Today is a Mongolian National holiday. It's Independence Day here. We get the day off school. I don't remember celebrating it last year, but the days and weeks manage to blur into one another so quickly. I hardly remember the first day of school again this year.

Our class got to go on a field trip. We visited the National Mongolian History Museum. It was nice. It was kind of a test run to see how the children behaved in a different setting. Unfortunately, one was sick, but refused to miss the field trip. We called his mother to take him home for the day. He spoke with her first and then handed the phone to Mrs. Doogie. His mother was quite rude saying that her son was old enough to make his own decisions and if he wanted to go on the field trip, he should. He was ill the entire time and after we returned, called his mom to come pick him up.

I've decided Mongolia has an unfortunate effect on me. It's like I turn into the angry version of myself, as if I'm the Incredible Hulk or Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde or something. I find myself standing in front of cars to make them stop and telling people on cell phones in restaurants to take it outside, or at least to the heated lobby, to finish their conversation. I, in turn, get yelled back at, and honked at.

The first term is nearly over. My class has made considerable progress. I'm happy to say that even other teachers have noticed it! Doogie and I had our first fight, ever! We worked everything out, and I told her that considering the amount of time we've worked together, it's more than admirable that we can say this is our first fight. She agreed, I'm happy to say.

One of my students donated her lost tooth to a class science project. What a sacrifice! She said she had wanted to leave it for the Tooth Fairy, but gave it to us instead. We put it in a glass of Coca-Cola and are watching it's progress. I have a feeling it will be slow, but worth it!

Our class has also embarked on a new journey! We have signed up for the Flat Stanley project. It's basically a pen pal kind of program, but international. My students are really excited! We are first sharing with a class in Maine. We got to spend some time in the computer lab and we googled "Maine", just to have a better clue as to where we were sending our Stanleys. They were really interested, and learned a lot about the state. I can say, we've had a lot of offers to host Flat Stanley for a week. Too many! I'm the only teacher from Mongolia who's signed up. The students spent a lot of time writing their letters and drawing pictures. Next, we'd like to send Stanley to Africa!

Sorry, again, no photos are uploading today. Plus, I also managed to flood the apartments down to the first floor! I live on the fourth. I left the tub for 2 songs and the nozzle filling up the tub managed to find it's way to filling up the floor. I came in and, I admit, began swearing. There was at least an inch of water on the floor! I mopped it up, and decided to not let the water go to waste. While I was in the bath, and of course, had something in my eyes, there was the tell tale knock at my door. I thought perhaps I had avoided disaster, but nope! All the way down to the 1st floor! I'm wondering how else I can get in trouble today. Mmmm..let's see.

One of my students actually knows who Tom Selleck is! He loves that Tom has facial hair. I find it so amusing that someone seemingly so remote to Mongolians is actually known!

Things here have been chugging along. This last week the days truly began to blur together. I have been sick and thus, not really taking much in. We had a surprise visit from Gary at the school, which is unusual as we don't normally see him until February. I didn't get much of a chance to talk to him, but he seems well and in good health.

Due to my illness, I finally decided it was time to call in the heavy artillery. I recall from last year that my cold lasted over a month. I worked like a trooper through it all, but did not want to repeat. I asked the waitress at my Saturday luncheon (the only and best refried bean burritos ever!) to write me a note. Her English was very good (I keep having to correct my students that it's not American, it's English) and asked if she could write in Mongolian. She said, "Of course! I'm Mongolian!" I did not mean to offend her, but because of my past experiences I've noted that though many can speak their language, they cannot write it. Anyway, I got her to write me a note to the Pharmacist. I felt so proud when I went in and just handed over my "doctor's note". I began to feel embarrassed when they laughed at me, and then even more when one of the the technicians actually spoke English to me! I was surprised and not expecting it, so I had to say, "I'm sorry, I was not expecting anyone to speak English. Can you please repeat what you said?" We muddled through, and I got some antibiotics. I can honestly say that I'm feeling better already.

I am glad to say that I have my Christmas vacation all ready! I am off to humid Vietnam and found this tour online that is called "Easy Beach Break". I will tour the country, flights included, and see beaches, pagodas, and whatnot. It sounds wonderful! At least it's something to, finally, look forward to! I can't hardly wait!

I am going to have to initially apologize for the lack of photos. We supposedly have this new internet connection that is really fast, but every time I try to upload anything, the server times out. I will do it as soon as I can, as I know you'd appreciate the pics! Grr! It keeps saying that the server has been interrupted.

We recently had our October break. I stayed around the house mostly, but one of the other teachers, Jaya, was sweet enough to invite a few of us who were around for lunch at her place to commemorate another teacher's leaving. While the four of us were sitting around eating her delicious Indian food, we passed around the idea of heading to the countryside for a few days. I said, "Why not? I haven't been where we're talking about going and I'm not doing anything else." So, for the Thursday, Friday and Saturday we headed off to Hustai National Park and Kharkhorum, the old capital city during Chingis Khan's time. One thing I learned is that Chingis and Ghengis were two different people. Ghengis is Chingis' grandson.

