I have to admit, I am very proud today. I think one of my students will be moved into the 4th grade. Not that I really have anything to do with his abilities, but I am proud of him. He scored extremely high on the aptitude test the school gave him and they feel he could go up. I will miss him in the classroom but would rather he be challenged than bored all year.
Many people have been asking me about the food here. There are many restaurants to choose from, mostly "American", Italian, and Korean type places. The Mongolians also like to serve a lot of mutton. Funny, initially when I got here I was planning on staying vegetarian, but have found myself craving meat. It gets quite cold here nights and my TA, Doogie, said in the winter I will have to eat meat. I have tried some and it is good quality. There is a little roadside, outdoor restaurant called "The Green Pub" where they serve these amazing skewers of lamb. That is where the picture is from. Fish is pretty rare to come by and if it is on the menu it is really bony. Also, mushrooms are very difficult to find, at least fresh ones anyway. The climate here is not good for growing them. There definately is no sushi to be found!
Shopping can be a bit of a pain here as the stock is constantly fluctuating. Plus, you have to go to more than one shop to get all you need. It is not so simple as just going to Sobey's. It is not unusual to go to three different stores to get all you need. I find it a little tiring. In addition, people are very pushy. An elderly woman once just cut in front of me at the supermarket checkout. I was in shock! There are no lines here. People just crowd around the cashier and tell them what they want. I think this is why it has been so difficult to teach the kids to line up. Everyone wants to be at the front! Also, Mongolians get very irritated when they have to wait. Many will change lines if the person in front is taking too long.
Another issue is how aggressive the kids can be. One of my classroom rules is "no pushing or shoving". I had to have another big talk with the class in regards to being respectful to one another. There has been a lot of infighting with the girls and I had to tell them if you can't play nicely with one another than just don't play together. I also told them that they had to be friends with everyone. They said "Even the boys?" and I said yes, yes you do. They have gotten better since the pep talk. I decided to do this so I wouldn't have to act as mediator all the time to all their little spats. I'm glad it seems to be working.
We were supposed to have class pictures taken today but no one came round to get us. Maybe tomorrow? Who knows? I had to actually yell at my class today and they noticed that when I get upset my face gets red. That's when they know I'm serious! I rarely yell, and told them I don't like to. I do tell them all the time they make me crazy or are giving me a headache. It's actually now a running class joke that we all are crazy. I did get a bit irritated as I pose a question to the class and see all these hands up and when I call on them they want to borrow my ruler or go to the bathroom. I had to tell them to focus! They get sidetracked so easily. We were talking about math and the next thing I know they want to tell me stories about animals or a movie they watched last night. They are just way too cute to stay mad at though. They draw me pictures, make me things, and tell me they love me all the time. One called me "Mommy" though and I had to nip that in the bud.
As an aside from Mongolia, my favouritest person in the world, Tasha MacQueen, had her baby! It's a girl! Little Harper joined us early Saturday morning and both mother and child are doing well. She is a healthy 8lbs, 7oz. Congrats to the MacQueens!
Still no hot water, which also means no heat. We are waiting! The humidifier I bought at the Black market already broke and needs replacing. My nose is very dry and has cracked. It is sore. Nosebleeds are a daily occurance. Today at lunch it was so windy we had indoor recess as there was so much dust and debris flying around.
I have begun to notice that I refer to myself in the third person. I'll be looking for something and think "Where did Miss M. leave it?" My co-workers think I'm crazy, but I have to be in my class!
Many people have been asking me about the food here. There are many restaurants to choose from, mostly "American", Italian, and Korean type places. The Mongolians also like to serve a lot of mutton. Funny, initially when I got here I was planning on staying vegetarian, but have found myself craving meat. It gets quite cold here nights and my TA, Doogie, said in the winter I will have to eat meat. I have tried some and it is good quality. There is a little roadside, outdoor restaurant called "The Green Pub" where they serve these amazing skewers of lamb. That is where the picture is from. Fish is pretty rare to come by and if it is on the menu it is really bony. Also, mushrooms are very difficult to find, at least fresh ones anyway. The climate here is not good for growing them. There definately is no sushi to be found!
Shopping can be a bit of a pain here as the stock is constantly fluctuating. Plus, you have to go to more than one shop to get all you need. It is not so simple as just going to Sobey's. It is not unusual to go to three different stores to get all you need. I find it a little tiring. In addition, people are very pushy. An elderly woman once just cut in front of me at the supermarket checkout. I was in shock! There are no lines here. People just crowd around the cashier and tell them what they want. I think this is why it has been so difficult to teach the kids to line up. Everyone wants to be at the front! Also, Mongolians get very irritated when they have to wait. Many will change lines if the person in front is taking too long.
Another issue is how aggressive the kids can be. One of my classroom rules is "no pushing or shoving". I had to have another big talk with the class in regards to being respectful to one another. There has been a lot of infighting with the girls and I had to tell them if you can't play nicely with one another than just don't play together. I also told them that they had to be friends with everyone. They said "Even the boys?" and I said yes, yes you do. They have gotten better since the pep talk. I decided to do this so I wouldn't have to act as mediator all the time to all their little spats. I'm glad it seems to be working.
We were supposed to have class pictures taken today but no one came round to get us. Maybe tomorrow? Who knows? I had to actually yell at my class today and they noticed that when I get upset my face gets red. That's when they know I'm serious! I rarely yell, and told them I don't like to. I do tell them all the time they make me crazy or are giving me a headache. It's actually now a running class joke that we all are crazy. I did get a bit irritated as I pose a question to the class and see all these hands up and when I call on them they want to borrow my ruler or go to the bathroom. I had to tell them to focus! They get sidetracked so easily. We were talking about math and the next thing I know they want to tell me stories about animals or a movie they watched last night. They are just way too cute to stay mad at though. They draw me pictures, make me things, and tell me they love me all the time. One called me "Mommy" though and I had to nip that in the bud.
As an aside from Mongolia, my favouritest person in the world, Tasha MacQueen, had her baby! It's a girl! Little Harper joined us early Saturday morning and both mother and child are doing well. She is a healthy 8lbs, 7oz. Congrats to the MacQueens!
Still no hot water, which also means no heat. We are waiting! The humidifier I bought at the Black market already broke and needs replacing. My nose is very dry and has cracked. It is sore. Nosebleeds are a daily occurance. Today at lunch it was so windy we had indoor recess as there was so much dust and debris flying around.
I have begun to notice that I refer to myself in the third person. I'll be looking for something and think "Where did Miss M. leave it?" My co-workers think I'm crazy, but I have to be in my class!
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