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By Kent Larsen
A Mongolian Teen's View of America
ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO -- He only has one name, comes from a country
half-way around the world, and is getting educational opportunities that his
friends back home don't get. 15-year-old Munkhbaatar (prounounced
MUNK-ba-tar) is from Mongolia, and is attending high school in Albuquerque
thanks to LDS Church members John and Carolyn Bennett.
The Bennett's met Munkhbaatar while serving an LDS mission to Mongolia in
1994. "He was just this cute, little boy who latched on to us and wanted to
learn from us," says Carolyn. "We continued being friends and invited him to
come to America and stay with us." But that invitation was expensive. John
Bennett, a retired Albuquerque doctor, had to pay a $4,000 fee to the
Immigration and Naturalization Service to get his visa accepted. Still,
Bennett says he didn't have any hesitation about paying the fee, "We prayed
about it and knew that we wanted to do this," says John. "The opportunities
Munkhbaatar is getting here are priceless. We want him to experience America."
Munkhbaatar is from Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia's capital. There, at age 15, he
had already completed all the public education available. Now, attending
Valley High, he is taking some courses that he wouldn't be able to take in
Mongolia. He has classes in both math and in English, but says he likes the
math best, "Calculus. I like calculus," he says with a smile. And, of
course, he is learning English, although he isn't quite comfortable with it
yet.
He says he is very grateful to the Bennett's for their help, and has a
fondness for them that he doesn't try to hide, "They're American
grandparents for me. They are so special to me." But Munkhbaatar also misses
his home. In Mongolia he even had some modern conveniences that he doesn't
have here, "For one thing, the computer he has in Mongolia is a lot faster
and better than the one his American grandparents have for him here," says
Carolyn with a chuckle.
"He misses certain things, we know that," says John Bennett. "It's a
beautiful country in a lot of respects. Right now he misses his friends and
family. That's understandable." So Munkhbaatar has found things to do to
alleviate the loneliness, including scouting, church and various community
activities. He's made friends here and enjoys seeing movies, especially
animated movies, which aren't available in Mongolia. "My favorite American
movie is 'Beauty and the Beast' " he says.
Munkhbaatar will stay in Albuquerque with the Bennett's for a year, and then
return to Mongolia. He currently has a sister living in Hawaii and another
in Provo, Utah. He wants to return to the U.S. to attend college, preferably
at BYU-Hawaii, and then attend medical school.
Source:
Travels With Munkhbaatar
Albuquerque NM Journal 25Sep01 P2
By Barbara Chavez: Journal Staff Writer
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