Buuz for Breakfast

What a week!  We took the whole week off from school and I was glad for it.  We made two visits Thursday, one to Ganpurev's house and the other to Bilgee's house.  My first Tsagaan Sar visit was certainly interesting.  Ganpurev's living room was transformed into a dining room with extra tables laid out with a full spread.  I large wooden platter sat in the middle of the table holding what was left of a roasted goat with the head beautifully garnishing the top.  Behind it sat the tower of bread.  Each house buys these breads shaped like large maple bar doughnuts and stacks them in an odd number of layers.  Each alternating layer represents happiness and sorrow.  If there is and even number of layers then the happiness and sorrow are equal; and odd number means there is more happiness than sorrow.  Atop the tower of bread was piled all manner of dairy products such as arohl and candy.  Along with these table settings were bowls of candy and bread as well as thermoses full of Sootay Tsay.  The spread was similar at Bilgee's house except that he had an extra cake type bread that he served.  I enjoyed myself and it was exciting to see all the traditions.  All in all I eat four or five buuz as well as some other meat and bread.  At Bilgee's I didn't eat any buuz, just cake and sootay tsay.  Kevin and I didn't go with the Dean's for the visits they made on Friday.  On Saturday morning we, along with the Deans, Pattersons, and MacIlvains, went to Buren's house for a visit.  We got to Buren's house at 9:20 and stayed for about and hour and a half.  While we were there I ate more arohl and Mongolian dairy products than I would have thought I could.  (Is that confusing?)  I ate more buuz than I had to and I actually asked for more sootay tsay.  After that visit Kevin and I had the whole rest of the day free; I spent it walking around UB with Kevin and a girl named Barrie who is on her way through to Hatgal to help the Cofers.  Throughout the afternoon we retraced our steps twice as we walked from place to place only to find most of our intended destinations closed because of the holiday.  Then we had dinner with the Siekberts and watched a movie.

John