Cadets Visit Mongolia for AIAD

This July, Cadets traveled to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, to work on teaching and childcare projects facilitated by the Projects Abroad organization. Projects Abroad places participants in volunteer projects that directly target high-need communities. This year, cadets spent their mornings introducing Montessori games and activities to students between the ages of 2 and 7 at Kindergarten #166. Kindergarten #166 provides state-funded childcare in the summers, and is located in the poorer ger district, on the outskirts of Ulaanbaatar. In the afternoons, cadets partnered with the Mongolian 4H Youth Association to teach ESL classes to high schoolers at School #13. In order to maximize their exposure to the people, culture, and landscapes of Mongolia, cadets lived with homestay families and traveled to the countryside on weekends. The AIAD was also timed to coincide with Naadam, a national holiday celebrating the “three manly sports”: wrestling, archery, and horsemanship. Cadets watched the games firsthand in the National Stadium, and were even featured on Mongolian television in the stands. Other highlights of the trip included visits to the Winter Palace of the Bogd Khan, the home of the last king (khan) of Mongolia; a Buddhist temple in Terelj National Park; and Blue Lake, where Chinggis Khaan was named emperor in 1189.