We had been traveling for five days through Central Mongolia. The Russian van was full of dust and dry sand. There were seven of us total including the driver and guide. We spent time on camels, horses, foot and van learning and experiencing The Semi-Gobi Desert first-hand and felt the affects in our minds, bodies and clothes.
Our driver had tried to keep things alive by playing a cassette tape of traditional Mongolian music but the rocks and dry air must have finally done his tape in and it broke into little streams of brown plastic. That was yesterday.
We had stopped to eat some lunch in a deserted mostly flat area not far from the dirt road we had been traveling on all morning. While lunch was being put together, I took a short walk to get some space and quiet from the group. We had slept in Gers (Yurts) together and I was aching for some time with myself. I was standing and doing some stretching when in the background echoing through the small hills was an American voice with a beat. It was “Beautiful” Akon, the song. Everybody rose from their individual and collective slumber. I walked back to the group and a young couple we were traveling with got out of the van and were dancing together on the dry desert ground. I broke out laughing and was taken over and reminded of the power of music and a beat. It was only minutes later when the whole group sat down for some pasta, vegetables and tuna together and enjoyed a meal. After one year in South Korea and some time in Mongolia, hearing American music in English was such a relief and reminder of how far from home I was.
Never doubt the power of music and a beat, regardless of what you like or do not like to bring out the life and energy in us. I am sure we all have our own stories and experiences to share about times and places when music woke up a lost part of ourselves. It is no wonder music has been part of every culture for as long as records have been kept. On this day, it was “Beautiful” Akon.