a bit depressed, stressed

Husband says I'm always depressed at this time of the year. Well, maybe, BUT THE CRISIS MAKES IT WORSE. The company, his one, invited us so we went Tuesday to Ontario to the opening of the new idea, the Diamond Bourse of Canada. It looks like it's been finished very quickly, I looked at the website and it's not even all there yet. Everyone was tring to look happy, positive and so on. There was some nice food, it was the Intercontinental in Toronto. It was mostly quite boring, just ok to go away and see something.

Can you imagine, it is a little country in Africa that is the biggest country for diamonds in the world? It is Botswana, do you know where it is? Then it is Russia and afterwards Canada. But even 15 years ago there were no diamonds in Canada, so they are lucky, they make 15 percent of them all now here. But more than half of all the world's diamonds are sold in the States. For example, it was told that De Beers mine 40% of all the diamonds, just one company. But now they don't sell so much, it's a pity, it's our problem too.

Can you imagine (again) that to come to the big city and not to go shopping? I don't know, it's so stupid this crisis, I feel it is very strange, like not real, actually.

So they are going to build that railway to Kuragino, I suppose it will be like Tibet afterwards, I just hope that it will only be good tourists and Tyvans who use it (with all that dirty coal also, of course). And I hope it makes all that is imported cheaper, as well. It will be more convenient than the bus to reach Abakan, but maybe too expensive?

When I feel like it I will write more.

PROBLEMS AT NEW YEAR

I am still shaking too much. Husband just got the call from the company. He didn't tell me at the weekend, what about was the meeting where he went last week. Now he told me that the company has decided to close some places cos people aren't buying enough diamonds. So of course I asked where did they close these mines, he told me now it is in Africa. So what? Well, he explained it depends on how expensive it is to dig them up in different places, it means all the costs. So in Canada they haven't mined diamonds for a long time, only about ten years I think, it's very new. But they already got 15% of the market in the world. Only problem is it costs a lot to start new mines and look for them, more here than other places. It's about the effect of glaciers he said. So now they cut back on it all. Like also for the tarsands, now gas is going so cheap again. It's not worth it, it costs too much to make a profit now. Damn. I already got cut back about half time from my work, cos Russia doesn't pay any more for so much, mainly only the customers here still want some translations for their business there.

One of my neighbours, oh it is C, you know, she thought her parents can get rich from oil, they live in that place over the other side of the border they talk about called Bakken. But then they knew that they didn't own the oil, only the dirt on top. That's when she met her oilman who is canuck, he was down there working. Now he went to the tarsands but she wouldn't go too. I'm so nervous I just write about anything. What should I think. What will happen? The banks here are ok, no problem they say. The auto factories are in bad problems, but it's not near here. The farmers have problems cos the price of the food goes so much up and down, just last year it was crazy for them. We know some of them, they got some problem with their banks I know.

DAMNACK. Sorry. It's my own Russian-canuck mat. What to do? Of course we didn't finish to pay for the house. But I think we got insurance for that. If it is necessary. Wow. WOW. We also have to pay for the car every month, or it goes from the bank anyway automatically. Where will they close down, when will they close down, will husband's job stop.....? He said gold is ok, it keeps going up now. But maybe that's only while the rich people have money for it. It can crash too like diamonds, perhaps. Holy cr*psh*ts that's what C says, she's Catholic. Her pop's Italian, she makes Italian cookies and other national cooking, which is very tasty. Anyway husband doesn't know so much about gold, I think. Before he was the coal specialist. That was his work after studies here, in Mongolia. Then he studied again and learned about diamonds. Maybe coal is better now, there must always be electricity I suppose. I don't want to live in Mongolia, even to be nearer Mom and Dad and all. I like to be just where I am now, if it can stay like that as I hope.

Husband called his family in UB and I called my Dad and step-mom to say happy new year cos in Mongolia it's bituun, then it's their White Month there like Shagaa. It was difficult to make the connection. But it's terrible, a lot of animals died again like before, about 8-9 years ago, that was really very terrible. They can't do anything about it, it's such a pity for them and the animals. Only sometimes can they sell some meat in Russia, but it's a problem, that's why my dad lives there now and then I left. So there it's not a happy time before the new year, it is really very dark. But those ninjas who have got gold last summer will make happy first steps, I am sure. If they didn't spend it all already.

