Hello From Mongolia

 I can't believe I'm here in Mongolia!

 The Mongolian Airport

                                   The Mongolian countryside of Darkhar.

The hills and sky go on forever.

A typical Mongolian ger

August 3, 2014

 

 

This week has probably been one of the craziest weeks of my life! Flying to Mongolia was an adventure on its own! The flight here was crazy. China is crazy. We were so worried about getting caught in Immigration! And now that I look back at it, it is funny to think how seriously we took things! But, we made it through without any problem.

 

Once we got into Mongolia, the APs picked us up and they took us to lunch and then to the immigration place to get our teaching visas. The whole time, I was trying to speak Mongolian to my immigration officer and they kept speaking English back to me! I was so frustrated because all I wanted to do was practice my language! I come to find out that I wasn’t even supposed to know Mongolian (because I’m here as an English teacher) so, the whole time they were telling me to be quiet. haha whoops.

 

Anyways, the next day, we went through some training and then went off with our new companions! My companion is Sister Magleby, She is from Rexburg Idaho and has been here almost a year and a half. This is her last transfer! I am so happy to be with her! Her Mongolian is so good! She is so nice and it gives me hope because She speaks such good Mongolian! But, we can also speak English when we need to ;)

 

This week has been a blur! I’ve been in lots of gers and ate lots of INTERSTING things already. But I have been blessed because I haven’t been sick once! (knock on wood for me). I just ate it because I wanted to show the people that I loved them. I am so happy to be here and take in all the culture. The culture is so beautiful here. But, sooooo different too. But, I am so interested by it! We are in a small city in the countryside four hours north of the city, (The UB, or Ulaanbaatar) called Darkhan and it is beautiful! It’s a lot smaller which means there are a lot more ger districts, but it also means that it is so much more beautiful And friendly! They are so kind and willing to give you so much even though they have nothing. I think the most different thing about Mongolia is the way of living. The city is pretty big and modern, but where I am, things are a bit more rural. And almost all the roads are dirt and every car is a taxi. haha. We will just stand on the side of the road and a random car will stop and pick us up. Oh, and the ger districts are intersting! From the outside, you think that it is such an impoverished area. There is trash everywhere and cows and dogs just walking around. But then you walk into the ger and there is a flat screen tv and nice furniture and a nice floor. Everyone told me how lucky I was to go to Dackhar and I understand it now! The hills go on forever! We are only here for a few weeks before we go back to the city for English, so I’m soaking it up! The city, Ulaanbaatar, is huge and busy, but I like how alive it is.

 

What else.? Oh, I can’t understand anything anyone is saying... haha so, that made church on Sunday interesting... but I know I will get better. And people are so willing to help my language here. I’m happy here :) It really feels like I am on a different planet, but the culture is so beautiful :) I love you all and I feel your prayers constantly!

 

Until Next week,

 

Sister Royal, 

Write Amy,

Sister Amy Royal
Mongolia UB Mission
UB-49, Box-242, 

Bayanzurkh District
1st Khoroo, Tokyo Street-6
Ulaanbaatar- 13381, Mongolia