Steppe 8: Turkish Breakfast Delight and Professor Nininger

Well the end of last weekend was quite satisfying. On Monday, Women's Day, Brigitte and I took a nice walk up on one of the little hills that divides Old and New Darkhan and took some pictures. I also had another session with Tsengel. Dinner, a movie... Good stuff.

The week of teaching went by well. Although every week presents new reminders of the very different kind of student you find here in Mongolia. It's really trying to have our Western ideas of teaching and expectations of the students and be teaching here in Mongolia. I had 9th graders this week say, "Teacher, sing songs, play games! Reading is boring!" I could've slapped the lot of them! Of course I didn't, but what kind of 14-15 year old in America would ever do that!? I told them straight up that they weren't going to improve their English playing games and singing songs at their age, and no matter if they wanted to or not, that's what I came here to do: improve their English. They'll probably all fail the test I've written for them this week, but I have done my job. After a certain point, you can't teach the old-dog-9th-grade-student a new trick of how to study, especially when there is a serious language and culture gap. Also when those standards aren't enforced in other classes. I suppose it is to be expected in an education system where medals are a dime a dozen (hahah almost literally) but grading and evaluation based on actual mastery is rare if present at all... good grades are more for the appearance of accomplishment than reflective of the actual fact of its presence.

The interesting paradox is that there is one or perhaps a couple students in every class section that actually know how to be a good student. When Mongolians have ambition they know how to achieve, and boy do they achieve! Many are studying and living and working abroad. But it seems only with ambition do they learn the kind of respect that we, especially in America and Europe, expect. Of course, I think this is only about a partly correct observation from my culture to theirs, because I don't understand their language. Nevertheless, as an American teacher in a primary school, the way the students behave is extremely frusterating.

Yet here I am, writing tests for the end of the first term! It has indeed been a learning experience. Despite their pleas, I will continue to try to actually teach them English next term, but I will of course attempt some new approaches.

The end of this past week, despite the disappointment of students, was really nice. Thursday night, I got a text from one of the girls, named Hilal, who I met at the Turkish Food Festival last Sunday. She invited me and anyone I wanted to bring to a Turkish Breakfast early Friday morning with her and her students. Brigitte was the only one who could (hahah or wanted to wake up that early, *cough* Steven *cough*) join me, so we set off at 7am on Friday morning for the Turkish School. We were seated at a table in their dining hall and waited for the food to be served with two Mongolian students. They were 11th grade girls, enthusiastic about their English, and apparently entrenched in the stress of Mongolian pre-university/graduation exams. Hilal is a dormitory supervisor, like our friend Boorak, except of course in the femal dorm. By the way, Steven didn't just not want to wake up early, he was also being sensitive to the fact that since the school is Turkish, and thus run with Muslim principles and practices (all the food is prepared according to Muslim law.) As a Muslim himself, he knew the girls and boys are usually quite separate. So the breakfast was an little dorm activity that Hilal had organized. Our EXTREMELY delicious breakfast was prepared for us by the students, and then we ate together, and they had an opportunity to practice their English. The two girls we spoke with at first were absolutely lovely and quite bold in their speaking, even making really good jokes in English! Takes guts to make such jokes in a foreign language! They served us bread, crepes, jam, fresh butter, a milk and sugar mix, a nutella-cream mix, some sauteed peppers, home fries, and a "very Turkish" dish with peppers and I think eggs. We drank tea. The girls finally ran off to their class, then Hilal stayed and talked with us for a little longer before heading back to attend to her duties. She's a really lovely person, full of a lot of energy, practically running everywhere. She grew up in Turkey and this is her 2nd year in Mongolia. She told us her first year she was supervising 10th graders, who were quite easy, which was fortunate since she was learning Mongolian and transitioning to living there. This year, though, she has 11th graders, who are constantly encountering drama in their personal lives, and their education which is focused on these final tests. Brigitte and I are hoping to host a reciprocal breakfast in Swiss-American style sometime in the next few weeks...

Meanwhile, I have a new job or two... I will now be teaching 8 hours a week at Darkhan University. Monday I have 2 evening classes, each 2 hours long, one for first year students and one for second year students. Tuesday I the same, except both are for second year students. It's funny to think that at a University, I am paid less than $4 per hour! But what it makes in Tugrik is a welcome addition to my other salary.

Also, I have acquired a new piano student, who has been in intensive, but not individualized music classes. He will have lessons on Wednesday and Friday, each 1 hour long! He is quite able to find his way around the keyboard, and can play the primary theme of Fur Elise by heart. We'll work on reading music and technique. It's quite nice, because of my 4 piano students, they have about 3 different levels between them, which makes the lessons more interesting. They are also more interesting because it's much easier to teach music than English for me. I've had more experience, but also I guess it just comes more naturally. Plus any change is welcome, in the sense of variety and the sense of cash. ;) Plus the students who are taking piano are quite dedicated and focused. 3 of them I know are children of teachers, and the newest, my only boy, is a 3rd grader whose English is better than the 11th graders (Apparently he studied at an American school in UB.) Two of my students are preparing for a competition in April.

So this weekend is rather full, with writing tests and preparing for the end of school, as well as writing syllabi for the university students, and finally, getting ready to embark on my first tour of Mongolia! On Friday our two week spring vacation begins, and we will be taking an approximately 12 day tour of the Gobi Dessert and some of Central, and a little Western Mongolia! Mark is going to be our tour guide according to plan thus far, although we haven't signed a contract with our driver yet, so we may yet have to use a tour company. If we do have this driver, it will be great because he has over 20 years of driving experience. It's a bit of a risk taking this route, but will hopefully save money, and add a personal flavor to have our Mongolian friend giving the tour. Still, this trip will be kinda costly, so I'm hoping I'll have enough with all my extra working hours to still travel a little in June. Either way, this trip will certainly be worth it.

Meanwhile, that'll mean 2 weeks of no internet, so I've got to get calls in to home before and make sure people don't panic when I'm web-dead for 2 weeks. :-P Jose is home with his Grandmother in Puerto Rico for spring break, so it may be we go for 3 weeks without talking... first time since we met over a year ago! ;) So it'll be an adventure on a lot of levels LOL.

On Friday, as I was running around with tutoring and piano lessons and getting books from the University Library, I misplaced my amazing gloves that Nancy got me for Christmas (and which always get lots of complements, by the way, Nance.) I started to panic and get really sad, certain I had lost them. I double checked where I had been at the university, then returned to a shop where I had bought some juice and a snack for my busy afternoon. Since apparently the concept of "Lost and Found" is nonexistent here (according to several accounts, after people found keys and such important things) I assumed if I had lost my gloves, they were gone. But when I got to the shop, I mimed "glove" haha and the cashier produced my gloves immediately! I was very very happy.

Well I guess that's it for now. Many things to do, first dinner.