Yesterday

The phone rang and I could understand enough of the Russian to know I was late for breakfast. As the only guest, they make sure I eat well- 10 pieces of fried bread, sausage, and tomatoes. A 30 minute walk through pine and birch plantations to Siberian Federal University, where I lecture to students on climate change and ecology and prepare for my “expedition” to Tuva Republic. And then to an office so reeking of cigarettes that I wonder if I will lose my sense of smell. The university safety officer wants to clear me and my research for personal health and national security reasons. All goes well, but he requires me to draft a letter to the head of the Cultural Studies Department, who are hosting me. I do so, make sure it gets a stamp (to be official, of course), and am told it is wonderful by someone who doesn’t speak English. The head of the Dept. doesn’t speak English either, but my letter is cleared nonetheless. Then I spent awhile absorbing the deep and unreal sounds of Tuvan throat singers on the internet. Listen HERE and HERE and HERE (for a longer video with explanations also). Makes me SUPER excited to go there!

Then off to a Tajik birthday party! I don’t know if I’ve ever met any people who needed so little reason to laugh! It was great. It may seem odd, but they spoke of “Soviet hospitality,” and they’re quite right. The countries are cold and largely empty of people, but where people are, they welcome you.

I also kicked-started the planning for my trip to Tuva, since no one else seemed inclined (people tend to avoid being responsible for things, it seems). And it certainly worked! After a week when no one mentioned the trip, the entire department was abuzz, panicked, almost, about preparations. Four of us will take a 12 hr overnight bus on Saturday to Kyzyl, the capital. And on Monday morning, we’ll take a 9 hr all-terrain-van ride that ends with a ford over a potentially frozen river, before the town of Toora-Khem. We’ll stay at a hotel there and make day trips to the villages of Adyr-Kezhig and Iy. My dream would be to stay there when the other researchers return at the end of a week. But that depends on finding someone who would let me join them hunting sable or in town, and with whom I can communicate enough. I hardly know any Russian, and it's not even the first language in Tuva! So, we’ll see what happens. For now, I’m excited to go to a republic accessible by only 2 roads.