St Ed's
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St Edmund's Parish Church
Roundhay, Leeds, England
Articles - Miscellaneous
An interview with Enkhtuya
Enkhtuya Samdan was a colleague of Andy Eyre when he was working as a VSO volunteer at the Institute of Commerce and Business in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. She came to England this summer, and recorded the following interview.
- Enkhtuya, can you tell me about yourself ?
I came to England this summer from Mongolia, to improve my English. I did a 3-week English language course at Leeds Metropolitan University, and then I stayed on with Andy and Isobel. I'm a teacher in a business college in Ulaanbaatar, the capital city. I have worked there for 12 years, and I expect to go back to my job when I return. It costs a lot of money for Mongolians to travel to the West. I'm a single mum, and I live in a 2-room flat with my 8-year old son. My salary is $105 US (equivalent to around £75) a month, for teaching 26 hours a week. The return fare to England was $900 US (nearly a year's salary!) Of course, I also had to pay for the visa and the Mongolian customs (exit visa) and pay for the course at the LMU, so you can understand it was very expensive for me. My family were very helpful and they all lent me money.
- Is it possible for people to save up, so that they can travel ?
It's very difficult for us. We need all our salary to live. We don't use banks to keep our money, because we don't trust them, and it's impossible for us to get credit
- Enkhtuya, have you travelled abroad before ?
I have travelled abroad before, but only to Russia. When I was 14/15, my father studied in Moscow - he was a veterinary surgeon and the whole family stayed with him in Moscow for a year. Also, I lived in Irkutsk on Lake Baikal, where I did my teacher training as a teacher of Russian. But I don't think of Russia as a foreign country. Coming to England is quite different
- What are your impressions of England ?
England is very different from Mongolia. Here you have everything. I can't believe what people have in their houses - everything they need. Sometimes it seems they have too much. I think the shops are wonderful. Everything is wonderful. I'm surprised that people have so many rooms in their houses, and sometimes one person lives in a house with many rooms. It must be sad that they live on their own. It must be sad that they have no relatives to look after them. In Mongolia we like to live with someone, and mostly one family lives in one or two rooms. When people get old they live with their children, so they give everything to their children, so that their children can benefit. It does sometimes cause problems, but we are used to it. We don't leave people on their own.
- What will you miss about England ?
I will miss the green city of Leeds. I like the way all the families have gardens and grow vegetables. In my country it is too hot and dry and so it is impossible to grow anything except for 2 months of the year. I shall miss going for walks in the big parks under the trees. I also shall miss English food. I like having plenty of fruit and vegetables
http:/www.stedmunds.roundhay.org.uk/misc/enkhtuya.htm
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Last Revised 9 November, 2001