Husband said I'm too enthusiastic about new year, cos there was one at the temple, it was in January (it was the Chinese one) and I called my Mom and she said I am crazy, she didn't know about it, but no-one decided what day it will be yet. Oops. There are too many new years now, Russians have two of them, an old one and a new one. So then I saw from Dina at TuvaOnline that our high lama found out about it, by magic or by internet, I don't know! We had a little one with our friends already, but now we will just think about our families, and about our friends at home, and about the news we hear from them, what is happening and such gossip. It's sad to be so far away. And we don't have such good news to tell, really it's a pity. (We called that Mongolian friend here too with our wishes, they also are worried about it all, in Mongolia and here. It's strange, isn't it, we didn't talk about it with them at that weekend, maybe we wanted just to forget it then.)

Only we can hope for the best and be afraid about the worst. I understand it's the yank bankers that made our big crisis problems, they were too greedy as Obama said. But no-one caused the bad weather, unless it's from the global warming. I did one translation about it, I know US use 25% of all energy, but are only 5% of people. Here in Canada we use even more, but it's colder here and we are not so many people, maybe 10% of US. In Russia and in Europe it was written they use only half so much for each person. I think we should try to be more careful about the world. It's my wish for the new year. I hope it becomes happier later, let's wait and see. Maybe sometimes it's good not to have any kids, huh.

I'll talk to home tomorrow.

Obama: half full or half empty?

I drive my friends and neighbours crazy with my idea, but I don't mind it. I'm right, after all, so they must just learn that.

Barack Obama, who is now president of our smaller neighbour just south of the border (where our criminals go to hide when they are 'on the run' from our Mounties. Where do Mexicans run?) is the subject and object of my study. In order to demonstrate that I am very clever and that what I say is absolutely true, I need some very simple apparatus. Actually I get it in the kitchen cabinet: it is a drinking glass. This must be filled about exactly half full with water. It doesn't matter if it is hot, cold or something in between, for the purpose of this scientific experiment. Only that it is about 50% full and also, for the same reason, 50% empty. 

At this point of my project I ask my friends/neighbours: 'Please decide - is the glass half full, or half empty?' So they argue and of course, eventually they have to agree with each other the real truth of this matter. It is both, at the same time, so no-one is right and no-one is wrong - or, everyone is right and everyone is wrong. It's the same.

Now I show my truly wonderful, world class intellectual superiority. I ask: 'Is Barry Hussein white or black?' They look at me as they look at a madman, I suppose, only I'm a woman. That's probably worse for them. Of course they have seen him in the news all the time for I don't know how long time. Everyone says: 'It's a miracle, Americans can elect a BLACK man as their president, wow, it's just before the end of the world, so amazing!' Well, I know a secret about that man. He is WHITE. And I can prove it, it's very simple and obvious.

Obamarama had a father from Africa, he was black. He had a mother who was from America, she was white.  I am not so good in mathematics, but I know that this man is exactly half full of black and half full of white. But he is not grey, just like that glass is not full of thick fog or something like that. Half is full and half is empty, at the same time. So Obama is also EXACTLY half white and half black. But he also doesn't have white legs and black top part (I saw his legs in Hawaii). This means that the only fair, just, democratic and truthful way to describe his colour is that one time you call him white, the next time you call him black. If it is necessary to describe that at all.

Now, I am a realist, I hear everyone calling him black. That means that I must try to make the balance in reality, so I call him white, because this is just as much the truth as that he is black. My problem is, that I am only one person who does this, and I need some help to make the scientific balance. Will you help me to do this? And you should also ask your friends and relatives and neighbours to do it, because it will only be balanced if everyone follows my principle. Our task will only be finished when we hear everyone implementing this correct scientific law. Then everyone will be 100% correct, instead of 99.999999999% who are wrong as now. (0.0000000001 is me.)

By the way, I am yellow, as they say. Just, when I look at me in the morning in the mirror, I can't see something like a lemon or canary or school bus or canola or. What else is yellow, I forget. I see I got a little tan from the sun at last weekend. That's nice, it's good for some vitamin, is it D? And I can save some money from cosmetics budget. I am also a woman. I heard they say that women cannot be logical, so that's another thing I proved.

