Saturday, May 28, 2011

This Week's Update....

The end of the semester is almost here. Last night some of the students at MIU prepared and served a meal to some of the teachers and staff. It was great! And for many of the foreign students in LEI, they have passed the entrance exam and will attend MIU next fall.

Also in this blog post are photos of friends we have gotten together with, churches we have visited, and a cool restaurant Ricardo and I went to at the Mongolian Hotel.

Some of the LEI graduates... :)

Me at the MIU dinner


Rita, a teacher from Russia

Gereltuya, Ju-Hei, Sunny and John

Noel and James

Our waitresses preparing a fabulous desert!

Inna photographing some of the LEI graduates...

The LEI teachers during a serious moment.. :)

Kathy and I visited the church called Seeds that meets at MIU each Sunday. Many teachers and students at the university attend it.



Kathy and I continue to enjoy time with friends throughout the weeks. 

Kathy and I had Soko, Baaska and Tselmeg over for dinner. They have gone to the US with a summer work program.

Soko, Baaska and me

Noel, Kathy and I with some Afgan friends who invited us for dinner.

I went with my friend Margadaa to help her find a job. She got one!!



Here are some more random photos of interesting scenes of city life in Ulaanbaatar...




We visited the church of our friend Naranbaa called Eternal Love. We originally met Naranbaa in Los Angeles where he was studying. We visited his church there in L.A. several times.





Ricardo, the director of LEI, and I had lunch at the restaurant in the Mongolia Hotel outside the center of Ulaanbaatar. Fantastic place... :)






Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Terelj National Park with the English Department Staff

Friday afternoon the Language Education Institute (LEI) all went on an overnight trip to Terelj National Park. We had a blast! We went to get to know each other better and have some rest and relaxation together. As I have written before, the atmosphere in the LEI office is great. We are thinking of putting up a banner in the office that says "LEI: the happiest place at MIU" !! All the teachers work hard, know their subjects well, and teach well. And they also get along so well.

The park is huge. There are many camps in it. We arrived in time for a short climb up a mountain, then had dinner, and afterward spent the evening eating and playing games. The next morning some of us rode horses for over an hour. Super! But we were sore for a few days afterward! We all stayed a bit longer at the park and then headed back to the city. We are already planning another trip there... :)

From left to right: Kathy, Inna, JuHei, Eva, Gereltuya, Anar, Vica, Bayarmaa, John, me and Ricardo with his daughter.

Ready to go!



This is the inside of the ger Kathy and i stayed in. Plenty comfortable!






Some of the gers our group stayed in.













Ricardo, the director or LEI, and one of his dear daughters... :)











Kathy loved riding the horse!