Just like Peace Corps Volunteers experiences being different, so is everyone’s schools. I’ll try not to generalize too much in this blog post, but I believe my school is similar to the majority of Mongolian schools, at least in cities.

The first day of school, September 1st, was a day of celebration. What were we celebrating? Going back to school. Learning. Teaching. Getting back together with friends. The energy rubbed off on me right away. I met my CP’s at school as they finished curling their hair and fixing their makeup in the morning, then we all went outside together to our large soccer/open green field behind the school where a large stage was set up and everyone had already began to gather. After many speeches (one of which was mine… all in the Mongolian language, yikes), performances (thankfully, I was not asked to dance or sing), and pictures (of which I was the tall redhead in the middle of my CP’s, always), we gathered for some airag, a traditional Mongolian drink made from fermented mares’ milk.

In the afternoon, we met for lunch at a local restaurant. Although many of the conversations were in Mongolian, the excitement and laughter was easy to join in on. I was nervous, but excited also. I had 11 English teachers (CP’s) to rely on this year. The training manager, my supervisor, also knows English. A language barrier was at the root of my nerves, so after today, I was more excited than nervous to take on the school year.

After one week of observing the five English teachers I would be working with for the first quarter, I had a solid grasp on how a typical school day works in Mongolia:

After the bell rings, the students all stand up to greet their teacher. The teacher says, “Good morning (or good afternoon) class,” and the students respond all together, “Good morning, Teacher!” Then the teacher asks, “How are you today?” The response all together varies depending on the class, but the students typically say, “I am fine, and you?” The teacher tells them how she is doing (all my English teachers are females), then they sit down and class begins. Sometimes they also have to recite their classroom rules which are typically something along the lines of be active and pay attention.

Classes typically have 20-30 students. Every classroom has tables as desks with a chalkboard or white board. Every lesson is 40 minutes long, but sometimes there are back to back or even back to back to back lessons, totaling two or three hours with one teacher. Most lessons are followed closely to the English book used countrywide for all Mongolian schools. I often learn during class also because these books are based off of British English. My students find it amusing when I make fun of the English in their books and teach them the differences in American English. Mainly, they just love having me in their classroom, and I appreciate that a lot.

I often lesson plan with my CP’s and have a speaking or listening section during the lesson because I’ve realized I am very good at knowing what the right answer is for grammar, but I don’t often know WHY. My CP’s are very good at teaching the WHY in grammar (the tough stuff) and I do the rest (the fun stuff).

Because I have five CP’s this quarter, I teach three lessons per week with each of them. That is 15 hours of team teaching on top of 6 hours of school clubs (English Speaking Club, Teacher Creative Writing, and Student Creative Writing), and about five hours of community clubs (I help my other PCV’s here with Student Speaking Club, Adult Speaking Club, TOEFL prep, and Movie Club) at the local library. This totals to roughly 26 hours every week of work, but if there’s anything I’ve improved on already since beginning this volunteering, it’s how to be flexible, even when there is a schedule in place. There are many days where I stay longer to help with a certain class or an individual student, and there are also days when there is a test in the class, so I am told that I don’t have to be there (once I’ve already walked into the class, usually).

Overall, yes, I stay pretty busy, but I love the atmosphere at my school. The students always say, “Hello, Teacher!” to me as we pass in the halls and the other teachers are kind to me as we sit in the teachers’ room waiting for our next class. They often like to practice their little English on me or push my limited Mongolian language knowledge. The teachers’ room also has WiFi, so this is usually my time to hang out on social media and stay connected with happenings at home.

Lastly, all the students and teachers wear uniforms. My CP’s wear a navy dress with red trim and the students wear some combination of a tie and navy jacket. In the beginning, I felt pretty odd in my own business clothes, but as weeks have gone by, teachers have began to wear their own business clothes as often as their uniforms.

With Fall break already approaching at the end of this month, I feel very confident talking and reading in front of all the grades I teach (6th, 7th, 8th, and high school). I especially have a soft spot for my 12th graders since they are focusing on doing well in class and preparing to take tests to try to get into universities and/or travel to other countries. One of my biggest goals during my service is to help these students travel and get into the university of their choosing. It’s definitely not an easy task as a Mongolian student, but I have many smart and talented students who I have a lot of confidence in.

So, that’s been my week to week life. On weekend, I often hang out with my sitemates or other friends I have met along the way. We have family dinners, watch movies, and explore our city. I am looking forward to getting the chance to explore more of Mongolia within these couple years.

On a side note, winter has already began. It’s been freezing every night and we’ve already had a couple small snows. I am staying plenty warm with my heated apartment and winter jacket that I brought from home. We’ll see how this jacket fares against the dead of winter, coming soon, I fear.

Emilie