The last week...

kids keeping busy while we have language session with Milayana's dad

She smiles away when they are playing but as soon as she sees the camera she stops smiling..

k...not sure why the pictures are so wonky...remember you can click on them to see them bigger and better :)

We got some fun packages this past week...cool canada socks...cool towels...great books and magazines and treats... thanks!

Josiah enjoying his new stuff...

Josiah

Emma checking to see if she was smiling :)

Huddy playing with his friend from the next building

The boys challenging Femi in boxing.  I'm sure in real life he could beat them but not on the wii :)

Huddy trying to help Femi out.

We've had more English going on in the house lately with the Americans, Nigerians, and even an Australian girl around.  Lots of fun.  We also started up English Club again...though I forgot to take a picture.  A few new girls came and our language helper Arat came too.  Arat is helping us out for a few months as Snegilya (our regular helper) is in her home village for a while teaching English. 

Sorry it's been a bit...  we have been busy but mostly It's cause we had no internet for a few days.  Glad to be back.  Thanks for checking in on us! 

Little Dancer

When woke up from a mini nap today David had done Emma's hair and makeup up so she could see what it's like to be in a ballet show.  Maybe I should hide my makeup when I'm asleep:)  The two of them had gone out today to buy Emma the proper hair things, and ribbons for her ballet shoes for her upcoming dance class!!!!  She is soooo excited.  We have been hoping she could get into some kind of dance program for a long time and now she starts on Oct. 1st.  It's classic dance so maybe ballroom, ballet and dances like that.

Emma and I went wandering around town this morning- we found corn on the cob!  Yay!  anyway...i'm a pretty fast walker but she was sooo full of energy.  I was trying hard to keep up.  no luck though..especially on the way back with my arms full of corn and potatoes and meat.  It's cooling off- in fact they have turned on our heaters.  I'm glad...I LOVE the cooler weather.  yay! 

Naadym begins...

these next couple of days are super fun around here because we are celebrating Naadym- kind of a Republic Day... To us it means horseraces, camels and reindeer, throatsinging, archery, dancing, yurts, crowds, tuvan food and tuvan wrestling!  We spent the day out of the city (a wee bit out..not far) watching some of our closest friends and cheering them on.  Because of our time teaching English in the village there were a lot of people that knew us and we visited a couple of times in the yurt that was set up from that village.  Our friend Saiid sang, some of our girl students were in dances and the boys were in the horseraces which are soooo amazing.  young boys, bareback for up to 40km...   crazy.  and the boy who won was not just from the village we lived in but the house we lived in!  Yay Echis!  We met so many of the people we know but haven't seen for a while at the festival today...so thankful for such a good day.  And tomorrow...we get to watch Maadyr wrestle again!  Yay!

Little boy coming in way ahead of the others for first place (20km race)

First Place!!!

Young Bareback Riders

Didn't like to see this horse come in the finish without a rider...hope his boy was ok...

Our friend Kongar-ool was there announcing at the races but he saw us and came to give Josiah some big hugs...

This man and woman remembered David from a couple of years back.  They are alpinists that are climbing mountains in 7 continents...David was going to do a climb with them (just one in Tuva) but it was the same time as a conference so he couldn't do it.  They are writing a book about their travels/rockclimbing.   Fun to meet up with them again.  No Huddy did not want to be in the picture :)

David congratulating some of the village boys that we taught, the boy on the back of the horse came in 2nd place in the shorter race.  We taught those village kids well didn't we :)

Shamans arriving at the festival

Reindeer...such fuzzy antlers...

Honoured Guests in the Shambalyg Yurt- kids looked worried that they'll have to have some sheep intestines:)  It was cold so the salty tuvan milk tea tasted better than it has in the last few months...

watching the horse races

I love camels...

this is the yurt from the village we lived in, fun to see all the familiar faces- the girls were in our English classes

IT's the winner of the long race!!!!!!!!!!!!   ECHIS!!!!!!!!  YAY!!!!!!!!!   SO proud of him.  Huddy and Jo loved wrestling with him when we lived together in the village.  Maybe he can teach the boys to ride in a couple of years.  
His first place prize was something like a stove.  funny.  just what every young boy wants :)

The guy in the middle is our friend Saiid, we lived in their living room the whole time we were teaching English in the village!  They lived in our living room last night...so fun to return the favour a little bit:)