by John Beagle

Ankhaa and Dembee were visitors in our home last week. Ankhaa celebrated his 16th birthday on Sunday. Dembee already is 16. Neither boy spoke any english. Thumbs up was the first sign language we learned. Do you like this? Thumbs up or down?

While Ankhaa lives in a traditional house in town, Dembee lives in a ger in the countryside. Life is quite different in Monglolia. There is limited electricity and running water. But there are lots of cell phones.

Everything was an adventure. From taking showers to eating hamburgers like a sandwich, the boys received an education in our American ways. We played golf, basketball, and soccer with my 16 year old son, Bobby.

One night the boys made us a traditional Mongolian supper. They went shopping for the food. Prepared the food and then performed music on their Morin Khurr (horse head fiddle) for us. The attached video is the performance from last Thursday night in our Monroe, Ohio home.

For more photos visit my Mongolian Visitors flickr set.