Tsagaan Sar 2011

Day 1
Our dear friend Ochgo extended a wonderful offer to visit with her family on the first day of the Tsagaan Sar holiday this year.  She did this last year as well.  Typically this day is reserved for the younger family members to visit their oldest siblings' place or their parents' residence depending on the living situation.  But Kara and I, as well as our site-mates Tim and Kaede, and even another PCV visiting at the time (John), were all invited.  It was like our very own PCV family going to visit one of the families that has been the kindest to the volunteers of our community over the years.  We were quite grateful for the invite.

Of course Tim, Kaede, and John came prepared in their traditional Mongolian dels - maybe just to make us look bad.  But seriously, they looked great and we definitely got quite a few looks from locals as we hiked about 20 minutes out of town to Ochgo's mother's house.  For these three volunteers accompanying us this was their first Tsagaan Sar.  It felt as if we should prepare them for what was about to happen.  And really, and I know I'm speaking for myself here, I felt relieved to know that I'd done this all before.  Ochgo and her family would never pressure us or make us feel like we did something wrong, and that knowledge was all the relief we needed. 

The traditional foods of milk tea, buuz, salads, candy, and the tail meat of the sheep were all presented to us.  Ochgo was of course a wonderful host and her English knowledge made this a great reintroduction to the holiday.  We were then treated to a beautiful walk home (on a side note we've been experiencing temperatures in the mid-20's for the past week - this is not normal for this time of year, but it made for a warm holiday).

Day 2
We weren't really sure who might invite us on the second day.  Really the way it all works is you wait and hope for a text message from a co-worker or friend telling you that they're available and would love to have you come over to their place.  Last year this happened in spurts - we'd get 4 invites one afternoon, then nothing one day, then 3 more the next day.  However, Day 2 this year worked out perfectly.  Kara received a surprise text message from a woman named Tunga who works at one of the World Vision offices in our town.  Kara taught English to the staff at her office last year and occasionally helps Tunga translate sponsor letters from Mongolian to English. I'd never met her before, but Kara told me she was great...so off we went.

Tunga made us feel comfortable, offered us all of the traditional food/drinks, and introduced us to some of her family that was there. She's in her late 20s and isn't married yet so like most Mongolians in this situation, she lives with her parents. In the background of the picture above you can see her nephew playing a computer game, supposedly he's quite the gamer.

Day 3
The third day was meant to be the day you visit with co-workers.  However, it was a Saturday which threw off everyone's schedules.  This meant we were once again not quite sure where we might end up, but we knew that my co-workers could call at any moment and we'd likely end up going in different directions.  We thus planned ahead so well that when I got the call to meet up with my staff, I decided to rely on their camera thinking that Kara might need ours.  She ended up not needing it.  Thus, we have no pictures from Day 3...not yet anyway...it's still possible my work camera will provide a few with me in it (but we'll have to wait until after our trip to upload those).

I did however go to two more houses on Day 3.  I attended a child's hair-cutting ceremony as well.  And in one of the more interesting moments of my time here in Mongolia, I watched as my counterparts all sprinted (not joking...sprinted!) out of a house.  I quickly followed, not knowing if I missed something about the house having caught fire, or maybe we were "dining and dashing" Mongolia style.  Once outside I realized that everyone was facing the now sliver of a moon that had appeared nearby our aimag center's mountain.  They had all opened their wallets/purses, verified there was money inside, and were waving them in a circular motion toward the moon. 

Day 4
Kara was beginning to wonder if any of her co-workers were going to invite us over before she had to go back to work on Monday.  Day 4 we received a call from Orkhontuul asking us to meet her husband outside waiting in a car.  He would take us to their ger.

We spent nearly two hours looking at great old photos of them from before they met, during their time at University together, and even more recent photos of their children.  They really fed us an incredible amount of food - including some prime slices of beef.  I believe we were even invited to ride horses with their family this summer. 

Having spent time with all the different friends/co-workers this year I can say I was happy, relieved, and amazed at how far we've come since last year.  Now that we've been here a year and a half we were able to understand 90% of the conversations, Kara (and much less so I) was able to answer intelligibly, and overall we just felt a sense of calm surrounding the holiday.  We were able to enjoy the holiday by having the invites spread out, and we got to visit a couple of different places we didn't see last year.

