End of the Semester

Friday was the last official day of our training Semester here in UB. It is hard to believe that we have already spent over four months studying the language, learning about the culture, and preparing to teach starting next semester. Our time here has been a difficult one. We have had many ups and downs and, at times, have considered that this is not where we need to be. However, the place of His choosing is often not the one that is most comfortable.

This semester has gone out with a bang. I am not speaking literally unless you consider the racket we made chasing our first Mongolian mouse. Yes, you heard me right, we had a mouse. Even though it has been -30 F regularly, a mouse was somehow able to sneak into our house. You may be asking yourself, "Don't they have a cat?" Indeed we do, but I doubt he had ever seen a mouse before because he was a little uncertain what to do when he finally found it. Long story short, we had to tear our bedroom apart in order to track down the little bugger. Our hunt was successful, and the unwelcome visitor was slain. Even though he was little help in bringing about the death of the assailant, Jejeg was very proud of the end result and acted as if he had vanquished the foe all by himself.

Before our mouse experience, we gave an English placement test to a group of prospective students for our class next semester. We had a very small group of English teachers attend the test. We were expecting more, but only a few came. This is problematic because we need enough students for two different classes, an advanced level and an intermediate level. Because we had such a small number, two people who work with the office will give another test while we are traveling.

The next day after our mouse experience, we took an end of semester Mongolian language exam. It was not too difficult, but it highlighted what we have learned well and what we have not learned at all. We have been very encouraged by the level of Mongolian that we have reached in such a short time. There is much that we do not know, but we are capable of having simple conversations in only Mongolian. We were given our test results today. All four of us did well, and our teachers where proud of us.

We have learned a lot this semester, but we have also learned that we have a lot more to learn. That may sound confusing, but let it set for a while and you will catch it. No matter how much we have learned or what we have done, there is always room for improvement. This semester has been a set of new challenges and learning experiences. Next semester will be a whole new set of challenges as we step into the classroom full-time. We are thankful for the experiences that we have had and for what we have been taught. We are most thankful for the One who has supplied all of our needs during this time.