Last night we had a farewell dinner for the principal, Mr. Mark. He has resigned and will be leaving next week when Christmas vacation begins. I will miss him. He's a really great guy. I brought my camera to the occasion and forgot to take pictures, of course. He's headed back to Canada and for that, I am jealous. However, I have one week left until I leave for Bali, so it's not so bad!

I have lost another student. Edward went back to the U.S. with his father so now my class is holding at 24. Mr. Mark has developed an attachment for my class and they have too. They really respect him. Hopefully the new principal will be as revered. When my class learned of my upcoming trip to Bali they somehow decided that I was leaving and never coming back. I have planned a field trip in January to reassure them that I will be returning. We will be going to the International Intellectual Museum. It's a short trip but I have heard well worth it. They have these brain teaser toys. It should be good and all the students are excited about it, and apparently the parents are too due to it's scholastic value.

It is dark and cold here. It's dark still at 7 am. I mean, pitch black. I have noticed that the school is starting to get a little sleepier in the mornings. Things are just a little slower moving. On average, it is -22 celsius in the mornings and get's up to about -16 during the day. Due to the fact it is a dry cold, it's not as bad as you'd think. I still worry about coming months.

There is one thing about these Mongolians that I can't figure out. Why their fly's are always undone! I have a hunch it's due to the layers they wear under their pants, but I've given up telling them. As soon as they do it up, it falls back down.

The school has turned the soccer field into an ice rink. It's awesome but only a few of my students have ice skates. Ice skates are yet another investment I am unsure about making. I do so fondly remember making trips as a child to the local skate rink and it would be nice to be able to use it for gym class some days.

I have been diagnosed here with severe dry eye syndrome. It is due to the climate and apparently many people here suffer from it. I have to put this gel in my eyes to keep them lubricated. Initially I was putting it in at night and I was told to keep my eyes closed for an hour. I would kind of go into a bit of a panic. I am not the best sleeper in the world, well I'm good at sleeping but just not good at falling asleep, and the thought of having to keep my eyes closed like that makes my insomnia worse. So, I just put a bit in at a time throughout the day instead. While my eyes are still irritated looking they don't feel like there's tiny shards of glass in them anymore.

There is one week left of school and the winter talent show is on Wednesday. My student's play is coming along nicely. I had a short panic mode thing as I had no Santa suit for my Santa! One of the parents pulled through though and bought one for us. I was so relieved! All our props are ready and I have been forcing the students to leave their costumes at school so they don't forget them. Trust me, this trip to Bali will be well deserved!

I had quite the experience on the bus last night. Apparently in Mongolia there is no maximum capacity and we were packed in beyond what sardines must feel like. I elbowed some poor guy in the head and was pushed by other's elbows and bodies. It got so hot and felt like I would be crushed. I felt a panic then too. My arm and stomach hurts from the experience. My feet were not on solidly on the floor and felt out of control. I did not like it. Add in the crazy bus driver and it was an excrutiating experience.