It’s Green with Snow

It is turning green here.  Green grass is popping up in random places.  Some of the trees have buds on them, while others are starting to grow small leaves.  This came about in a weird way.  About 2 weeks ago, it snowed again.  Then it turned to rain and dust storms, and from that we got green.  It was not a ton of rain or snow, but enough to get things a little wet. 

The image of things turning green is a sign of new life and growth.  I have been in Mongolia now for 3 months.  I have learned a ton, experienced so much, seen amazing things happen, and I have grown to love the people here.  My students are great and I am connecting with my staff.  Although I was really discouraged at first by the communication barrier, it has turned into something that has kept me humble and reliant on the Father and others.  I am little bit more independent now, and some of the communication barriers I had with my teachers and students are getting less.  Today, I had a lesson with the teachers at my school and it was so fun.  I laughed so hard at their creativity and felt so excited to see them enjoying learning English.  They have been working hard.  I am so glad that my desk is in the middle of the teacher office.  I am in the right place for any teacher or staff to ask me questions.  What does that have to do with green?  Well my students and teachers are growing in their English skills and we are growing as friends.  It took some snow, rain, and dust storms to get me there, but His Plan is best, and he produces green grass. 

Here are some random pictures and a series of short videos.  One of the events that was really helpful in growing better relationships with my students was hiking to the mountain, and then playing games.  Part of the video and pictures relate to this day.  Also, during this trip I had plenty of fun and there was snow to have fun throwing.   I have always liked snow and thought of the picture of how each flake is unique.  I think of my time with my students and teachers like that.  Going hiking and playing in the snow relates to my idea of snow.  This opportunity was unique and I keep learn how special each of my students are.  They are made unique by the father.  I am so glad I get to witness that just like when I get to witness snow in the middle of April.  It is also a picture of how no matter how much good stuff we put on ourselves we still have dirt underneath.  The dirt comes out after the snow melts away.  We need something that truly cleans the dirt way not just covers it.

Snow & Hiking from Todd Hansen on Vimeo.

The art teacher acting cool with a few students. 

Snow ball and mitten

The physics teacher and myself

Technology teacher with a student

Some of the teachers and staff who came with us to the mountain.

We made it to the tree line and we calmed down enough to sit and take a photo.  Or maybe it was because they were tired from the walk to this point.  You be the judge.

We now start walking uphill. 

Looking back at where we came from.

There is one thing I want to let you all know.  Due to unseen costs I will be about 500 dollars short by the end of my trip.   If you want more information please email me and I can give you more details.

My hope for the rest of my trip is to continue working hard.  I hope to continue to build lasting relationships with people here.  As things get green I have to leave let spring turn into summer.  The green growth does not happen because of me, but I get witness it.  The summer will come to Mongolia soon.

PS I finally went to a Mongolian grill.  More details to come.  Also I am behind on posts so I may post another short one soon.

Mongolian Celebration

Mongolian Celebration from Todd Hansen on Vimeo.

This past week, was filled with different celebrations. It was exciting to be a part of them. I got the chance to see more Mongolian culture through the dancing, music, and throat singing that I showed in the video. Sorry that the sound quality is not very good. In person it was really interesting and very exciting to watch. Also at one of the celebrations our host was a famous Mongolian singer. He is part of a group called Voice Group. If you want to hear this group search “Voice of Mongolia” or “Voice Group.”

This week I got to wear my suit for the first time. Here is a photo of Eric, my roommate, and I before going to one celebration.

Last Friday, I also got to start teaching my teachers in short small group meetings. I had about 2-3 teachers at a time. We worked through different English phrases and new English words. It was fun to meet with my teachers. The meetings were more personal and I could actually hear the other teachers using the English I was teaching them.

The weather is warming up here in Mongolia. Now during the day it is usually in the 50’s, but at night it does get colder. I continue to enjoy myself here, but need to continue to work on learning the language a little bit at a time.

Another thing that I am learning and enjoy learning is the role of what it means to be husband that lives how the Father wants me to. Today had my first marriage counseling and it was very interesting. You might think how can you learn that by being in Mongolia. Well I have been studying and applying my knowledge as Maggie and I are planning our wedding. I do get practice with being understanding and loving here as I strive to foster my relationship with Maggie. My hope is that I continue to be filled with the love and grace of the Father.

