Out of Mongolia

Many are cold, but few are frozen 
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September 1, 2009

Cold Again

A Mongolian Bak Mandi

Mongolian nights are always cold. I've been sleeping under a blanket, with flannel sheets, all summer. Houseflies are easy targets in the morning, since they can barely move.

It's worse when there's no hot water. The cold water may as well be running from a glacier; it hurts to wash your hands. Luckily, we have an electric water heater which converts the icy stream into something warm enough to bathe in.

This is where my experience in Indonesia comes in handy. In our house in Aceh, we used a scoop to bathe. You fill a up a water basin built into the corner of the bathroom, and use a scoop to flush the toilet or wash up. This morning I filled up a bucket with warm water from the heater, and used the scoop to take a bucket bath. It brought back good memories.

When the water comes back on, it will be blood red from the rust in the pipes. But I'll be happy anyway. It will get down to freezing this week, so red water will be fine, as long as it's hot.

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Filed under  //   Bak Mandi   Cold  

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January 4, 2009

Ukraine's Leaden Skies

In Kiev, the sky is heavy and leaden in winter. You almost never see the sun. It isn't as cold as in Mongolia, but the snow is wet, so the cold seeps right through your clothes and deep into your body.
 
I never thought I'd say this, but I miss the bright, sharp, winter sky in Mongolia.

Shevchenko Park in January

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Filed under  //   Cold   Greyness   Kiev   Snow  

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December 14, 2008

Let Me Freeze Again to Death

The Cold Song rings in my head a lot these days, especially when it's -20º or below outside.  It was written by Henry Purcell in his 1691 opera, King Arthur. I don't know the storyline of the opera or how the song fits in. But I do know that the most moving, dramatic rendition of the Cold Song was sung by Klaus Nomi in 1982, shortly before he died of AIDS. 

What Power art thou, who from below,
Hast made me rise, unwillingly and slow,
From beds of everlasting snow?

I was introduced to Klaus Nomi in by Kim, a beautiful chambermaid in London, shortly after his death.  Nomi sang everything from pop to opera to songs from the Wizard of Oz.  Madeline Bocaro's blog (which is where the picture below comes from) is an interesting read for anyone curious about his life. I love how she describes him as "an elfin creature in exquisite makeup." I don't know if he ever came to Mongolia, but in my mind, he must have experienced it at some level.


See'st thou not how stiff, and wondrous old,
Far unfit to bear the bitter cold,

Both Henry Purcell and Klaus Nomi died in their thirties from wasting diseases, tuberculosis in Purcell's case. It is easy to imagine how the last two lines from the Cold Song might relate to their final, hopeless, moments of life. But to me, they also relate to breathing the frozen, toxic air that blankets Ulaanbaatar in winter.


I can scarcely move or draw my breath,
Let me, let me, freeze again to death.

Klaus Nomi, possibly in Ulaanbaatar

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Filed under  //   AIDS   Cold   Cold Song   Klaus Nomi   Mongolia   Purcell  

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December 10, 2008

Why I Would Suck at Being a Space Colonist

I'm an adaptable guy. I've lived in a lot of wild places, among people from vastly different cultures. In some places, I lived without heat, water, or electricity. So you'd think I'd be an ideal candidate for colonizing new planets, where conditions would be vastly different from those on Earth. But Mongolia has taught me a lesson: I would actually suck at being a space colonist.


Mongolia is the closest I'll ever be to living on an alien planet. Conditions here are extreme. This morning, it was a body-numbing -27º, so cold that your sinuses crack when you inhale. In winter, the air in Ulaanbaatar is toxic, not unlike the atmosphere of Jupiter. And it's either light or dark most of the time, depending on the time of year: right now we only get about eight or nine hours of daylight.

I say No to colonizing other planets

I am not adapting well to these conditions. I don't sleep well in summer, when it's light from 4am to 11pm, and in winter I hardly dare to breathe. I have to wear so many layers of clothing that I can't find my cell phone before the caller gives up. I just hate that.

Conditions on other planets would probably be more extreme. What if there were two suns, and it never got dark? Or if the sky was the wrong color? Of if there were a whole bunch of moons, orbiting irregularly?  I don't think I could handle it.

So I've had to readjust my entire sense of identity. I am not adaptable. I dream of living within 1000 km of the equator, where it gets light and dark at the same time all year round, and the temperature almost never changes. Heat? Humidity? Bring it on! Your skin never dries out and you don't need a jacket. Or Chapstick. Ever.

Space colonization? No thanks! Good thing I never had the choice.

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Filed under  //   Alien   Cold   Colonization   Extreme   Humor   Mongolia   Planet   Space  

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