We headed off early Thursday morning. We were not aware that there was to be any additions to our party, but learned then that two more travelers would be joining us. They turned out to be Leona and Maria. Leona was a Kiwi who was half Samoan and not only an Amazonian, but also an incredible beauty. Maria was from Finland and 66 years old. She had decided that she would travel for 3 months of every year and chose Mongolia, Russia and China for this year's destination. You gotta give her props! I began to grow concerned for her health, bumping around in the van and sleeping in the ger, but she was certainly a trooper!

First day we were in Hustai where we saw the famous Przewalski horses, known as tahki to the Mongolians. They are the last of the really wild horses in the world. They originated in Mongolia and were exported to various places. Unfortunately they died out in Mongolia and a Polish man, named of course Przewalski, took a great interest in this and ensured their return to this country. Now they live in a protected park and are doing well. I also learned that they have 2 more chromosomes than regular horses. I'm not really sure what that means, but it's a proud fact here. They have 66 chromosomes compared to regular horse's 64. We spent the day trying to wrap our heads around that.

After this visit we headed to the ger camp. There was a bit of confusion, as the couple the tour company usually stays with had moved from their summer palace to the winter one. They have three ger camps they use throughout the year. They were such a cute and energetic couple. One would never have guessed their ages! He was 72 and she was 66. You could most definitely see the beauty in the wife's face and he, whom I've deemed "The Dude", was such a character. One of the teachers I traveled with was bald. The Dude was so drawn to him for it! Even though we really could not communicate, we laughed together. He would stop by every once in a while to show us some gadget he had or to rub Richard's head. It was very cute and lively.

After our night there we headed out fairly early the next day to see Kharkhorum. There was a museum there and many temples. Luckily, our guide, Ankha, was a Mongolian History major at University and could tell us many interesting facts and folklore. There was a temple there dedicated to the Dalai Llama and three to Buddah, one for each stage of his life. I did learn that Dalai in Mongolian translates to ocean because the Dalai Llama was said to have such great knowledge that it was as big as an ocean. Seeing as how I have a student in my class named Dalai, I stowed this bit of information and told the class on Monday when I returned. They actually seemed proud of me!

After the old capital we headed to see the penis rock, pointed toward vagina mountain. We were so geared up to see this penis rock! When we got there it was much smaller than we had expected, maybe about 2 feet total. Something that is interesting about it is it was erected to remind the monks not to fraternize with the local women. One was caught many, many years back and as a result, he was castrated. After, this the rock was erected pointed at this mountain that was said to frenzy the supposedly chaste monks. Well, the vagina looked like just a mountain with some grooves in it. I didn't see it.

We stopped off at a ger camp for lunch and were approached by a musician who offered to perform for us. We refused his initial offer of a 45 minute concert for a 20 to 25 minute one. He played all the traditional instruments and even did some throat singing for us! It is the kind of sound that you would get from an electronic voice box, but naturally. It was strange and fascinating to hear. He was a very jovial and talented man and I'm glad for the opportunity to have seen him perform.

It was pretty cold this day, but I was dressed warmly and did not mind. We then traveled to some sand dunes. I enjoyed the fact that my new camera made me unconcerned of running out of space on my memory stick. I could just take pictures at will! How freeing! We did not have much time at the sand dune (not nearly as large as the ones I visited in the Gobi last year!) but appreciated the chance to get out of the van. I took many pictures but began to worry about sand getting in my camera due to the wind. I tried to capture the sand being blown, but the photos did not turn out as I'd hoped. I still need to mess around with the settings.

It was threatening to get dark as we headed back, but we still had some camel riding ahead of us! Jaya and Maria declined, but Richard, Leona and I went. I left on a camel and returned on a horse. It was not a huge ride, but I have to say, I can't understand why people are afraid of camels. They are a wild animal, but just so ...what's the right word? Lackadaisical isn't right and neither is resigned. They just seem calm and go with the flow. Horses, now they're a different story! Initially all the lead animals seemed annoyed and did not want to cooperate, but the owners took charge and they relented. We had learned that earlier some other tourists had taken them out and perhaps they felt their day should be done. After all, I had woken then up early that morning to take their picture! I was kind of astonished to see the camels sleeping laying on their side. I had expected them to stay in a sort of legs-tucked-underneath-them kind of position, but hey, we all need to stretch our legs!

Not everyone slept as well that night as it was much colder that night. I was okay, but Jaya got up as soon as they came in to relight the fire to get warm. She's sick now and missed school today. Sleeping in a ger is basically like sleeping in a tent, but it's more sturdy. So, the cold seeps in during the night. Initially you are too hot, but later it gets very cold. Even though you are sheltered from the wind, you have not felt the Mongolian cold. It gets in everywhere.

