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All things come to those who wait! 待てば、海路の日和あり。
I've been waiting, waiting, and waiting for the moment to return to Mongolia to complete the trilogy of Toastmasters in Mongolia.

The day had finally arrived. It was a lovely sunny Monday morning, August 25th, I received an email from Enkhee in Ulaanbaatar (UB) asking me to go to Mongolia again. She had friends in Erdenet City, second biggest city in Mongolia, wishing to learn communication and leadership skills from Toastmasters. Her company also needed me to conduct Toastmasters Training in UB. I was overjoyed and replied to Enkhee immediately that I was ready to be back in Mongolia.

Invitation from Erdenet Mining Company
In a week, I received an invitation email from Jagaa, Chief Finance Officer of Erdenet Mining Corporation (EMC)* Tuesday morning, September 2nd, requesting a two days Toastmasters training agenda between October 6th to October 19th. Originally I planned to fly to UB via Beijing at the cost of NT$16,000, the most affordable price. I even informed my relatives in Beijing of my stopping over in Beijing for one night. I also applied for my Taiwan Resident Passport from Mainland China only to know that the airline tickets were hard to get in early October, because of the national holidays in Taiwan and in China. In the end, I booked my ticket to Ulaanbaatar via HongKong at NT$21,697 departing for UB on October 12th, and returning to Taipei on October 26th. I applied for Mongolian visa (US$40) at Ulaanbaatar Trade Office in Taipei with the barcode 30763997 from EMC.

Toastmasters International Area Z13 District #U
I informed Region 13 Advisor Kazuko Kawauchi of my Toastmasters trip in Mongolia and I sought for her assistance and advise to build Toastmasters clubs in Mongolia in Region 13. I dared to propose that Provisonal District 93 (Korea) help with the development of Toastmasters clubs in Mongolia because of geographical proximity! Toastmaster Kawauchi answered me immediately about the 3 Toastmasters Clubs in Mongolia in Area Z13 of District #U. She told me that she would check with Toastmasters International for their clarification with respect to the clubs in Mongolia in view of the ambiguity regarding the jurisdiction of Region 13. Toastmaster Kawauchi is now responsible for 8 districts in Region 13. She will verify with Toastmasters International if District 67 is able to be involved with clubs in Mongolia.

The answers came fast from the headquarters. District 67 will not receive any credit for establishing clubs in Mongolia. If District 67 helps build a club or clubs in Mongolia, the individual that assists can possibly receive credit for either sponsoring, mentoring, or coaching the club, but the district itself will not receive credit. No response was given about who is in charge of developing Toastmasters in Mongolia. Toastmaster Kawauchi told me that she is not allowed to help me promote Toastmasters in Mongolia. However, she personally appreciated my enthusiasm and passion to promote Toastmasters and help clubs in Mongolia. She complimented me for being a wonderful example of volunteer servant leader and she is proud of me.

Three Toastmasters Clubs in Mongolia
I contacted 3 Toastmasters clubs in UB listed on Toastmasters International homepage. Toastmaster Frank Goeddeke, DTM, Sergeant at Arms, UB Toastmasters Club, was the first to invite me to attend their meeting Saturday at 11:00am at the Institute of Finance and Economics. Frank also gave me his phone number in case I encountered trouble or got lost. MBC Toastmasters Club was the second to respond. The club contact person on the website was in maternity leave for a while. She referred me to President Namchinbum and club adviser Mrs. Ganchimeg Zagdaa. President Namchinbum wrote me that it would be a good chance for them to see me and he would let me know as soon as he talked to his colleagues. The third was Toastmaster Munkhbileg Janchivdorj, VP Public Relations of Toastmasters Mongolia Club. He wrote me on behalf of his president and invited me to join their weekly meeting on Wednesdays, on 22nd of October. Then to my surprise, President Namchinbum of MBC Toastmasters Club told me that they couldn't meet me because the head office had a sudden audit in their brewery.

Health Care Collaboration between Taiwan and Mongolia
Dr. Shane Lin, Toastmaster of Formosa club, Head of Pediatric Department, Mackay Hospital, is interested in a joint research project on clinical genetics with professors or doctors from children's hospitals or pediatric department in any general hospital in Mongolia. He asked me if I could promote his research project and bridge the medial collaboration between hospitals in Taiwan and Mongolia. Dr. Lin and I met to discuss about the details face-to-face over lunch at Mackay Hospital Thursday noon, October 9th. Dr. Lin also gave me many of his business cards.

Support from District 67
Right before my departure for UB, District 67 Governor Eric Liang mailed me two sets of the latest CC and CL manuals, 5 District 67 T-shirts, a dozen of Taiwanese flowery pencil cases as gifts to Toastmasters in Mongolia. He told me that whatever I do he would support me. I told Eric that I felt very excited to celebrate Toastmasters 90th anniversary with Toastmasters in Mongolia, Wednesday evening, October 22nd. It would be a great memory for me. Life is fantastic and fulfilling being a Toastmaster in Dsitrict 67!

From Taipei to UB
It was an early morning flight from Taoyuan to HongKong. I checked in two luggages directly to UB successfully, maybe two or three kilograms overweight, but I got by, because I was going to UB, a remote city to most Taiwanese. Upon arrival at HongKong at 9:55, I saw my name on the sign, directing me to airline desk E1. At desk E1, I saw a long waiting queue with one person taking care of six airline companies, including Mongolian airline. I was kept waiting for at least one and half hours before I got the boarding card at last.