What colour will you be today? Please choose any colour you like, but not blue, I hope!

Editor's note: I am this woman's neighbor Catarina, and she refused me a mug of coffee until I looked at this thing to see if anything was wrong as far as English. I just want to say that she talks and writes as good as where I come from in Williston ND, but you betcha she's crazy about some things, she did that glass thing and got me calling the President white, so help me God, I swear it's true. By the way, she helped me with the spelling of this. Is the States really smaller? Her husband's away, that's why I got the job. Now she's hassling me about punctuation. I couldn't even spell that. I'll bring my own coffee next time, darn it. No, that isn't a bad word, now pour the coffee before I say one. ;-) C (an sh'aint' yella niether)

My note about Editor: She is a good neighbour who looks nicely after Percy when we go away. But I think she's not good to be an editor. Her cookies are good. Her husband is an oilman but they are actually not married yet. Gossip gossip.

Happy weekend at friends

It’s gotten quite cold now, it has been below -20 anyway where we went for the weekend. It's -30 in Tyva, they say now. Husband’s friends (mine also but she’s Mongolian, it’s how we know them) live a few hours away in a beautiful place. That is, when you can see it. Right now everything is just white, but we also visit when there isn’t snow. We love it there because here is very flat and just like steppe all around, even some sandy desert places really like between Tyva and Mongolia around the border crossing area. There where they live it is like the hills, forests and lakes around south Tyva and north Mongolia, so it’s like at home for us really. Even some animals and trees like ours! It is close by the border to Alberta and Montana, and the most beautiful part is also a provincial park. 

It is better to go when there isn’t snow, to walk and swim and picnic. But now we visited just for a change and it was so nice, they have a log home with big fireplace so it was warm. That man also works at mining, so it’s how husband found out about his wife. She’s so nice, we talk about our families and home and so on. Of course we also make some traditional foods for the meals together and lots of salt tea, which her husband doesn’t like! He was also working at mining in Mongolia, but not at the same time as husband. They got three kids, and I love to be with them too, they are sooo cute! There was some snow and some sun too, so we went with the kids to the hill with some plastic sleds, until we got cold. Of course I fell off but it’s ok when it is very cold like that. You can also ski there but I can’t do it.

Anyway we pretended it was New Year already and played some old games after eating, and listened to her CDs from Mongolian singers. It sounds some more like Chinese than Tyvan ones, I think. She told me a saying she read from Dalai Lama: 

‘The key to a happier world is the growth of compassion. We do not need to become religious. All that is necessary is for each of us to develop our good human qualities.’ 

I wish Dalai Lama didn’t say ‘All’ because that makes it sound too easy and I find it is difficult for me. And what should we do with our bad qualities? They are there, I can’t ‘undevelop’ them. (I know it’s not a real word.) Her husband isn’t Buddhist but he likes to come to the temple in any case.

When we were talking we said ‘Oh, we sound like the old people now, just the good old days!’ because we talked about when we were kids and wintertime. Then the kids went to their computer. Canadian husband always says it was the same for him, but we know it wasn’t so bad here at that time. Even though he had to like us go to ‘have a look at the animals’ in the yard, even in the storm or the icy snow, and in the dark too! We laughed about it - I’m so happy it’s not like that for us here now, but still we think about our families who don’t have the bathrooms yet, or even the water in the house. I remember the ice in the bucket.

That place has the history about the starting of RCMP, our Mounties, because there was a big fight with some yanks that came over the border and some first nation people, so afterwards they decided to start the police in Canada. There is an exhibition at the fort about it, we saw it I think the first time we came to see them. In summer there are too many people in some places, like the big lake like our Chagytay, but we are lucky our friends know where to go. I look forward to coming there every time. They like to visit us because we are on the way to the city, and we are lucky there is the Highway between us, although it’s boring to see the view when we are driving, I fall asleep, because it’s very far for me.

'About Tyva in English'

So, as you can see I made a Google Group (at the left!). That is another new thing for me to investigate, what it is and how to use it. 

