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On the Wickedness of Being a Nomad (Redux)
At various points in Mongolia’s tumultuous relationship with the international business community, voices in the community have declared that Mongolia needs to reform itself or else. This sentiment...
View ArticleTeaching Against the Odds: Students Dreaming of the Future
This is my last “Teaching Against the Odds” post. As I move from writing about my experiences as a teacher and onto other topics of professional interest, I want to leave on a high note by writing...
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The Middle Layer
A decade ago when I was a Peace Corps Volunteer, I often heard from other ex-pats the startling fact that Mongolia was the highest recipient of development aid per capita in the world. It was usually...
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Ulaanbaatar: A City Built for 400,000?
This morning I was reading an article which contained the following statement, “The Soviets engineered Ulaanbaatar for a population of 400,000. Now the city holds three times that number.”1 I have seen...
View ArticlePopulation, Rounding Errors, and Context
The National Statistics Office (NSO) recently estimated that Mongolia’s population will reach 2.9 million by the middle of July.1 This is an increase of approximately 245,000 people since the 2010...
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Editorial: In Defense of Hero Diversity
Recently the Ulaanbaatar city council voted to rename Sukhbaatar Square to Chinggis Square. This came as a surprise for many in the city because there was no formal public debate about the proposed...
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This Year’s Winter Isn’t ‘Ulaanbaatar Cold’
This is my eighth winter in Mongolia and fourth in Ulaanbaatar. When it comes to cold weather, Ulaanbaatar is one of the coldest places in Mongolia. It is also by far the coldest capital in the world...
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Final Verdict: ‘UB Cold’ or ‘Winter-Schminter’?
In January I examined whether winter temperatures to that point were above or below average (see here). I compared this winter’s temperatures to the historical averages, as well as the first winter I...
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Rethinking Ulaanbaatar’s Population
Ulaanbaatar is the most populated administrative area in Mongolia. Its population was estimated 1.31 million in 2013, representing approximately 46 percent of Mongolia’s total population.1 According to...
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Alcohol Consumption: A Toast to Data
This will be the last post on this blog for an indefinite period as I turn my attention to other projects. I thought it would be fitting for the last post to be inspired much as the first post (here)...
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