I had to rush to the designated gate for my flight at 12:05. It's been a while since I last boarded Boeing 737-800. It felt transcending back in time watching the handsome Mongolian steward demonstrate how to put on the life vest in person. During four and half hours flight, I enjoyed every single minute bird viewing the great landscape of China. I was excited when we flew over the Gobi dessert. I might be the only passenger on board who wished that the pilot would announce where we were, such as Yantzu River, Yellow River, Inner Mongolia, Gobi desert, while there was literally no entertainment on the airline. Maybe Chinese pilots would say something for the passengers while flying over China just like what American pilots did flying over the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Yosemite. For my next trip to UB, I shall take a cruise from Keelung to Beijing (Tianjin), take Trans-Mongolian train from Beijing to UB. When OM292 landed at Chinggis Khan International Airport at 16:45, I was so excited to see the grass blowing in the wind. I came to Mongolia in time to see autumn leaves withering on the trees.

Sweet Home away from Home
My eyes welled up with tears when I saw Enkhee waiting for me at the airport. Enkhee's company sent a car to pick me up at the airport. When I arrived at Tsend Auysh’s (Enkhee's mother) apartment, I saw a big crowd waiting for me in the living room. I was delighted to chat and hug with them one by one, Tsend Auysh, Eegii (Enkhee's sister), Javkhlan (Eegii's son) and Poddle Tsagaanaa (wife of late Poddle Tobi). Before arrival in UB, Enkhee told me that her mom wished me keep my company while Enkhee had a full time job as the Administration and HR Director for one of the busiest companies in UB. I was happy to stay with a Mongolian mother who knew everything about Mongolia.

Tsend Auysh wore her big smile on her face and told me that she wished she could speaking English. At 80 years of age, Tsend Auysh was keen to learn new tricks. Without ado, I taught her 26 English alphabets and ABC nursery rhymes, she learned just as quick as a toddler! I can't give more thanks to Eegii for lending me her room, her bed, her computer that I could keep in touch with the world while away from home.

First Night in UB
I called Toastmaster Frank Goedekke, Jr.** as soon as I settled down at Tsend Auysh's Sunday afternoon, October 12th. Frank invited us for dinner at Embassy Restaurant at 18:30, four of us, including Frank, Boyo--President of UB Toastmasters club, Enkhee and me. Frank gave me two big plastic bags full of CCs, CLs, Leadership Handbooks, Toastmaster magazines, as he would be on his way back to the US in early November. I was grateful to Frank for his generosity to give me his Toastmasters educational materials in stock. We talked for 3 hours non-stop about Toastmasters movement in Mongolia. Frank told me how he chartered UB Toastmasters Club when he arrived in UB in 2012. He also started Toastmasters Gavel club for students in UB.

Frank told me that he was not interested in the district contract, unless the club officers training could take place in UB. In addition, members wouldn't be interested in paying extra dues to support the district contract. Somehow in my mind, Frank had the impression that I came to UB to persuade Mongols Toastmasters into joining District 67. But it was not purpose at all. I came to UB upon Enkhee's request to inspire more people to stand up and to speak up through the communication and leadership trainings in Toastmasters.

I felt fortunate to dine with UB Toastmasters Club members on my first night in Mongolia. Frank paid the bill, to my surprise. After dinner, Enkhee and I walked home. I heard Enkhee coughing. She told me that people started burning coal at home to warm up the house when it got cold. The smoke pollution became unbearable for many foreigners from October to November. In winter, the smoke from thermal power plants and cars on the streets made the air worse.

Sky Blue Monday
I can't wait to get up to see the nomad empire of eternal blue sky Monday morning, October 13th. After Enkhee left for work before 8, Eegii left for work before 9, Tsend Auysh and I enjoyed a pleasant and quiet breakfast together with lots of hand gestures, facial expression, and body language as communication tools. It took steadfast Tsend Auysh 15 minutes to finally figure out I needed milk for my coffee. Tsend Auysh first took out the honey jar in the refrigerator, then she showed many items I could possibly need, till she finally came up with a jar of cream power. It was fun for two senior citizens to learn from each other. We could do nothing but encouraging each other with big smiles on our faces. Then it was Tsend Auysh’s turn to teach me Mongolian Cyrillic alphabet. There are 35 alphabets in total. Mongolian language sounded like Turkish, Arabic, Persian. It was challenging for me to pronounce the throat sound.

After breakfast, I went to a bank in the neighborhood to change US$100 dollars for 185,000 Mongolian Tughriks. Then I went to Helmut Sachers kaffee owned and managed by Brigitte Cunning, an energetic and powerful German lady in her late 70's. Brigitte is a loyal Rotarian and a frequent visitor to annual Rotarian conventions. The moment I walked into Brigitte’s bakery, she showed me a photo of Gary Huang from Taiwan, International President of Rotray Club 2014-2015, and his entourage at Brigitte’s bakery. Brigitte was excited to update me with the recent ups and downs of urban development in UB for two hours straight, including the air pollution, the traffic congestion, and the annoying flooding when it rains. The newly constructed tall buildings are most empty. Nobody could afford the interest rate of mortgage loan at 14%. Multinational mining companies have been shut down. Expatriates have been sent home. Her bakery business has dropped 80%. She could still manage to make the bakery in balance with the support of embassies in her neighborhood.

