English Practice

Yesterday I met with Gunjee (23 year old woman who knows English well), her 16 year old male cousin Luka, and his younger sister (13) Ochermaa. Kevin and I have met with Gunjee and Luka twice before to speak back and forth, practicing their English (and we get to learn a few Mongolian words along the way).

This time, Kevin couldn’t join us, so I walked over to the restaurant where we were to meet, and we had our talking time there. After we had talked awhile, they presented me with a leather messenger bag with a leather business card holder and pen holder. It is really pretty. I confirmed with them that a man or woman can carry this bag and I assured them that Kevin and I would both use it often. We talked for awhile longer. After about an hour, I asked, “Do you need to be going anywhere?” They looked questioningly at me, “No, do you?” I said, “No, I just don’t want to have you stay longer than you want. I don’t want to bore you.” They laughed, “Oh, no, this is FUN!” So, we talked for another half hour.

I had brought some cards from a new game we had purchased in the States called “Things”. We each took turns answering questions like, “What are things you should not write in a Valentine’s card?” We talked about the holiday for awhile (just recently some Mongolians have begun giving cards…before it was always just chocolates or flowers). Luka said, “You should not write ‘You are ugly’ in a Valentine’s card.” We laughed. We also talked about disabilities and handicaps (new words to them). I commented that even though a person might have a disability or a handicap, they are still valuable to God. Gunjee looked at me thoughtfully and shook her head in agreement.

Our conversation definitely strengthened our friendship today. I look forward to our time together next week.