Foreign Study Trip
Mongolia: The Land of Chinggis Khaan
In late June 2007, fourteen Colorado School of Mines students and three faculty journeyed to Mongolia and China as part of the Guy T. McBride Honors Program in Public Affairs for Engineers. The group consisted of students Brad Bettag, Hilary Brown, Laura Dieker, Dana Drake, Amy Dubetz, Jason Fish, Michael Hoban, 
Alex Hughson, Paul Johnson, Bobbi Martinez Hernandez, Connor Moyer, Emily Przekwas, Logan Ronhovde, and Whitney Svoboda, with faculty members Greg Holden, Vilem Petr, and David Frossard. They began their adventure with a flight to Beijing, China, where they caught their connecting flight into Chinggis Khaan International Airport in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
Chinggis Khaan is a symbol of leadership and independence; two traits that until recently the Mongol people did not have for themselves, having been ruled by foreign powers for the majority of the past four hundred years. In the past century alone, Mongolia has undergone vast change. A few things have remained fairly constant, such as the veneration for Chinggis Khaan, and the presence of a nomadic lifestyle. But even these have changed with the times.
Illustrative of the changes of the recent past, Mongolia now finds itself a burgeoning democracy after less than twenty years of independence. Many people were involved in the birth and survival of this young democracy. One of these was, Dr. Sanjaasuren Oyun, a legislator who, over tea, explained to the students the current political atmosphere as well as some of the issues presently affecting Mongolians. Later, they met with a representative from the Zorig Foundation, an organization focused on addressing corruption in the government.
On Sukhbaatar Square in Ulaanbaatar, the students met with Enkhbayar, a man whose music provided a theme song to the student protests held in the same square nearly twenty years earlier.
Mongolia is a country rich in minerals such as copper, gold, and coal. These resources have been an issue of hot debate for the past couple of years because western mining companies would like to develop the country’s deposits. The students met with a representative from the
Mongolia branch of Ivanhoe Mines and discussed a project that when developed will be the country’s largest source of income, a massive copper and gold deposit in the Gobi desert.
During their stay in Ulaanbaatar, the students visited a number of historical sites including the Zaisan Tolgoi monument, Gandantegchinleng monastery, and the National Museum of Mongolian History. They attended a traditional song and dance show, which also featured the country’s professional orchestra. After spending a week in the hustle-bustle of Ulaanbaatar, the group headed out into the countryside where the students spoke with nomads and farmers and experienced the beauty of Mongolia and its Great Blue Sky.
Following a week of camping, the students and faculty took a thirty-hour train ride from Ulaanbaatar to Beijing, China. While in China, the students climbed the Great Wall, visited the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace, Tiananmen Square and the Hutong district. They were able to attend a brief lecture at the Petroleum Institute in Beijing and to socialize with the students there.
The last night in Beijing, the CSM group went to a show of traditional martial arts and had the chance to participate in some traditional dancing.
During three weeks, the McBride Honors Program students were able to see things they had never seen, eat things they had never eaten, learn about cultures halfway around the world and to have a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Photos courtesy of David Frossard
