Back to School

September seems to be a universal start time in for school, and Mongolia is no exception.  We had the opportunity to drive to the nearby town to watch the festivities.  The kids were all gathering in their fresh uniforms with their parents in tow.  Siblings too young for school also put on their finest anticipating the day they too would get to wear a uniform.

The students, families and teachers gathered in the courtyard for opening performances and speeches.  Several students sang a variety of songs they had been working on during their time off.  Some seemed like they might have belonged in some kind pageant.  Opening speeches finished out the opening festivities and the students were released to their classrooms.

It had been arranged for our group to photograph the students from 1^st grade before the President of Mongolia gave a speech on the radio to start the school year at 10.  Ira brought a printer on the trip that he used to print off photos of the students to give them.  Some of the kids really liked having their photos taken.  One in particular kept coming back with props for me to photograph.  They were all very cute.

We had our first critique of the trip after lunch.  Ira gets pickier as the trip goes on to help us develop our skills.  Everyone seems to be keeping up with what he’s taught us so far: watch the edges and background, pay attention to how the light is hitting your subject and compose your pictures.

This evening we headed out to the Flaming Cliffs.  These red sandstone rock formations are the site where dinosaur eggs were discovered.  You can walk down through the valley on a trail that would never be allowed in the US.  At the end of the hike, Three Camel Lodge set up tents for our al fresco dinner.  The food was great and the view even better.  It was a great ending for our time in the Gobi.

Tomorrow: Back to UB