The mindset of the Mongolian
Written by Sietse van der Meer
I have been in Mongolia for about 2 months and I have been able to understand some of the culture. However I am also regularly amazed. Together with two Dutch exchange students I have travelled the capital of Mongolia: Ulaanbaatar. I will tell you briefly about the history and culture of Mongolia.
Until 1992 Mongolia was a communistic country. It is still noticeable today when you look at the buildings in Russian style and there still is a system of strict hierarchy. There have been many changes since the fall of communism. The number of inhabitants in Ulaanbaatar increased drastically. Also the social inequality grew. Sixty percent of the Mongolian population lives in so called ‘ger-areas’ and has generally less to spend than people who live downtown.
Wealthy Mongolians like to let others know they are rich. That is why you see the most expensive and beautiful cars. Poverty is not accepted. If you are poor you will be an outsider in daily life. As a result of the enormous increase of people there is a lot of traffic in the capital city. Traffic is very chaotic; in general it is one big traffic jam. People do not care about your small car, they will push you of the road with their big jeeps if you are not alert.
Youth tends to look at the West, especially focusing at the USA and the United Kingdom. A lot of them would like to visit those countries or have already been there. You should be aware of the fact that the road has only been recently opened to the US and those countries offer lots of possibilities to learn and to explore. During the communism regime the West was seen as the enemy. The communism regime was not all bad: wealth was divided more equally and the unemployment rate was lower. During the current regime it is every man for himself.
At my job in Ulaanbaatar hierarchy is considered very important. When a superior asks you to hang out and drink some fine quality wodka it is considered to be rude if you deny. Even the excuse: “I am working on a report with a deadline” will not help you. You can do that tomorrow as well!
