Monday morning routine

I had considered going to the Black Market yesterday, but decided not to and to just take it easy at home. So I stayed in and read a lot, did some laundry and cooked my dinner. It was a relief not to have to go over to the school and teach even though it meant that I didn't have Internet access. This morning was a bright blue, cloudless day, like most of them in Mongolia. It is such a nice contrast to the dreary, smoggy skies of Beijing. I never saw the sun or even any blue patch of sky there.

For those wondering what my usual routine looks like on a teaching day, here it is. I wake up early, take a shower and rinse out yesterday's clothes, dry my hair and fix a small breakfast. I get dressed and look over my notes and plans for what I'm going to do with each class that day. I walk over to the classroom building about 8:00 am and open up my computer and go straight to my email. Then I fill out the next blog entry and then begin planning the lessons in earnest, writing sample sentences, questions, etc. My first class begins at 1:00 pm and runs until 3 pm. I have half an hour off and then the second class starts at 3:30, and lasts until 5:30. At this point I might do a little more research about topics to discuss the following day, or I might just go home, cook my supper, read or knit a little and go to bed. It might not sound like much, but the schedule is full and I am exhausted by bedtime. Although I would love to have a real two day weekend so that I could get out into the countryside and see something other than Ulan Bataar I do look forward to that break I'll have every Wednesday so that I can recuperate and rest up for the remainder of the week ahead.