Flotsam

The first day of every month is a dry day, when no alcohol can be sold. This March 1st also happens to be the day that you are no longer allowed to smoke in bars and restaurants and other public areas, according to the new law. My Mongolian co-worker told me there would likely be many people out partying tonight, buying up booze and smoking up a storm (though of course she didn't phrase it that way)

(On a possibly unrelated note) My neighbor has decided that 10:30 at night is an appropriate time to drill into our connecting wall...he better not disrupt the structural integrity of my bathroom.

Of course, that's not what occupied me most of the day.

I went to the "museum in a box" training at the Zanabazar Museum of Fine Arts, one of the Arts Council's main cultural heritage education projects. The refreshment table had "tacos" (beef, chicken, and vegetarian/bean) and oreos...along with more traditional fare. The program in and of itself was pretty interesting, though the audience quickly lost interest in the powerpoint. The children that were actually participating in the class seemed to find it interesting though, and there was a craft section at the end that was pretty neat (paint your own tsam mask, for example).



My old advisor from the National Museum of Mongolia was there, so we finally got a picture together.





I also took a picture with my co-worker/desk buddy Oyunaa.




After that I went back to the office for a bit and got to take part in the annual blessing of the office. A Buddhist monk came with his stack of sutras and chanted for us. Lots of incense was burned, the executive director and development director took blessed cups of vodka and milk outside to anoint the building (I think?), and we all got some special grain for the "blessings bag" and a special cake that we all rotated clockwise a bunch of times to build karma. It was really neat to experience, and I am very grateful to the Arts Council for letting me experience so many such moments.

After that I had another really lovely interview...two good ones last week and another one lined up for next week. Still a lot of data to collect, but I have 5 more months :)

Why you learn the local language

Scene- a North Korean restaurant.

Co-worker hands me a bowl of soup

Another co-worker says (in Mongolian): "Waitress! What kind of intestines are these? Cow?"

Waitress: "No, these are pig intestines."

Co-Worker: "Oh, ok. What a delicious soup."

Me: (good thing I speak Mongolian...definitely just going to stick to my bowl of rice)

Exeunt

Free time

So my meeting today was moved to tomorrow, so instead I started and finished a book for fun and tried out a recipe for egg tarts.



They came out pretty good, though of course all the steps took longer than anticipated and it was a bit nerve-wrecking separating four eggs to get the yolks. Though my apartment certainly has its quirks, I'm really glad to have an oven...can't imagine being without one for ten months.

For Valentine's I made myself a batch of snickerdoodles, extra colorful thanks to the decorating sugar Claire sent me :)



They were delicious, though not especially photogenic.

It's supposed to be getting warmer, but I was glad to have a day in to just relax and get caught up on things (baking and otherwise). Hope you all are beating the winter blues.

Mongolian Food: Not for the faint of stomach

Here's a video (part 1 of 5) from an episode of "Bizarre Foods". It's a good introduction to Mongolian meat markets, though I've never eaten boiled head.

I wouldn't recommend watching this if you can't handle graphic depictions of animal parts, but it is interesting stuff








.....And if it makes you feel any better, tonight's dinner will be pasta ;)

February 6, 2013

A day in the life, from roughly 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.

