Let's work on your English listening skills with a tale of living in Mongolia to improve your listening skills. The script of the story is also provided in case you couldn’t catch every word. Enjoy!
Transcript
The story begins when I was living in Mongolia around 2002.
I lived in a small town of about 3,000 people in the far North East, about a hundred kilometres from Russia and China on the great Mongolia Steppe that was only rolling hills with few trees pretty much as far as the eye could see.
I had been teaching English in the high school for about a year when the other American that had lived there before me came for a visit.
He also worked in the high school so after a few days of hanging out with old friends and with the school's teachers, it was kinda time for him to go.
We were saying our goodbyes in front of a jeep with a group of Mongolians when we started up a conversation with one of the Mongolians that I couldn't quite catch.
I asked what they were talking about in Mongolian and my friend laughed and said they were taking me to a festival the next day.
So, we finished our goodbyes and
After my friend had left, I asked the Mongolian what kind of festival it was.
He simply laughed and said, .......you'll see.
The next morning, a group of Mongolians picked me up before dawn.
As I got into the jeep the strong smell of vodka and cigarette smoke hit my nose.
And, out there, everyone drinks and drives but it didn't seem to be much of a problem because literally there are no trees or other cars in the middle of nowhere. You can't hit anything.
After a few hours of driving over hills and nonexistent roads, we made it to a pretty size-able farm with large pens full of goats and sheep and cows.
At this point still a little confused about what we were doing there, a Mongolian said, let's get to work and we all jumped out of the jeep.
We headed over to the animal pens and I was told my job was to help lift the animals out of the big pen, tell the next guy if the animal was a boy or a girl, and they would put it into smaller pens separated by male and female.
Still a little confused we finished up and I quickly realized what kind of festival it was.
Testicles! It was a yearly testicle festival. Where most of the male animals are castrated.
I'll save you all the gory details but after a few more hours of "work" all of the Mongolian men handed a big bowl of their "work" to the Mongolian women, and we went inside to relax and drink more vodka. Kinda thinking that the worst of the festival was over......
After another hour or so of talking and drinking the smell of food was coming from the kitchen and I realized I had barely eaten all day and was starving.
Finally, a few bowls were brought out from the kitchen, smelling delicious covered in steam when I suddenly realized all was not well.
Through my empty stomach and drunk head, I quickly realized it was time to eat our hard "work".
If any of you have seen Indiana Jones 2, the dinner scene, it felt a bit like that.
In the center of the table was placed a long boiled bull testicle, neatly sliced and it looked a bit like raw squid.
A bowl was placed in front of me and as the steamed cleared my eyes focused in, floating in my soup, was goat and sheep testicles, and they kinda looked like eyeballs from a horror movie.
I never felt my body argue with itself so much! My eyes were saying no......no way!
But my stomach was I'm starving Eat it, eat it!
Finally, my vodka-soaked brain broke the tie, thinking what the hell, why not??? Eat it, do it!
So, I closed my eyes and quickly spooned the balls in my mouth and.....
To my surprise, not too bad, chewy, but not too bad.
Though I did eat a lot of it with my eyes closed.
So, there was that.
The bull testicles weren't bad either, had a texture a little bit like seafood and now I understand now why American cow ranchers in the southwest eat them and call them Rocky Mountain Oysters!
Anyway, At the end of the day, I had a full stomach and a good story and a great day all in all.
And, the morale of the story is if a Mongolian ever invites you to a festival be sure to ask
Exactly, what kind of festival is this?
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