Thursday May 26

After the meeting with the students on Wednesday, Chimge had told me that she had to be in court Thursday, and did not expect to get to the office until about noon. She asked me to provide feedback on the grant program (the student clinic is being funded by the Australian government, and CHRD prepared a grant document, showing the expected goals, how success would be measured, and how the work might be continued after the expiration of the one-year grant). 

I spent a little more than an hour going through the document, which was in Word, inserted my comments and e-mailed it to Chimge at about 8 AM. Nancy and I went off sightseeing, to see the Gandan Monastery, and arrange for some weekend tours for the two weekends that Nancy will be here. 

The Gandan monastery is one of the most important monasteries in Mongolia and is also immediately adjacent to the Buddhist University, which confers Bachelors and Masters degrees. Its full name: Gandantegchinlen is approximately translated as "the great place of complete joy.” The principal attraction of the monastery is the Migjid Janraisig Sum (photograph attached) which houses a gold plated 82 foot high hollow statue, which was dedicated in 1996, and was built to replace an earlier statue, which was destroyed by the Soviets in 1937 as part of the anti-Buddhist repression. The new statue contains medicinal herbs, sutras, 2 million bundles of mantras and a furnished ger!

A stupa on the grounds of the Gandan monastery. Note the people walking clockwise around it, turning the prayer wheels as they walk.

The Migjid Janraisig Sum. The 82 foot high statue is inside - photographs not allowed.

I arrived at the office at 12 o'clock, intending to meet with Chimge, to discuss the next steps for the student clinic; in particular, case selection criteria, and the next session for the students. We are scheduled to meet with the 10 students every Wednesday: the students are divided into three groups, and each group meets twice a week, both to discuss the cases that they are reviewing (each group is reviewing two cases and will select one) and to counsel individuals who come to the clinic for pro bono legal assistance. 

However, Chimge did not arrive until about 1 PM, because the court proceeding ran longer than expected. When she arrived, she had a lot of work to catch up on and e-mails to respond to. Although we finally did start talking, briefly, about four o'clock, she was interrupted by a crisis that required immediate attention.

The day was very frustrating for me because I had nothing to do all day. I tried to read Mongolian statutes which is as dull as reading any statute (try to imagine reading the CPLR from cover to cover, with no prior knowledge of either New York State practice or  the American common law system and you may have some idea).