Now, I’m more prepared when the power and water outages happen, but knowing that there are people in my Mongolian community that support me, makes doing my job even more fun!
As an English teacher, I teach classes and clubs, but I also spend a lot of time learning from others. In my clubs, we share scary stories from the U.S. and Mongolia and talk about our favorite TV shows. It’s a good way to help my students practice their English, and everyone (including me) gets to learn about new things.
At my school, I also take a Mongolian culture class with other foreign language teachers and international exchange students from America, China and the U.S. We learn how to sing Mongolian children’s songs, play dominoes based off of the 12 Chinese Zodiac animals and practice speaking Mongolian together. Since then, I’ve been able to play these games with other people, like when I go over to a friend’s house for dinner!
A lot of the best ways to meet people are by asking them about their lives and what they like to do. It can be hard at first, but by reaching out and showing that I’m interested in other people, I’ve found that people want to get to know me better too. Asking questions has helped me make stronger friendships in Mongolia. It’s a good way to make new friends wherever you are – even in your own school!
