Сайн байн уу? (Hello, how are you?)
I hope this entry finds you all well, warm and happy! This blog is a combination of ideas, thoughts and happenings so bare with me on the rambling and scattered thoughts. They are many!
Food
Let’s start with food. The Mongolians love mutton (хонины мах). To be honest, I am fine with it. Coming from Nebraska I haven't had a lot of mutton but it doesn't bother me. They mask it with onions and other vegetables and pasta so I don't really taste much of the «essence» of the meat. Which is okay.
My host mom is really a good cook. I have enjoyed all of the meals. I have many favorite dishes so far. Хуушуур (huushuur) is a meat and vegetable filling that is encased in a basic dough of flour and water and is fried. This is a staple in the Mongolian diet. They usually include a good bit of fat in with the meat. So I get my daily intake of fat and meat. Which is good because I need it for my long walk to and from school.
Цуйван (tsuivan) is very good as well. It is meat and vegetables (potatoes, carrots, onions) that are cooked in oil and then fresh noodles are added and they are all fried together. Above all this is my favorite meal. I really crave carbs here and the pasta definitely helps! Бууз (buuz) is also very good. For all of you Nebraskans out there this reminds me of a Runza. It is a dumpling made with yeast dough that is filled with mutton and onions and is then steamed. Very filling and very good. On a good day I can knock back about 6 huushuur or maybe 5 buuz in one sitting. I never go hungry!
Last Saturday was a very big day for me. I truly felt like a Mongolian. After lunch my family (host mother and father) and I loaded up in to the car and drove out in to the country side. We visited my host uncle’s ger. He has very few amenities there. No electricity, just kerosene lanterns. I was in love with it all! After arriving we killed a goat and I watched the family prepare the meat for cooking. But this was not to be my dinner.
We played the traditional Mongolian game called Шагай (Shagai) which is tossing the ankle bones of sheet and goat. After this game we sat down for dinner and I was in for a treat. All day there was a stove going that had some container on top that was just boiling away. My mother pulled out the delicacy that I am going to describe as Mongolian pot roast. First she pulled out the root vegetables, which were potatoes, carrots and turnips. Then she pulled out some bones and meat and then came the Piece de resistance. A sheep head! It was in there just simmering away. The fur had been stripped away but everything else was intact and apparently edible. My stomach and brain were doing flips at this point as they were unsure how to react. This was a big deal to be served this meal so I couldn’t really refuse.
I started with a bowl of vegetables and meat that contained a lot of fat. Again, mutton doesn’t bother me so this was no problem. The vegetables were very tender and they were enhanced by the mutton. Then came time for the head. My host mom, dad and uncle were working their way through it but left bits for me. I just put my hands in there and smiled (Put the spoon to your mouth with a smile as my Aunt Jayne would say!) The parts I picked through were good. Very, very tender and the fat added a nice flavor to it all. My father tried to serve me the eyeballs but I just couldn’t do it without getting sick. I refused by saying that I was full and wanted him to have the best part. He understood and ate them with much delight.
It was a great day all around. I learned a lot about Mongolian tradition, culture and customs. I truly felt like a Mongolian yesterday. We all laughed, smiled and shared some vodka. Also a lot of milk tea was spread around. It is tea made with milk instead of water. They also add a good amount of salt to the tea, which is interesting. J
The Culture Gap
It goes without saying that the differences between Mongolia and the United States are many and I am having to re-learn how to do everyday tasks like do my laundry, brush my teeth and bathe myself without running water. I am becoming an expert at limiting my water use while still managing to stay relatively clean and groomed. I enjoy the change from America. Things happen slower here and that is okay with me. I have been struggling with how to bridge the culture gap that exists between my Mongolian family and friends and me. They don’t understand where I come from or how I have done things in the past. And I am still learning about their way of life and how things operate on a day-to-day schedule.
I have found that music, of all genres, can quickly build a bridge between cultures. Whenever we are my family’s house they have the t.v. on to some sort of music channel. This channel plays everything from Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, Jennifer Lopez to traditional Mongolian songs that have been turned in to pop songs and rap. It is really quite fascinating. I asked my family if they like music and they said yes so I took them in to my ger and walked them through my iTunes library. My host-cousin likes Lady Gaga so we went through all of my Lady Gaga songs as we danced, smiled and laughed. I have all the children I meet listen to my iPod and they all seem to like Lady Gaga as well.
They were intrigued by my vast collection of organ music. I am not sure if they know what a pipe organ is but I showed them many pictures and had them listen to many pieces from Bach to Widor and Messiaen. I hope they liked it!
My host-mom really liked the choral music. It took me a while to explain choral music (thank god for Mongolian-english dictionaries!) We listened to “Water Night” by Eric Whitacre which always causes me to weep. My host-mom listened to it several more times and I think she caught on to its beauty.
So to Eric Whitacre and Lady Gaga, thank you for being cultural ambassadors and helping me to bridge the culture gap between America and Mongolia. The Mongolians may not understand Lady Gaga’s message of acceptance and love but they like her music and dance to it! Eric Whitacre’s choral music is gorgeous in any language and place and they appreciate its beauty and ability to tug at many emotional heart strings.
I also learned something from the sheep head. When it came out of the pot it had an odd smile on it (weird, I know!) but his life ended quickly but he still had a smile on his (or her) face. So throughout this experience of Peace Corps Mongolia I hope I can keep a smile on my face through the soaring highs and the deep lows that I know I will face.
Thank you to you all for supporting me and cheering me on! Your words and thoughts honor me greatly and I am so thankful for your love and understanding!
-C
(Sorry for the really long post! It has been a long time coming!)
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