My Mongolian Birthday

Wednesday was my 23^rd birthday and it was a very interesting day willed with learning and enjoyment. What I mean by filled with learning is I learned what it is like to have a birthday in Mongolia. I learned about how people shake your hand when it is your birthday. It is a sign that you are their friend and they want to congratulate you on a happy day and life. In the video I talk about the treats I was given. Also in the video is how the students and teachers liked my brownies I made and how they sang happy birthday to me. It was very nice to be treated so well.

I realized that initially I felt kind of lonely and out of place because I was not in the US celebrating with my loved ones. However, I was so encouraged by the way I was blessed by how I was treated at my school and later after school. I was reminded that wherever we are we can call home. I can call any place home, because all those places are temporary homes to my true home that I will have after death. I was reminded through that day and this week that I have been forgiven of much and I am loved more than I can ever imagine. I thank the Father for his love and grace poured out on me. I am glad I can be here and share with people here the love that was poured out on me.

The idea of love and how the Father and the Son gave up so much for me and the world was good to remember this week. I was still also encouraged by the American teachers here in UB. Wednesday night I went to the Block’s and was encouraged by the fellowship I had with them and was song to again and I got 23 candles on my cake again. I felt very blessed to have people care so much for me. I then played a card game where I helped the game end, because I got the most points. However, do not tell anyone, but having the most points does not mean you win. It was my birthday so of course I won. Right!?

The next day I went to the juice factory with my students and some teachers. It was fun and I will probably post something small later this week about the juice factory. Also starting Thursday is the start of spring break here so we have two weeks off. However I am supposed to go into school for a few hours every day.

Thursday night I was able to spend more time enjoying some good food and good fellowship with some other American teachers.

Friday was also wonderful. I got a package from home filled with goodies. My fiancé, who is wonderfully kind and thoughtful, sent me the package. I was completely blown away by the time that she put into it. There were so many cool thoughtful things in there to brighten my day and to encourage me. I knew that some back some really loved me too. It helped to make my birthday week very special and I felt very blessed to be able to celebrate in Mongolia.

Also I got my camera fixed so expect to see photos again in my blogs. If you have questions for me about Mongolia please let me know, because I would love to answer them and maybe that can be a theme of one of my blogs. Also, I know where a Mongolian Grill is here in UB, I just have not gone to it.

French Toast

Untitled from Todd Hansen on Vimeo.

This video was the start of me making French toast and syrup. It was a fun experience to make so much French toast. I think that I probably should have not eaten it all as well. Next time I will freeze some of it and have it for breakfast later in the week. Maybe another reason for eating it all was because it was so good. Eric said so and I liked it too. Now the syrup was interesting. It smelled like maple syrup yet had a hint of black licorice flavor. Next time I may change how much I make or use it as a way to get guests to come over.

Speaking of guests Eric and I are starting to make good connections with nationals. Both of us are getting to know our teachers and spending time with them. Eric and I had one teacher over this weekend. We watched a movie and talked with the teacher. I plan to have a teacher from my school come over for dinner this week. It has been interesting and a blessing to be included in the culture and feel like we are included in life in UB.

One story about being a part of the culture is from last week when I got to participate in celebrating women’s day for the female teachers at my school. It was a great blessing and tons of fun. I got to sing a song to the women with the other male teachers. Mind you I knew none of the words or was I singing the actual words. I was pretty much singing the notes and singing some of the words. We also sang the song to the female students after the male students sang a song and did some modern dancing. Some of the male students were good singers and dancers. Also the female teacher received pizza, greeting cards, and roses during the day. For this holiday people get off of work, because it is a National holiday. Women’s Day is very similar to mother’s day in America. After school the male teachers and I went to a karaoke place and we spent some of the night there. It was very interesting spending time with the teachers outside of school. Many were much more relaxed and it was fun to talk with them on the way there. While there I heard many traditional Mongolian songs. However, there was no throat singing. I got to sing two English songs both I barely knew. One they picked for me to sing and the other I picked because it sounded familiar but it wasn’t. Despite not knowing songs it was good night and the next day I had off of school.

Some of you know that my Achilles has been hurting. I want to let you know that it has been getting better. I will probably have to continue to be careful for the rest of my time here since I know that this injury can take a while to heal. I will continue keep you all up to date on the condition of it.

