Kitchen Decorations

Merry Christmas all!

I’m traveling around right now—Danielle and I thought it would be nice to visit some of our friends for Christmas—and as I’ve been in other people’s homes I’ve been reminded of one of the great things about Mongolia: the kitchen posters. They often contain odd combinations of food, most of which cannot be purchased in Mongolia, flowers, which also can’t be purchased in most of Mongolia, alcohol of some sort, and brightly colored backgrounds. Food ranging from fried chicken legs to breakfast burritos has shown up on kitchen walls throughout Mongolia. Here is just one sample from the multitude of choices.



I used to find these oversized posters hideous but now rather enjoy them. I’m thinking about starting a collection and papering our kitchen in a montage of these colorful pictures. I’ve also considered starting an export business. Oh the possibilities with these things!

The moment you've all been waiting for...

Although there were some excellent guesses, no one really got the right meaning of "Winter's person's one eye is blind." I guess the most similar idiom we have in English is "to turn a blind eye." I actually encountered this saying twice in one day and both people explained it to me in the context of clothing or footwear. As a general rule, Mongolians are more fashion conscious than your average American (I can't speak for the rest of the world), but, as I was talking to one friend about how dirty and scratched my lined winter boots are, she responded with this phrase and told me that it meant it was okay to wear stuff that wasn't as fashionable but was warm or more functional in winter because people don't notice, or they turn a blind eye. Nice that for a few months of the year I can "dress down"!

Who knows...?

I recently learned a new saying in Mongolia that, if I translate it literally is, “Winter’s person’s one eye is blind”.

What do you think this means?