James saves the day!

lifesaver

I don't think I've mentioned a ton about food yet.  Let's say this - there aren't a lot of frozen pizzas to be had.  Mostly, you need to:

1. order and pick up food before 8:00 pm;
2. take your chances with whatever the apartment bar is serving (for example: description is "ham" - what you get is a bit of ham, an undercooked egg, potato salad and a stack of raw onions); or
3. God forbid, cook for yourself.

Since we often leave the office after 8:00 unfortunately option #3 is often what I'm left with.  Now, you all know that I lack in the culinary skills department so I did the only sensible thing and picked up some spaghetti and some sauce when shopping this weekend.  I very specifically chose the sauce in the can because it hadn't expired (trust me you learn to look).  So very smugly last night I headed home thinking I was going to make up a batch of spaghetti that I could have for a day or two.  Unfortunately, I realized all too late that my apartment was not equipped with a can opener.  So, I thought I'd open one of the beers Carol left for me only to discover that it also didn't have a bottle opener.  Foiled! 

Dismayed I emailed James about the cruel torture to leave beer without a way to actually open it.  He offered to walk one across the street, but by that time I had pulled out the crackers and couldn't be bothered with "cooking." 

So today, imagine my glee, when James walks back in from a meeting declaring he brought me a present when he went out. Possibly knowing I wasn't going to leave the office by 8:00 to get to the store or more likely so he didn't have to run one across the street - I was presented with my very own can opener with a bottle opener!  HOORAY!  James saves the day.  Although I suppose now I don't have an excuse not to cook.

My Tsagaan sar

So today we had a great opportunity and one of our colleagues invited us to have lunch at his mother-in-law’s home for Tsaagan sar (yep – it’s still going).  It was definitely a great experience.  First, we had to great his mother-in-law with the proper Mongolian greeting (I was glad I read my earlier post or would have been alarmed by being smelled).  Another thing I learned was that it is incredibly interesting to see how old people think you are.  With the greeting, the older person puts their palms up or down when greeting you (note to self – must use the root touch kit I brought this weekend). 

I also learned why Mongolian boots are turned up.  I’m told by our host, that the Chinese made the Mongolians wear boots with pointed toes because they were hard to run in and would keep them from escaping.  But the Mongols were too smart and turned the boots up on the ends so they could escape the Chinese.  Also, showing the sole of your shoe is a sign of disrespect – so essentially the Mongols were giving the finger to the Chinese. (I do not have back-up documentation to support this claim – but I certainly wasn’t going to argue).

Another tidbit I learned was that the big “cookies” on the Tsagaan sar table have to be in odd numbers – a little bit like pulling the petals off a flower (he loves me, he loves me not)…  in this case it’s happiness, sorrow, happiness, sorrow….  I wonder what happens if you are the one that gets the sorrow cookie.  The cookies are also shaped like boots – specifically the Chinese boots – that tried to squash them.  The cookies are eaten after the holiday and evidently quite good with the milk tea.



that's mare's milk out in front



Now – here is where you should all be proud.  I drank the milk tea, I ate the cheese, the bits of beef back (in Mongolia the fattier the meat the higher quality – we had good quality), milk vodka (actually wasn’t bad) and wait for it….  MARE’S MILK.  Yep.  I did it.  Wasn’t sure I was going to be able to and I didn’t have a second sip – but I can now say that I’ve done it.



beef back




Buuz or dumplings - they make thousands of these so they have something hot and fresh to serve guests.  Our hosts made over 7,000 for the holiday.  Delish!



After lunch, very graciously our host gave us all gifts.  Sweets for all, body wash for the women (maybe we smelled bad) and cigarettes for the men.  It was really a great experience and I was so glad to be able to get a taste (literally) of their holiday.

Our own Dark Knight!

Batmunkhb - Batman as he has become known in the office - in his dell for the holidays.

Things I encounter on the way to the office

Construction site - it's too cold for any construction right now so it's essentially abandoned

Glimpse of the monestary

Wedding chapel - have now seen 2 happy couples there in all their finest

This is a little hard to see - but mid-way in the picture is a piece of metal that just sticks out.  There's a lot of that.  And this is some of the nicest sidewalks.  Now there is a new downed electrical line too - but I try to cross the street before I get to that.

Mongolian Wrestling

As I was telling Lisa earlier today, last night I found myself watching Mongolian wrestling.  The station doesn't get sound, and if it did it would be in Mongolian but I spent probably 2 hours watching trying to figure out what the heck was going on.  Since the internet is broken in my apartment I created my own dialogue of what was happening - I was quite wrong.  Here is a clip from youtube and the Wikipedia explanation.  Let's be clear - I'm still not sure what's happening.


