Erdenet
30 Mar 2014 | Erdenet, Orkhon Aimag, Mongolia
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Visa in my pocket, I make my way to Erdenet, which with 85 000 souls is the second largest city of Mongolia. But that is just a status, it's still a little town, surrounded by extensive ger districts. It has been created during the soviet time, by the Russians, for the mining industry. As so, it is a planned city, much more organized than UB and -except for the recent buildings in UB- looking somehow more modern.
There I meet Marc who is a friend of Uli. Marc is a real US American: he thinks big! His current mission is to teach English to every Mongolian, especially the poor ones who cannot afford such education, so that would give more equality in between people.
So he created his own English school, which is a mix of a cafe and study room... He also got his own TV show where he throws some English at people. Well, he has lot of imaginative and practical ways to achieve his objective. It's very interesting to be around and see how he does. I also end up conversing with a lot of people who want to practise their English, which gives me some clues about how it is to teach English.
Marc also owns a little camp/hotel in the mountains close by, made of Buryat (wooden) yourts. The place is closed at the season but he offers me to stay there for a couple of days. The watchman takes the chance to spend these days in town, so I find myself alone there, meeting with the neighbours at the other side of the valley and going sheep herding, walking in the mountains, listening to the wolves howling at the moon. Super!