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Professor Stephen Noerper in "Del" (robe) with father
of Mongolian State Secretary B. Ganbold, whose family presented
the horse in recognition of friendship and Noerper's service
at the National University.
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Stephen Noerper's hosts were so grateful for his work in Ulaanbaatar,
and the spirit with which he carried it out, that they presented
him with a horse. And not just any horse. They took Noerper, an
accomplished rider, 150 kilometers into the Mongolian countryside
to find a larger than average steed, to accommodate his six-foot
frame.
They may have known that their magnificent gift, which is stabled
in Ulaanbaatar, would induce the professor to return for future
engagements. And he has-twice- since the October, 2000 completion
of his three-month Fulbright lectureship.
Noerper, now serving with the U.S. State Department, taught upper-level
graduate courses, at the National University of Mongolia's School
of Foreign Service, on globalization and geopolitics-preoccupations
of Mongolians struggling to find their way in a changing world.
With two super-powers (China and Russia) at their borders, students
packed his lectures and roundtables on security and diplomacy,
as well. Noerper also lectured on the U.S. presidency at the country's
prestigious Academy of Sciences, and provided "attendant
commentary" at a satellite broadcast of the second Gore-Bush
presidential debate.
Noerper had come to Ulaanbaatar from Honolulu, where he'd been
a professor of international relations at the Asia Pacific Center;
he bought a traditional Mongolian coat, sash, and boots after
his arrival for protection against the cold. He also developed
a taste for yogurt and fermented mare's milk. He was intrigued
by the interplay of modernity and tradition. "You think you're
at the end of the world, but the city's got 150 Internet cafes.
If you turn on your television, you get Italian TV, Spanish TV,
three Russian stations, the BBC, CNN and more." The average
student speaks four languages, he adds.
The experience "greatly expanded my horizons," says
Noerper, who is planning a book on Mongolia and its place in the
world, and contemplating another trip next year. "There are,"
he says, "few things more romantic than riding under the
big blue skies of Mongolia, with its green vistas and rolling
hills."
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