Trying my first Sheep Head!

Preparing to try the palate.

Trying sheep's head has been on my "to do" list since I first watched the episode of Bizarre Foods: Mongolia in which the host Andrew tries a sheep head. I watched the episode four or more times before I left the U.S. in hopes that it would desensitize me. I can't think of animal heads that American's eat...except those that suck the brains out of crawfish in the South. 

During Spring Break this week my good friend Doogii had me over for fellowship and my first try of sheep's head. Per my request, I got to observe the entire process. We walked home from the market with the head in a small plastic bag. The going rate for a sheep head? 4,000 tugrik or about $2. You have to keep in mind that while this country has only about 3 million citizens, there are approximately 45 million livestock animals! Sheep, goat, cows, horses, and camels! 

The process is pretty straight forward. First you scrub and clean the head (top picture to the right is just before washing). Although it has been previously torched to get rid of the hide, you still want to give it a good scrubbing with cold water. You should check the mouth to make sure that only it's tongue is inside. Our purchased head was yet a bit frozen, so it took a knife to pry open the jaw. Once scrubbed, you put the head in a pressure cooker along with some water, salt, and any other spices you want to add (we added just a bay leaf). Then you seal it up and let it cook for about an hour. 

About 20 minutes into that hour you could hear the pressure cooker and a strong smell began to fill the apartment. To me it smelled a bit fishy--but then I have not much to compare it to. 

The bottom picture shows what the head looks like just after opening up the pressure cooker. I know.....a bit scary looking, right? We pulled the head out and put it on a large cutting board. My friend broke the two parts of the jaw apart and determined that it needed to cook a bit longer (having been frozen before we began). We put all the parts back in the pressure cooker and let it go another 20 minutes or so. Then it came out and all the various parts were pulled off the bone and cut up into smaller pieces. Oftentimes a soup is made from the juices in the pot. We didn't make the time to do that step. 

In addition to the sheep head, my friend had baked some chicken (in case I didn't like the head--she's thoughtful like that!) and made a nice cabbage, cucumber, and tomato salad. We moved to the living room and settled in for our feast.

My plate, complete with jawbone, chicken, and salad. 

The result? I liked the cheek meat best of all. I pulled some of it off the jawbone you see here. It reminded me of the steamed beef that Zorig cooks at home. I also liked the tongue (you can see a piece of it in the lower left hand corner of the plate). I tried the palate (roof of the sheep's mouth) as it is referenced in that Bizarre Foods episode as being especially for females to eat. I gave it my best shot....but found it to be far too chewy for my liking. Most foods I don't like are about texture, and very less about flavor or taste. Doogii was kind and said it was okay for me to spit it out....if I didn't like it. I really tried, but did end up spitting it back out. Yep--just too chewy. A good bit of the rest was skin and other parts  (ear, nostril, etc) which I wasn't brave enough to try. At least not for this first go at it.

All in all, it was a pleasurable experience--time with a good friend, the chance to see the process and then taste the results. Zorig very much likes sheep head--describes it as "very tasty." I can agree with that statement in regards to the cheek and tongue. Perhaps the rest is an acquired taste? I guess time and experience will tell. 

What would you do with One Shot?

On the prairie in Colorado....

"Look,
If you had
One shot,
One opportunity,
To seize everything you ever wanted
In one moment
Would you capture it
or just let it slip?"
    ~from "Lose Yourself" by Eminem

I am not a fan of rap music. However, when I watched the movie 8 Mile a number of years ago, I did find myself having respect and admiration for those that could turn a rhyme on a dime. 

Tonight I'm preparing for my husband to come home after being gone all week. I'm cleaning house and making dinner. I'm drinking a little of my favorite jug beer and listening to music, as I often do. And "Lose Yourself" came up in the Playmix. This caused me to reflect and ponder a few things. 

Two years ago today I was being given an epidural and prepared for what was essentially exploratory surgery. I was scared and didn't know what the outcome would be. You can read about that in last year's reflective post. Now I'm another year past that scary event.....and all I can think is, "it is possible to completely change one's life." 

I've been in Mongolia for nine months. Spring break has arrived with only one quarter left of the school year to summer break. Soon I will celebrate a year of my new life. The novelty has yet to wear off. I'm thankful for my work at ASU. I''m thankful for the friends I've made--my fellow American Wives (Michelle, Tricia, Melanie, and Brittany), my co-workers at ASU (especially K, Jen, and Maggie), and all the lovely Mongolian women I work with--especially Doljinsuren. Yes, I have been blessed beyond measure. I make plans just one or two days in advance.....and sometimes, even IN THE MOMENT. I love the spontaneity that IS A WAY OF LIFE in this country. 

