Since the New Year we have been studying farm animals in third grade. We have drawn animal pictures, read Barnyard Boogie a ton of times, and sang Old McDonald until we were hoarse. For our final big project we made a barnyard complete with barn, corral, lake, and garden. The kids really got into it (not a lot of chances here to build things with trash) and watching Shaun the Sheep was the cherry on the top.

A view overlooking the lake.

"Man these are easy to make" said God.

The red thing looks like a mutant ant to me, but I think it is supposed to be a goat.

Taking a well deserved movie break.

The construction crew.

Two of the donations my school received in December were paper dollhouse and zoo kits made by www.creativityforkids.com. These were a huge hit and tons of fun for the kids to assemble and make their own.

I gave the zoo to the biology club which they were so excited about that is was done in two class periods. It will live in the biology classroom, and hopefully be used as a fun teaching aid.

Assembling the zoo

Carefully coloring kangaroos and monkey trees

The finished result

Look at all those excited zoo guests!

The dollhouse was so popular that I had to make it a club project with select students from 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 7th grades. Their creativity really came out, and it was fabulous to see the tiny curtains, magazines, baby toys, and other accessories they made out of left over paper, fabric, and trash.

Coloring the front windows.

The outside after day 1.

Every house needs a yard complete with garden gnome.

Margad and Uuganaa making a paper computer complete with tiny mouse.

Dolgoon's fabulous curtains.

The finished interior.

The construction crew.

Next month is Shrinky Dinks. I may have to put a bouncer in front of my door….

When I lived here 10 years ago, going to the aimag, the nearby town where we buy food, was a torturous undertaking. After breakfast I would start walking about the town looking for the one taxi in town/listening for its horn as it drove around looking for passengers.  This could take an hour or two or be a total bust if it wasn’t going that day. If I did get a seat in the taxi, we would then usually sit next to the bank for another hour or so waiting for other passengers since it never left without a full load. (I still have nightmares of the trip with 29 other passengers). We would eventually leave–praying that it would only take one hour to get there. About 95% of the trips involved getting a flat tire, breaking down, or running out of gas though (I wish I was exaggerating) and so it was a real cause for celebration when we finally got to town. Upon arrival I would frantically run around going to the bathhouse for my semi-monthly hot shower, checking my email, and buying all the food I could carry. The taxi would usually set a departure time around 3 or 4 but because this was before cell phones, it was not uncommon for passengers or even the taxi to be missing/late until 5 or 6. By the time I got home it was often dark and I was exhausted. I really disliked going to the aimag.

Yesterday we went to the aimag, but as Brian likes to say “living here is now officially easy.” While we don’t have our own car yet, most everyone else does, so it is not hard to find a ride. In fact, nowadays we prefer to pay extra and have our own car and driver for the day. Our driver showed up around 10 and we got the aimag around 11. He drove us around town to all our stops and we slowly filled the car with Pedigree dog food, Mongolian made fresh tofu, Asian pears, soy milk, and canned refried beans among many other staples. By 12:30 we were done and back home by 1:30 for leftover homemade pizza. After lunch we went to our local bathhouse and for dinner we had crispy panko tofu and refried beans with all the toppings-everything purchased in the aimag. We rounded out the day by watching episodes of Modern Family I had downloaded using the free wireless internet at work. Don’t tell anyone-but we are getting soft out here.

A delicious dinner with a handsome man in need of a haircut.

Simba lives next door to us. Perhaps the smartest pooch in town, he is also one of the few I have puppy pictures of because he was once Darkhuu’s nephew Uka’s dog.

Here is Brian way back in 2007 trying to steal him.

And Simba a few months later hanging out on top of his house.

Unfortunately for Uka, he could not keep the puppies he collected, because Darkhuu had a habit of giving them away when he wasn’t looking. Luckily Simba only moved next door, and today is the king of the dirt pile (as well as the neighborhood).

A fierce competitor for camel heads, he is also super smart. He has figured out how to push/pull open the doors to his yard when they are closed, and if they are locked, then he will wait until a softie (i.e. one of us) walks by to steer them to the door to unlock it for him. He is also one of the few pooches in town to have rightfully put Santi in her place :).

We headed back to school and work this week after a two week vacation. The first few days of school were a bit crazy as the kids worked through all the sugar in their systems, but by Friday things were pretty much back to normal. There are only about 15 weeks left until the end of the school year and there is a growing sense of panic in regards to the end of the year for those facing college entrance exams soon. The race to the end of the year is on!

Making this week out of the ordinary were two social happenings.  On Monday we traveled to Dalanzadgad for a dinner with the American Ambassador to Mongolia, Piper Campbell, two local Peace Corps volunteers Joe and Sam, our friend Layton Croft, and several other new acquaintances. It was wonderful to finally meet the ambassador as well as to have dinner with an interesting group of people. It is certainly something we miss out in the countryside.

Ambassador Campbell is in the center, in the scarf.

Then, on Wednesday we were treated to a rare visit from Enkbaatar, a former co-worker of Brian’s and a great friend. He was in Dalanzadgad for business, but he took time to come out and have dinner with us and Darkhuu. It is always great to see old Enkh.

Aside from visiting and regular work (the kids at school and I started building a doll house and zoo–pictures to come), Monster has really gotten into helping Brian with his work. He seems more like a hinderance if you ask me, but what do I know?

Keeping Brian's shoulder warm.

And keeping his neck warm. Think Brian needs a haircut?

Happy New Year–Mongolian Lunar New Year–that is! May the year of the water snake bring you prosperity, happiness, and contentment.

We had another lovely Tsagaan Sar in Mongolia. There was a nice balance between visiting friends and being visited, as well as getting to sleep in late. We ate a few buuz this year that were lovingly made by a friend with potatoes and carrots, and we drank very little vodka much to my delight. The best part was seeing everyone in their finest. Here are a few pictures from the community greeting on the first day.

Lining up from oldest to youngest for the traditional greeting

Greeting line

Darkhuu resting with some friends

Mandaa-Vampire baby.

And here are a few from visiting with some of our younger friends.

Brian greeting Huslee

Huslee and her ever growing brother Todoo

Uuganaa, Todoo, and Muron

Brian "exchanging" snuff with Gegenee the toddler.

It was great to see a bunch of my former fifth graders (2002-2003) all grown up.

And to end this post, a reminder that even animals get into the act during Tsagaan Sar.

Race horses heading home after a long run.

Monster posing with his Tsagaan Sar bow tie.