Singing Across Cultures
This week was heavily focused on the choir for the U.S. Embassy’s 250th birthday celebration, America Days. Each ward had been practicing on its own, but this week we began full choir rehearsals. One thing we have definitely learned through all our activities is that the Mongolian people work hard—and they work hard to make sure things are done right! We had three- to four-hour practices on Sunday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday leading up to the event on Saturday. Each rehearsal included pizza or sandwiches for everyone, and there was a lot of thoughtful preparation: matching outfits were ordered, American and Mongolian flags were purchased for each choir member to hold, and everyone was willing to do whatever it took to make the performance a success. Since we can’t understand much of what is being said, we often just hold on for the ride and hope we know what’s expected of us! It’s an adventure—one that we will always treasure. Everyone was so excited to sing, and the final perform...