While teachers in Chicago are striking, teachers in Hanhongor are peeling. The school, like most schools in Mongolia, has its own garden in which food for the dormitory students is grown. Two weekends ago some of the teachers, school workers, and older students harvested the vegetables, and this last Thursday we all assembled in the cafeteria for an all out peeling and chopping war. We were divided into teams, and then each team was given a mound of carrots and turnips. Quick to organize, Shinsar set to cutting the tops and bottoms off,

a few 9th and 10th grade students and myself peeled,

and the rest of my group chopped the veggies into small sticks. Once we had produced a large mound, a 10th or 11th grade boy would come around and collect the veggies which he would then dump into these big plastic containers.

The boys would then take turns pounding the veggies and a mixture of spices into a sort of pulp. I was not sure of the reason for this but it must be for preservation sake.

It took us about 3 hours to complete the job and my fingers were bruised, but it was also a lot of fun. Better than going on strike.