We have an ice skating rink behind my apartment building at school. I decided on Friday to take my ESL class for a fun period. From left to right; Enkhdelger, Chandmani, Yumchigmaa, and Urin (pronounced Oohrin, not urine). Of course, the shadow is me. We had a lot of fun! I hadn't been in so many years and was worried about looking silly but it is rather like riding a bike, you don't forget. I was truly amazed at the girls' abilities. Three of the four had either never been or only skated once before and they were old pros! They contribute it to being really good at roller skating.

Unfortunately, not all of the class could go. This is only half of my ESL class. One's mom wouldn't buy her skates because she was worried she would get hurt. The other's didn't bring them because their parents said they were sick. Two of my girls actually cried because they couldn't come! They wanted to just come and watch but I said it was too cold out just to stand around for an entire period. This morning when I took the temperature it was -32. It usually gets up to around -25 during the day, without windchill factor. If you're moving it's not so bad. I found a pair of skates for myself last night but they are boys. I really like them though. I felt badly saying "I'm going to buy skates!" offhandedly because though they cost me 40,000 TK (a little more than $30) to them it's a lot of money. I have especially noticed it when Doogie asks me how much something I'm eating costs, like my granola bars. When I say I don't know she will make a face that says "of course you don't know, you have money". I have been giving her groceries though. Sometimes I will buy something to try it and end up not liking it or just realizing that I will never eat it and she is pleased. I did the same with my cleaner, Ganaa, who is so sweet! I gave her some potatoes I bought and told her that they were quite old and I didn't want to give her food that was going bad but also did not want to see go to waste. She understood and took them saying, "It's okay, I will use them."

This is my class during their swimming instructions. The pool isn't really large. When they swim laps together they are kicking and elbowing each other all the time. They seem to be pretty conscious about it though. They wear swim caps but they do nothing to keep their heads dry. The parents have been complaining about it being the last two periods of the day and the kids going outside after with wet hair. I tried to get it changed but to no avail.

This is our class trip to the International Intellectual Museum. I thought it was a bit cheesy but the wood carved puzzles were really interesting. The owner and founder of the museum managed to steal the show when he performed magic tricks for the class. Needless to day, those were mostly what the students bought at the gift shop. I bought a few items, including a puzzle that is traditionally given to potential daughter's-in-law. If they can't perform the task, they are considered unintelligent and not suitable to become one of the family. I was shown how to do the trick and of course when actually asked to perform it, couldn't. Just proves I'm not marriage material!

Things have been clicking along quite nicely here. The new principal is fun and nice and straightforward. I never leave his office more confused about the issue we were talking about than before. I appreciate that. My class loves him! They want to include him in all that we do and love to talk to and tell him things. It's not exactly the best photo, but the bald guy with the beard is Mr. Richard. The ones beside him are Dan and Tina Carr and then the Konowpaski's (I can never spell their name properly!). They are leaving soon due to her pregnancy. She is the school nurse and some of my student's ESL teacher. For some reason, they think we look alike! Tina is Phillipino but everyone here thinks she's Mongolian.

I am glad to say I have rediscoved my love of cooking. Initially I found it difficult here because everything looked so foreign and I could only discern what was in a package by the picture on the box. Now I'm much more comfortable buying groceries and love to cook Asian style cuisine. I have found that every once in a while one of the markets sells frozen calamari. It is whole and so delicious! I take care not to overcook it to turn it into rubber. This is one of those items, I'm sure, that if I mentioned it to Doogie she'd ask me how much and I can honestly say no idea. I just tried it one day and am now addicted. If it's there, I buy it. Once in a while I can find smoked salmon.

I have caught my first Mongolian cold. It's not as bad as I thought it would be. The weather is so harsh here you'd expect the cold to knock you flat and keep you in bed. I still worked and Doogie gave me some pills that are the equivalent to our Sinutab or Contact "C". They helped quite a bit. Still, it seems the cold here never quite go away. You always have a bit of a cough or a runny nose. I can't say I'm surprised about getting sick, with a class of 24 kids it's bound to happen. Hand sanitizer, anyone?