This upcoming June, I will have been living in Mongolia for two years. Before leaving the United States and getting off the plane in Mongolia, I remember feeling a mix of emotions about starting a new life so far away from my home country. Even though I had lived in a foreign country before, I knew Mongolia would be a very different place from anywhere else I had been. I was nervous about teaching, even though I had worked with kids before, because I had never taught in a classroom. I was also very curious about what it would be like to live with a host family, and I was especially nervous because none of them spoke English, so I expected a big language barrier.
The first time I met my host family was very awkward for them and for me. I only knew a little Mongolian, and most of our communication was done through Google Translate at first. I also tried many foods that I had never seen or tasted before coming to Mongolia. The tastes and flavors were completely new to me. Even though my host mom was a very good cook, there were some meals where I really had to push myself to eat what I was served. After living with them for the summer, I developed a strong bond with my host parents and my host brother, who was nine years old at the time.
