Day 9: My Onion Cutting PTSD
Last night was a rough night; I couldn’t seem to get comfortable. Anyway after the rough night and breakfast, which was warm milk and granola, we went to the English class for the Mongolian students. Not all of them were there today because of Nadaam which is also today. For the ones who were there, they rotated around to different groups of two Americans. Me and Annabelle were a group. We would pick a post it that had a topic and talk to the Mongolians about it. Hungra, one of the students, liked to draw and play basketball. She has super long hair. Way longer than mine. My hair is average length in Mongolia. Anyway another student, Unjee, was 14 and very sweet. She was about up to my shoulder. Another girl, the one who was the good singer, told us about her boyfriend. They had celebrated valentines together and he got her a lot of chocolate. I also learned how to write my name in Mongolian. It was so pretty when they did it. Mine was kinda like my Chinese handwriting. No bueno.
After the class we went to the gym to play, but I first had to do my weekly check in with the leaders. It was pretty short and easy. I was gonna go to the gym but Unjee came in the dorms and wanted to play cards. I taught her how to play James Bond. She won and she really liked it. She understood English pretty well and could speak it well too. I also taught her speed. I think she liked James Bond better though. After a few rounds of each game we went to the gym. I played some volleyball and she played basketball. We only played for a little with the Mongolians though since they had to go for lunch. Once they left, Logan, John Paul and I played horse. I got H-O-R. I was second. I made John Paul get H-O at the very end before lunch. I was totally rocking the trick shots.
Lunch was pretty quick because people wanted to go take a shower after. Unfortunately the Australians who just arrived used a lot of the water so I had to wash my hair in the sink. It was a hair massacre. I shed more than a dog during the sink shower, but I got the job done so it’s okay. After the semi shower we went to go paint another classroom floor. Again was very short.
Since it was such a short time to paint, we started cooking Bookht early. The Mongolians taught us. It’s a Mongolian dumpling. I was surprisingly bad at it saying I made some with my grandparents. I was better at the circle ones than the dumpling shaped ones. The Mongolians were so good and made them so fast. It was super fun and I got a few cramps from laughing. We also had to cut an onion and every time I see an onion, knife and cutting board near each other, my eyes already start tearing up. Onion cutting is a horror permanently stamped in my brain, Father. Anyway we finished pretty quickly and had to wait for them to cook so we all went to the gym and played knockout. I was always in the top five cause I am a pro. I beat Cooper all the time. It was really fun and even the leaders tried it. They got out fast but they did try.
Soon the dinner was ready and all of us including the Mongolians went to eat. Since it was all of us there were drinks besides tea and coffee. Hallelujah. Anyway the Bookht was really good and fresh but I preferred the vegetarian one to the meat one. Cause I’m healthy. We all talked and laughed with the Mongolians and it was like having a big family. Kinda like my family reunions. Some people who have a little trouble with English talking with the fluent English speakers, laughing and helping each other. It was super fun. At the end we mixed a bunch of drinks, coffee stuff and sauces in a bowl and did what are the odds for who would drink it. The Mongolian girls were very into the mixing of the yuckiness. Kinda like witches making an evil potion for the weird Americans. Anyway Logan, Natalie, Nick and Kevin ended up taking sips. They all said it was disgusting. It looked disgusting. Them Mongolian girls were taking videos of them drinking it too. It was entertaining to see their facial expressions
After dinners jus we had horseback riding practice. It was pretty short and we just rode for thirty seconds then got off. We were also gonna go on a hike but it was pouring rain and there was a bunch of thunder and lightning so we all sat inside the lobby by the fire and talked. We all have word games on our phone so we pass around each other’s phones for help while Logan sings. It’s actually really fun bonding time. We all went to bed earlier today because we could. I fell asleep pretty easily, very relaxed
After the class we went to the gym to play, but I first had to do my weekly check in with the leaders. It was pretty short and easy. I was gonna go to the gym but Unjee came in the dorms and wanted to play cards. I taught her how to play James Bond. She won and she really liked it. She understood English pretty well and could speak it well too. I also taught her speed. I think she liked James Bond better though. After a few rounds of each game we went to the gym. I played some volleyball and she played basketball. We only played for a little with the Mongolians though since they had to go for lunch. Once they left, Logan, John Paul and I played horse. I got H-O-R. I was second. I made John Paul get H-O at the very end before lunch. I was totally rocking the trick shots.
Lunch was pretty quick because people wanted to go take a shower after. Unfortunately the Australians who just arrived used a lot of the water so I had to wash my hair in the sink. It was a hair massacre. I shed more than a dog during the sink shower, but I got the job done so it’s okay. After the semi shower we went to go paint another classroom floor. Again was very short.
Since it was such a short time to paint, we started cooking Bookht early. The Mongolians taught us. It’s a Mongolian dumpling. I was surprisingly bad at it saying I made some with my grandparents. I was better at the circle ones than the dumpling shaped ones. The Mongolians were so good and made them so fast. It was super fun and I got a few cramps from laughing. We also had to cut an onion and every time I see an onion, knife and cutting board near each other, my eyes already start tearing up. Onion cutting is a horror permanently stamped in my brain, Father. Anyway we finished pretty quickly and had to wait for them to cook so we all went to the gym and played knockout. I was always in the top five cause I am a pro. I beat Cooper all the time. It was really fun and even the leaders tried it. They got out fast but they did try.
Soon the dinner was ready and all of us including the Mongolians went to eat. Since it was all of us there were drinks besides tea and coffee. Hallelujah. Anyway the Bookht was really good and fresh but I preferred the vegetarian one to the meat one. Cause I’m healthy. We all talked and laughed with the Mongolians and it was like having a big family. Kinda like my family reunions. Some people who have a little trouble with English talking with the fluent English speakers, laughing and helping each other. It was super fun. At the end we mixed a bunch of drinks, coffee stuff and sauces in a bowl and did what are the odds for who would drink it. The Mongolian girls were very into the mixing of the yuckiness. Kinda like witches making an evil potion for the weird Americans. Anyway Logan, Natalie, Nick and Kevin ended up taking sips. They all said it was disgusting. It looked disgusting. Them Mongolian girls were taking videos of them drinking it too. It was entertaining to see their facial expressions
After dinners jus we had horseback riding practice. It was pretty short and we just rode for thirty seconds then got off. We were also gonna go on a hike but it was pouring rain and there was a bunch of thunder and lightning so we all sat inside the lobby by the fire and talked. We all have word games on our phone so we pass around each other’s phones for help while Logan sings. It’s actually really fun bonding time. We all went to bed earlier today because we could. I fell asleep pretty easily, very relaxed
Selfie in the gym
Looks like a great group of kids. Isn't it interesting - the different things you notice about other cultures - i.e., your hair is "average length"? I love how you are sharing different cultural holiday activities.
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