People have called me Brave. Or Crazy. Maybe I'm a mix of both. Mostly....I'm Happy. We are human beings....and there is always a choice in one's lot, one's situation....I challenge you.....to capture the moments that present themselves. If I hadn't stepped outside a ger in search of something different, something unknown, I wouldn't have all that I now possess. I am rich....in the intangible mysteries of love and joy. It's lovely. And beautiful. And thrilling. 

So I ask.....what could be possible for you....if you did something different? Something unexpected? Something.......else?

The Paperwork is Neverending

In our ger

A little over a year ago, I began to share the news that I was in love with a man from Mongolia and that I would be moving there. A colleague of mine, a French woman married to an American man, recommended that I read Committed by Elizabeth Gilbert (interestingly enough, another co-worker had already loaned the book to me). I was familiar with the movie Eat, Pray, Love which was based on Gilbert's earlier memoir of the same name. Engaged at the time to a man from another country, I took her advice and read the book. 

The book begins with Gilbert and her partner (a citizen of another country) arriving to the U.S. and her partner being told he could no longer come and go. In order for him to be in the U.S., they would NEED to get married. This was not their plan. They had been perfectly happy to cohabitate and each had already been through a divorce before. BUT......international laws made it impossible to continue as they'd been doing. The remainder of the book follows them as they work with lawyer to get themselves legally hitched and the necessary paperwork completely so that they could have a life together in the U.S. The book also looks at marriage from various perspectives--historically, as well as from various cultures. It was an enlightening read as I packed up my belongings for container shipment and sold my furniture. Though I knew I would have a work visa for the year, Zorig and I had every intention of getting married as soon as we could get the paperwork done. 

Marriage Certificate holder

I arrived to Mongolia on July 2nd (can you believe I've already been here 9 months?!!?). Zorig began chipping away at the paperwork necessary to apply for marriage in September. I had arrived with everything I knew I needed from the list: divorce decree, results of TB and HIV tests, proof of salary (showing that I could financially support myself), a letter from CO stating that I had no criminal record, notarized copies of my passport, and passport photos. Zorig also had to provide a host of documentation. He visited the Office of Civil Registration multiple times--checking and double-checking--before he finally submitted our application for marriage around the 21st of September. I won't reiterate how that all played out, you can read about it in this earlier post. That was our first paperwork hurdle.

Fast forward. Now we are at work to change my visa from Work to Spousal. I did return to my maiden name in January. And since that time I've been at work to get all the trickle-down documents changed.....SS card (Thanks US Embassy for making that easy!), credit cards, retirement accounts, etc, etc....  

Zorig has been to the Khoroo Office (think municipal office for our neighborhood) three times already trying to get me registered as living here (initially the school completed my work visa paperwork with me living in the ASU teacher apartments) in our apartment. First visit--the Khoroo office was closed as everyone one was attending training. Second visit--the woman responsible was in the hospital getting her appendix removed. Third visit--the office said I needed to get my address changed on my Alien Card first. I communicated with the Mongolian at ASU that handles all the visa paperwork. She informed us that the Khoroo office is confused, as the Immigration office NEEDS a Residence letter from the Khoroo office IN ORDER TO CHANGE the address on my Alien Card. (Huge Eye Roll here!!!) I went this week to get notarized copies of my passport and our marriage certificate--hopefully to ease things for Zorig. I paid just $1.37 for four notarized copies (two of each document--just in case). 

Zorig will return to the Khoroo office this next week to push forward. Once we get all the documentation we need and submit it, it can take as long as 2 months to get the spousal visa. Time to simply stay the course. 

My hope is that we can get the Visa type changed...and that I can get my new Alien card to reflect both my name change AND my status change. BUT....I wouldn't be surprised if I have to do it twice--first to reflect name and address change, then again for the change in visa type. It's only money, and paperwork.

Found "Arizona"--four states checked off. 

Additionally, we have two more "paperwork problems" (think math word problem) ahead of us. We will get the stack of necessary paperwork prepared this month to apply for Zorig's travel visa to South Africa for our summer trip (where we will meet up with my dad for a safari). And we need to submit an ASU application for Enji for next school year.

I suspect these won't be our last journeys in paperwork. Zorig and I both can find it frustrating--we get to the point where we are exhausted from the running around, the copying and notarizing, the document requesting and collection, and paying the costs. But then we rally and push onward. We knew this wouldn't always be easy. And if the paperwork is the HARDEST part, then we are doing well. Our understanding of one another only increases (his English improves continually and I'm beginning to hear words and communicate in small ways in Mongolian), our connection deepens, the building of hopes and dreams continues--and the rest is just, well, paperwork. :)