Winter days in Ulaanbaatar

Kathy and I are back in Ulaanbaatar again, and have begun the spring semester at MIU. We had a great time in the US, but are ready for this semester. The winter here in Mongolia has been unusually warm. Each morning has been about -10F to 0F (-23C to -18C) and gets to about 15F to 20F (-10C to -7C) during the day. The days are usually sunny in Mongolia which is so nice.

Today is Tsagaan Sar here in Mongolia, which means White Moon, the new year celebration so important to Mongolians. I made a card that I posted on Facebook for all our Mongolian friends. Happy Tsagaan Sar to all of you!! For Kathy and I it is a nice day to relax after so many busy days. Tomorrow we will visit our friend Batnyam and his family, so that will be nice.

I went on a winter hike a few weeks ago, which was great. And I spoke at a wedding celebration of Korean friends Shin and Pak. They got married in Korea. Because they live here in Mongolia and have so many friends here, they also wanted to celebrate their marriage here. Nice time :) 

And finally, because I have so many Vietnamese friends, I also made a card for them. Happy new year to all my Vietnamese friends!!!

Me with my new hat I bought in Ohio. I never thought I would actually
wear a hat like this!! But it is great for the winter.

... a friend we met on our hike :)

Our LEI teachers and staff at our orientation lunch before classes started.

Our English Torch Church group.

Shin and Pak at their wedding celebration.