I saw the opposite of UB. I saw the resilience of people in UB. I saw better infrastructures, higher and nicer buildings, happier pedestrians on the street. I thought it the best time for Toastmasters to prepare Mongolians for the economic surge in the coming few years. After enjoying the most famous Käsekkkrainer sausage with cheese for a late lunch at Brigitte's, I walked home with a cheerful heart. I even started to attempt crossing the street by following the crowd.

The welcome dinner at home was famous Mongolian tsuivan, freshly handmade noodles stewed with beef, onion, carrot, bell pepper. Enkhee and Eegii came home early to prepare the sumptuous dinner. After dinner, we had sea-buckthorn juice for dessert. It was the first time I tasted sea-buckthorn juice, and I loved it because the rich contents of vitamine C. I felt younger and prettier after two cups of sweet and sour sea-buckthorn juice before I hit the sack.

National Center for Maternal and Child Health (NCMCH)
Upon the request of Dr. Shane Lin, I visited NCMCH  Tuesday morning, October 14th. I was received by Dr. Bayalag Munkhuu, MD, PhD, Deputy Director for Research, Training and Foreign Relations. Dr. Bayalag speaks impeccable English. She looks forward to the joint research project with MacKay Hospital. Then I visited ENT Department accompanied by Dr. D. Ariuntuya, an audiologist, who visited National Taiwan University Hospital for three months early this year.

NCNCH was built in 1930's. It is the oldest and biggest governmental hospital of western medicine in Mongolia. NCMCH consists of research institute and 2 tertiary care hospitals, Children's hospital and Ob-Gy hospital with 680 budgeted beds. MCHCH has 1100 staff in 28 sub-special departments. The Research Institute started the medical gene project in 2013. The pilot study is expected to launch in UB in 2016, and it’ll be in full scale in 2020 with the support of Ministry of Health.

Hooray, I was invited by Dr. Bayalag Munkhuu to give a Toastmasters workshop for her staff for 2 hours next Wednesday after I return from Erdenet City. I shall introduce the Toastmasters International and give a hand-on workshop for participants to deliver short presentations during the Tabletopics training. I want to empower the staff to become better speakers in a friendly and supportive learning by doing environment.

After the visit of NCMCH, I walked to the Gandan Temple in the neighborhood accompanied by a handsome and young general practitioner resident of NCMCH. Grandan temple is a Tibetan-style monastery that has been restored and revitalized since 1990. It came under state protection in 1994. Gandan features a 26.5-meter-high statue of a golden Budda. I was charged with 4000 Tughriks as a foreign tourist simply because I took a photo of the golden Budda. I was more than delighted to donate my humble share to have the blessings for Toastmasters from the golden Budda. Gandan means great place of complete joy in Tibentan lanugage. I felt extremely blissful holding the only wooden pillar from the original temple built in 1809. Upon the recommendation of the handsome doctor, we took a cab to downdown to have hamburger for lunch at his favoite Granville Restaurant. After lunch, I walked to Brigitte’s bakery to say Hi and found Margaret Currie serendipitous. I met both Brigitte and Margaret at a Rotary luncheon during my second visit to Mongolia in 2010. Then I went to Golden Pen across the street from Brigitte’s to get timing boards of green, yellow, and red for the upcoming toastmasters trainings.

When I got home, Javkhlan was already in the kitchen preparing dinner. It was the first time I saw a Mongolian young man cooking. I couldn’t wait to offer my helping hands. In a big stainless flying pan, Javkhlan added layers of sliced beef, potatoes, onions, sprinkled with Italian seasoning mixture, added water to stew. Javkhlan turned down my advice to add some soysause, ketchup, and sugar, to add flavors to his dish of the evening. It was so delicious that I had two full plates of Javkhlan’s beef stew. After dinner, every lady under the same roof put on a beauty mask. Javkhlan joked about me becoming a real Mongolian woman.

Venture to Erdenet City
Mongolia is a big chunk of land, 43 times bigger than Taiwan, 1,260 kilometers from the south to the north, 2,368 kilometers from the east to the west. Taiwan, on the contrary, is a small island, 394 kilometers from the north to the south, and 144 kilometer from the west to the east with a huge central mountain in the middle. For Mongolians, a 5 to 6 hours ride is a common occurrence. For Taiwanese, the longest traveling time from head to toe of Taiwan will be no more than 5 hours.

Enkhee and I left UB after a late lunch at Ku’Damm Club at 4PM Wednesday afternoon. Enkhee told me that it would take 5 to 6 hours from UB to Erdenet City. The Road was not bad. I believed her because the road between the biggest city UB and second biggest city Erdenet City shouldn’t be too good. But within one hour drive from UB, the Russian style concrete buildings gave way to small wooden houses and white gers, we were riding on the dirt road with multimple tracks. The road was so bumpy. I felt that we were riding a car, in stead of driving a car. It was an unprecedented rodeo experience for me to ride a land cruiser in the big wilderness of horses, sheep, goats, and cows. Yeeha!