We may not have another Tsagaan Sar in Mongolia, but we are proud to say we've experienced it in all it's glory.  We are especially grateful to the members of the community who felt close enough to us to invite us to share a meal.  The holiday doesn't end after 4 days - no it continues for what seems like weeks.  Kara was invited to share a meal with co-workers on Monday, and I spent the entire day getting up and down out of my chair to greet many of the Mercy Corps clients I see every month.  I can truly say we've both gotten pretty good at placing our arms in the correct position, muttering the greeting "Amar baina uu?", and sniffing both cheeks.  Dare we say we've integrated...

The Meal Before Tsagaan Sar

by Mark

Even though today marks the beginning of the Tsagaan Sar (white moon/month) holiday - basically the Mongolian Lunar New Year celebration, this post is about the meal that Kara and I hosted at our apartment just this Monday.  We'll save the Tsagaan Sar post for next time.  We decided to have my co-workers over for a Mongolian/American meal both as a long overdue custom, but also as a way of saying "I can't afford and probably don't have the time to invite you all over here during the holidays".  Also, because we're leaving for UB in just a few days now for our trip to Cambodia/Thailand, having a lunch before the trip and before the holiday just made the most sense.

Nine of my co-workers arrived about an hour after our intended lunch time and I decided to hand out our three sets of small photo albums.  Most of them have not seen me before I lost the weight here in Mongolia, so there were a lot of "oh wow, Mark was fatter, we like him fat!"  It doesn't bother me.  And our pictures taken at the Grand Canyon a few years ago are just hard to explain.  But these all helped to pass the time as some of the food was finishing cooking.

We decided to make the traditional steamed dumplings (buuz) and paired it with the staples of pickles and sliced carrots.  But in order to give the meal a little different feel, we decided to make both a pasta salad (with tomatoes and cucumber) and one of our favorite salads, the Top Ramen Salad.  My co-workers loved how simple it was - cabbage, ramen noodles, and peanuts with an oil, sugar, seasoning dressing - and loved that we cut the cabbage into larger pieces rather than coleslaw style.  We had other fruits and candy on the table as well to accompany the main dishes.  

Overall it was a simple meal.  But in light of the food fest that Tsagaan Sar is we decided that simple is best, and in the end it was the simplest of foods that put a smile on my co-workers faces.  I've been meaning to have them over for a very long time, and we've just not felt comfortable doing it...but now that it's done with we're both glad we did.  

It's now time to eat buuz, salads, fruits, and candy for the next 3-4 days...and to refresh our memories of the traditional greetings and ways to be culturally assimilated at this time of year.  To anyone reading this: Saihan Shineleerei! (Please Have a Nice New Year!)

IceFest

by Kara

I spent Saturday with my coworkers at the Arkhangai IceFest. That's not what they called it, but I think it's a suitable name. The festivities took place at a local river, or rather, on the local river. Worried about the cold weather I wore three layers of long underwear underneath my jeans and four long-sleeved shirts under a sweatershirt and thankfully, stayed pretty warm throughout the day. Here are some pics!

My coworkers warming up around the fire

One of the sports competitions (and one that I was selected to participate in) -- hockey!

Curling

Oyunnaran and I

Nonchalantly resting at a table and chairs made of ice.

My coworkers competing in the tug-of-war competition.
I, shockingly, was not chosen to represent my work in this event.

We lost. :(

Shiin Jil: The Mirrored Sequel

by Mark

I thought I'd give it a little time before I posted pictures and commentary relating to my own Shiin Jil party.  Is a week or so after Kara's post long enough?  Kara did a wonderful job explaining the ins-and-outs of the evening...so my words will simply recapitulate hers.  Ah, but the photos will be different.  :)

Dress-Code
I'd like to start out with the dress-wear.  Incredible.  Really, some of the outfits that people have rented/purchased for this one evening are quite glamorous.  However, the clothing is never allowed to simply speak for itself - it must be paired with glitter, and jewelry, and hair extensions, and pounds of makeup.  Again, not all bad things in and of themselves...but Shiin Jil is about excess.  It's about bringing in the New Year and saying goodbye to the old year in such a way as to only remember the good, the shiny, the pleasant.  And that's ok in my book.