Our last day we basically spent driving. We stopped off at the same place we had lunch in on our first day in. I have discovered I love the Mongolian milk tea. It's milky (strange for me to like this!) plus salty. It's not for everyone, but it has a taste I enjoy. The one thing I don't like is that fermented milk they call something like "arich". It just takes like sour cream or any thick dairy product gone bad. They love it!

School is back and things are going good. I'm really beginning to enjoy my class and all they have to offer me. They really are a good bunch of kids. I think that now that the initial adjustment period is over, they have really, truly, settled into the (okay, my) routine. They actually get upset if I don't do the word of the day with them! They will perpetually ask me, "Miss M, what's the word of the day?" Until I can find a space in which to do it in, they keep asking. We have a set morning ritual that brings us into our work day. Every morning I ask, "What do we do every morning class?" They readily respond with, "Take temperature, check homework, change the calendar, take attendance!" I have to admit, it's a pretty wonderful feeling having a chorus of voices respond to your prompts. I am heard, and they do listen!

Now that the Hallowe'en festivities are done and I'm on break you would think things would calm down. Not so! I met Sue for some Korean food and then we went for massages. My male masseuse thought it would be a good opportunity to take our relationship to the next level and tried to have sex with me. It was all so strange. I was very relaxed and enjoying my 90 minute massage when he tried to climb on top of me and asked, "Okay?" I said, "No, no, no." He got down and just continued the massage. It was like something out of a Salvidor Dali painting, just so surreal. I tipped him afterward, just to show there were no hard feelings and that I wasn't upset. I have a feeling this is normal practice here, as I've heard similar stories about another establishment. Just, it was surprising. I've seen this man many, many times before, and nothing of this nature was ever implied. I guess it's still up for debate. Do I return to show there's no problem, no hard feelings? Or do I just never go back. The dilemma is due to the fact that they are the best massages in town! Plus, it's not like he was aggressive or disrespectful of my wishes. I'll have to think some more on this situation.

Now that I am on vacation I finally went for my facial. It was amazing! I got some waxing done and a facial all for about $36 AM. Can't beat those prices!

I have been invited to go to the old capital of Mongolia this week for a day trip. I am very interested in seeing it and will post pictures as soon as I have them. I have no idea what to expect, but it's always nice to get out of the city, even if just for a day.

As I have said, there was recently an election here. There will be another one soon, so hopefully no riots will break out! I drove past the scene of the building that was set on fire last time where the 5 people died. It was disheartening. The building is still standing but nothing has been done in the way of repairs. I have to admit, I think it's a little sad that a country who has this democratic process has to stop the sale of liquor to ensure a safe voting process. Am I the only who who this strikes as strange? I've begun to view Mongolia as that of a teenager, acting up, dressing up, and thinking they know everything. I remember that, and I received so much patience from my mother, that I can't help but be optimistic and give her my patience too. But then what do I know? I can't even be trusted to buy toilet paper!

I have warmly welcomed winter! This morning it was minus 8 degrees Celsius and it only got up to minus 4 today. It happened so quickly! We had a major snow fall here (meaning a couple of centimeters) and it would seem the Mongolians were taken by surprise. The buses couldn't get to school and they fashioned a shovel out of a two-by-four and a piece of plywood. So funny, things that are so normal to us wreak complete havoc somewhere else. Of course, I have been assailed with questions in regard to ice skating. I have no idea when or even who makes the rink, but because it was cold for one day the kids assumed the rink was already ready! I tried to explain that we would be skating on lumpy, frozen grass and these things take time, but they were crestfallen none the less.

Mongolia recently had an election. As a pre-emptive strike against riots recurring, they just stopped the sale of alcohol. Initially on that weekend they served beer only, but later nothing at all. I've been warned that there will another election soon as there was not a majority winner.

Things have been busy here, what with paperwork, school, and everything else. Tomorrow, luckily, is the last day before the week break. The kids are VERY excited about dressing up in their costumes! There will be a contest as well. Plus, we got to decorate our door. It's funny, because the students keep asking me, "Hallowe'en is Friday, yes?" I have to keep telling them that it's only Hallowe'en for the school, that because of the break we will miss it. They still seem a bit confused. I have no idea what to wear. I usually abstain from it, but feel it will show a lack of school spirit if I don't. I have nothing to wear!

The class has really settled in and are now very used to the routine I have in place. They actually get upset if I have to change it!

For the break I will just simply relax. Read, sleep, get a facial, and drink beer at will. Plus, I will get the chance to go to Millie's for those amazing refried bean burritos I love so much. I only now get to go on Saturdays as they are closed on Sundays. Mmmmmm, refried beans........ They are the one item you cannot find anywhere here. I love them so! Okay, well not the one item, but it's just that I found them one time in this one store, the Good Price, and I check every week to see if they have them back in again. I am always disappointed.