Imagine a full plate of two German Weißwurst sausages and a big glass of beer for lunch, stirring ups and downs in my stomach, I felt nausea at the back seat. Enkhee tried to feed me with oranges and yogurt to divert my attention. I was amazed at my ability to get off the car only once to take care of my biological needs. I kept visualizing it a memorable journey that I could do without for the second time. I wished I could take the train back to UB from Erdenet City for a change. It was no fun to travel in a hurry in a car for a long time in Mongolia without taking time to take photos of the vast steppe of beautiful Mongolia.

With night falling, I began to fall asleep in the backseat. It was like forever before I finally saw a traffic light at the far end. I couldn’t wait to get off car at the Erdenet Hotel in the dark. The beautiful Russian receptionist asked me to fill in a check-in paper slip, I couldn't decipher any cyrillics, in Russian or in Mongolian. I was told to write down my name and sign my name. When I got into my room, I found that I couldn't get any hot water. Enkhee told me that I had to drain the cold water in the pipe for a long time to get the hot water. I tried and I failed. It must have been quite a long while since the last costumer occupied my room. I browsed the TV programs in English, French, German, Russian, Japanese, Mongolian, but no Chinese.

Two Days Toastmasters Training at EMC
I didn't know that the two days trainings at EMC would be for two groups, senior managers for the first day, and junior managers for the second day, till I walked into EMC state-of-the-art teleconference room at 7:30 Thursday morning, October 16th. I was excited to hang up the banner of Grand Toastmasters Club and I was ready to give it my best shot!
 
During the first day, we worked on tabletopics and prepared speeches in the morning. Everyone was excited to stand up and speak up at the learning laboratory of Toastmasters. After lunch I introduced the Toastmasters International followed by playing the videoclip of Toastmaster Dananjaya Hettiarachchi's World Champion of Public Speaking 2014 in Malaysia. Battuul Baljinnyam from Development Department volunteered to transcribed the speech and translated into Mongolian. After a full-day training (a two hours lunch break was cut short into one hour), a demo meeting agenda was prepared, featuring major meeting roles, such as Toastmaster of the Day, Timer, Ah-Counter, two prepared speaker, and Grammarian by senior managers and my myself as the General Evaluator. We also had the Club President and Sergent-at-Arms in place.
 
At the beginning of the second day training, every participant was given a demo meeting agenda in hand. I coached the participants how to respond to tabletopics, we practiced telling jokes in public. Enkhee explained meeting roles of a standard Toastmasters meeting in Mongolian with the fastest speed she could have exerted her effort. I also covered as much as the introduction of the Toastmasters International before it was time we joined the opening ceremony of the Health Road.

 
Can you imagine a paved trail for cyclists in Mongolia? Yes, the 5.8 kilometers bicycle trail from EMC to Erdenet Train Station was made happen by EMC. Erdenet City is rich because of the hardworking miners on 4 shifts, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Enkhee and were invited to the opening ceremony at the auspicious horse hour between 11:30 and 13:30. It was the first time I heard of Horse Hour. I knew Wu Hour between 11:00 and 13:00 was the perfect time for an afternoon siesta.

According to Chinese astrology, Wu Hour is the high noon, the peak of Yang, and Horse is animal of Yang. Wu Hour is the best time to exercise the body and mind. I’m glad I got the chance to learn more about Chinese astrology through Mongolian friends. I shall keep my body and mind busy at the high noon from now on. After the ceremony, a huge plate piled with aaruul (dried cheese curds) blessed by the Tibentan monk was offered to all participants.


EMC Toastmasters demo meeting started from 2PM till 3PM. The Toastmaster of the Day did a fantastic job introducing all assignment takers. Enkhee took charge of joke session. Four volunteers shared jokes and the audience erupted in laughter after laughter. Two icebreaker speeches by senior managers were amazing and inspiring. The tabletopics master, a senior manager, called upon 1 senior and 3 junior managers to answer four tabletopics about the most common food, the age of the earth, the dream, and the most memorable moment. All tabletopics speakers wowed the audience with their thought provoking answers.

The demo meeting was a blast. I realized how much human beings enjoyed the challenge to break a leg on stage. After the demo meeting, most participants remained for another hour to understand the responsibilites of club officers. EMC Toastmasters Club, in my opinion, will be one of the best Corporate Toastmasters clubs in the world. It came across my mind that a mining company surly knows to mine human talents in their employees while they mine the ores from the dirt. 


In the evening, Jagaa invited Enkhee and me for the celebration dinner at Restaurant Maestro. When I found Japanese yaki soba (printed as Yakosobi) on the menu, I decided upon it without any hesitation. We all ordered Kaltenberg beer for drinks. It felt like a dinner party of Japanese Toastmasters. From 18:30 till 23:30, we kept drinking and talking while another teachers group sang Karaoke (Kapaoke in spelling, in cyrillics r is written as p) loudly at the main hall to celebrate the Teacher’s Day. In five hours, we must have drunk more than a dozen bottles of beer. Mongolians are full of stories. Mongolians are natural born Toastmasters.

Saturday morning, I was excited to see the ore mining operation at EMC. It’s an open-cut mine at the mountain of almost solid copper and molybdenum ore. In the strong cold wind browing from the the mining pit, I could hardly stand still for a minute. I couldn’t wait to get into the lookout to keep warm. The views from the lockout over the gigantic open-cut mine was breathtaking. And we enjoyed a short documentary of weekly blastings on Friday afternoons for the past three decades. When we were escorted to see the traffic of gigantic bulldozers transporting the dirt to the refining factory back and forth, I was astounded by human power and will to turn dirt into gold in a scale beyond imagination.