Now it's Sunday and I just had the big catastrophe, I did something stupid and lost all my writing, so I'll do it again later. It's very annoying.

I'll now try again, and thank you, husband for showing me the button I must press to save my writing. (And why didn't you explain me BEFORE?) Well, I wrote so many interesting and clever things, and now I can't remember anything, of course. 

Yes, the Group, well - now it already has some members, I'm so happy about it. They are from America, and want to know about Tyva. Now I wait for some Tyvans to come and help me answer the questions! The Group has some useful parts, I made a Page where you can see the weather and the time in Tyva, so you can use it to know what clothes to pack if you shall visit Tyva, and if you want to make a call, you can really make sure to do it in the middle of the night, to annoy someone very much!

Also you can see some other Pages. These can have useful interesting information from the members. I put part of my collection of websites about Tyva, in categories, and now husband showed me I can make them live, so I started to do it. I have more links to put there. (I just remembered to push the 'save now' button, good!) What else - oh yes, there is another page where I started to collect the blogs about Tyva, so I hope we find more to put there. Oops, I just realised I should put this one! Doh. Then because I had a blog about our most famous throat singer who was in a funny video, and another member had never heard about it, she has started a page with videos about Tyva, so it should also get bigger.

There are also Discussions, already I tried to start some about fashion, and about spirituality. I tried to be provoking argument but only got agreements! So far. And anyone can decide another discussion topic, of course. Some members already wanted to know about language, Tyvan sheep-murderers (it was a vegetarian) and will start discussions about it soon I hope.

About language, the group for me is great practice, now I have written so many mails already as well because of it! Husband only corrects this blog, and so I hope the English writers/readers will have time to correct the things the Tyvans write, I already got some good advice there. It is so difficult for some people in Tyva to have the chance to meet a foreigner and to get such help, so I hope some of them find this way, and some kind native speakers will help us. I suppose some Tyvans may like to be anonymous like me, to keep the level of their English secret, if they are shy! (Maybe a teacher!)

By the way, my husband came to Canada as a teenager exchange student, and afterwards studied here. After finishing he got work here because mining is very important, he was lucky his branch was just beginning. (Guess what, girls: it's  DIAMONDS  !!! But he doesn't bring his work home, it's a pity!) Anyway, what I wanted to explain - we speak English at home, but it's at a banal level, of course, we don't have so many intellectual debates! He speaks much better than me, he lived here longer and speaks English all day. But at my work I translate a lot into Russian, that helps me to learn new English words and is good for my English reading, but only here I can practice writing it. Then husband corrects it for me, isn't he good? (As he told me!)

Two foreigners wrote emails to me in Tyvan, it's very nice, but doesn't help my English. I must mail in Tyvan to my relatives and friends. I propose that this Group is only in English like my blog, and it is of course also possible to make another Group if they want to practice Tyvan language, and find some Tyvans who like to help them with that. It can be 'About Tyva in Tyvan'! But sorry I don't have time to make it for them, I am already confused with one blog and one group! (Pushed 'save now', again.) I hope they like to be members of this Group too, in any case.

Also I was asked to make a translation, but as I am a paid translator, and I know the TyvaLingua business in Kyzyl would like to have some work, I show my professional solidarity and refer this to them, to make them happy! If you like to have a translation, or to visit Tyva, they can arrange everything: tyvalingua@rambler.ru!

Oh, I can't remember what else I had written before. Yes, at the Group there are also Files. I don't know what that is yet at all. If someone has some good ideas about how to make the Group look better, please be welcome to say it. I already know some of our members have some experience! Also, the members can put some information about themselves at their Profile, of course, I can't remember if I did that yet. 

So, I welcome you to be a member of the Group 

About Tyva in English! 

Tell your friends!

(end of advertisement)

PS I started to try to make a website

INUITYVANS

(I only went to make a new pot of coffee and when I came back 'someone' had done 'something' to MY blog! I don't actually understand what kind of dancing monster it is. It must be some Mongolian devil-spirit ti-hi-hi! After too much araka! An over-spirited spirit!)

