Wednesday, 19 September 2012

ISU 20th Anniversary Celebration

On September 14th ISU had their 20th Anniversary Celebration at the school. The day was filled with speeches,  a presentation of a time capsule, two Mongolian horse riders and entertainment by the students.



All about ISU


Speech by the schools director

The time capsule


Mongolian horse riders


 
David, Sue and Ben

Bernadette and Ben

Paige waiting to perform peeking around the curtain

Mongolian boy holding the Mongolian flag

Paige (far left) on stage
Paige on stage
Children holding the different countries flags
Gemma, Paige's friend holding the flag from Canada's flag
ISU schools song



Tuesday, 18 September 2012

Government House Ulaanbaatar

Outside Government House
 
 
In the last couple of weeks the Mongolian Government has opened part of the Government House in UB to the public and a surprise the entry is free. Before this opening to the public the closest you could get to the building was at the bottom of the stairs now you are able to see the large Chinggis Khan statue up close and enter the building.
 

A little history
 
In 2005/2006 the palace was renovated and extended, as a result of which Sukhbaatar's Mausoleum, which housed the remains of the most well-known leader of Mongolia's 1921 revolution, was torn down and replaced by a hall that houses a grand statue of Genghis Khan. Other bronze statues of khans and generals of the imperial past also flank the building. The extension has green glass-domes in a shape reminiscent of traditional gers. During the renovation, the main grey-coloured building was painted white



As you walk up the stairs you are greeted by the large Genghis Khan Statue on the right, as you enter the building you have to walk through a metal scanner and have all bags scanned before leaving any bags including your hand bag in the lockers provided. You are allowed to take photos. As you walk upstairs you pass the nine flags of Mongolia then you walk down stairs to the display room.

Nine flags of Mongolia



The display room houses many of the government treasures which are labelled in both English and Mongolian but the descriptions of the items are only in Mongolian.





The Khaan's Seal of the Great Mongolian State

The medal of Chinggis Khann

One of the Khan's Genterals outside of Goverment House
The Government House opens at 10am until 6pm but closes for an hour during the day for lunch.

Sunday, 16 September 2012

Our Visitors Sue and David


 
It has been very exciting to have our second lot of visitors, Sue and David (Ben's Mum, Paige's Grand Parents) come to visit us here in Mongolia. They stayed for a week and they were able to see many of the sites in the capital city of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar.
Every day we were out and about seeing a site and experiencing daily life in Mongolia.
Traffic played a big part in the visit, it was no surprise to see how bad the traffic was and the lack of people following simple road rules here. Mongolia is a developing city but with the rich culture and history experienced here by visitors many are left wondering how will the city develop in the future?.
It was wonderful to share our daily life with Sue and David in Mongolia and to give them an insight to this interesting country.


Paige with Nanna Sue
Sue and Paige with one of the costumes from the Mongolian National Dance, Music and Cultural Show
Paige, David, Sue and Ben
Paige and an eagle
David holding an eagle
David, Sue and Paige next to a Camel
David at the Chinggis Khan Statue
Turtle Rock at Terej National Park

Paige at Terej National Park

Paige, Sue and David walking around an Ovoo
David and Sue at the top of Zaisan Memorial
Sue and David visit Paige's class room
David and Sue at the gates to the Winter Palace of Bogd khan
Sue and David at the Grandantegchenling Monastery

Sue and David spinning the prey wheels
Undra, Mishel and Paige
David and Sue at the Government House
The flags of Mongolia inside the Government House

Bernadette and David at the Beatles Monument
Visiting the International School of Ulaanbaatar


David, Sue and Ben at ISU
Bernadette and Ben at ISU
Paige (far left) performing at the ISU 20th Celebrations
Paige on stage
School paper cake for the 20th year celebrations