Work

The first week or rather two weeks were a series of confusing mini-events. On the first day of school there was a big gathering in front of the school. Kids perfomed dancing and singing routines and new teachers were introduced. I was told that I would probably have to give a speech and maybe even sing, though I didn't have to do either. I was a bit disappointed because I wanted to show off the little bit of Mongolian that I knew. After this, I tried to make a schedule. Making a schedule has turned out to be one of the most difficult feats yet. I still don't have a set schedule. During my first weeks, I gave an entire class American names who would no longer use them because the class was indeed the Russian language class. I used the little boys' outhouse and had little boys walk past the open stalls laughing and yelling, "no, no, no!". I also waited and waited....and waited. I waited for those scheduled lesson plans to actually happen. I waited for doors to be unlocked to classes and resources that were needed. I waited for someone to explain what the heck was going on. And I would ask. To these questions, my counterpart once answered with a slightly annoyed tone, "Why do you always ask? Why do you want to know?" ha. This also happened to be during our school camping trip, after we had just left three inebriated teachers in the middle of the desert steppe as the sun was about to set.

School is a challenge. Right now, I feel exhausted from constantly trying to plan and then feeling like I'm not doing much because teachers often don't show up. Then, they would like me to teach a lesson we did not plan, on my own, from a ridiculous book that tries to teach Mongolian students who are intensely shy about speaking English American sign language. They can barely speak, yet a teacher asked me to help her plan a lesson on sign language. I, of course, objected and told her it was best if we focused on speaking first. Most English classes are taught in Mongolian. Students conjugate verbs and answer my English questions in Mongolian. My focus is definitely to increase the English speaking time of both teachers and students. Aside from the frustrations, some of the teachers I work with and most students are very eager to learn and speak better English. I just hope I learn the ropes of the system and culture better so that I can reach them. I definitely understand why Peace Corps service is two years. Change and growth takes time. Knowing this, I have to remain positive that I am working towards something, even if it is by taking baby steps.