December 4, 2008

WorldWise Schools

I just got off of Skype with two of Michael's classes in New York City (who we partnered up with through Peace Corps's WorldWise Schools) and they were wonderful! They asked tons of great questions about the culture and people of Mongolia, about my life, and about the Peace Corps. In the first class we had three young boys who were in the first grade: William, Matias and Omri. One of my favorite questions was from Omri, who asked if there were any jungles in Mongolia. I think it was Matias who jumped in and said, "Yeah, and are there any cheetahs?" I told them it was too cold for jungles here. I was about to explain it was 30 degrees below zero at the moment but we moved on to more talk about what animals were in Mongolia and what I like to eat.

The second class was 4th through 6th graders: Wan, Jacob, Leonardo, Marcus, Lev and Christopher. Their questions were impressed and some were quite advanced. They asked a lot about Peace Corps, what we do, how many of us there are, why we work for no money and when I will be coming home. An interesting question, which I'm still not sure the answer to, was if I will ever come back to Mongolia once I leave in two years. I have a feeling I will. I also have a feeling we will talk again. I told Michael I had a lot of fun and I really look forward to meeting with both classes in a couple of weeks after IST (In-Service Training) in the capital which I leave for this Saturday. Thanks for the opportunity to talk with your classes Michael, it was a blast!