I (we) had to get used to being an Inuit here, in case you don't know, before that was called 'Eskimo'. Everyone who doesn't know us in Canada, when we meet the first time, they say 'Oh are you Inuit?', Eskimo is not the 'politically correct' name these days. Anyway I usually just say 'no, I'm a cousin' and then they look at me like I'm a crazy person who thinks Inuit is someone's name. 

I still have an accent, as many Inuits also have when they speak in English so they think I didn't understand, but it's just to tease them, which I enjoy! Then I explain that actually the Inuit were the last people to cross from Asia, even not all of them did, so some of them still are living in Chukhotka in Russia where Sarah Palin can see them (!). I mean it happened thousands of years ago of course. 

But why I say 'cousin' is that the clever scientists discovered that the Tyvan genes are the closest to the Inuit genes, so we are really cousins, relatives as you now see. And that's why people think we are Inuits. 

What a long way round in the circle. It must be the Arctic Circle.

By the way, we live very far away from the Inuits who are near the North Pole somewhere. And there are no Inuits who live here. Only us two. And Percy is not a husky-dog for a sled, she's almost a poodle. Now when I look up husky in Wikipedia I see there that Husky and Eski/mo are from the same origin. 

Just a little circle. 

I am going round in circles 

because it is snowing,  

and so I cannot see  

where I should be going.

That was a new poem by me just now.

I AM a crazy person. 

AND so is that one who puts his dancing devils here. Go AWAY. Shoo! Naughty man.

P.S.: The secret bad thing about being an INUITYVAN is that you got short legs usually.

YES,  I DISCOVERED  THE COLOUR BUTTON

Just about dogs

Percy, my darling, is lying correctly on my feet, as I have trained her. Yes, it's true, she's a little girl. But first things first: I sit here with my laptop at the table in front of the big window looking over our deck and yard. That's because I need daylight, I need inspiration, and I need to daydream while looking as if I am maybe busy. In case the male person is looking. But there is a draft of cold air falling from the window, under the table onto my feet. So I trained her as my feet-warmer. That's that matter.

Second, why is she a girl called Percy: that's my fault, I went to the pound to look at the dogs, in secret actually and with a girlfriend, I didn't even know if I wanted a dog. I know husband always had a dog when he was a kid. I was usually afraid of the dogs in Kyzyl and in the village, they are almost wild. Anyways, Cage 17 had a furry middle sized thing which looked at me real friendly. Wagged its tail, hung its tongue out a bit, a tiny bit dopey (I think that's a word) but cute.

Later, husband was brought in on the secret and dragged to see the prisoner in cage 17. He said he'd think about it, and I know that's because he thought that I would have all the fun and he'd have to go walks in the rain. (Only a little bit true, usually.) Then, when he said ok, we called the pound. Of course the soon-to-be-ex-prisoner had to have a name, and we chose Percy. Husband even created a 'Welcome Percy' sign for the basket on the computer and printed it out.

Then when we went to get the thing, we found out; well, she isn't exactly a 100% poodle, and she's not trimmed French-style or whatever it's called, so there is too much fur to see either this or that, you know what I mean? Anyway it doesn't matter, when I call out to her, nobody else knows the difference. Just about all the other dogs around here are neutered too, thank goodness, so it doesn't bother her any, either. That's all about Percy, she's only the dog. Good she can't read.

But I was forgetting about Polly. Actually Polly doesn't exist yet, or if he (!) does, we don't know it yet. On a personal note, we are not going to have our own kids, feel nervous so far about adopting, so we've been talking (mostly me) about a friend for Percy, from the pound again, we haven't asked them yet, but we'd want something around the same size, with long enough fur to conceal the evidence, and also quiet like her. Since, of course, it's cute to have a little boy and little girl, the next one's name would have to be female - yeah, it's dumb, but ...

This winter seems long, and it isn't halfway yet. It's always like that after New Years, I guess. At least here there is a real long spring to look forward to, at home it all happens so fast, one week it's freezing, then after a week of mud and slush, and a flash of green it's becoming a baking desert again - and time to find my namesakes. Yum yum.

Have to remember to call home to say Happy Shagaa. It won't make me happy, buhuhu. Happy earth cow, ox, yak, bull, whatever, to you too! 

Maybe I found too many gadgets now.