Precious Moments While Beading

One of the things that I loved doing in Bario is stringing beads. At such moments, it was a time of bonding with others who were also stringing beads. We were able to talk about anything under sun ranging from our lives back in K.L. to sharing with each other of our experiences thus far in Bario. These were times of good fellowship. 

On the first day we began our work with the respective ladies we were assigned to, I was not able to join Aunty Jenette as she was out of town. Instead, I tagged team with Kit May who was assigned to Tepuq Sinah Rang. The first task given to us was stringing beads. While we stringed beads, we talked with Tepuq while listening to the Bario radio station and enjoying the beautiful sight before us.

View from Tepuq's veranda.

We beaded and beaded, discussing ways we could use to speed up the stringing the tray of beads of Tepuq added throughout the day. It got a little tiring after hours of doing it but we were happy with the amount we managed to finish at the end of the day.

End product of the day.

Stringing beads at Aunty Jenette's house, however, was a different experience. It was also a time of just being to myself, thinking through and reflecting on the happenings of the day, how the past few days went and ways to do things better.

Being quiet without having any disturbance has been a privilege to have in Bario where I do not to have to entertain any form of notifications on my mobile phone because I did not purchase a Celcom number. It was such a rare opportunity because back in the city such silence is difficult to come by. Being here, I just needed to focus on the task at hand, think and enjoy the moment. 

Occasionally, Aunty Jenette would come join me and explain the types of beads such as beads once made of clay are now made of glass. Or at times, Aunty Nicole (daughter of Aunty Jenette) would be working on some accessories that Aunty Jenette needed help with while I would be engrossed getting as many beads into the string.

Beading in Aunty Jenette's House.

Beading - such a simple thing, but yet something that I have enjoyed the most.