AMCs and HHH

A traveler through Mongolia coined the term AMC, and, in his absence, those of us who live here have usurped it and claimed it as our own. AMC stands for Adorable Mongolian Child. The term is something of a misnomer, as it suggests that there are Mongolian children who are not adorable. This is false. All Mongolian children are adorable.

Last week, someone at my office asked if I would be interested in teaching at her sister's kindergarten (kindergarten being the catch-all phrase that Mongolians use to mean nursery school). I said I would love to, and yesterday, during lunch, she and I went over to this kindergarten. While it was my lunchtime, it was their naptime, and in each room I peeked into, I saw at least 10 AMCs sleeping happily on their little plastic cots.

I will be teaching English three times a week to 2-3 year-olds, and then to 4-5 year-olds. Needless to say, I have never taught English to people of any age before, although I did teach my brother how to add, and I did TA a class on Women Writers of Japan in college. Luckily, a friend of mine teaches first grade here, and so she is going to give me her workbooks, and I am going to create a one month lesson plan, by Friday. For, can I say again, 2-3 year-old AMCs.

Today, after work, I am going with a group of fellow Americans to HHH, otherwise known as Hash House Harriers. HHH is one of those things that is well known to people who live abroad, and entirely unknown by everyone else. According to wikipedia, it's "a more social version of Hare and Hounds, where one joins a pack of hounds (runners) to chase down the trail set by a hare or hares (other runners), then gather together for a bit of social activity known as the On In or Down Down with refreshment, humorous camaraderie, song and sometimes a feast." Here, apparently, we drive about a half hour outside of UB, do a walk-around, eat a sandwich, and have a beer.

One of my friends participated two weeks ago, and she said it was her and a lot of middle-aged women who are here with their bankrolling husbands. It appears then, that HHH may be all Mongolia has to offer for ladies who lunch.

My friend visiting from Beijing was shocked that somewhere as off-road as Mongolia could have its own chapter of HHH, but, as wikipedia tells it, Antartica has two chapters, and even Guam has their own. Apparently, there are also interhash activities where chapters of HHH meet up to compete. I could see a Mongolia-Russia-China HHH competition being particularly fierce.