Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to you all! I’ll take this opportunity to wish you all a happy and peaceful Christmas time. I hope you and your families have a great time.

Whilst a White Christmas may not happen, it’ll certainly be a very cold Christmas in Ulaanbaatar! There are a few signs of Christmas here (despite the fact that Mongolia is a Buddhist country). Most of the hotels and shopping centres have Christmas trees positioned by their entrances. Some buildings also have colourful lights wrapped around them. However, the locals are keen to point out that these decorations are not for Christmas, but are part of the build up for the New Year celebrations. Indeed, the local TV stations are running what Westerners would call ‘Christmas-themed’ programmes (with the hosts dressed as Father Christmas, sitting in front of log fires), but end the programmes with the message “Happy 31st” flashing across the screen!

As a special Christmas treat, I’m including video clips in this week’s blog entry. Have a look at my moment of fame, making it onto Erdenet regional TV! It’s a clip taken during last month’s visit to Erdenet with Amnesty International (see http://rob-in-mongolia.blogspot.com/2007/11/on-tour-with-amnesty-international.html for more details). I’m talking about the volunteering efforts that the local schoolchildren were doing in the city. Enjoy!

There's also a short clip of me talking to Darkhan's local TV channel. I'm speaking fluent Mongolia, and seem to have developed a rather feminine voice! (ok, it's Otgo the head of Amnesty Mongolia's volunteer programme who is translating)

As always, lots of love from Ulaanbaatar,

Robert