The 3rd goal of the Peace Corps: to help promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of all Americans. I thought I should share with you, my few readers who are probably wondering if I’m still alive, some of the culture of the Land under the Blue Sky. These are the things I learned during training and over the past year.
1. Never whistle inside someone’s home. This calls bad spirits.
2. Always accept tea, candy, and food from someone. When visiting, even if it’s a short visit, it’s polite to sit and chat for few minutes while drinking and eating something. Stay as long as it takes you to drink some tea.
3. If you accidently kick someone or your foot touches someone else’s foot, immediately shake hands with the person. Kicking someone’s foot is a sign of aggression and initiating a fight.
4. The common greeting is Sain ban u? ( Сайн байн уу?)— hello, how are you?
5. The ger is the traditional Mongolian home. It’s like a tent and log cabin mixed together with between 4-6 walls, depending on the size of the ger. The ger has both a male and female side. The male side is to the left (West) and the female side to the right (East). The ger door always faces South. When you walk into a ger, you must walk around from left to right. At the north end of the ger is usually a bed, but sometimes a chest with family pictures or a Buddha shrine is placed there.
6. Orange and Blue are common colors, especially in gers. They represent the earth and the sky.
7. The main dishes of Mongolia
Buuz (Бууз)- steamed meat wrapped in dough.
Hosher (Хуушур)- fried meat wrapped in dough
Tsuvan (Цуван)- a stir fry like dish that typically includes pasta, meat, potatoes, carrots, & onions
Meat (Мах)- the 5 main meats are cow, horse, sheep, goat, and camel (in some places you can also find fish and chicken)
Milk tea (Сүүтай цай)- exactly as it sounds: boiled water, milk, and tea leaves. Excellent to drink on a cold day.
Yoghurt is also common, especially in the summer. Mongolians make their own.
No comments:
Post a Comment