Home from the conference

Yeah! David made it safely back home from the conference last evening. He had such a good time, which was obvious by the fact that he talked non-stop about it for several hours. :) They were able to observe, listen to, and participate in so many interesting culture events. We have LOTS of culture information to sort through and record!

On Friday, despite the rainy and cool weather, three buses took those attending the conference to different places in the Republic. They were greeted at various spots with the traditional Tuvan greeting, lots of food (including sheep!), and different traditional dance performances. They also stopped at several different spots which the Tuvans consider sacred, and different rituals were performed there.

Late Friday evening, they finally arrived at the Salt Sea. There, they were able to watch young boys competing in their favorite sport, Tuvan wrestling. As this sport is very important to them, it was explained in detail, and David learned even more about it. Then, around midnight, they were able to see and hear about all the different food items that the Tuvan people make, grow, and eat. It was very interesting, but needless to say, they were exhausted!

Saturday, they were able to hear more stories about life in Tuva and experience swimming, or rather floating, in the Salt Lake. David came home tired, sun-burned, and dirty, but very thankful for the opportunity they had to be a part of this conference and for all they learned. David took more video, but not many pictures. Hopefully I'll be able to get some more later from our co-workers. But for now, here are just a couple from their rainy day on Friday.