Exotic lemons and bananas coming to a store near you...

The seminar is over! I'm definitely relieved. A lot of work went into it. Work goes into things that most people wouldn't even take into consideration. What I mean by this is...simple things like printing, getting a class for the seminar, and a projector can turn into complicated feats. Printers don't have ink, printers don't work with certain computers....classes could always turn out to be locked when you need them and the only person with a key is nowhere to be found...and projectors can be in the possession of governors or in another locked room. I always stress out more than necessary, and Mongolia doesn't exactly ease that. Even though I had prepared and planned everything I still had worries of locked doors and missing projectors up until it finally started. BUT it turned out really well! We had a projector by 10:30 ( the seminar was supposed to start at 10) and the teachers really enjoyed it and seemed to benefit from it also. Four other volunteers and I went over pronunciation, teaching methods and error correction techniques with the teachers of all 3 schools in Kharkhorin. The goal of it was to move teachers towards speaking more English in class and using techniques that can help their students learn English more effectively. I definitely hope to put more seminars together in the future.

After the seminar, the other volunteers and I hung out together at my sitemate Dwan's ger. PCV group gatherings always seem to revolve around FOOD! I think that we talk about food about 50% of the time we are together. Since we don't have much for entertainment we often get together and cook elaborate meals together...and talk about food. haha. Food plagues our minds! This past week I found bananas and lemons at the local store and I freaked out! Thank goodness for summertime and tourists because they bring amazingly exotic things into town. I really feel like I will get teary-eyed at a grocery store in America. All of those fruit and vegetable options! And at the tip of your fingertips! Only a month until I go to America for a bit! As much as I'm excited to see my family and friends, I'm almost as excited to eat, say a...mango or say...fresh, crispy asparagus....Mmmmmmmmmm. I'll stop but you should all know I could go on for pages and pages.

It is the last month of school,11th grade graduation is next week and the main thought I have is, "How is it May all of the sudden?!" During the first six months, I'd say that time really crawled by. Each month I would say to myself, "It has been two months. Ok now it has been three. Wow. Just keep going...it will be month four soon" Luckily, time goes by much faster now! Before, I couldn't even imagine staying three years and now I can see it as a possibility. I mean not a big one! But now at least it seems like it could be one to begin with. Hmmm...