Upon the invitation of Chairman Sarandavaa, I gave a Toastmasters Training for a group of 20 people at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Orkhon-Bulgan provinces for two hours from 11 till 1:30 with 30 minutes intermission. I was impressed by the diligent participants from all walks of life. They spent Saturdays learning new ideas and meeting new people. After the tabletopics workshop, I asked the participants to vote for the best tabletopics speaker from the videoclip of demo meeting of EMC. The gentleman who answered his dream was to be the miner at EMC won the award.

Chairman Sarandavaa was satisfied with the Toastmasters training and gave me a book of "Happiness Index" survey of Orkhon Aimag conducted in 2012. The first conclusion of the survey is that happiness is related to the level of education. I’m sure Toastmasters will bring a lot of happiness to people in Erdenet City. I'm grateful that EMC takes initiatives to provide education opportunities for employees to keep them happy at work and off work and make Orkhon Aimage a better place to live!

Many thanks go to Chairman Sarandavaa for inviting us for a late lunch at Modern Nomads. I was not so hungry in the beginning. I only ordered a bowl of soup for myself. But when a huge sizzling plate of sliced liver, fat from the belly, steamed bun, was served, my eyes were wide open. After gobbling down three pieces of bun with liver and fat, plus a huge glass of beer, I felt absolutly satisfied. I was excited to climb up the Mongolian Russian Friendship Monument, one of the landmarks of Erdenet City, in the strong wind. After I returned to the hotel, I had the consequence. I woke up to throw up many times at night. I felt completed depleted. And I couldn’t afford to  think of any Mongolian food in my head.

From Erdenet City to UB
It was five below zero when we left Erdenet City Sunday morning. No soon than later when we left Erdenet City, Enkhee pointed to me wild geese winging their way south in the V-shaped flocks. It was phenomenal to me, an islander from subtropical climate. We often see migration birds stop over in Taiwan to spend the winter and go north to breed in the Spring.

In order to avoid car sickness, I lay down in the back seat most of the time. The traffic was good and we moved at 100 kilometers per hour from Erdenet City till UB. To my astonishment, we were stuck in a traffic jam to compete with all cars coming back to UB Sunday afternoon. It took us one and a half hours for less than 10 kilometers. It was more tiring to sit in the car moving like a snail. There is a joke about the traffic of UB. A young lady walked on the street. A friend of hers drove pass and offered her a ride, but she replied she was in a rush. It is faster to walk on foot than taking a motor vehicle.

I was happy I made it to Erdenet City during my third visit in Mongolia. Erdenet City, 370 kilometers north of UB, is the secondest largest city in Mongolia. People in Erdenet City lead less hustle and bustle lives than UB. Unlike UB, Erdenet City still wears a Russian veil because of EMC. EMC employs about 6000 people and is the lifeblood of the city. EMC employees are smart, diligent, and friendly. I am appreciative of the generosity of EMC to cover the gasoline between UB and Erdenet and hotel accommodations for Enkhee and me for four nights in Erdenet City. The two Russian lunches at EMC Thursday and Friday were delicious and authentic. I couldn't be able to have them elsewhere in Mongolia. In fact, at the first sight of EMC's huge restaurant with a dancing hall, it reminded me of a restaurant in Kiev when I companied Taiwanese health officials to deliver the humanitarian medicine to Ukraine in 1992.

Remarks:
*Erdenet Mining Company (EMC) established in 1978 with 6000 workers at present, is one of the biggest Ore mining and Ore processing factory in Asia. EMC was established in accordance with an agreement between governments of Mongolia and (former) Soviet Union. It started its operation in 1978. There are youth group, women's group in EMC. A women's leaders club was established in 2013.

**Frank Goeddeke, Jr., DTM is a Toastmaster of significance in Mongolia. He was a member and officer of Rochester Toastmasters (Club #00004890) for several years before he joined the Peace Corps and came to Mongolia to charter UB Toastmasters Club, the second Toastmasters Club in Mongolia. UB club had the first meeting in March 2012, since then UB club got the Select Distinguished Club and the President's Distinguished Club awards. UB club was founded by Peace Corps volunteers (PCVs) with Todd Sanders the Charter President and Frank Goeddeke, DTM, the VP Education. Frank thought that VPE was more important, being the only member who had ever been to Toastmasters before. Several members from Rochester TMC volunteered to sponsor a few select students who wanted to attend but couldn't afford it. Now some of these people have finished school and are active members in leadership positions. Just seeing the improvement in members over time is amazing, Frank said. At first he was noticing speech improvements, which was really heartening. But then he started seeing people step up and be leaders. That was the best reward for him.                                                   

I love Mondays, the first days of merry working weeks. After a quiescent weekend, I couldn't wait to start an exhilarating week to unveil the mysteries of life ahead of me, Just think about how many new friends on earth I can make, I feel invigorated. At the beginning of the second week in UB, I was eager to explore UB by myself Monday, October 20th.

After breakfast, I walked to Brigitte's bakery for her advise on my Monday itinerary in town. Brigitte told me that the cluster of museums were within 100 meters from her store. No sooner than later I left her store, I saw a road sign in English for the first time in UB at the intersection. I decided to visit the National Museum of Mongolian History first. There was a demonstration with two huge speakers broadcasting loudly. People were waiting in line to say something. I joined the crowd to enter two gers in front of the museum. I took a flier without knowing what the demo was about. The museum was closed for renovation. I had to turn around to walk to the Zanabazar Museum of Fine Arts at the opposite direction.

