New Year's Eve Dinner - Mongolian style

We were invited to Liz's language tutor's home for New Year's Eve dinner. So we arrived at 7pm expecting mutton and cake. We were "coached" a little on what to bring.

(Photo of "Shin Geel" New Year's tree with Mongolian money in the branches. "Grandfather Winter and his Grand daughter statues are under the tree.)When we arrived we presented Ariuna's mother with a box of nice chocolates and Ariuna with a bottle of Coca Cola (her favorite). The apartment, for Mom, Dad, Ariuna and her 10-year old sister, has a kitchen, living room and one bedroom. The parents sleep on the fold-down living room couch.

We were escorted into the living room. While the family was out of the room, I placed Mongolian money on the New Year’s (Christmas) tree for the children (a Mongolian tradition). Liz also made earrings for Ariuna, her mother and sister, so I put those on the tree also.


As the family returned to the room, we turned our attention to the table in front of the couch. On the table before us was the front half or a roasted piglet decorated with spiral cucumbers. We were served a cup of salty milk tea.

Then Ariuna served the NINE salads; carrot, cucumber and tomato, fruit in yoghurt, red cabbage, white cabbage, pickled various vegetables, and everything in various combinations. We were given a little salad plate and salad fork and told to serve ourselves. We were also warned that we could not leave until all the food was gone.

After enjoying samples of all the salads, Ariuna's father poured us each a shot glass of vodka, which we did not have to drink, but we needed to accept. Ariuna’s non-Christian father dipped the tip of his right middle finger in his vodka and flicked it in 4 directions, then touched his forehead.

Then Ariuna and her mother served the meat. Cold beef ribs, beef tongue and heart and mutton butz (dumplings). There was some red hot sauce that we added to the butz but Ariuna’s father just put a whole dumpling in his mouth. He commented that I wasn’t a Mongolian yet because I used a fork to eat the butz.

After the meat, Ariuna served the chocolate, 3-layer cake. (See the Dec 31 blog re: Mongolian cake conspiracy).

After 3 hours of feasting, we made it clear that we could not eat anymore. We thanked our hosts and as we got up to leave the table, the family presented us with gifts; long underwear and mint mouth wash for me and white chocolate and a sock box for Liz. It’s amazing to experience Mongolian hospitality.

More ugly "Christmas" trees

As we said on our November 27 blog, very few Mongolians celebrate Christmas. But everyone celebrates "Shin Geel" or New Years.

Instead of the Christmas tree, Mongolians have Shin Geel trees. There are not a whole lot of natural trees in Mongolia so a few stores sell artifical trees. I think some Mongolians have forgotten what a real tree looks like, because some of the Shin Geel trees are REALLY UGLY.

Blue is the Mongolian national color (like the sky) so it's no surprise that they sell blue colored trees. But ketchup red must be a left over from the Communists' favorite color.

Mongolian "Fast Lane"

Ulaanbaatar has terrible sidewalks. The old sidewalks are cracked and often have rebar poking thru the worn cement. As a safety guy for 20 years, I’m used to pointing out tripping hazards. In Mongolia, forget it.

It’s cold most of the year in Mongolia. Since mid-November, the sidewalks have a solid layer of compacted snow. This has an interesting effect. The cracked sidewalks suddenly become smooth; very smooth!

The kids have this figured out. On most of the hillside sidewalks, the kids have chipped away the compacted snow to get down to the layer of ice. This strip of ice becomes the “Fast Lane” as the kids and adults use this icy strip to slide down the hill.

The Great Mongolian Cake Conspiracy

Mongolians rarely bake. I think most apartments have ovens but I don't know of any indigenous foods that require baking. Of course, they don't bake in gers.

(Photo of Ariuna, Liz's tutor) Apparently cakes are an essential part of a modern Mongolian New Year's eve party. Today (New Year's Eve) there were stacks of boxed cakes at the grocery store. During our walk home from school, I counted 18 people carrying cakes in one block!

I think it was a Communist plot to create work for the bakeries. If cakes were not part of the culture, and New Years celebrations were not part of the Mongolian culture, and you want to destroy old Mongolian culture and make it Russian, create a New Year's holiday and tell everyone that you must have a cake to properly celebrate!

Many Mongolians have told me they don't like sweet baked items. Two weeks ago I got a big piece of cake at the Ukrainian restaurant and asked Liz & Bolooro to share it with me. Bolooro took one bite and said she really didn't like cake. Mongolians don’t like it but they buy it for New Years. It’s a plot by the bakery industry.

Do Americans have a traditional food that no one likes? The Norwegians have lutefisk, the Germans have blood sausage. The French have liver pate'. The Japanese have their salted fermented squid guts. The Chinese have century-year old eggs. Maybe the Americans have hot dogs at Coney Island and baseball games. Got to eat one but no one would order one at a restaurant. (Becky votes for Fruit cake!)

Merry Christmas

We put up a little artificial tree last week. Jim got his Christmas gift early (thank you supporters for your special gifts). He is preparing a service for JCS folk for the eve of Christmas Eve. Liz has worked with the homeschooling co-op kids teaching them the signs for a song to be performed this Friday. We haven't been able to find a creche but we have a beautiful card depicting a manger (thanks Kate), the ground is white & it feels like Christmas. 'Emmanuel' seems to be the theme that is speaking to us this season and we are grateful. A very Merry Christmas to you all.

Shin Jill Gemelick (New Year Decorations)

It seems to be the standard for stores to hang tinsel. Workers stick double-sided tape on the ceiling and then hang tinsel one strand at a time. Labor intensive but worth it, apparently. Mongolians don't celebrate Christmas but New Year's is a big deal and looks much like Christmas.

Frigid

We have pulled out our heavy duty winter wear and it isn't even winter yet, so they say.

Forecast: Smoke

Living in the Pacific NW, we knew what 'sun breaks', 'showers', and 'drizzle' were. Living in Mongolia has meant a whole new wardrobe and a definite change in forecast terminology, for example:
"Smoke. Hi -6° Frigid. Temperature of -6°F. Winds NNW 11mph. Feels-like temperature of -24°F."
The temperature has not been above freezing for months so the snow that has fallen remains. The local delight is with fresh snow because it cleans the air as it comes down.
These 2 photos were taken from the same window of our apt, same time of day, with smoke & without.