A Hard Day’s Night

I will admit that working in the paddy field is hard work. The repetitive movements just from harvesting paddy is enough to give you a backache. Having to move knee deep in mud doesn’t make anything easier. This doesn’t even include the strength and energy needed to carry the buckets/sacks of paddy grain to be dried and milled. Being born and raised in the city, I am proud to say all of us did pretty well (and my highest praise goes out to all the tepuqs who have been doing this for decades). 

With all this hard work, you would think that we ended the day feeling miserable and missing home. On the contrary, the aching muscles made me appreciate everything in Bario so much more.

Doing physical labour, you could actually feel what you accomplished throughout the day, which was strangely satisfying. And getting a peaceful, restful sleep was guaranteed every night. I guess this is what people who go to the gym feel like after working out (I’ll never know).

Also, I didn’t feel guilty for eating seconds (sometimes thirds) during lunch or dinner. I enjoyed my first meal in Bario so much that I was worried about gaining weight by the end of the project. By the next day, which was also the first working day, I told myself the weight gained would be worth it; it all tasted too good (and I needed the energy). I really cannot emphasise how much I enjoyed eating there and I think the others would agree. I don’t know if it was how good the food tasted or my appetite from being constantly physical or a combination of both. All I know is that I ate more than I thought I could.

Of course, being in Bario meant being away from SOME luxuries…

1. the Internet *cue the horrified gasps of city kids*

It did take some getting used to. Any time we had a question no one knew the answer to, we couldn’t turn to Google for help. I cannot count the number of times someone brought up something interesting and all of us reached for our phones to search it up online to verify it, only to remember that our smartphones weren’t smart in Bario.

To be honest it was refreshing. It felt like a vacation from our lives back in the city; no ‘gotta meet Someone at Some Time’ or ‘due date for Something’ at the back of our minds. You know all those motivational talks telling you to stop with your gadgets and start experiencing life? That is exactly what we did. Instead of having half our attention on our phones, we learned to appreciate our surroundings and were fully present in the moment. *applause*

In saying that, I will acknowledge that the internet is a necessity to be productive in daily life (now that it’s Post-Project WHEE!) but it’s good to remember to turn away from our screens and take a look around (more than) once in a while :)

2. Laundry - this one isn’t as bad as it makes out to be

Hand washing your Sawah Clothes weren’t exactly troublesome. It was the rain. And the knowledge that they will be muddy again the very next day. Enough said.

calm before the storm (featuring Xueh Wei)
The rain always had 'good' timing. It would come after we were done working for the day but it never had the patience to wait until we (Rui Ci, Xueh Wei and I; The Arur Dalan Trio) arrived home.

3. Hot Showers - You'll learn to love cold showers (or at least learn to live with it).

Okay this is a short list. I guess Batch 5 were tremendously lucky that there was no water rationing and there was electricity 24/7. On top of that, we were very well taken care of by everyone there.

Coming home from Bario, the after effects of 3 weeks working in the paddy field was plain to see. It wasn’t just the ridiculous-looking tan lines. I had bug bites, and scratches all over my legs (I didn’t wear shorts for the following 2 weeks). There was dirt in my toe nails that despite my own efforts, were impossible to clean (a problem I am sure everyone else went through).

I apologise for this unappealing picture.

But despite all of that, I would do it all over again. Absolutely no regrets :)