Mongolian Wrestling  Wikipedia Mongolian Wrestling

Happy Tsagaan sar!



Tsagaan sar holiday table



It’s a holiday here in Mongolia!   I’ve adapted a document that was sent around explaining a bit about the holiday and have included that below.  What I’ve learned is that Santa (or a version of Santa) is alive and well during Tsagaan sar along with New Year’s trees (that look a lot like Christmas trees to me).  Practically what it means is that nothing is open for 3 – 4 days.  We’ve all made our supply runs in preparation – I’m certain I’ll have a story or two to share.

Here are some basics on Tsagaan sar from a Mongolian colleague: 

The New Year in Mongolia is called Tsagaan sar which translates as the White Month. Mongols believe white symbolizes happiness, purity and abundance of milk products. Some researchers believe that the lunar calendar was invented by the nomadic tribes of Central Asia.

New Year’s Eve in Mongolia is called ‘битүүн’-the last dinner of the old year. One must eat all the traditional dishes that evening:  boiled lamb or beef, a huge variety of milk products, buuz and desserts. Many families have the tradition of placing coins inside the buuz/bansh. Whoever bites into the buuz/bansh with the coins will have good luck. At the end of the evening everyone’s stomach is fully satisfied.

The following morning everyone rises bright and early according to tradition. People walk outside of their house to the correct direction, which is indicated in their horoscope of the year. This symbolizes that the destiny of each person is directed correctly for the upcoming year. Then family members gather at the eldest in the family and greet each other wishing a very happy New Year. It is the very first greetings Mongols address each other with in the New Year.

At sunrise of the new day the host and his guests dress in new dell and greet each other in a special manner. This ritual is called ‘золгох’-zolgokh. First, the eldest is greeted by youngest. The older person puts his hands palms down on the hands of the younger one and both pronounce traditional good wishes and rub cheeks. The Mongolian traditional kiss is a smell on either side of the face. Old people smell as a greeting, not kiss. Even if New Year celebrations are over, friends and relatives meeting for the first time that year greet each other in this manner.

Gives a whole new meaning to "smell you later." (ok - I added that last bit myself)

Potentially my favorite bit of signage so far

For discussion....

This is a painting in my temporary apartment.  It's a lovely painting, but why is the candle on the chair?  Someone trying to light a fire under my butt?  Thoughts?

I can't put my arms down!

I continue to underestimate how long it takes to get bundled up, the challenge it is just to move with that amount of gear, and how completely unattractive you are once you get to where you are going. 

Ralphie - you made it look easy!

Chinggis not Guinness

This is how he built his empire.

That is baggage.

Chelci wanted to know how I dealt with all my bags at the airport.  Since they provide these lovely carts - at the airport wasn't bad, but it was getting them into the company van (with nine other people) and up to the apartment.  Let's just say thank heaven for the kindness of strangers.  Several of the guys on the van helped me lug them on and off and the guards at the apartment helped me lug them up and into the apartment.  For the record - it's a little weird going into a building where the guards don't speak English, grab all your belongings and hustle you into an elevator to a somewhat unclear destination.  Although just going with folks via a complex set of charades and a bit of trust is becoming the norm in my world.

It's like they knew I was coming....

The view from the office window.

So, I made it.  I'm now officially living in MONGOLIA (for not more than 6 months).  It's a little bit nuts. Travel to get here was relatively uneventful - which is a good thing when traveling.  I feel like these first few posts are likely to be a little sparse - but I promise more details as I get settled.  And - I have pictures but haven't had the best luck uploading.

I did get out and walk around the city yesterday with Carol who was gracious enough to show me around here's what I've learned/seen so far:

• Careful when crossing the street. Seriously, it doesn't matter if there is a walk sign or not - it's your job to not get smooshed.
• In addition to the crossing issues, other dangers one encounters while walking include - open manhole covers (oh and people live down there), random bits of metal that poke up from the street (never sure why or what they are for), ice lots of ice (not really a surprise there), and the random fellow that has passed out on the street (don't forget it's ridiculous cold - so that's not a good place to be - we had someone call an ambulance).
• Foot massages are alive and well - and is about a block from the office.  They don't do punch cards - which is  unfortunate as I'm pretty sure I'd earn a freebie or 12. 

I'm off to my first day at the office.  Currently it's -27 degrees F, with smoke in the forecast (more about the smoke to come).

Ok - so here it goes.  It's my birthday and I'm about to take off to Mongolia for six months - what a way to start a new year.  Stay tuned and my quest to see if in Mongolia Mongolian beef is just beef.

Currently -22 degrees....