My day today:
Wake up, get a shower
Head out to the grocery...it opens around 9:30, and I like to go as early as possible to beat lines at the check-out. I put my wallet into my security purse and fold up my recycable squirrel bag to carry my groceries home. Examine the Tsaagan Sar display at the grocery store entrance, buy some fancy boxes of chocolate to use as gifts. Head over to the meat/cheese counter, where workers are frantically stacking huge piles of hiam/meats. Finally catch the attention of the cheese girl, ask for 300 grams and receive 450 g, but I like cheese so no worries. Discover that the grocery actually has nutella in stock, but still no pasta sauce that isn't Russian. Check the Goyo brand juice shelf but there's no carrot today, buy apricot/orange instead.
Return home, put groceries away, eat breakfast and my daily vitamin
Walk the seven minutes to the office...not many cars this early. The Korean clothing store guy continues to not hand me a flier...not sure it's because he recognizes me and so realizes it would be annoying if he did it everytime, or if it's because i am a foreigner.
In the office! Hang up my coat, eye the plate full of aaruul on the conference table, turn on my computer
Check email account, mostly junk mail from Mongolian businesses
Start editing the annual report, English version
Get an email about the Long Song nomination, still no luck! From someone who finished her PhD on long song two years ago, no less. Am newly boggled that no one has a copy.
Explore the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage page, learn some interesting things about the Masterpiece project that became the ICH lists
Discover an interestingly worded background paper on how China "convinced" Mongolia to make Long Song a multi-nation nomination
Discover that China and surprisingly enough Mongolia actually filed their periodic report in December, download, skim, save as "definitely relevant"
Go back to editing annual report
Discuss event consulting
Remember iTunes copyright infringement problem for Altan Urag, research how to file a take-down notice
Go back to editing annual report
1 o'clock! Lunch time!
Head home, get sucked into recommending books, remember I need to eat
Turn on broiler for open-faced grilled cheese sandwiches, turn on water boiler for soup, slice cheese small enough to fit inside a tuperware so it'll keep...even I can't eat almost half a kilo of cheese in a week
Stir the water and soup powder, eye the cheese properly melting and being delicious...huzzah, the lady actually gave me "gouda" this time
Eat deliciousness while watching half an episode of 30 rock (first season...not ready to watch the series finale yet)
Walk back to work
it is now 2:15 and due to Tsaagan Sar preparations there is an epic traffic jam at my T-intersection...be newly relieved I don't drive here and don't need to
Back at work...editing the annual report (21 pages...sooo slow)
Edit the section on Indigenous Dance Residency program at Banff, google it
Start new google doc about evidence for whether or not Mongolia can be considered/considers itself indigenous...in the realm of modern dance at least, Australia and Canada seem to accept Mongolians on equal terms
Email about funding for next year for teaching on indigenous issues
Go back to editing the annual report
Finally finish editing the annual report
Realize we might need to write a DMCA notice, not just notify iTunes...google that...realize internationally I have no idea how this works...if a Mongolian band's music is being illegally sold by a Russian? company on an American platform like iTunes...do we really need to file a lawsuit (and where?) to have the takedown request remain in effect...
Start writing this post, because I haven't updated in forever and this makes my head hurt less
5:15...less than two hours to go before the office closes and we possibly have a staff dinner
Go grab a cookie and refresh my water bottle at the office water jug
Look into residency programs to update the directory...get overly misty-eyed at the thought of camping in the woods, remind self that not an artist so not eligible to go be moody and brilliant in nature for a fee
find neat program for an art curator/museum specialist in korea, email arts director and cultural heritage director
look out the window, notice it's 6 but still fairly light! google UB sunrise and sunset times and rejoice in the lengthening of days...spring is coming!
get told i need a photo for my staff ID card...run over with Ogie to the Kodak express, where the guy spends forever digitally fussing with my hair
return to office
work on things until Daria informs me a taxi is on the way! we are going to staff dinner to celebrate the new employee
cram 4 people into the backseat of a taxi
arrive at fancy building, wander around looking at the art exhibition paintings...a few incredibly beautiful ones, including a "day in the life" style painting set during a Mongol empire era battle with Europeans?
ride the elevator up to the 5th floor, escorted to a private room
surprise! we are eating super swanky hot pot.
order the vegetable broth, because it's cheap and i'm not sure who is paying for dinner (really need to carry more cash for situations like this) and because it tastes just fine to me
half and sometimes fully listen to Mongolian conversation, which at point includes an impression of a friend of the organization...too funny
lots of food arrives! the lazy susan is kept turning as everyone picks up thin slices of raw meat and veggies and dunks them into their boiling pots...am amused by the induction heating system and the air currents beneath the table
much feasting is done
time for drinks/dessert! i copy suuren and order ice cream (chocolate)
ice cream arrives, with some whipped cream, a fancy cookie, some fruit (apple slices and possible grape? cherry?) and some rice crisp flakes...the actual ice cream itself is very delicious
conversation winds down...
we head downstairs, i discuss walking the half hour home with my coworker/neighbor/friend, and then we are both offered a ride to State Department Store (nearest big landmark to our apartments) by our coworker's husband, huzzah!
husband tries to practice his "street english" with me, all laugh
wave goodbye to everyone, head up the steps to my apartment, and take the elevator because the central lighting doesn't work on floors 3 and 4 so it's easiest to just take the elevator at night to 5
unlock door, enter but i still haven't replaced the entry hall lightbulb, stumble into the living room and hit the light switch there, remove face mask, take off coat, remove boots
relax
skype with parents
watch a little 30 rock
sleep

Whoops...time passes

So, I had an absolutely wonderful time in Korea and visit in the U.S. And then I came back and work and research started up and then Tsagaan Sar (Mongolian Lunar New Year) happened...and I am a horrible updater. Goal this weekend is to add some content!

So...get excited for that?




And yes, there are penguins involved.