St. Patrick's Day in Mongolia

Last week we had our first days of weather above freezing. It was madness in the streets: people were walking around without hats or gloves, all the stray animals were out frolicking and basking, kids were running around screaming, people were playing basketball in their t-shirts, and I was sweating away in my long underwear and L.L. Bean down coat. Spring is here! Unfortunately, spring in Mongolia is a time of icy winds, snow, and dust storms, so the warmer weather is a small blessing. Still, it's nice to feel the warmth of the sun again!

This Saturday we celebrated St. Patrick's Day. My roommate Holly is a big St. Patrick's Day fan, and so we went all out. We organized a potluck in our tiny apartment and invited about 15 people over. We spent the whole day arranging our furniture, decorating the place with sparkly foam shamrocks, and cooking up a storm of Irish food. We ended up making soda bread, Irish stew, colcannon (mashed potatoes with cabbage, milk, onions, and butter), cabbage and bacon, and a sort of desserty baked apple dish (probably not Irish, but still tasty). Luckily the main ingredients in Irish food are potatoes, cabbage, and meat, all of which are readily available in Mongolia!  People brought lots of goodies including shepherd's pie, carrot salad, pizza, pineapple upside-down cake, juice, soda, and Irish coffee! It was all delicious and we had a good time! Then afterwards we headed out to one of the few Irish pubs in UB for an obligatory Guinness and mingling with other reveling foreigners. Overall a fun night!

The funny thing about St. Patrick's Day is that it's really difficult to explain to Mongolians. Part of that is that most Americans don't really have a reason to celebrate it themselves and it's pretty much just an excuse for a party. Some Mongolians were knowledgeable though... "Ahh, the foreigners' drinking holiday" they told me. Some people equated it to Tsagaan Sar, which I suppose with the special food and drinks, it is sort of similar to.

In addition to St. Patrick's Day, I've been preparing for my first research trip! I think it's going to happen next weekend, and I will update everyone on how it goes. I'm still trying to get a translator, finalize transportation, get a workspace at my university, and polish my interviews, but I think it will all just come together by next weekend. That generally tends to be how it works in Mongolia.

Until next time!