Kokusai Hiroba Café -Around the World- Vol.70 － Mexico and Inner Mongolia

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◇Contents

14:00 ～ 14:03　Opening（Introducing Hiroba Cafe）

14:03 ～ 15:03　Lecturers introduce Mexico and Inner Mongolia

15:03 ～ 15:30  Question Time and Closing

(Opening)

The host opened the event and explained the purpose of the Hiroba Café. He then introduced the lecturers, Giovanny from Mexico and Mandaruwa from Inner Mongolia (an autonomous region of China).

（Introducing each country）

Mexico:

Giovanny began by talking about how Japanese people’s usual image of Mexico would be sombreros, tortillas, cacti, tacos, etc… But in reality, he said, there is so much more to Mexico than that. He went through his main points in a way that was easy to understand, focusing on the geography, history, food, and music of Mexico, all whilst showing photos.

For instance, he explained that Mexico isn’t all desert and beaches. Actually, he said, over 10％ of the world’s living organisms have been discovered in Mexico! Furthermore, he explained how Mexico has 31 states, and each one has its own culture, which can be seen in their regional foods and clothing. Something particularly interesting is that various well-known foods such as chili pepper, maize, cocoa, avocado, tomato, and vanilla are actually traditional foods originating from Mexico. Giovanny explained how these foods spread around the world via commerce, demonstrating with a world map.

He also showed videos, and explained about Mexico’s traditional music. Following this, Giovanny got out his own guitar and sang a Mexican nursery rhyme in Spanish. A heartwarming time was had by all. From Giovanny’s presentation, many viewers felt that their image of Mexico had changed from ‘a desert country’ to ‘a country flourishing with diversity’.

Inner Mongolia：

　Mandaruwa presented whilst wearing traditional Mongolian garb. The first half of her presentation was about the lifestyle and culture of the Mongolian nomads. She showed photos of the beautiful scenery of Mongolia, including the great plains where many horses could be seen grazing. Mandaruwa then explained about the tents which the Mongolian nomads live in as they travel throughout the plains, which are called ‘ger’. The structure of the ger is made from wood, and an adult can set up a ger in about an hour.

　Moving on to an introduction to Mongolian food, Mandaruwa explained that because the nomads keep so many goats, cows, sheep　and the like, they use the milk to make many different kinds of cheese. She showed a photo of many different varieties spread out over a dining table. The cheeses, which are characteristically very white and hard, are preservable, so a large amount is often made at once. There are various flavours of cheese, such as sour cheeses, plain cheeses, and even sweet cheeses.

　Mandaruwa also explained how the temperatures in Inner Mongolia can reach sub-zero, even as low as minus 30 ~ 50 degrees, and then showed photos of Mongolian winter clothing. She also explained how the nomads burn cowpats as fuel for the fire to cook their meals, and even showed a photo of a mountain of cowpats!

　Later on, she showed what the Mongolian written language looks like, and gave examples of the pronunciation of various phrases. The viewers also tried saying the words alongside her. Then she played the morin khuur, a Mongolian stringed instrument, and played 3 songs for the viewers.　Listening to the music whilst imagining the Mongolian plains was certainly an immersive experience!