Mongolian Calendar
June
3-Going away party for me at Aetna Springs in Pope Valley
8-My 24th Birthday
10-I leave for "staging". This is where all the PCVs from all over the US that are going to Mongolia go to a central place on the West Coast. Here we will get our shots.
11?-We take off for China to then be transported to Ulaanbaatar.
13-I arrive in Mongolia and start my training(language, community development, cross cultural, technical, health and safety, programming) that will last 11 weeks.
Week #1 in Ulaanbaatar living in a dormitory.
Week #2-#9 in the provincial town with a host family.
Week #10-#11 in Ulaanbaatar with a visit to my site.
July
11-13th-Naadam Festival(display of the three traditional "manly" sports of archery, wrestling and horse racing). It is the anniversary of the Mongolian Revolution. It is also the peak of the tourist season.
photo by Paul Greenway(far left and far right) and Ron Gluckman(center)
August
September
I should be moving out of Ulaanbaatar and into my home for the next two years this month.
October
November
26-Mongolian Republic Day
December
Year 2001-year of the Snake
January
1-New Year's Day
13-the adoption of the 1992 constitution
varies somewhere in Jan/Feb-Lunar New Year, a three day holiday
February
March
April
May
June
1-Mother and Childrens' Day(I read somewhere that the two days were made into one to reduce holidays and therefore reduce excuses to drink)
13-My one year anniversary in my new homeland!
July
11-13th-Naadam Festival(display of the three traditional sports of archery, wrestling and horse racing). It is the anniversary of the Mongolian Revolution. It is also the peak of the tourist season.
August
September
October
November
26-Mongolian Republic Day
December
Year 2002-year of the Horse
January
1-New Year's Day
13-the adoption of the 1992 constitution
varies somewhere in Jan/Feb-Lunar New Year, a three day holiday
February
March
April
May
June
1-Mother and Children's Day(I read somewhere that the two days were made into one to reduce holidays and therefore reduce excuses to drink)
13-My 2nd year anniversary in Mongolia
July
August
September- I return to the USA sometime in this month, I think. The date will be updated later.
photo by Adrian Arbib and Benedict Allen
Please excuse the fold in the middle, but I had to include this picture because it is so breathtaking. It shows all the moods of Mongolia. This is a group of gers, and a tiny person can be seen in the middle.
Mongolia is called the Land of the Blue Sky due to its average of 257 cloudless days a year
as late as April there might be snow in the Gobi desert
May-early October is the travel season.
mid May-mid September is the growing season, the valleys are green and the nights are frost free
mid October-mid May there are sudden snowstorms and extreme cold
May-June is the short Spring. This is the especially windy time of year, with huge duststorms.
June-August is the Summer, with temperatures reaching about 70F(21C) says a Peace Corps publication; Lonely Planet says the summer is July-September and is "pleasant without being hot."
June and September are both very pleasant times to visit(according to Lonely Planet)
July's average temperature is 10C.
July-August are the rainiest months. Annual precipitation is usually less than 15''/year.
November-May is the winter
So often pictures of Mongolia are of the sunny days, but the cold is what is even more constant. photo by Melvyn C. Goldstein and Cynthia M. Beall
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Last Revised: May 3, 2000