I've Been Sniffed!

So, in yesterday's post, I mentioned that we were celebrating Tsagaan Sar.  This is a Mongolian national holiday and it's the first time we've participated in the holiday.  In 2010, we arrived a couple weeks after the holiday.  In 2011, we were in Thailand for our organization's conference.  But this year, we have been a part of the festivities. 

Our cultural experience started on Tuesday this week when we visited the vendor market close by.  Tsagaan Sar was to start on Wednesday, and last three days (Wed-Fri).  So, Tuesday at the market was similar to our Christmas Eve at Walmart.  Just think chaos times 10.  Just think Walmart aisles shrunk by half or maybe less.  Throw in some extra people standing in the aisles trying to sell a few things...people who usually aren't there.  Then, scatter some broken cardboard boxes on the floor which you must step over or trip over, cellophane which has been torn off of packages for one reason or another, and a woman who has just bought a yogurt in a carton and is guzzling her lunch in between shopping. 

I embrace the culture and maneuver my way in between people to ask for "nigk back pulver packet" to purchase a 6-pack of baking powder for a new teammate who has just arrived in UB one week earlier.  He mutters under his breath to me, "This is overwhelming."  I promise him that this is not an ordinary day, in fact, I'm shocked by it, but so glad that I came this day to see a sight I might not see again.  This is truly a cultural experience!  I purchase a few apples, hoping to hand one to a man who was begging outside, sitting in his wheelchair with both legs amputated. 

After we left the indoor market, Kevin took our teammate, Pam, with him, to show her where to buy cheese in another building.  I took our newest teammate with me into the open air to get away from some of the crowd.  As we waited for Kevin, I saw a man exchanging money on the street.  Now, this is also a Tsagaan Sar thing.  When visiting families during this holiday, it is important to present new bills of money to them to signify the new year.  It dawns on me that it's afternoon, and Tsagaan Sar is officially beginning the next morning, and I don't know if we'll get to the bank later this day.  So, I approach the man and ask, "Taven myunk bilth, Yamar onte vey?" (Five 1000 Tugrik bills, how much cost?).  It was going to cost me about 40 cents to get 5 fresh 1000 T bills.  Deal made.  Done.  He didn't have anything bigger (1000 T is a little less than a dollar).  The man in the wheelchair was being pushed toward me by a friend.  I smiled and passed him an apple.  "Oh, Lord, bless this man," I prayed. 

On our way home, I also stopped at a money exchange building to get four more larger bills, and was quite happy that I was able to strike a deal, halving what they asked for up front.  I wasn't even sure if this was okay to suggest (Mongolia is not like China or Thailand...there's not a lot of dealing for a different price at most places), but I tried and it worked.

So, Tsagaan Sar is a holiday which is very important and big.  It's a time for people to get new clothes, visit family, eat buuz (steamed meat pockets), eat carrot and beet salads along with a few other mayo-based salads, and give gifts.  Usually the gifts are simple, small gifts.  We visited three families these past three days and received a set of four jelly spoons and several kinds of candy (in fact, I joked on the way home today that I felt like my stash in my purse was like a trick-or-treat bag!). 

Our first day of Tsagaan Sar was spent with a few teammates.  The guy on the far right had been in Mongolia for 10 days. 

The first day of Tsagaan Sar is reserved primarily to visit the oldest person in your family. Most families that we have asked, say that they make 600-3,000 buuz for all the visitors who will come to their home over the 3-day period! The second and third days are for visiting other family members and friends.

So, our first day, we had our teammates over. We ate a very non-traditional meal of naan (Indian bread made by our new teammate, Todd), chili soup, refried beans, rice, pumpkin scones, and a pudding dessert. The city was a ghost town with every business closed, the streets quiet except for a few cars travelling to their relatives' homes, and a few people walking to homes. We took a walk in the afternoon, down to Sukhbattar Square. It is the main square by parliament and is a busy "happening" kind of place usually. Wednesday, we counted 5 people walking across the square. It was a strange, eerie feeling!

The second and third day, we visited three homes of friends.  Upon arrival, you speak a greeting and lay your hands on the oldest person's arms.  You lean over to receive what seems like a kiss, but in actuality, the greeting person sniffs deeply from each of your cheeks.  I hope mine smelled sweet!  It's at this time I presented our crisp, new bill to them.  In my previous post, you can see the heaving boov. Here are a few other photos which tell our Tsagaan Sar story:

This lady is 73.  In the past, life has been very hard for the Mongolians, therefore, she looks older than her age.  This is Sunjid's grandmother, one of the homes we visited.  Sunjid is our friend who comes over almost every week. 

Here's the front side of the "hunny oats".  "Hun" is sheep.  This is the sheep back meat with a layer of fat on top.  It is very traditional for Mongolians to eat the fat of the meat.  In the past, when food was scarce, and work was always hard, (only 15 years ago and later), they ate the fat for extra calories.  We've heard, "You must eat fat to keep warm."  Hence, the extra calories are explained!  On top of this fat layer are some bones and a knife.  This is a very traditional item at the Mongolian Tsagaan Sar table...much like our turkey at Thanksgiving.

And, here's the back side of the same slab of meat.  The curled-down piece of fat is the tail of the sheep.  You can also see the meat on the left of this hunk better in this photo.

Here we are with Jargal (in blue) and her mother.

After visiting Grandma's house, Sunjid walked us to the bus stop.  We were in an unfamiliar area, so she escorted us.  Across from the bus stop were several small stores.  I just had to take this picture so you could see the small stores (every one of these stores probably carries about the same items: potatoes, onions, wet wipes, soda, crackers...you get the idea).  This was in the ger district where nobody has running water.  In fact, the only running water you get is when you run to the water house and fill your jug and run back home.  Notice the man in the blue deel (traditional clothing which about 40% of people on the buses and streets were wearing) with the red scarf/belt.  The small store buildings felt like an old western town on the movies.