BOETZ

After language class, my host parents and couple of my host mom’s friends taught me how to make BOETZ (Mongolian dumplings).

Recipe: 1. Chop partially frozen mutton into very small pieces. 2. Add cubes of sheep fat. 3. Add chopped green and yellow onion. 4. Add salt and powdered bouillon. 5. Add small amounts of water and mash with hands. (this is the stuffing) Next: 1. Make a dough with refined wheat flour and water. 2. Flatten small pieces of dough into small tortillas 3. press stuffing into BOETZ 4. Steam for twenty minutes. 5. Serve with ketchup and enjoy!

We also played “ankle bones”—they’re actually sheep bones. It’s the national game of Mongolia. The bones can lay 4 different ways: “Mur”-horse, “Timee”-camel, “Yama”-goat, or “Hun”-sheep. The bones are rolled like dice. Players must try to flick one bone to touch a matching bone without disturbing any of the other bones. Also, if all of the bones match, then players must try to be the first to grab all of them. I really enjoyed!

This weekend, my host parents have been teaching me to play Mongolian card games. At first I was very confused, but after several hours of playing I think that I've learned to play ‘HOSIN’-cards well. On Sunday evening, Tyler came to visit and we all played HOOTZER together.