Otherwise I hope you enjoyed the video and for some of you enjoyed hearing my randomness. I did that recording with one try and with no notes to help so that was why it was a little interesting or funny. If you liked let me know and I will try to continue doing video blogs.

Now You Know

The phrase “Now you know,” is an interesting phrase. It requires that you did not know something before and then you learned about something new. These past 2 weeks I have learned so much. I have learned through fun things and some frustrating events.

Since the last time I wrote on my blog I had off for the Mongolian New Year or Tsagaan Sar (meaning White Moon). During that week off I had the privilege to get to know so much more about the Mongolian culture. I also got the chance to learn more about the city I am in and where to get food and supplies. This picture below is from when I was traveling around the city.

A big thing that I learned from the homes that I visited in Mongolia is that hospitality is very important. It reminds me of the many times that my family and I were welcomed into the homes of our friends in Trinidad. In both UB and Trinidad when you entered some one’s home they wanted to make you feel welcome there was greetings and then you sit and eat till full. However here in UB the greeting is much different and very interesting how it connects to their culture. Being younger than most people that I visited I had to raise my palms to the sky and support their arms on top of my form arms. I also had to greet the eldest man first then the eldest woman. I would then give some money but the money had to be crisp bill. Also in the greeting I would bring my head to the side of their head and then to the other side. This is similar to a European greeting, however sometimes they would sniff the side of your face. Yes, sniff. It was good though before I went I made sure to shower.

After the greeting was the eating. We ate so much food you felt like popping, kind of like thanksgiving. The food we ate was a few different dishes some salads, desert bread, lamb meat, and buuz. Buuz are like steamed dumpling filled with meat and onions. The picture to the left is the first home we went to visit. It was a joy to meet this Mongolian family. Also this picture shows some of the different foods.
I ate 25 buuz in one day. It was a lot. When you finish eating the host gives you a gift. I felt very blessed to be able to experience all of this. It was a little overwhelming at times to try to soak in all that was happening but I learned so much. I learned about how the Mongolian people are so hospitable. I learned how deep their culture was in this holiday. I learned some of the meaning why they did some of the rituals or things for the holiday. One interesting thing I share with you all is that the reason you eat so much is that if you are full during the holiday you will be full for the whole year.

I visited three homes and one of them was a Ger. It was exciting to be in the Ger and see how it was designed and the culture behind it too. I hope to continue to learn more about Mongolian culture while here in Mongolia.

I also had my second week of school. It was very interesting and fun to teach. I love teaching and getting to know my fellow teachers and students. This past week was a little of a challenge though because I was hard to understand my role at the school and to plan when my schedule was continually changing. I was able to do pretty good and my classes with students and teachers were fun and helped me know my role better by the end of the week. On Monday, the day after the holiday all the teachers and most of the students wore traditional clothes to school. I got the chance to wear some clothes that belonged to one of the teacher’s son. What I wore was called a Del. It includes a robe like thing that can be a solid color or have designs in it. Then there is a belt or long cloth that is used as belt to hold the Del together. Now mine was very blue and well designed. Usually you are also supposed to wear traditional boots, but I did not have those. I did get to wear a traditional hat. The teachers and students said my Del was very nice. I was so honored to be able to participate. Also the teachers helped me figure out how to put the cloth belt on. I did it wrong the first time I tried. The Del I wore is similar to a woman’s Del, but theirs I am unsure how to describe. Below are two pictures of the Del I wore and the hat I also wore.

I also want to share about another interesting event that occurred on Saturday, the 3rd. When I went to the supermarket I had finished by juice and put my wallet in my front coat pocket. I started to walk down the aisle to the next stand where Kevin was buying sugar when something happened. I was walking in between a group of teenagers and I thought I had plenty of room to walk, but then they mad the walk way very crowded. One was pushing me from the back and another was in my way in the front of me. I was very confused at that moment. Then one teenager walked in front of me and said “Excuse me,” in English and then got out of my way. I was through. So I walked up to Kevin and while waiting for him looked down at my coat and noticed my front coat pocket was open. I reached inside my jacket pocket and there was no wallet. I was now in a state of shock of how these teenagers had done such a good job to take my wallet without me feeling it or hearing them open my zipper. I also was worried about what was in my wallet and how I was going to have to cancel my cards in there and get a new registration card. All of that would have been a big hassle and a lot of money to replace. Plus all the money I had in my wallet. I was not mad I was just kind thinking of what I had to do next to fix the problem. I had peace that seemed unexplainable. Well Kevin and I had just finished shopping when this happened so we decided to leave the market. I did look around to see if I could see the teenagers, but they had disappeared. Kevin reminded me it was only money. I agreed with him and also told about my cards. Now we were half way home and we had just turned a corner when over our heads something was thrown and hit a metal fence making “thwap” sound. Kevin said hey is that your wallet. I walked over to the fence and saw the wallet. It was mine. I thought hey at least I do not have to by a new wallet when I saw it but then I opened it and all my cards and important stuff were in there, but no money. I was so happy. Kevin and I shouted thank you to whoever threw and maybe took it. After Kevin and I yelled thanks we kept walking home and just laughed about how the Father provided.

