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naddie_reads's review
3.75
Enjoyed this look into the nomadic culture of the Tuva & Kazakh Mongols. The author had some white-centric views but at least she has enough self-awareness to own up to it in the text itself.
joyceontheroad's review against another edition
4.0
Wat een prachtig boek. Geen romantische reisverhalen, maar de barre waarheid van het leven tussen de nomaden in Mongolië.
tarakingwrites's review
3.0
Not the most glamorous look at life in Mongolia. But you do get to hear about the isolation and loneliness that come from living somewhere so far from home. I didn't find that it transported me back, but I liked it well enough.
lanid's review
adventurous
emotional
informative
reflective
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death
Minor: Sexism, Sexual harassment, and Xenophobia
liralen's review
5.0
Waugh had already lived in Mongolia for two years when she set off for Tsengel, a village on the western edge of the country. She wanted to understand -- to experience -- the nomadic life, and she agreed to teach English in Tsengel's school in exchange for housing and some food staples.
But Waugh was very aware of her role there, and of what her role wasn't. She was the foreign English teacher, yes, but the vast majority of her students were never going to have cause to use English; teaching was mostly her 'in'.
But she taught, and she listened, and made friends, and by and large seems to have had a powerful experience. She's aware, throughout the book, that she's an outsider and a temporary one at that; she's not there to make some kind of Big Difference, and she regularly checks her assumptions. She meets a man whose face is half covered with hair -- is it his discomfort or hers that makes conversation awkward? She's frustrated by the obvious alcoholism of some of the men -- but it's tolerated locally, and not something she can confront.
At one point Waugh remarks that having another foreigner around would have made things easier, somehow, in a way that she did not want -- it would have forced her less outside her comfort zone. In any case, she connects in a way (aided, I am sure, but having liked in Ulaanbaatar and studied Mongolian for two years), and is comfortable in a way, that isn't always the case with this sort of thing. (I'm going to put this down to a few things -- really wanting to connect, being ready to go with it, and accepting culture there for what it is rather than trying to change things.) Really a lovely read.
But Waugh was very aware of her role there, and of what her role wasn't. She was the foreign English teacher, yes, but the vast majority of her students were never going to have cause to use English; teaching was mostly her 'in'.
But she taught, and she listened, and made friends, and by and large seems to have had a powerful experience. She's aware, throughout the book, that she's an outsider and a temporary one at that; she's not there to make some kind of Big Difference, and she regularly checks her assumptions. She meets a man whose face is half covered with hair -- is it his discomfort or hers that makes conversation awkward? She's frustrated by the obvious alcoholism of some of the men -- but it's tolerated locally, and not something she can confront.
At one point Waugh remarks that having another foreigner around would have made things easier, somehow, in a way that she did not want -- it would have forced her less outside her comfort zone. In any case, she connects in a way (aided, I am sure, but having liked in Ulaanbaatar and studied Mongolian for two years), and is comfortable in a way, that isn't always the case with this sort of thing. (I'm going to put this down to a few things -- really wanting to connect, being ready to go with it, and accepting culture there for what it is rather than trying to change things.) Really a lovely read.
kalkie's review
4.0
This is a lovely, well written books. It charts a year spent in Tsengel, the most westerly village in Mongolia, by British journalist, Louisa Waugh. Having previously spent two years in Ulaanbaatar, the Mongolian capital, Louisa decided to venture to the wilds of Mongolia and see how the local nomads live.
The Tsengels are split into three distinct ethnic groups - the Mongols, the Tuvans and the Kazakhs. She has to learn to deal with each of these groups individually as well as learning to survive the harshness of nomad life in one of the most remote and inhospitable parts of the world.
The writing is beautiful and the reader really gets a sense of life in the wilderness. In one part she sends a letter to her mother saying -
... the most profound change is in the noise, or rather the silence. The sounds I've been inundated with all my life, you know - TV, the buzz of the fridge, doorbells and telephones - all gone. Like they never even existed. I never hear radio or TV broadcasts, flick switches, run a bath, answer the phone or drive a car. When there are no visitors and it's just me here in the ger, it's so utterly silent that I can hear the wings of a bird flying over the roof.
The book ends with Louisa's preparations for leaving Tsengel at the end of a long hard year. My only disappointment with this book is it didn't have a final chapter to cover how Louisa dealt with and felt about being re-introduced to urban life. But overall it is a great read, and one which I would recommend to anyone who likes reading autobiographies and travel writing.
The Tsengels are split into three distinct ethnic groups - the Mongols, the Tuvans and the Kazakhs. She has to learn to deal with each of these groups individually as well as learning to survive the harshness of nomad life in one of the most remote and inhospitable parts of the world.
The writing is beautiful and the reader really gets a sense of life in the wilderness. In one part she sends a letter to her mother saying -
... the most profound change is in the noise, or rather the silence. The sounds I've been inundated with all my life, you know - TV, the buzz of the fridge, doorbells and telephones - all gone. Like they never even existed. I never hear radio or TV broadcasts, flick switches, run a bath, answer the phone or drive a car. When there are no visitors and it's just me here in the ger, it's so utterly silent that I can hear the wings of a bird flying over the roof.
The book ends with Louisa's preparations for leaving Tsengel at the end of a long hard year. My only disappointment with this book is it didn't have a final chapter to cover how Louisa dealt with and felt about being re-introduced to urban life. But overall it is a great read, and one which I would recommend to anyone who likes reading autobiographies and travel writing.
lizlogan's review
5.0
This book is wonderful. A woman wanted to teach English, so she did. She did it in a weird way though - completely uncomfortably and isolated from her culture. She dove into Mongolian culture and the desolation of the steppes with a bravery I wish I could say I have. With fantastic description and intimate moments, this book is definitely worth a try. My only quibble is the switching back and forth from English to Mongolian terms. I understand her reason for doing it, but it was annoying to have to travel back and forth through the book to the translation key.
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