Dear readers,
I have an extra special treat for you today! Odin, the larger-than-life guy who is always hopping from one crazy situation to the next, is here to share his summer reindeer-herding adventures! Enjoy!!
Katherine
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When I visited Katherine in Kharkov this
August, she asked me to write a blog entry about my travel to the
Tuvan reindeer herders this past summer. After months of
procrastination, I've finally obliged. This first part is more about
the journey—why and how I got there—than about the herders
themselves. The next part will be about our few weeks of life with
them among the reindeer.
My enthusiasm for reindeer is something
that was gradually born from my enthusiasm for Russian language and
culture. As it happens, I first met Katherine in Russian 101 at
University of Alaska Fairbanks, where we learned to say phrases like
"привет!" "хорошо," and «ёбанный
мороз!» After a few years of studying Russian, we decided to do
a student exchange together, to Yakutsk, Sakha Republic--in the
"ёбанный мороз" (&*&E@%! cold)
Northeastern corner of Siberia. Here we are in 2006, shortly after
arriving, together with Gunhild (Norway) and Ruslan (Yaktusk local).
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| L to R: Odin, Katherine, Gunhild, Ruslan. |
Katherine and I both
dropped out of the exchange program after our first semester there. Katherine returned to Alaska, while I got short-term work teaching
grade-school English in Verkhoyansk--a small town in northern Sakha
Republic. While there, I traveled to the village of Sakkyryr for the
annual Reindeer Festival--my first glimpse at the world of domestic
reindeer and reindeer herders. I didn't really see or learn that
much, partly because I made the mistake of drinking too much vodka
with the herders. But it was enough to kindle a persistent, nagging
curiosity about reindeer and the folks who herd them.