It was worth the visit, the admission fee of 5000 Tughriks and 1600 Tughriks for the audio guide in English. I was interested in the terracotta warrior miniatures of the Turkic Khanate (6th-8th centuries). They were the prototypes of tri-color pottery in Tang Dynasty. It was fun to see the changing of everyday life of people on silk road a millenium ago. It was fun to imagine the Journey to the West by the Monkey King. I am proud to say that the best collection of tri-color potteries is at the National Museum of History in Taipei where I used to be a volunteer interpreter.

I was also impressed by the rich collection of Tibetan Buddhist woodblock printings. Every intricate painting produced by devout monks worthed careful examination. It's hard to imagine how those paintings could survive during the soviet cleansing times. I could have stayed at the Fine Arts Museum for a whole day if I had an interpreter friend with me. The volunteer interpreters system was yet to be established in Mongolia. Museums, in my opinion, provide the best stage to hone communication skills in front of foreign and locals visitors.

After the Fine Arts Museum, I walked to the Sukhbaatar Square just in time to see a video recording of a new song. I met the composer and the song writer and struck a conversation with them. They were excited to see a woman traveler from Taiwan. It was a joyful moment to see the recording of a baritone accompanied by a group of 24 chorus members, 3 morin khuur (horse head fiddle) players, a dozen lady dancers clad in traditional Mongolian costumes in front of the gigantic statue of Genghis Khan.

On my way home, I passed a fabric shop of Mongolian costumes. Out of curiosity, I inquired the price of an exquisite flowery Mongolian vest on the mannequin. The shop owner agreed to cut the price from US$135 to US$100. I could think of two reasons for the bargain. Firstly, the vest looked beautiful on me. Secondly, I was a persuasive Toastmaster. When I showed my vest to Tsend Auysh, she was impressed at the taste of the Taiwanese woman at her home.

In the evening, I went shopping for the materials for dinner at the Fresco Supermarket in the neighborhood. I made a full table of Chinese dishes, including stirred fried soybean sprouts with carrots and celeries, fried eggs with tomatoes and scallions, stirred fired garlic scapes with shredded beef.
　

Tuesday Tranquilities

Enkhee got up early to bake a plate of small curry pies. It's been a long time since the family last used the oven. The kitchen was full of smoke with the window closed. Being choked in the smoky kitchen, I was, however, pleased with the outcome of our experiment.

After breakfast, I began another day of solo adventure. I planned to walk from Gandan Monastery to Choijin Lama Monastery. I made up my mind to explore UB by walking non-stop. My pilgrimage would definitely be good for my body, mind and spirit, if not for the peace on earth.

Wandering around without knowing directions, I saw the Statement Department Store. I knew that I was on the Peace Avenue, the main street stretching from east to west through the center, the main street where I shopped and dined during my first and second visits in Mongolia. It was a good beginning of my exciting day. To my delight, I saw two big numbers in red on top of the State Department Store, 1924 and 2014. Oh my God, State Department Store was opened in 1924, and it's her 90th anniversary in 2014. What a serendipity Toastmasters was celebrating her 90th anniversary. And I was in UB at the most glorious moment in Toastmasters.

On my way, I asked directions twice. Once was in front of the Turkish embassy. I asked a young woman where Choijing Temple was. She was a law school student, but she didn't know where Choijing was. Then he asked a senior citizen about the directions. The old gentleman told me to turn right at the next big intersection, keep on walking, pass a river. It was very far. I'd better take a bus. I told him that bus would be out of the question as I couldn't read and speak any Mongolian language. The old gentleman looked at me and complimented me on my beauty and my courage to travel alone in UB. I was cheered up with the praise from the stranger on the street.

I kept on walking and walking. I turned to the right at Chinggis Avenue, passed National Library of Mongolia, passed Kids Song's Statue, crossed the Peace Bridge over the Dund Gol River. I saw construction workers playing cards under the bridge. I passed a community park and saw an old couple with their grandchildren. I asked them where Choijing was. They shook their heads. I asked where the museum was. They shook their heads. I asked them where the Buddha was. They showed me the directions.

I was happy I made it when I saw a Temple at far. It turned out to be the Winter Palace of Bogd Khan. It was closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. But the security guard was kind to have a photo taken with me in front of the gate. In fact, I couldn't visit the palace due to the time constrain as I needed to walk home as soon as possible. Besides I visited the palace during my first visit in 2004. Later on, I knew that the Choijing Temple was just a block away from the National Library of Mongolia.

Walking back home, I observed the juxtaposition of high rise buildings next to dilapidated apartments, it felt like living through a moment of history. Javkhlan gave me a ride to National Center for Maternal and Child Health (NCMCH) before 1:30. The toastmaster training started from 2PM till 3:30PM. It was a full house of doctors and nurses. Through tabletopics session, I had a picture of what young Mongolian health care providers were thinking about. Many thanks to Dr. Delgermaa of ENT Department for being my interpreter from English to Mongolian.