Now I know that I cannot keep my wallet in my front pocket nor should I keep much money on me. I also should separate my money and cards. I need to only bring what I need.

These past two weeks I have learned much through exciting and stressful events. I would have it no other way though. Through it all I have had joy that I can explain by my own doing, but I “Now Know,” or you could say I am reminded where Real Joy comes from. “Now You Know” more about my trip and Mongolian Culture. “Now, You Know” more than just American Mongolian Grill.

A Glimpse of the Grill

I have now been in Mongolia a full week. I have had plenty of experiences this week. During this week I have gotten a glimpse of Mongolian culture, my school, where to get groceries, and more about my job. This glimpse is been very exciting as I have been learning so much, but then also challenging. It has been challenging, because I want to remember everything I have learned and that glimpse showed me how much I still need to know.

One thing I know how to do is get to my school and to the country office. I also know how to get to a few stores for groceries now. I like walking to school, but some people may think I am crazy for doing so. I usually bundle up by wearing my down jacket, a winter hat, scarf, boots, mittens, and a pair of athletic pants over what I am wearing for the day. I stay pretty warm while walking. My legs get a little cold while my hands and upper body sometimes get too warm. The weather this week was about -23°F to 8°F on average. When I walk in the morning it is usually around -20°F or a little warmer. That may seem cold, but it does not bother me too much. Also my walk takes me across much of the city. It is actually really fun to look around and notice all the different building and art on the buildings. I notice something new every day. The two pictures below are examples of art on buildings.

My walk is 50 minutes long. During that time I lift up the day and think through my lessons. On part of my walk home on the first day I walked with one of my students. It was a great opportunity to talk with my student and get to know him. He also told me about the school I was teaching at and how the students at the school have come from many different schools in the city. It was encouraging to talk with him and get to know a student better. Not only did the student and I get to know one another, but the student got to practice his English. I hope I will get to have more conversation like that with my students. Another thing I know is that when I go to school I kind of turn into an icicle. I am not cold, but the condensation from my breath makes me look like this picture.

My school is a laboratory school or in America you may think of it as a charter school. The name of the school is above. It has 40 students in it and they are all in the 9^th grade. Almost all of them speak some English. There are few students who have very good English. This week I taught Wednesday through Saturday. I taught on Saturday because next week is a holiday where teachers and students spend much of their time with family and they wanted off all week. I am teaching 6 hours of English to 2 different groups of students each week. I am teaching 3 hours of Chemistry and 3 hours of Biology. I then help in a math class and physics class. I will also be teaching English to the teachers one night a week. I enjoyed teaching my students this week. I only taught English this week since the most of the teachers were at some training this week learning about the curriculum they use. It has also been fun to get to know my fellow teachers.

This week has been great to get a glimpse of Mongolia and all that I will be doing here. I am excited to get a fuller picture of Mongolia and I look forward to the many challenges and exciting things that will happen in the months to come. Funny note I have not found a Mongolian grill here yet.

“To the Beyond”

Today or the 28 hours of travel to get to Mongolia is now over. I made it. It was wonderful to see the Creation. It was so cool to see the lights in the city at the night, the mountains and snow in Asia. My travels went well without any troubles. I enjoyed meeting a few new people on the plane. I also enjoyed meeting my teammate Eric and other staff in UB. My spirits are high and I still feel like I am in the sky. I do feel a little dizzy, but I hope that goes away tomorrow.

Today was filled with joy and a little sadness. It was a little hard to say good bye to my fiancé and family. I will miss them all, but I know things will be a wonderful adventure. Here is a cute picture of Grace while we were packing. She thought she could maybe come with “Uncle.”

My apartment is very good. I will tell you more about it later. So wait until the next post you will see a video I created of my apartment.