The store we buy our meat at had a fire and is closed for repairs so I can’t buy meat there. So I have to buy it somewhere else which is considerably more stressful because most places don’t have both Mongolian and English words in their meat sections.

I realized that the tiny place I buy vegetables and fruit (It’s smaller than a one-stall garage) had a small freezer with some meat in it. Some of it looked like chicken.

“Тэр тахианы мах байна уу?” “Is that chicken?” I asked.

She nodded pointed to the price on the wall. I wanted to make sure I was getting chicken breast but I didn’t know the word for that. I pointed to the package of chicken I thought I wanted, she pointed to the sign on the wall, I used Google Translate to look up the word “цээш.”

Google translate literally said, “Haha.”

Not helpful, Google Translate. (I later learned the wall actually said цээж not цээш which would have made this whole process easier and less embarrassing.)

Without many options I pointed to my leg and she shook her head. I pointed to my thigh. She shook her head. This continued until she nodded and I was certain I was buying chicken breast. I think she was as amused as I was embarrassed.

But I walked away with chicken breast and learned a new word in the process. And this is how we do life right now.