Unusual things happen in Mongolia

Look for these unusual things happen in Mongolia blog posts from time to time. I'm not making fun of Mongolia or the Mongolian people, but some things happen here that are so different from what happens in the U.S. that I have to entitle these blog entries "Unusual things happen in Mongolia."

On Sunday, Ganpurev was telling us that his name was really Otgoo. When he was born, his parents named him "Otgoo" which is a common name in Mongolia. Later, a relative went to the sum center (like a county seat) to register the birth. He couldn't remember what the name of the newborn was. The father's name was Purev, so the relative registered the newborn as "Ganpurev."

Ganpurev's family continued to call him Otgoo until he went to school. At that time, the government records said that his name was Ganpurev. His teachers and his classmates all called him Ganpurev. At home they still called his Otgoo. At home they gradually began to call him Ganpurev too; until by the time he reached high school, he was known as Ganpurev. All because his relative couldn't remember his name when he went to register him.