To Catch a Goat (and then proceed to milk it)

Renee' and I are getting very close to winding down language class for this year.  In just a few more days we will embark on a two month reprieve of homework, and will have the time to catch up on some other things.  Jonathan is going to the LIFE conference in Orlando.  Renee' and Cori will accompany him on the trip home and visit with friends and family.  They will return with a friend from our church for a three week visit, afterwards.  While they are gone I will be doing several projects around here and taking a little backpacking trip (which I will blog about later). 

In any case, because this is the end of the year - our Language School decided to take all of the foreign students on a little outing to the countryside.  We had quite an interesting day.  We visited a Mongolian family who raises goats - along with horses and sheep.  In reality this is probably a fairly wealthy family (at least for one that lives in the countryside), because they had quite a bit a livestock.  Goat hair brings around $70 per kilogram for the farmer from the cashmere industry here.  This particular family has a lot of goats. 

They gave us a little demonstration of daily life for this family.  So a few of us were first of all tasked to catch some goats.  I have decided that they would normally do this from horse back using a long stick with a noose on the end.  However, I think they were much more entertained by watching us run them down like this:

 

Once the goat was captured, the herdsman lassoed them all together and various students were then given the opportunity to milk the goats.  I personally did not milk anything - but they were fun to catch.  We then enjoyed sharing food with our host family.  Hospitality is high value in Mongolian culture, so they shared hard cheese, yogurt , a sort of sour milk drink called botz (sort of tasted like really sour lemon flavored yogurt.  It wasn't too bad really) and homemade vodka (that reminded me more of what I imagine sheep sweat would taste like - not so good).  All in all a fun day.  Now only one more week of class - one day of which will be a test that I must now study for.  Here are a few more photos from yesterday for your viewing pleasure.

 

 

Mongolian BBQ

My wife and kids bought me a small grill for Father's Day.  It fits nicely on our balcony and has been great fun to use this week.  Friday's Photos this week once again are in the subject of hamburgers.  It was nice to have a burger fresh from the grill.  The ground beef here is interesting in that it isn't real fatty (at least most of the time).  I almost wish there was a little more fat in them for the grill - fat adds flavor.  In any case, they were still quite flavorful and the entire family enjoyed my Father's Day present.   We've also grilled a beef tenderloin and some very tough chicken breasts.  Chicken is like that here.  This is not a climate for Chickens.  Therefore it's all imported and I think it freezes and refreezes several times making it quite tough.  In any case - here's the new grill ...

The Celebration of Hamburgers

Today was the last day of school for the kids.  It was a half day for them, so after Renee' and I were out of class we all went with out friends and co-laborers Jacob and Juhny Kim with their kids Deborah and Enoch - who are home from Morrison Academy in Taiwan.  We had some good hamburgers at Millie's Espresso to celebrate.  We are very proud of both kids, as they have both made it through their first year of school in Mongolia and have done well.  Grades all improved and the teacher's comments on their report cards were positive.  Summer break begins today for the kids. 

Mom and Dad have two more weeks ...

Some other folks from ISU were celebrating at Millie's as well.  They came over to our table for a group shot.

International Shipping Changes

For all of you kind people who send care packages across the world - there are some USPS International shipping changes that are worth noting below. I think they are going to benefit all of us (particularly if you pop a pound of Starbucks Cafe Verona in one of them there boxes...)

You can click the link below to see the rate changes. Essentially there is no longer a "ground" shipping option. This is not a bad thing when shipping things to Mongolia, as it comes by boat and can take 2-6 months to get here in who knows what condition. The air rates are fairly reasonable, as they now offer flat rate shipping boxes. Check it out ... and better yet ... try it out!

USPS - International Shipping Simplified

You Will Be Fined

Several months ago it was a pretty thrilling thing to realize how many signs we could read.  When you first arrive in a place with a new language (and here a new alphabet) you can't really read anything.  Then a day comes when you realize - "hey, I know what that says".  It gives at least some illusion of progress.

This week as I was walking to class I walked by this sign that is written on a garage (yes those things that look like rail cargo crates are garages).  It's a sign that we have passed by every day. But it wasn't until this day that I began to realize what it says. 

Ã?±Ã?¸Ã?µ Ã?·Ã?°Ñ?Ã?²Ã?°Ã?» - (Pronounced "bee zaasval) literally means "body fix".  This is the polite way to speak of relieving oneself.

Ñ‚Ã?¾Ñ€Ã?³Ã?¾Ã?½Ã?¾ - (Pronounced "tawrgon") Is the future tense of the verb "to be fined". 

This struck me as one of those signs that would never be found in the States.  Obviously the owner of this garage does not want people peeing all over his property. 

My translation: "Pee here and you will be fined"