One year on

For multiple reasons, the need to begin blogging again has become apparent to me. My love of the written word has become more profound in recent times and as strange as it may sound, my absence from the blogosphere has created a longing in my heart. Having spent a year in Siberia, I've also come to the conclusion that the things I'm involved with actually may be interesting to others and therefore, I should probably try to communicate them to the world.

The Blog is definitely the most accessible form of information. As President Medvedev recently said in an interview, "soon people will be sitting down with their computers and a cup of coffee in the morning instead of with the paper." I'm glad to hear it coming from him considering that's what I've been doing now for about 3 years. Furthermore, the communication infrastructure in Kyzyl, my newly adopted home town, has greatly improved within the past year making blogging a practical thing. It's a good time to start again.

One year on... what on earth does that mean? Before I develop this paragraph too deeply, the reader should know that I'm an American/Canadian who lives in the city that claims to be located in the Center of Asia, Kyzyl, Tuva Republic, Russian Federation. I'm a student at the Tuvan State University and an entrepreneur at heart. The Broadway musical "Rent" also asks what an actual "year" is. Simply put, it debates whether or not it is correct to measure a year as an expression of time or as a sum of the quantity of events multiplied by their quality. If I were to measure this past year as an expression of time, I'm a year older. 365 days, "five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes" have gone by. Nothing too special. I also recall a Calvin and Hobbes comic strip where Calvin says to Hobbes, something to the gist that, "I think that God puts us on earth to accomplish a certain amount of things before we die... at this rate I'm going to live for ever." I'm certainly not going to say that I've accomplished a lot this past year, but upon reflection, I still feel like I should be going gray by now.

Landing at the Tuvan State University the first week of September last fall was the beginning of something. Really it's still in the beginning stages so it's very difficult to comment too deeply. I landed in Siberia to pursue dreams, and while Tuva has presented it's self to be just about as far away from being the Shangri-la that some hippie tourists (and may I add some disillusioned locals) like to think it is as possible, it has become my home and I can honestly say I like it.

I am an adventurer and I'm not alone. I recall a tea store somewhere in Toronto, Canada. When you travel a lot you meet interesting people and they leave you with impressions. This profound man is now in the tea business, but as we chatted, he began to unroll the multicolor tapestry of his life. A young man, I doubt being over forty, has done more than most people would ever imagine doing. He's a modern day silk road merchant. He started telling me about his days in Pakistan searching for rugs for export. This story developed into his modern travels through China and other parts of the South Eastern Asia in his current pursuit of finding the best teas. I'm not going to say that this was any type of enlightening moment, but it was the first time I had ever met anyone who traveled with a purpose. Who dedicated large portions of his life to accomplishing a particular task or goal in a distant land, and in that sense, it was inspirational. I'm also not going to say that it was my main motivator, but when the opportunity presented itself last year to head off to the edge of the world I jumped.

While my desire is to try my hand at starting some businesses, I found that I needed to improve my Russian. Granted, I also had to find a way to get a visa to live in Russia, but whatever the reasons, I entered the Tuvan State University and began studying Russian Language and Literature. I probably study in the only university in Russia where the Russian Language and Literature majors speak in a language other than Russian during their out of class activities. Honestly though, the linguistic diversity and stability found in Tuva is simply another reason that life is so interesting in Tuva. And as Tuvan is next on my list it also gives me long term goals to aim for.

While my grades don't reflect it (as grades often don't) I must have made progress in my Russian this past year, because I've started reading Russian stuff for fun. The more creative the writing the harder it is, but I'll be reading Derjavin, Trediakovskii, and Sumarokov, in no time. Also, I can get around Russia no problem now. The nation that Churchill described as "a puzzle wrapped inside a labyrinth inside an enigma" has slowly been opening up and yielding it's mystery to me.

And in the area of my dreams? Well, my heart lies in the area of alternative energy. I think I could get passionate about starting a windmill factory, or opening an import export business and somehow work solar panels into the deal. Or better yet, try out that blue print I've been toying around with in my mind to develop a steam powered generator fueled by the sun's rays bouncing off some parabolic lenses. (yeah!) Anyway, that is the future, and like any true entrepreneur, I've already begun trying things.

I've recently been able to buy a garage where I hope to be able to develop some prototype windmills. Also, I've been working with a friend making some construction blocks from slag, the waste product after burning coal. Another project involves developing an ice-cream stand. After a recent trip to Moscow, I've been able to get in touch with one of the largest providers of ice-cream products in Russia. All relatively simple, but exciting stuff.

Anyway, that's a little bit about me, a twenty-first century adventurer. As the years go by (aka events), I'll let you know what happens in this far off unique part of the world.