students. Also, with creativity and limited language skills, I was able to communicate with the students. Not only that, but an important thing I could offer the students was pronunciation and exposure to a native English speaker. I left Huvsgul with a completely new outlook on teaching English.
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This is a review written after my second homestay.
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