Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Happy New Year 2009!!!

A quick post to say that we are just now recovering from a flurry of holiday parties filled with many laughs, dancing, songs, games, foods and ales. Julie and I hosted a couple parties ourselves, one featuring a fish fry. Friends generously gave us a huge one caught in Dornod's Buur Lake and we sectioned it four ways with different spicings/flavors. Then we had a song share. Tomorrow, we leave for Cambodia for a couple weeks.
Now, for your Mongolian culture lesson: Right now, we are enduring the third 9 of winter. What does this mean? Mongolians refer to winter as progressing through "The Nine 9's," nine phases with each lasting 9 days. On December 22nd, winter and the first 9 begins. The temperature of each phase is symbolized by a certain possible occurence:
1st 9: milk vodka freezes
2nd 9: the stronger vodka (hordz) freezes (this vodka is distilled twice)
3rd 9: the frozen horn of a 3-year old goat would break
4th 9: the horn of a 4-yr old goat would break (the coldest nine day phase)
5th 9: rice will not freeze (getting a tad warmer)
6th 9: foot paths darken (as snow melts and the ground is exposed on trails first)
7th 9: small hilltops are brown
8th 9: sounds of water emerge (drips and sloshing of mud under foot)
9th 9: Mongolians celebrate Tsaagan Sar ("White Month" and their lunar new year)

We're heard other variations of these phases, but these are the ones related to us by our friends. We have not tested them, but have no reason to doubt their accuracy.