After the Toastmasters trainings at NCMCH, I rushed home to get ready for the Toastmasters meeting in the evening. It was my first visit to the first Toastmasters Club in Mongolia--Toastmasters Mongolia Toastmasters Club. Javkhlan gave me a ride to Brigitte's bakery to fetch the cake before 6:30. I was pleased to see the beautifully decorated birthday cake to celebrate Toastmasters 90th anniversary at a cost of US$50. Then Javkhlan drove me to Mongolian Bar Association where the special 90th anniversary meeting took place.

It was a warm and joyful meeting with a full house of charter members and more than 10 guests. We enjoyed the cake during the intermission. When the tabletopics master asked for volunteers, I didn't hesitate to raise my hand, and I won the tabletopics speaker by interpreting one of many famous quotes, the difference between success and failure. As the General Evaluator of the meeting, I was pleased with the quality of the meeting, both educational and entertaining, even though it started a little late. After meeting, Enkhee and I walked home. Enkhee told me that she enjoyed the club meeting very much and she would invite friends to visit the club in the future.

Enkhee's company sent a car to take me to Mongolian State University of Education early in the morning. I left the apartment to find a car with a flat tire. The driver told me that he had contacted another driver to give me a lift. I took the chance to chat with the driver while he tried to fix his car. The driver was easy-going. He spoke English because he used to work at a restaurant while his wife studied in London. We talked a lot about his family and his life in London before the other car finally arrived. And I was late for the class because of the morning rush hour.

Ms. Beree Banjil waited from me at the entrance and took me to her class immediately. Standing in front of a room of young Mongolians, I felt young and energetic immediately. With the active participation of students from Department of Social Work, we had a fruitful and interactive lecture on communication and and leadership for two hours. All students seemed to have a good time learning by doing. It would definitely be good if Beree took initiatives to charter a campus club to help her students. Beree got her master degree in Social Science in Australia. There are many Toastmasters clubs in Australia.

After the lecture, I asked for directions from a group of students. They told me it was not far to walk to the Sukhbaatar Square. I took their advice to walk along Olympic Street, turned right at the Peace Avenue, I knew where I was when I saw the Blue Sky Hotel and Tower and I felt hungry. I decided to find a small Mongolian eatery. I walked pass a restaurant, just about I wanted to peek inside, the chef opened the door and invited me in. I couldn't read the menu, I couldn't read the list of dishes names on the wall. All I could do was point the food on other customer's table. And I had my steamed dumplings and salad for lunch. The food was yummy and the price was reasonable. On my way home, I also stopped by a Korean Karaoke. It was yet to be open, but the door was slightly open, and I walked in to take a look at the karaoke boxes, the songbook. There were not any Chinese songs. I had a pleasant talk with the owner about the karaoke business, young Mongolians and their night lives in UB.
　

On my last Saturday in Mongolia, I visited UB Toastmasters Club in the morning, October 25th. It was snowing when I woke up and peeked out the window. I was excited to finally be able to join the UB club meeting. Enkhee and I took a taxi to the Institute of Finance & Economics. I saw the sign of Toastmasters meeting at Room 204 at the gate.

Frank, the responsible Sergent-at-Arms, greeted us cheerfully. The meeting room was half full before 11 o'clock. Frank wrote the meeting agenda on the blackboard. Enkhee was invited to served as the timer, me served as the Ah-counter plus an individual evaluato. There were four prepared speeches, including two ice breakers speeches, one C-3 speech and one C-4 speech. Frank himself served as Toastmaster of the Day. I was given 5-7 minutes to talk about Revitalized Education Program (REP) at the end of the meeting. There was no grammarian, nor General Evaluator assigned.

The meeting started with the tabletopics session for all participants (13 in total). Everyone was called upon in turns drawing a question from a box. I won the best tabletopics speaker award by telling the most recent holiday with golden ladies toastmasters on Sun Princess cruise in late September. For REP, I shared my experience joining the webinar from 9 to 10 Thursday morning, May 15th, 2014, I gave thank to Toastmaster Mike Yang, Chief Ambassador of District 67, for inviting me to be one of the District 67 REP ambassadors.

After the meeting, Frank invited all club officers for lunch at Haraza, an Indian restaurant in the neighborhood. Originally I planned to invite Frank for lunch at the restaurant on the top of Blue Sky Hotel & Tower to reciprocate his generosity to treat me dinner on my first night in UB. Frank told me it would be easier and cheaper to eat at his favorite Indian restaurant. It was the first time I tried Indian food in UB. The food was really authentic and the naan was the best. Frank allowed me to pay for the drinks for all lunch participants. It was a great lunch till 3PM.

After lunch, Enkhee suggested we walk home on a sunny afternoon. We passed Sukhbaatar Square where a big fun raising festival took place. I enjoyed free Mongolian milk tea, a weak concoction of low-grade black tea, milk and salt. Then we passed the Government Palace Garden where Enkhee and Eegii had a beautiful photo taken with flowers blooming this summer. We passed the National Museum of Natural History closed indefinitely for renovation. We passed Ankara Street, we went into a grocery store to buy juices and fruits.

Farewell Dinner at Home in UB

Before dusk, Eegii walked home with a big grocery bag. She and Enkhee started making Buuz, steamed dumplings, an auspicious dish eaten at home on Tsagaan Sar, the Mongolian New Year. Enkhee made the dough skin, Eegii wrapped the meat ball of minced beef, chopped celery, and scallion. I loved Buzz for farewell dinner with tomato and cucumber salad.

