Trip to Tuva Summer 09

This was only my second time there – but this time it was for a whopping 4 days. I apologize for my sarcasm, but I have to admit, it’s a little lame to only get to TRAVEL to this amazing place and not live there. Don’t get me wrong, I love it here in beautiful Akademgorodok, where the forest is green and there’s the smell of flowers in the air. I know that God has brought me here – to what might be the best Russian language program in Siberia and to Baba T. – for a very good reason. It’s always just a bit hard to leave Tuva - a place that is so unique, so beautiful, so isolated, so hard, so lost and yet, somehow, reminds me of home.

Enough of the “prolog”, the trip there with the Orner family went well – we took a train for 24 hours to Abakan (the last stop) and then a taxi for 5 hours to Kyzyl, Tuva. My friend had asked for a few things from our metropolis here in Novosibirsk that he couldn’t get anywhere his side of the Sayan Mountains. I was a bit reluctant to hall a futon mattress, 2 mattress covers (the size of sleeping bags) and a mirror along with my personal belongings over this long journey. But I didn’t want to “wimp-out” so Baba T. and I packaged up the things. Praise the Lord that everything fit on the train and in the taxi!

Samuel did great on the train ride!

While there, I got to meet some new brothers and sisters and got to know some people from the first trip much better (my language had improved quite a bit since the last time I was there 6 months ago!).

A sister who works as an English teacher at the Tuvan State University gave me a little tour of the campus where I might study at in the fall of 2010. The campus is in the middle of nowhere – so it feels like home!

We also got to go to barbecue at a family’s house out in the county and use their REAL Russian banya – this little log house didn’t exactly have the “relaxing atmosphere” of the public city banyas I’d been to. I seriously thought that my body was going to catch on fire and the lady with us was a “professional” at beating people with birch branches . . . IT WAS GREAT!!

Nothing like roasting imported marshmallows after the banya! Seems, i got this one a little over done...

I decided to take the bus home, to give it a try and to be back to Novosibirsk in time to help Baba T. with a memorial dinner for her husband (more on that to come…I hope). It was only 21.5 hours and the bus was only half full so I had 2 seats to sleep in. Our bus was a modern, spacious, clean Mercedes Benz with a big screen TV (that worked for 30 minutes before all the shaking of the bus got to it).

Highlights of the trip:

laughing with friends

being encouraged with language

playing hooky for a week

gaining a better understanding of life in Tuva and how to pray

S’mores in Siberia

Last weekend I went to “the beach” with a group of people from church. It was at the Big Sea (translated literally) just outside our suburb – it’s really just a big reservoir, but I didn’t mind, having grown up in Wyoming!I wasn’t planning on going because of my need to do homework and sleep but Lena talked me into it and I actually brought my homework with me! I also took along the graham crackers, Hershey’s chocolate bars and marshmallows that came in my birthday package a while back (I had been saving them for such an occasion).

While we were standing around fixing sandwiches and hot dogs over the camp fire one guy asked me “In American movies I see people roasting little white things over the camp fire. What are those?” Wanting to keep the marshmallows a surprise I just answered “maybe someday you’ll get to try one.”The s’mores were a hit! Next time we’re going to experiment with Russian marshmallows (closer to that of a Circus Peanut) and some thin cookies!We played volleyball (stood in a circle and volleyed the ball). Anyone who’s seen me play knows I’m no stud – but I sure felt like one compared to my dear soccer playing friends! There were only a few times the volley lasted 4 hits – but I will admit they weren’t bad at kicking and head-butting the ball.They asked me if I knew of any games that would be fun to play. I decided to give the “Hwaa Game” a try – a game my college buddy, Nelson made up. (It involves speed and rhythm while making ridiculously stupid karate noises - for further explanation view the video :) ) They seemed to like it - despite some pretty pathetic "hwaa" and "highya" noises!
It was a lot of fun to just hanging out with friends – they even helped me with my homework!

Dacha and Dochka

Last Saturday I was finally able to go to Baba T's dacha (a garden outside of town, usually with a little house on the property as well). I asked her if I could come along and she said it would be pretty boring and that I should wait until the summer when things were planted and everything was in order and it was a good place to rest. But I told her that I wanted to come and help her (she has been going everyday she isn’t babysitting the grand kids). She said she NEVER lets anyone help her but decided I could come along to see her dacha and rest while she worked (I will admit, these where not my intentions).

Her dacha is a couple miles out of town through a forest – about a 10-15 minute drive by car. The walk there was beautiful – as we winded through the trees on a path only traveled by those heading to their dachas, it was soothing too see budding trees, wild flowers and NO trash! Baba T. said she just loves to see the forest as it “wakes up”.

I had seen a picture of the dacha in her “glory days” when Baba T. had the help of her husband along with time and energy to keep everything up. At one time, their dacha was their summer home, vacation spot, and much enjoyed hobby. But Baba T. warned me that things were far from being in order there, especially in her little house. Regardless, it was a pleasure to see this place that was so special to Baba T.

Her dacha (like most) is located in a community of dachas. These communities have electricity with a community water well. Though most had small humble homes only occupied in the summer, some were rather large and modern. Some people have a dacha just for a place to get away and not for the purpose of the garden. The wealthier people pay someone to live in their house year round to protect the property (as homes are often vandalized during the off season).

One of Baba T's neighbors looked of similar age and was working there by herself. We worked together to burn the dried grass and weeds. While I was a distance away I heard the neighbor ask Baba T. who I was. I didn’t hear all of what Baba T. said, but I caught that she called me her “dochka” – a form of the word for daughter. Baba T. often tells me that she is my mother (usually in the context of her telling me what to wear or do implying that I must listen to what she says). But I had never heard her call me her daughter before. :)

After she gave me a tour of her house and the plot of land where she grows different vegetables, fruits and flowers, she told me to just lay down on the couch and read a book or nap. I told her I didn’t bring a book and I wanted to help. After asking several times what I could do to help – she eventually let me help her weed a little flower bed. Apparently, I performed to her satisfaction because I was then given the task of helping her burn the old dried up weeds in what used to be a beautiful flower garden. Call me a pyro – but I really enjoyed this task!

Her son showed up in the afternoon and the 3 of us enclosed 2 of the 3 green-house style shelters. By the end of the day Baba T. had repeated said that she just couldn’t have done all these things without our help. She even made a comment something like this, “I guess you can work.” (While this could be taken as an insult, I took it as a victory!) :)

I not only got to grow closer to Baba T, but also enjoyed a little taste of home (wearing work cloths, getting dirty, enjoying the outdoors and WORKING!!)

"Encouraging" Exam (take 2)

(I was made aware that some people where unable to view this blog, so we'll try it again...)
The last week in April we took a 5 part (grammar, writing, reading, listening and speaking) test over the Russian language to judge where we were at and what we needed to work on more since we had just completed our 2nd text book and where moving up a level. Though the test results don't really effect anything – I was praying for encouraging results. But, I guess I should have been more specific with that prayer . . . I wanted them to be encouraging by showing results of much progress and high level of performance – NOT results that would encourage me to try harder!

I was pretty hard on myself for my poor results – especially in the area of speaking! But since then, God has comforted my heart and reminded me to lean on Him because He will accomplish what He has brought me here to do (Romans 4:20-21). I will keep striving and not just look at the “failures” but also take note of just how far God has brought me in language learning. On a positive note, the listening portion was cake – I actually laughed while listening to the audio recording for this part of the test and thought to myself, “If only Baba T. and my friends spoke this slow . . .”