Cooking with cow dung, cleaning with our tongues

The narrow path to Begz's ger

Our most unique couch surfing experience was with Begz and his family. They live in the ger district of Ulaanbaatar, about 10km north of the city center. When we got off the bus, I thought we were in Mongolia's slum. But as soon as we stepped into Begz's ger and were welcomed by his wife and four smiley children, we felt right at home.

We milked his cows, played games with the kids, cooked hushuur dumplings, helped take down his relative's ger, and even made a stove out of cow dung! Their lives revolve around their cows. Their diet consists of mainly dairy products and they use cow dung for heating. Begz says they choose not to use coal because it pollutes the air. They dry the cow dung for one year before using them.

Manujin and Todo drying cow dung

 

Begz and Yoshi milking a cow

Playing anklebone games with Gaadmaa and Mungulun

Me and Manujin playing outside

Teaching them how to play 'hanafuda' and 'Jamaica'

Todo and Yoshi playing soccer

  

Cooking hushuur dumplings

Taking apart a ger

 

Begz and Yoshi making a stove out of cow dung

 

Eej cooking

It was very interesting to learn about their eating customs. Begz's wife (we all called her 'Eej' (eh-jeh) which means 'mother' in Mongolian) always sat by the stove, even while we ate. If you want seconds, you bring your bowl to Eej and she will serve you. But you can't ask for how much you want. Eej decides for you. As Begz explained, "The mother knows everything about the children -- how much they should eat, how much energy they need." Eej must have thought Yoshi and I needed a lot of energy because she was really generous with the servings!

The way they clean their bowls is otherworldly. When we finished our food, Begz said, "Okay, now lick your bowls." I thought he was joking, but when he started to lick his bowl, my mouth dropped. And with a big smile on his face, he explained, "We clean our bowls with our tongue. It's the traditional way. We save water and it's good exercise for the tongue! Also, we do this to show our thanks to Eej for cooking this wonderful meal." "I see..." I said, but seeing Begz lick his plate made me realize how much I was conditioned not to do this. It felt completely inappropriate. I didn't care so much about exercising my tongue, but I wanted to show Eej my thanks so I cleaned my bowl the Mongolian way! On our last day, Eej told us we were the best lickers they've had. They've hosted over 100 couchsurfers so I guess it's a compliment! I should include that as one of my new talents: plate licking.

Spending three nights with Begz's family opened my eyes to the ger lifestyle. In the round ger, everything circulates. There are no walls; everything is connected. The family is one. What I learned from this experience is that a simple life is a happy life. So, why is it so difficult to be simple?