Home Sweet Home!

I thought you might enjoy seeing where and how we live. Our apartment is small, but for here is considered very nice. The kitchen is approximately 7'x10', just right for 2 of us. The stove is very small, we can fit a small cookie sheet in the oven. When I cook for the Elders and Sisters, we have them go single file to the stove, dish up their food and go back into the Living Room to eat. I have cooked soup, and also lots of rice, they seem to enjoy it.

This is our washing machine. Notice the silver hose into the washing machine - we fill it with the bathroom sink water. The hose is also our shower head in the bathtub. The tub is about 2 1/2' high, the actual tub is probably sits 1' higher than the floor. Also, notice the drain for the washer - yep it drains into the bathtub! I haven't actually brought myself to take a bath yet, the shower works well! Also the water is a pale yellow in color, which doesn't lend itself to a bath! Also, the washer doesn't agitate, it twirls, goes one way, stops, then twirls the other way! As you can imagine our clothes are one big knot when finished!

These are how eggs are sold, you buy them individually. We carry them very carefully from the store! They do have flats of 2 1/2 dozen, but I don't know if that would be any safer to carry an open flat of eggs!

When we first got to Choibalsan, there was a funeral, the food was very interesting! They take a lot of pride in how it looks, which is really very pretty. At the bottom is a plate of meat, like salami, with pickle relish in the center. The bigger plate up on the left is rice and raisins, it actually tasted pretty good. The smaller plate on the right, is potato salad, a lot like our salads. The smaller plate above, on the right, is dill pickles and relish. The bigger plate on the left, above the rice is fruit, grapes and mandarin oranges. The long rectangles are bread, they decorate the bread with different kinds of candy.

They use this same kind of bread with their holidays, they have meaning and notice some are stacked higher than others, I will have to find out more about them. In February they have their New Year's, Tsagaan Sar Holiday, I'm sure I will find out a lot at that time.

Another interesting custom is that they each have a fork, and they all eat off the main plates.

We are learning and still getting use to things.

We are keeping busy though,

with the Elders and Sisters bringing their contacts to our home to teach,

with teaching English Lessons,

and with the activities at the Church.
We love you All!