Also a fun fact I am celebrating today is that Maggie and I have been dating for a year. This past year has been a blessing and a wonderful time. I am also very excited that in about 4 months I will be getting married to Maggie. I have been so blessed with a wonderful fiancé who will soon be my wife. I am more blessed than I can ever imagine. I celebrate in the Father’s provisions.

Also I had more Mongolian food during the celebrations, but I still need to go to a Mongolian grill.

Being a Tourist

Since the last time I made a post I have had a chance to do some touristy stuff. I have had two weeks of spring break. Now I have been back to school for 3 days and today is Monday. Now not all my spring break was fun and games. At first I was very disappointed with my spring break. I had to go into work for 2-4 hours a day to work or sometimes sit there and do nothing. However, I did get to do a few fun and exciting things during my break.

First, I got to go to the Zauk or Black Market. It is a legal market, but while Mongolia was a part of USSR it was kind of the only place where capitalism was. Enough of the history lesson. I went to the black market to look for a few things. I came back with a blue Mongolian Del, not the computer, but the traditional clothing. I also got two baseball hats so that when it gets warmer I still have something to cover my head. I also went to a store near the Black market and purchased a new pair of shoes. Those shoes have been very nice and I am glad to say my Achilles is not hurting any more.

Later that week I went to the same store I got the shoes at and purchased a black suit. I got the suit for $56. It is a two button black suit, which I intend to use for a celebration here and for my wedding. I promise to post a picture of me in it next post. I am pretty excited about the suit I have already gotten it hemmed to fit me and that only cost $4. So I kind of enjoyed going shopping you could say.

I also got to go to a Russian war monument with a friend here. That was really cool. I got to see almost the entire city from up there. We had to climb about 600 stairs, but that was alright. I was actually not too tired and I figure that is because on average I walk about 3 miles a day here. I got the chance to walk with my friend Matt and his son. It has been a blessing to connect with Matt and his family. Their son reminds me of my niece Grace. Here is video of the inside of the monument.

Zaisan Monument from Todd Hansen on Vimeo.

Here is a photo their son peeking out of the carrier. And another photo of the monument.

The following day after going to the Russian war monument I went to a city in the country side. I was so excited to be able to go out of the city and see the country side. We went to a town called Erdenet, which is about the third largest city in Mongolia. Now the journey was very long and we were in a mini bus for the whole trip. Now the drive there was about 6.5 hours. When we got there we went and visited a few places to see how this city compares to UB. It was still a modern city, but it had less traffic, less crowding, and less pollution. I felt like a tourist taking pictures and just being able to look at the beautiful country side. Mongolia is a very beautiful country. Right now things are still brown, but when everything turns green it will get even more beautiful. Here is a video of how it was like to travel in the mini bus.

Traveling the Country Side from Todd Hansen on Vimeo.

Let’s just say it was bumpy and on the way home we got a flat tire and it was very late when I got home. I also had to teach the next morning. My camera died on the way there but here is a photo of the countryside.

Now Saturday, we went to Terelj, which is like a ger resort camp. You can either rent a ger or stay in a small hotel. Now we only went there for a day but again the countryside was beautiful. A bunch of us American teachers went to the camp. We spent the day relaxing, playing games, eating, and hiking. I have a few pictures of the scenery and the fun we had. It was really a nice day and an encouraging day.

A panorama of part of the camp and mountains around it. I thought it was amazing looking.

The entrance to the camp and I thought I should be in the entrance so you know I went there.

Some using my leather-men to cut cake. It made me laugh to give my knife up because this reminded me of my dad and the many times he uses his knife for things. I guess I am still following in his foot steps.

Two pictures of when I was hiking and climbing some rocks. I enjoyed it very much.

In all the past few weeks I have had the chance to relax and work hard at school. Things are really exciting here. Teaching is a blast and my students are great. I am not counting down the days yet, because I want to just focus on every day being a blessing and a light to the students and people around me.

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.