We opened a big bottle of red wine. We laughed all the evening by daydreaming how to get rich and travel around the world. I invited Enkhee's family to come visit me in Taipei and stay with me for a couple of weeks on the house! It's the least I can do to reciprocate what they had done for me while I was in UB to promote Toastmasters to the best of my ability.
After dinner, I watched Apocalypto by Mel Gibson with Eegii and Minjin in the living room. The 2006 film was dubbed in Mongolian language with English subtitles. It was the only time in UB I enjoyed TV with the knowledge of what was going on. Cute Minjin drew two color pencil paintings for me while watching Apocalypto. One is cruising in the blue sky, the other is three swans swimming on the blue lake. I was happy to know her dreams. I shall treasure two painting till I attend her wedding party some day.

I didn't go to bed until one o'clock in the morning. I was eager to go home, I didn't really fall asleep the entire evening, I got up several times to make sure I wouldn't oversleep to miss my flight home.
　

Back to Taipei

It was still dark when I left Mongolia before dawn. Tsend Auysh and Eegii woke up to give me farewell kisses. Javkhlan drove me to the airport with Enkhee. It was 9 degrees Celcius below zero. Javkhlan was considerate to turn on the under backseat heating. My heart was filled with gratitude.

I don't know when I shall return to Mongolia again, but if possible, I'd like to see Naadam, to ride bicycles on Health Road in Erdenet City, to join local Toastmasters meetings. It is my sincere hope that more Toastmasters clubs can be chartered in Mongolia in the future. It will be awesome if I can celebrate Toastmasters 100th anniversary in UB.
　

Mongolians and Taiwanese

Nobody would know if I am from Taiwan, so long as I don't open my mouth to utter a sound. Mongolians look more like northern Chinese and Taiwanese look like southern Chinese. I'm a mix of northern Chinese (my father from Beijing) and southern Chinese (my mother from Nanjing). I look more like Mongolian than Taiwanese. Mongolians and Taiwanese are hospitable and warm-hearted people, remarkably similar in terms of the tight family bound and the patriarchy to value men and belittle women.

Mongolian women are in general tougher and stronger than Mongolian men. Daughters are expected to achieve more than sons. More female students graduate from college than men. Mongolian men were spoiled by the mothers and wives. It's generally women who win bread for the family. After the immediate collapse of soviet socialist in the 90s, the Mongolian men were allowed to marry three women. When the subsidized and command-led economy gave way to free economy, Mongolian men lose their shares in job market. Quite a few men turn to alcohol to forget their miserable lives during the painful years of shortages and unemployment.

Middle aged Mongolians speak Russian. They enjoy watching Russian TV shows in living rooms covered by colorful carpets. Many foreign dramas were dubbed in Russian. Young Mongolians are learning English at school, but most TV programs were dubbed in Mongolian.

Be Mongolia close to Russia, there are very few mixed blood of Mongolians and Russians, maybe more in Erdenet City than UB. In Erdenet City, I saw quite a few Russians. In UB, I saw Europeans. Among Mongolian population, 95% Mongols, 4% Kazakhs and 1% others. While I was in Erdenet City, Enkhee told me who were Kazakhs and who were Mongols. Enkhee had keener eyes telling apart Mongols and Kazakhs. Just like in Taiwan, I was easily recognized as mainlanders by Taiwanese.
　

Mongolian Food and Taiwanese Chinese Food

Mongolians like meat and animal fats to withstand the harsh winter. Meats of domesticated animals such as cattle, horses, camels, yaks, sheep, and goats, but no pigs. Horse meat is common in Mongolia and can be found in most grocery stores. Mongolians cook meet without much salt and spices. Mongolians love dairy products. Just by opening the refrigerator of the common household, you know the eating habits of Mongolians. Like northern Chinese, Mongolians make dumplings, steamed, fried, boiled, or in soup. Fried noodles with meat or noodle soups are also popular.

Taiwanese like seafood, vegetables and spices. The braised pork rice is one of the famous dishes in Taiwan. Taiwanese cuisine is influenced by dishes from all over China, but mainly by the province of Fujian. Hakka food and Japanese food are also popular in Taiwan.
　

Epilogue

After coming back to Taiwan from the second trip to Mongolia in 2010, I was happy to learn the birth of the first Toastmasters club—Toastmasters Mongolia club in UB. I didn’t contribute anything in essence, but I was happy just the same to see the blooming Toastmasters movement from the year of 2010.

The third venture to Mongolia gave me the opportunity to meet up with Mongols Toastmasters. And I'm determined to lead Toastmasters movement in Mongolia in a more proactive way. I shall follow up all contacts tenaciously to make sure Toastmasters educational programs benefit to colleague students, company employees, and general public.

I saw potential of people at every Toastmasters Training in Mongolia. I saw the desire and ambition in every person I met at Toastmasters gatherings, eager to be aspired to a new height in life.

I pledge to inspire people to marvel at how Toastmasters empower individuals to become more effective communicators and leaders through various social networking groups, such as facebook, e-mails to keep them updated about the Toastmasters International and keep me connected with Mongols Toastmasters.

Acknowledgements:

Many thanks to Enkhee and her family for their hospitality. Enkhee translated Toastmasters materials in Mongolian language before I arrived in UB. She translated meetings roles and club officers responsibilities in Toastmasters Leadership Handbook.