A little singing to begin the evening

A little speech/story told by another group

Some of the beautiful ladies I work with

And we even received a visit from Old Man Winter - who doubled as our MC at times, and presented awards to top trainers of the year!

Dancing

Throughout the evening, interspersed among the planned activities, meals and presentations there were occasions to dance.  Mongolians love to waltz...and they have no qualms about swayin' and bobbin' to the latest pop/trance hits to come from Russia or the States.  However, a dancefloor that is probably 25 ft. x 25 ft. doesn't leave much space for 30+ people to waltz around.  No matter - you just smile after you bump into someone and move on.

Meal Time

Next is the food.  This year really was the year of chicken.  Kara got it.  I got it.  I must say that I believe our curried chicken breast with a side of potatoes, rice and salad may have been one of the better meals I've enjoyed at a company party.  I wish I could say that everyone around me wolfed their food like I did...but nay, nearly every plate was only picked at.  I don't know if it was the seasoning, the uncommon meat on the plate, or simply dozens of women trying to make sure they continued to fit in their dresses throughout the evening, but I saw pounds and pounds of tasty greatness get taken away uneaten.  But hey, I ate like a king...check out this spread.

The man in white is my director, Dashzegve, and the woman between him and I was an English speaking Mongolian named Undral who works at a little cafe in town.  Never met her before...and didn't know she spoke English until about an hour into sitting next to her.

Post meal satisfaction!  Take note of the guy on the left - we'll revisit him later.

Photo-session

You have to commemorate an evening like Shiin Jil.  And what better way than to take something like 500 pictures of groups, pairs, friends, co-workers, unknown restaurant workers, the drunk, the sober, and the American!?!

Some Extra Entertainment

I'm not sure if you've followed the outfit selection of the man in the following pictures.  His name is Ganbaa.  He's in his mid-sixties.  He is the past director of the Knowledge Network NGO that I work with.  He's quite possibly the funniest old man I've ever met, and I can't even understand 95% of what he's saying.  He can eat, drink, and party with the best of us...and his energy levels rarely dim.  He started out the evening with an awesome shiny green shirt (check out the pic from the "Meal" section of this post!), then donned a shoulder length wig about half way through the evening to cover his shiny bald head...and then when the evening was winding down he decided to dress like an elderly Mongolian woman and place 4 balloons strategically under his del.

Wrap-Up

Needless to say, the evening was entertaining.  There are hundreds of photos of the entire event, but I hope this gave you a little sneak peak into my final Shiin Jil party in Mongolia.  It's hard to believe Kara and I have been through two of these already.  It's hard to believe we're already wrapping up our holidays in this country.  I'm always glad I have pictures that I'll be able to look back on - to remember faces, prom style party dresses, tacky wallpaper, happy moments, and friends/co-workers who've all touched my life.

If you'd like to see more pictures from this event, please check out the Facebook album "Shiin Jil 2010-2011".

Шинэ Жил! {New Year!}

by Kara

Shin Jil -- pronounced "sheen" (like Charlie Sheen), "jeel" (rhymes with meal), but the "l" on the end of jil has a bit of an l-th sound. Get some saliva rolling around in your mouth and then say it. And the whole thing, шинэ жилийн баярын мэнд хүргае! Shin jillin bayariin mend hurgae! Happy New Year!

The new year celebration is one of the biggest reasons to party here in Mongolia. Every workplace has a party sometime around the new year. The work party usually doesn't include spouses, just the workers. My work didn't have a party last year because the country was freaking out about H1N1 and said we couldn't have parties. My workplace followed this directive, unlike most, but primarily because people were broke and couldn't afford a party. So, I wasn't exactly sure what to expect this year. Here's a bit about it.

I was told the party started at 6:00 so I left home, grabbed a taxi for the second time ever in my town due to the extremely cold weather, and played 20 questions with the driver. He was excited that I spoke Mongolian and during the few minutes in the car he asked me every question he could think of. What do you do here? Where are you from? Are you married? To a Mongolian or American? Do you have children? Which apartment building do you live in? How old are you? America is awesome. Mongolia hasn't developed enough. Do you agree? {Uhhhhh, some parts of America are cool, some are not. Mongolia is cool. Mongolia's development is alright.} Los Angeles. Cool. {Yes, cool.}

So I arrived at the restaurant at 6:20 and was the first one there. The party planning committee from my work arrived shortly after. All of the women finally strolled in around 7:20. I would've shown up late too but I can never tell what I'm supposed to be on time for, what it's okay to be about 15 min late for, and what it's okay to be really late for. But I'm used to it now and it didn't bother me.

