LaSERIO Mongolia: The story of the weeping camel

On Monday morning we swapped morning groups, so the girls who previously worked with the 2 to 5 year olds were now teaching the older group. This allowed us to experience both the more playful teaching of the 2-5s, and the slightly more intense teaching of those aged between 6 and 14.

Tuesday evening was a much needed break, with our first stop at a local souvenir shop where we bought some delightful gifts for friends and family. We later sat down for falafel wraps and a film night. Despite the heated debates throughout the film, it was clear that ‘The Story of the Weeping Camel’ was a success all round!

Wednesday was... hectic to say the least. We woke up to a delightful meal of sausage and egg, but soon after we finished, disaster struck. We had just set out everything we needed for planning when the power went out! Despite the hurdle thrown in our way, we got out our torches and soldiered on. Our speedy improvisation meant that we found a way to continue planning and even re-planned things that required printing! After visiting the post office and sending off some postcards, we headed off for a traditional Mongolian dinner.

Thursday’s teaching was a smashing success and there has been real progress with our English conversations. An obvious highlight of the day was also our first non-ice cream desert, with Oreo cheesecake and chocolate sponge cake clear favourites. Having dinner in meant we still had an entire evening ahead of us. During this free time, we played a variety of games, including a lengthy team building exercise, English card games and Mongolian bone games.

We finished the week off on a high note: one group got creative with the 2 to 5 year olds, transforming toilet rolls into amazing aeroplanes while the other group spent their time playing a variety of both Mongolian and English games. Soon after, we headed off for one of our favourite meals, hotpot.

Our afternoon session was emotional but wonderful. Having completed our normal session, both groups came together for a massive ‘Cha Cha Slide’. Then we played an epic game of ‘Down in the Jungle’ in which Team UK were victorious! While the goodbyes were tearful, we exchanged social media handles and took loads of selfies, and the clear improvement of their English made it so worth it. The children have clearly grown so much but we have too. The most noticeable being in our food adventures, with Annie, Amy and Ophelia having horse meat for dinner and Sophie and Eleanor having calf stomach for their lunch.

Best wishes from Mongolia!