September 1997   One of the current favorites at Ulaanbaatar University (UBU to John and I) is singing Old MacDonald. It’s a perfect way to teach pronunciation with its “Ee-I, Ee-I, O” and its “chick, chick here,” etc. We have a lively tape with which they sing along. John and I are both using it and since we save it for the last 10–15 minutes of the class both classes leave singing and you can hear “Ee-I, Ee-I, O” ringing through the halls. The head of the English department heard John playing it (she’s a wonderful woman) and told him it was one of her favorites. We’ve decided we’re not the only teachers to use this method as the other day, when we were walking to the main street to get a cab, John was whistling You Are My Sunshine and a Mongolian fellow walking with his wife/girlfriend, suddenly turned and sang, “You are my sunshine.” I asked, “Where’d you learn that?” He replied, with a big smile on his face, “In school.” Elders Benson and Torgerson who are also teaching at UBU use music in their classes as well, but they take a keyboard with them and they perform live. Elder Torgerson was a vocal performance major at BYU.  (page 127) John has been visiting schools in preparation for second semester assignments. It is best if he has an interpreter with him but on occasion there is none available as they’re all at work or in school themselves. Twice this past week he visited a secondary school which would like our teachers and was without an interpreter. Both times a young student there, a member of the church, Oogie, appeared (coincidentally/miraculously) when John most needed an interpreter. She had her 16th birthday yesterday. “And a child shall lead them.” (page 129)   Oogie's mother, Nara, and Oogie   <<< back    next >>>