Attire and Accessories

Shin jil attire is a big deal, especially for women. I spent one morning last week looking up pictures online of dresses for my coworker who was having a dress made. I used the search terms prom dress and bridesmaid dress. The more sparkles, the shinier, the better. I made sure to warn my coworkers beforehand that I don't have a cool dress and I don't have money to buy one {read: have no desire to buy one}. Fortunately for me, not all women dress up this much.

In addition to fancy clothes, a lot of women also get their hair done at a salon, get their nails done, wear fake eyelashes, apply glitter to their face and body, and adorn themselves with big, fake diamonds. 

Here are some pics of my coworkers:

"One of these things is not like the others, one of these things doesn't belong... "

Orkhoo, Oyunnaran, Naraa, and Dulmaa

Some men find something fancy to wear too.

Turuu sporting a sparkly bow tie.

Shiny suit!

All my male coworkers.

Food and Drinks

I wasn't looking forward to this portion. They pre-order food for the group so everybody gets the same thing, which I assumed would be something with mutton. However, they surprised me! We had potato salad, a chicken soup with tons of veggies, and baked chicken, rice, delicious potatoes with a bit of BACON, and a little cabbage salad served in three courses. It was delicious.

For drinks, they fill the table with beer, vodka, wine (and by wine I mean a really sweet drink that tastes like alcoholic cough syrup), and champagne. Though, my coworkers don't drink much and I really wasn't pressured to drink too much. We only had to take two shots of vodka over the course of the evening, until the very end when they wanted to finish up a bottle and made us all drink two more whole shots, right before leaving. The vodka is horrible. Horrible.

Cheers!

After being shaken profusely, the champagne went everywhere.
This was taken just as it was starting to explode.

Entertainment

This isn't a party where you just drink, eat, and dance. Oh no. There must be planned activities. Games, raffles, contests, etc. They also gave awards for the best workers of the year. Following that, they surprised ME with a medal! Medals are a BIG deal and it's a huge honor to receive one, a remnant of Soviet times. I think I got it for the work I've done over the past year, primarily helping get our summer camp off the ground and bringing in grant money for it. It was really special and really nice to know they appreciate what I do. 

My director pinning the medal onto my shirt.

I also contributed to the entertainment. (And not just with my bad dancing.) You know those Elf Yourself videos where you put a picture of somebody's face on the body of some goofy, dancing elf? I made these videos with all my coworkers faces as a surprise. I couldn't have predicted such a great response. They were practically rolling on the floor laughing! It's really hard for me to use humor with them because I can't think of witty things in Mongolian fast enough, (and I'm not good at slapstick, physical humor) so it felt good to make them laugh. The highlight was definitely the Chippendales video that had the heads of five of my male coworkers on shirtless Chippendale dancers.

Interspersed in between eating the various courses of food was a lot of dancing. With this group there was a lot of waltzing. I ended up having to dance with a really drunk old man with horrible breath a couple of times who kept speaking Russian to me. He was from the other group who was a construction company that we shared the restaurant with.

When we weren't waltzing we were dancing to weird techno music that sounds like it'd be playing in a dark, sketchy Russian dance club in the 90s. One thing I really appreciate though is that most Mongolians - of all ages - aren't afraid to dance. They're not necessarily good dancers, but it doesn't matter. I swear I've danced more in the last 18 months here than any other time in my life. The only thing I do NOT like about dancing with Mongolians is that they almost always dance in a big circle. I inevitably had to the be awkward one pushed out into the middle of the circle a few times. Fun. But I'm pretty used to looking and sounding like an idiot here most of the time, so it doesn't phase me as much anymore.

Overall, the party exceeded my expectations. I remember how little I understood of what was going on a year ago, and I appreciated that I can understand and speak more Mongolian now. I also enjoyed just relaxing and having fun with my coworkers - until 3:00am!

Oyunnaran and I. She's one of my faves.

Orkhoo, another fav. I swear, she doesn't hate me, she just doesn't smile in photos.