It was great!

Oh, it was so great, because I got a Google Alert*. And that is why I just saw a video which is about ten couples from ten different countries. (If you click your curser over the title of this post you'll go there, my kind and clever big guy just made that for me!) One American man organised a kind of travel quiz competition for them all to drive across the US, and they had to go to special places and do many different things, keeping a logbook and taking pictures. They stayed together every night to have a party where they told their adventures of the day. 

But what was special was that one of the couples was from TYVA!! I didn't believe it, it was our most famous man Kongar-ool Ondar, and his wife! Here is his photograph with his cool traditional ponytail hairstyle! He is not only a politician but mainly the best older throat-singer in Tyva, he was the first to come to the West to show that style of singing which is typical of our culture. It was so funny to see him react to seeing the horses on TV in the motel  (we have a lot of horses in Tyva, and the throat-singing began with the lonely herders on horseback, entertaining themselves being inspired by nature). They were also barn-dancing, visiting some hippies living in yurts and singing with some native tribesmen and so on. It was one hour long, so interesting and entertaining. 

I forgot to say - he met a young Tyvan girl working in the motel, I think, who got such a big shock to see him in America, it was funny - she couldn't believe it! 

(Later) Now I found some links for throat-singing which I put here at the bottom of the blog. The first four are famous ensembles and last five just some demonstrations of the different styles. See I made the list look like a lady dancing!

* If you want to find out what new things are on the Web about Tyva then you can ask that kind man Mr Google to send you an Alert each time to your e-mail, it's very simple - just remember to make two alerts, one with Tyva and another with Tuva. Of course you can make an alert about anything, like poodles or flying-saucers, that fascinates you! You should also subscribe to TyvaOnline from Dina Oyun, who is the next most famous person. (look on the left side). It's also in English. Actually I forgot, really THE - anyway in Russia - most famous Tyvan (half) is the Russian Minister for Crisis, Disasters and Catastrophes - there really is such a person, Sergey Kuzhugetovich Shoygu! And by the way, he is surviving from the early days of Yeltsin, so he must be very good at whatever he does, anyway he gets lots of practice in Russia!!! He also discovered an old Uyghur fort 'Por Bazhyn' on an island in a lake in the 'taiga' (n. 'A subarctic, evergreen coniferous forest of northern Eurasia located just south of the tundra and dominated by firs and spruces.'). Why is there not a word for that? I think this * is now too long, I must shut up.

P.S. 'Men Tyva men' does not mean I'm obsessed with the males from my homeland!