Our internet has been hit and miss for a while, so tonight it's not allowing me to upload much of anything. Better luck next time!

Okay, I know I haven't updated in a while. Sorry for those of you who read this regularly! It has been a busy month! Phew!

My class is beginning to settle into the routine and things are going well. We were featured in the first newsletter home due to our science experiment on seed germination. The class was astounded at the way the lentil seeds grew so fast in only a cup and wet paper towel. Plus, we got to have a field trip on the school grounds to look at seeds and the local plants. It was a lovely day and nice to get outside for one period.

We had our curriculum night and I had 17 parents show up. This must be some sort of a record, my classroom was packed. It's always funny to see the parents sitting in the tiny, grade 3 desks. They seem like active people. I always enjoy to see parents taking a role in their child's education. This means I get the support at home I need. We actually had to be shooed out of the class at the end, some parents wanted to keep talking!

I have a new first in my teaching career. One of my students was suspended for a day. I'm sad it had to happen, but they needed a wake up call as to following the school rules. Hopefully, it won't need to happen again.

We had our first spirit day of the school year, and the goal was to make the students look like a box of crayons. My class was orange. Unfortunately, we did not win this month, but the students seem eager to try again next month. I wish us the best of luck!

Sorry the photos are kind of fuzzy, but they were taken with my old camera. I got a new one from Olaf for my birthday! It's beautiful! I will write more soon, I promise!

This is my new class! We are 20 and there are 3 students named Khulan. It is such a popular name, for both boys and girls. I am grateful for the two preparation periods a day I get and for the fact I do not teach art, gym or computers this year. Not that I minded, but it takes some of the pressure off. I do have new classes I have introduced this year, such as Health and vocabulary building, which has increased the time required for prep. Needless to say, I have been exhausted this week! I keep trying very hard not to fall asleep on the couch in the early evening, but have failed a few times! After my first day back I did suffer from insomnia though. For some unknown reason, my alarm clock had been set to 11:00 and that woke me up. Then I re-awoke at 3am and could not get back to sleep until after 5!

The weather here has been unpredictable this year. Last year when I arrived it rained one day. The rest of the time it was clear, blue skies and dry. This year it has been overcast and rainy most days. I have never seen it so green here! I take the temperature twice a day and the first day we started out at 13 degrees but by the afternoon it had shot up to over 35! The rest of the days this week it has hovered around 14 degrees.

The first day of school was marked by the opening ceremony, and the students gave me tons of roses! One even gave me a plant for my desk, making me very happy! I also got some chocolates.

During the week preparing for the new school year Doogie and I worked closely together. I am extremely happy and grateful she is back! Her baby is only about 3 months old, but stays with her husband during the day. Doogie says she is glad to be back at work, and I am certainly glad to have her! She was such a tremendous help to me last year and I couldn't imaging working without her.

My students so far are very sweet. Their language skills are varied, but that is to be expected. I have incorporated many new areas in the Language Arts part of my curriculum to, hopefully, compensate for this and will see their abilities grow. I made sure my new students knew the three major things about me; I'm in love with Batman, I need my coffee, and that I work very hard for them and expect the same from them. I also decided to inform them that no, I was not married, and that I was in no rush to be. So, they did not need to ask every man who comes into my classroom if he's married, and if not, does he want to marry me. It's sweet to have them so concerned for my well being, but I do not need a matchmaker! Or, an entire class of ones! They laughed at that.

I have decided this year to read aloud to them "Journey to the Centre of the Earth." So far it is just the set up to the exciting adventure and I have to keep telling them, trust me, it's going to get good! I'm hoping the new movie will come here on video soon so I can show them. The promise of a movie is always motivating! Well, so is the threat of stopping the reading and doing grammar instead;)

My old students have already been asking me to come back next year and teach them grade 5! They love to hug me and one even says, "My hands are stuck! I can't let you go!" It is very nice to have been so missed! They also keep asking me if I had my coffee today yet!

I was out shopping last weekend and bought some seeds for chives and I think, basil. I'm trying my luck out on an indoor herb garden, but I'm not holding my breath. I tried last year to grow lemon basil and it did not go well. I did miss some of the foods here (gasp, shock!). I missed the fake soy meat and the seasoned sushi wraps. MMmmm, they are a tasty snack, but get green stuff stuck in my teeth.

I keep getting asked by parents how their child is doing so far in school. It's only been three days and it is tough to answer that question when I'm still learning everyone's name! I'm hoping this year will go as well as last, but it is too soon to tell. So far I've been covering review and introducing new ideas very slowly. I keep calling people for reassurance, and they have helped me immensely. Especially being able to talk to my mom! Mom's are the best!