"Y ou came to us like thunder out of the clear blue sky," said our host, toasting our arrival. Indeed, it must have seemed like we dropped from sky into the home of Buyanto Tsydypov, a young Buryat farmer living in the normally undisturbed village of Galtai. The surprise of our visit did not, however, prevent him from greeting us with a warm reception, which we would soon learn was typical of Buryat hospitality. During our brief stay with his family, Buyanto taught us much about Buryat culture and customs, and treated us to a couple of experiences that we will not soon forget.

The first occurred on the evening of our arrival. As we were returning from a tour of Buyanto's farm, he pulled the car off the dirt road and took us on an unexpected detour. A detour that led to our first "taste" of Buryat tradition.