MIcro Teaching WEEK!

Micro Teaching

This week was an eventful week with new new surprises. One of the highlights was micro teaching. Micro Teaching is basically when our Language teachers gather students in the community and in groups of three we prepare and teaching lessons. In these lessons each person as twenty minutes to do their thing... My group consist of Ben, Erin and myself. I had the most experience in the group, but my fellow group-mates were naturals. Mondays lesson was a basic dialogue,
Hello
My name is ____
Nice to meet you
Im feeling_____
and the students really enjoyed our lesson. We had eight students the first day which was monday and nine students on thursday. Thursdays lesson was a review from mondays material in trio with body parts which Ben covered and numbers which I taught. Our observers said we did well both times and that we were ready for practice teaching which is a great a compliment considering we have a few more micro teaching weeks yet.
On wednesday me and one of my fellow trainees went on a five hour hike. This was an interesting journey... We traveled for two hours +1/2 around two big mountains and then cut through going over two other big hills to come to the place of my pictures..... Its amazing how there are forest like places on these hills and than on the backside of the same hill its as bare as babes bottom. On the way home Cameron and I were in conversation when he started humming a familiar tune... Check out the video ….It was a fun and eventful hike...I must say !
The weekend started with me finding the perfect Mongolian song to sing at the graduation in August. My Language teachers nephew helped me find it.(Thanks!) It a simple guitar driven song. I hope I can get the language, which is the biggest part. I learned to the tune and chorus yesterday! I am excited! I also was able to start a worship song in Gband. While I am limited because I do not have a keyboard here the track sounds ok... My Mongolian mom feeds me well! I am constipated as I type... Digestive system do not fail me now...LOL!
Peace and Love
Clifton A. Hurt

Video coming soon...

Getting to know my town.

This last week has been a blast. It started with me getting some weekend rest and washing my clothes with my Mongolian mother on Sunday in preparation for the week. I had a really cool experience on Sunday. I went up the hill in the back of my house and looked down over the town. This is where I had my devotional time. I played the guitar, read scripture and prayed giving God my best praise. Each night this week held something different, something good. Actually, I found out that my host mom would like me to be in the house by 9P.M. At least that’s what I thought I heard....there is still a big language barrier but I'm starting to understand. I have a curfew.... (Humbling aye)
Learning how to start a fire thing has been an experience fun and awkward at times. The other night I got one started but it was not blazing until I fell asleep. It was the wind blowing through the exhaust hole that probably caused it to burn so big. In my Mongolian mom's cabin she can keep a fire burning for hours smokeless and warm. I have been spending a lot of time with my host family, I think its most appropriate and helps for learning the Mongolian language met my Host mom's daughter in-law who quickly told me that she was a Christian and that there was a small church ran by Koreans in the town saw the lil cross on the building and thought nothing of it. How awesome is that? She also told me that her English teachers was a missionary who started that church and live in Mongolia for 12 years and 9years somewhere else and is now serving in the Philippines. I thought to myself this and man and his wife are awesome examples and missionaries...
Mongolian language classes are fun. We spend 4 hours each day in class. However, it is not as brutal as it may sound. We do many different activities and games. Although, the youngest person in the training group is 22 we all act like 12 years in most cases when it comes to the fun learning activities. Our Mongolian Teachers Adiya and Baggii are great and simply good teachers. They rarely use English in the class... Well.... really.... they don't know much English. However, they do well with use 12 American students. Yesterday (6-17-2010) I was feeling so sick from the second round of vaccinations. Today I feel better and plan to hike with some of my fellow trainees.
Random …. Last night I was out past curfew, which did not seem to matter. I arrived home at about 10pm. I initially was going to cut my oldest nephews' hair. But the American clippers were going crazy being hooked into the Mongolian power, even with the converter plug thingy, it did not work! After trying different methods I gave up and was sucked right into a late night home improvement project in my mother cabin. I and my oldest nephew and a younger nephew put a wall paper (or something like it). This project took us 1 hour in a half. I was so exhausted by the time we were finished, it had been such a long day. I went to my cabin and realized I had to use the outhouse (LOL) and quickly ran back out only to stand in awe of what I had not notice a few minutes earlier. I marveled! It was like I was able to see every single star in the sky... I never say anything like it … I cannot wait until the day me and some of my fellow trainees go camping. I will be able to sleep under this awesomeness.... Until Next time Peace AND LOVE

Clifton A. Hurt

The first few days in Mongolia have been awesome. I have seen so many things and met so many people. There have not been any major challenges. The Mongolian people have been very receptive to the Peace Corps Volunteers here in Zuunmod. They seem to think that we are funny... There are 76 plus volunteers here and we have all been attempting to learn one of the hardest languages in the world. With some success at “hello” and “thank you” we have seemed to manage well.(LOL) Today two little girls from the Zuunmod hung out with us. They were awesome! The currency exchange rate here is MNT 1,375= $1.00, which is generally ok for what Peace Corps supplies us with in money. You have to be smart with your money and budget correctly.

For now I'm rooming with three guys Glen, Ben, and Cameron. These guys are all different but cool for the most part. My vegetarian diet has not been challenged yet. However, I will not really know until I move with my host family for training. I have been reassured by one of the volunteers that I would be able to continue the diet I will continue to try... I really like it here. I think with some more language training(which is coming soon!), and living with the host family I will be able to serve well. There is much for me to learn and I am really excited about it. Oh, the school dorms that we are staying in have hill like mountains on the side of the building that set the most beautiful scenery for when the sun is shining. (Actually got a lil ultimate Frisbee in earlier today...)

( Its currently 8:50pm in Zuunmod which means its 7:50 back home in chicago) Im getting a bit tired!

Peace and Love Friends & Family!