Khovd
Almost two days of teaching under my belt, and except for not having internet yet (clearly this has been fixed) and the not-so-minor issue of our visas (passports have been sent to Ulaanbaatar) most of what can be sorted out has been sorted out. We have set up a kitchen, navigated the big market on our own, have two keys to our apartment (after a long morning in the rain,) and Judy has a phone. We should expect to see hot water later in the month, are used to seeing cows show up around any corner, and have mastered the barest rudiments of Mongolian greetings, though it seems most Mongolians are stumped by my attempts to say "Good morning." After this morning's class, one student passed me a note with the Mongolian word for "bye" written on it, just in case I wanted to use it at the end of class.
For my part, I am wrestling with names like Nandirtsetseg, Erdenebayr, and Bulgantamir. I had explained earlier in the week that although they may be just starting to learn English, their English is far better than my Mongolian. They did not know the word "patience" so I just asked them to be nice to me.
We have had two invitations to Mongol-ish night at a local restaurant. Mongolians who speak English get together with native English speakers for conversation and practice. I also had an invitation to the gym for teacher's night on Thursdays.
Rain yesterday has turned the mountains to the south white. For two days now one of the older teachers has asked me, "Are you cold yet?"
