About one week has passed since I arrived in Mongolia. I feel like I have already adjusted to my lifestyle here. I realized that I need only one week to learn how to live in a new environment. Of course, there are still many new things that I do not know, but I am no longer a person who knows nothing about this country. I have developed a routine here as well.
I have been staying at Toyoko Inn, a Japanese hotel. That is why there are so many Japanese people around, which makes me feel like I am in Japan. I do not really like that feeling because I did not come here to feel comfortable. I prefer exotic and unfamiliar experiences rather than familiar ones. That is probably one of the biggest downsides so far — it is too comfortable. I am not traveling to feel comfortable, but rather to see and experience different things, even if they make me uncomfortable.
That being said, the head coach booked this hotel for me, so I am going to stay here while I am in Mongolia, even though it is not cheap. I assume this will probably be the best accommodation during this trip. I do not think I will be able to book a similar hotel with a private room elsewhere. At some point, I would like to stay at a hostel as well.
Anyway, during the last two days, I have not really had many updates, but I started joining training sessions at the academy. Since I came here, I had mostly been watching competitions or sightseeing, but I had not really had the opportunity to train with Judokas here. So, I am going to write about my routine and training.
Training starts at 6:30 PM, so I am basically free until then. In the morning, I wake up between 7 and 8 AM. After waking up, I open the curtains to feel the sunlight. Since I arrived in Mongolia, I have not seen any rain — only sunshine. The weather has been fantastic.
After that, I brush my teeth and take a cold shower. The cold shower wakes my body up and makes me feel great. Then I chug a glass of water. The first thing I do afterward is sit at the desk in my room and write in my journal by hand in Japanese. I used to write in English, but since I started updating this journal in English, I switched to Japanese for my personal journal. I think I can express myself and my emotions better in Japanese.
Journaling helps me think more clearly and organize my mind. I have continued writing my personal journal since I was in the U.S., so I now have many journal notebooks at home.
After that, I usually update this blog journal. Then I go downstairs to eat breakfast. Breakfast is served from 7 to 9:30 AM. I try to eat right before it closes because that way I do not need to eat lunch, which helps me save money.
Breakfast has been the same every day, so I am starting to get tired of it. However, the quality is not bad. I assume the breakfast is Japanese-style because there is miso soup every day.
After breakfast, I take a cup of coffee and start editing my podcasts or YouTube videos. In the afternoon, I do whatever I feel like doing.
On May 5, I literally stayed at the hotel until training. On May 6, I went to a nearby coffee shop where local university students gather and read a book on my tablet. I also went to Ulaanbaatar Station to buy a ticket to Beijing.
At first, I tried to buy a direct ticket to Beijing because I thought that was the only way to get there. It is expensive, by the way — about $150 USD. However, I found out that I can get there much more cheaply by not taking a direct train. I bought a train ticket to Zamyn-Üüd, a small town in southern Mongolia near the Chinese border. I think I will write more about that in a different journal entry.
As for Judo training, the dojo is located about a five-minute walk from the hotel where I am staying, so it is very convenient. The students include teenagers and people in their twenties. Training lasts about two hours.
They are very tough, passionate, and humble about Judo. I have enjoyed training with them because they genuinely love Judo, although some of them do not like newaza (groundwork), which I understand and somewhat agree with.
I have trained with them for two days in a row. Even though I have not done a lot of sparring, my body is sore, especially my fingers and back.
The next two days, including today (May 7), are probably going to be similar to the last two unless something new happens or I feel like doing something different. For that reason, I might not update the journal for the next couple of days, but we will see.
On the weekend, I am going to a rural area where some of the Judokas will compete, and I am also supposed to do some sightseeing there. Before leaving Mongolia, I would really like to see the nomadic style of living.
