Aaron's homestay dairy

All of the VSO volunteers have been matched up with families for a five-day stint with a Mongolian family. The 'dairy' title is a little bit of an inside joke. One day our Mongolian teacher was teaching us a new word. She wrote the word on the board and added the English translation of "to have dairy". The class burst out laughing once we realized, after very detailed charades, that she had meant "to have diarrhea".

Day one - Saturday ('half good day' in Mongolian)
- I was the last to get picked up. It was like getting picked last in grade two. Thankfully the wife of the couple came to get me at the VSO office two hours after everyone else. She is very nice and thankfully she knows quite a bit of English.
- There is a husband, wife and 2 kids (7 and 2)
- Buuz (national dish) was served as the first meal (lunch)
- Dinner was delicious.
- Orna (wife) took me to a Mongolian variety show. We made up 20% of the audience. Apparently the 6:00pm show wasn't that popular. It was a great show though. Lots of singing, dancing and live music. The seating was very 40's lounge-esque. Frank Sinatra would have approved. I'll be suggesting it to anyone interested in that kind of show.
- Two year-old girl can't blow a balloon without farting. After several farting incidents and laughter, I decide to move away. She becomes disappointed, grabs a Russian doll and persuades me to play with the dolls. Thankfully the gas subsides.
- Two beers and playing with kids does mix! I am offered a couple of beers and am turned loose on the kids. Thankfully they don't notice the potent aroma coming from my socks.

Day two - Sunday (aka full good day)
- I slept like a log! This bed is great. I'm not sure that I'll go back to my hard bed. We thought our bed at our flat was just a box spring. After further inspection we found it was actually a very firm, regular mattress. I may have to take this back with me. Unfortunately (fortunately?) MC won't be able to join me on it.
- Breakfast consists of a porridge-like material. It is then mixed with salty milk tea. It actually tastes very good. It reminds me of home in a strange Mongolian way. Ham, bread, biscuits and baked goods are also served. A very satisfying meal.
- Am I left-eye dominant? How do I check that again?
- After ogloonee tsai (breakfast...'morning tea' is the literal translation) Orna, two kids and I head off to the grocery store (delgur), computer store and finally her mother-in-law's. The drive to the ger district includes a 15-minute traffic jam in an intersection. I'm not sure why there was a traffic jam...the traffic lights were working and there wasn't an accident. Luckily a police officer was near. He was able to sort out the mess and we were back on our way. A different variety of buuz is served at the mother-in-law's for lunch. Mmm the fresh, home-made 'lazy' buuz is delicious.
- The son and I head off to the local hill to get a view of the city. It's a little strange not being able to talk to him directly but we are able to communicate enough to make both of us satisfied. The view of the city was pretty good. We even saw a few "tornadoes". One of them picked up some styrofoam and flung it 200 feet in the air. A good trip to see how other people in UB live.
- After getting back from the mother-in-law's I go for a walk around the west side of UB. Since the apartment complexes are so large, it feels like I walked for miles but didn't really get anywhere.
- We had rice, pickles, hotdogs and pickled vegetables for dinner. Although it doesn't sound that appetizing, the food strangely complimented each other. I ate it all up (heinz mayo and all......that's for another post though).
- I kicked the son's ass at chess! Although only a small pleasure can be taken in beating a seven-year-old, I'm actually surprised I did. I think my chess skills have developed to that of an eight year old. He had me worried for half the game. Hmmmm, beer and playing with the kids...do I see a pattern forming? Not a bad one, just a pattern.

Day Three
- Well it was back to language school today. My home stay family dropped me off behind the ik h delgur (State Department Store). I then met up with a bunch of the other VSO volunteers whom were on home stay. It was like kids getting dropped off at the bus stop. Each volunteer would invariably get left on the sidewalk by someone from their host family. After a few choice words (most likely things like "have a nice day" and "do you have your lunch money" could have been overheard had I been closer) the volunteers gathered to share their weekend experiences. One lady took the hat. She had thrown up three times before leaving her home stay family this morning. It didn't sound like she was going to stay for the rest of the allotted time.
- I asked the teacher why Mongolians smell their children. I witnessed this ritual when we went to meet the mother-in-law's. The first thing she did when we arrived was grab each kids head and smell it. She would take three or four good whiffs before letting the kid get away. I had no idea what was going on, but apparently it was normal. My language bash (teacher) said that Mongolians sometimes smell their children instead of kissing them. Maybe the grandparents do it to make sure that the parents are keeping the kids clean. Anyway, it's an interesting ritual. Parallels can be drawn with an Eskimo kiss...maybe.
- I think people whom don't know the language of a given house are sometimes lumped in with the kids. I dine, play and, on occasion, watch TV with the little pre-teens. It's not that I'm complaining (they are good company) but it's interesting. I guess they just don't know what to do with me sometimes. I can relate; I have that same problem myself on occasion.
- Today's dinner consisted of really good home-made tsuivan. Tsuivan is a mainly noodle dish which contains some vegetables, meat (usually mutton) and fat. This is the best one that I've had since I've been in Mongolia.
- I still haven't figured out the garbage in the toilet stall. I know what it's for, but why? (For those not in the know, it's for your toilet paper once you've used it on your bum) MC's theory is that it's because the toilets can't handle the pooh and the paper. My experience though is that it's been able to handle everything that I've thrown at it. And believe me, I haven't held back. Any other theories?
- Apparently cars which are Frankensteined in Mongolia are called 'Made in Mongolia'. On a similar note, every Mongolian and their dog seem to be a mechanic. They must have the most mechanics per capita.
- I am again challenged to a match of taran by the son. After he brings out the board, and realizing he is talking about chess, we start up another game. I learn a few words and the little guy almost beats me! Orna and her husband take him to bed so we end in a draw. I 'm going to have to stop playing with him before I lose.

Day Four
- Breakfast consisted of ham (SPAM-like), bread, coffee and biscuits. A far cry from the sandwich I had yesterday morning :(. I am told to decide between two places to go to in the countryside. I'll hope to figure out what each is at school this morning.
- After school I was picked up from 'The' Department store by Orna. We head out to the countryside (hodoo) for a trip. We visit two tourist camps with huge gers. One of the camps is were a Chinggis Khaan movie was filmed. It was nice to hang out in a huge ger, surrounded by snow leopard hides, and drinking tea. Unfortunately I didn't have the camera to snap some pics.
- We returned to the home stay's apartment to find it with wet carpets. The city heating had just been turned on and it leaked from one of the radiators. The husband removed the defective piece and I help move some of the rugs. Other than making tea, this was the only other thing I've been allowed to help with. I could get used to this.
- Tonight is my last night with the family. We went to a Chinese restaurant. The food was great! Much better than in Canada. I guess being close to China does have its advantages. Vodka was ordered with the meal. The husband and I partook in some Chinggis Khaan (black label) vodka. I was pleasantly surprised by the most agreeable taste.

The stay with my Mongolian family has been great! It's been really interesting to see how regular, urban Mongolians live.