Wednesday 24 September 2014

Bario, you blew me away (no pun intended)

“A place is only as good as the people in it.” – Pittacus Lore

There is a great degree of truth in that quote - and Bario is a prime example.

The warmth and hospitality of the wonderful Bario folk intertwined with the breath-taking natural beauty of Bario, along with its hilly landscape, misty mornings, and starry nights, is what makes Bario such a special place.

Upon arrival, some of us were told that we had to walk from the Bario airport to the Bario Asal longhouse. We gladly agreed to walk and as we made our way to the longhouse, we immediately realised how visibly beautiful Bario was. The clear blue sky, the view of hills and mountains (some fully visible, some hidden behind puffy clouds), the many paddy fields, the clean and fresh air – we were captivated.


Sadly, it started to rain and so, we had to be picked up, which meant that we jumped onto the back of a truck headed towards the Bario Asal longhouse. When we arrived at the longhouse, we were welcomed by Tepuq Sina Rang who hugged us and called us her “susu'” (grandchildren in Kelabit). It was my first hour in Bario, but I had a feeling that I was in a place “as good as the people in it”.

Fast forward to my second last day in Bario, when I was in church, I realised something: I have never felt so much as being part of a community – not in the way I did in Bario. I knew many of my neighbours and having taught at the primary school and secondary school twice, I also knew many of the younger people – and for the first time, I was on the receiving end of awkward hello waves students give to “teachers”.

That realisation was setting in when the Pastor called all of us, Project WHEE! participants to come on stage. I was not sure what it was all about and not being a Christian myself, I could not have been more clueless. As I stood in line with my friends on stage, I realised what was going on: they were praying for us individually, one by one. I was so touched.


In retrospect, I think that perhaps, to some extent, I felt this sense of community more than ever because I felt as if I have fulfilled some of my responsibilities as a fellow member of the community. Adding a twist to Stephen Chbosky’s famous quote, I guess I can say that perhaps, we accept the sense of community we think we deserve.



As I bade farewell, I said my goodbyes not to a place, but to people - and in the wise words of Winnie the Pooh, "How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard."


So, thank you, Bario, for you have blown me away - and I will never be the same again.


Kan Wai Min aka Lian


PS: Bario in Kelabit means wind - I hope this explains the "no pun intended".

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