A week or so ago, we headed to Bayan-Olgii for Eagle Festival. Thursday and Friday were used as ‘seminar’ days. Saturday, we we went about 30-45 minutes outside of the city. It was quite unfortunate that I had to be back in Khovd for site visits on Monday because it meant that I would not be able to go to the festival on Sunday. On Saturday, the two main events were a demonstration of the eagles and a timed horse race type competition (I’m not sure of the name.)
Since that time, not much has happened. The site visit was good, but I wonder how effective it was because my director, mangers, and 3 teachers were not present for the meeting. We mainly talked about how I can be more effective and productive in the 8 remaining months.
We had out first snow and it was absolutely gorgeous! My counterpart called me early in the morning to tell me that it had snowed. I had planned to stay in and watch newly downloaded movies and TV shows, but instead, I met up with three Russian volunteers and walked around the city and river. It was the first time that I had seen Khovd completely covered in Snow. Because of Khovd’s location, snow is normally dumped on the mountains surrounding the city.
First Snow of 2012
The temperature has risen once again and I’m able to walk outside in a t-shirt without a jacket. I’m trying to enjoy as much of the warm weather as possible. Last winter, it got down to -40, but overall it seemed like a mild winter. Some of the local herders have said that this winter will be rough, but I’ve also heard that they say the same thing every winter.
On Saturday, Chuck came in from the countryside and we recorded some videos for a project that we are working on together. Last year, Suzanne had an idea to work on a basketball seminar for the sport teachers in Khovd. Because of the timing of other seminars and conferences, the plan fell through. We are hoping to get the seminar going this winter/spring. The videos that we recorded demonstrate different basketball mechanics and drills. I’m going to put them all together and get Ganzorig or someone to help with including Mongolian subtitles.
The weather has put a hold on baseball camp plans. I’ve talked to a few guys who really want to play and learn how to play. I think I’m going to print off 30 or so copies of the translated pamphlet and put them around town. If it remains warm, I am going to get people together to throw and hit some balls. In the spring, I plan on doing a large camp in Khovd.
This weekend we are going to throw a Halloween part for the Access group. Access is a group of students from the different schools who study English at the American Corner in Khovd. This class is always a blast to teach! It’s so much better than teaching at my school. They are all quite motivated and know English quite well. I am thinking about showing them one of the Paranormal Activity movies, mainly because they are easily scared and it’s funny. I asked them if they wanted to go outside to a cemetery or something like that after the movie. Half of the group is pumped about it, so we’ll see. I showed them The Hunger Games last week and they loved it! We have about 40 minutes left that I will show them tomorrow.
Check out the pictures!
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