Tepuq Daging!

Week 2. It was a fine morning, and my assigned lady, Tepuq Ulo, was cooking wild boar in her kitchen. She lives right next door to our homestay, so I always went over and greeted her after waking up. I decided to try conversing to her in simple English that she was taught earlier.

Me: ‘Good Morning Tepuq! How are you?’

Tepuq Ulo: ‘Good.’

Me: ‘What is your name, Tepuq?’

Tepuq Ulo: ‘Daging (Meat).’

Both of us burst out laughing, although I silently worried if my efforts had gone to waste. It turned out she was just messing with me. Phew. The name Tepuq Daging stuck through out our stay though. 

I have to admit, the first week of working with Tepuq Ulo wasn’t easy. Don’t get me wrong, she’s an amazing lady! She just had a lot of difficulty remembering the words I taught her and every time I asked her a word in English I received a short ‘tidak tahu (don't know)’ as an answer. Although we were told by our coordinators to work according to our own tepuqs’ pace, I couldn’t help but feel the pressure when Tepuq Ulo wasn’t making much progress.  I constantly reminded myself to find the balance between building a relationship and reaching our goals.

But things took a turn on the seventh day. Tepuq Ulo finally asked me ‘How are you?’ when I said good morning. I FELT LIKE A PROUD MOM GRANDDAUGHTER. That simple greeting from Tepuq Ulo gave me a boost and reminded me of my purpose in Bario―to teach her English so that she can work as a community guide.  

Tepuq Ulo is the coolest grandmother I could ever ask for! Tepuq Sinah Rang calls her ‘Tepuq Pelik’ because she can be so weird at times, in a good way of course. She’s the one who is always cracking inappropriate jokes and ends up laughing at herself. Oh man, that laugh is so contagious, we all end up laughing like madmen. Especially when she teams up with her friend, Tepuq Ribed, the jokes and teasing never end. That’s just one of the reasons why I absolutely adore her.  

After work. She's so adorableeeeeeee <3

Tepuq Ribed (left) can never stop laughing at Tepuq Ulo's jokes

Like all the Bario ladies, she’s very tough. Working next to her, I’m ashamed to say I feel like the older person of the duo. She could lift one bag of rice weighing 50kg all by herself! One time I saw a small snake and I was so fascinated I stood there staring at it. Tepuq Ulo immediately said ‘Bunuh dia (kill it)’ and chopped it into four pieces with a parang. I just stood there open mouthed and in awe while the pieces of the poor snake continued moving. 

Her diligence will never cease to amaze me. She built a fence from scratch to stop chickens from going into her garden. It was a lot of work! She’s also never lazy to take preventive measures. Once, when I went to her cornfield, she built a shade out of canvas cloth and wooden sticks before we started working. It wasn’t an easy job. To be honest, I thought it was pointless because there were plenty of trees to protect us from the hot sunlight! In the afternoon when it started raining, that was when I learnt how wrong I was. That extra time and effort she took to build the shade kept both of us warm and dry.

Tepuq Ulo feeding her hen and chicks.

Backbreaking paddy field work or weeding was always made less painful by Tepuq Ulo. She would tell me funny stories or we would laugh at each other for the stupid things we did while working. But it was very heart-warming when she made me a hot cup of Milo and boiled me hot water to shower after we had to run back from the paddy field in the rain, tied my shoelaces around my pants to prevent leeches from attacking my legs, and searched the whole homestay for something for me to eat before I departed to SK to teach. Even an act as simple as lending me her umbrella. She treated me like family.

Nearing the end of my stay, when she asked me what I would like to bring back to KL, I would always say I wished to pack her in my luggage bag and bring her back home. Missing you, Tepuq Daging!

'What makes you laugh?' 
'Tepuq Ulo.'

The card I drew for Tepuq Ulo featuring her paddy field.
Excuse my drawing skills, I only had Sharpies to work with :P

-Pei Chi-

Jungle Expedition

One of the ladies I was assigned to for the second half of my time in Bario was Tepuq Sina Do Ayu, a caring lady who made sure I was always full and fed me relentlessly. Most of my days were spent weeding her garden and pineapple farm or helping her with cooking and beading. Other than that, I relaxed and chatted with her family quite a bit.

Tepuq’s daughter, Sina Katherine was back from Miri and on her last day in Bario, she wanted to pick jungle vegetables.

That was the beginning of one of my most memorable moments in Bario.

The four of us (Tepuq Sina Do Ayu, Tepuq Do Ayo (her husband), Sina Katherine and myself) left for Arur Laab jungle before 10am. Everyone was in long pants and long sleeves. My tepuq had graciously borrowed me boots while everyone else was in shoes or slippers.

View along the way to the Arur Laab jungle.

And so we began our little expedition towards the jungle walking up and down hill, crossing Tepuq Supang’s paddy fields and finally reaching a hut where water from the dam passed through. After that, it was the overgrown rain forests of Sarawak.

The paths were narrow and we bent and climbed over tree barks. At one point, the road gave way to only tree roots where we stepped and walked on with nothing but a steep slope beneath us if we were to fall. We saw porcupine quills along the route and since it had only rained the day before, there were plenty of leeches! It wasn’t my first time seeing a leech (it was my second!) but it was my first time seeing live leeches unattached to a body.

Wriggling little creatures of hell.

Leech chilling on a leaf, waiting for the next unsuspecting victim.

By that time, some leeches had already clung onto my tepuq but she just pulled them off and chopped them up with her parang (machete) like it was nothing. I had leeches clinging on to my pants and boots but none on my skin. My tepuq even had one on her neck! I just stood there wide eyed while she nonchalantly chopped up the leech and smiled at me.

Yes, it is as badass as it sounds.

After that, I got a little paranoid and began to pat on my neck and shoulders periodically.

On our way through the forests, we had to walk across a small waterfall. It was not a problem for me as I had the boots on and could walk across with my pants still dry. However, both my tepuqs and sina insisted I step carefully on the rocks to keep even my boots dry while they treaded the water, holding my hand and got their pants wet up to their shins.

I was really moved that they cared so much for me and truly felt like I was a part of the family; like I was their precious cucu (grandchild).

Our hike into the forest continued where we kept our eyes open for dure, a type of jungle vegetable.

Dure looks like a green leaf.

That was an unhelpful but very accurate description. I was given my own little plastic bag where I could fill it with any kind of leaf that I THOUGHT was a jungle vegetable. I knew my leaves were going to be evaluated later lest I picked some poisonous or inedible leaf. :X

Our hike continued into a field of renuyun where most of the contents of my little bag came from.

A field of renuyun. The only place I could confidently pick jungle veggies!

My tepuq holding up renuyun leaves.

While plucking the leaves, I kept asking Tepuq Sina Do Ayu where were we and what we were doing in English. I was drilling the phrases “We are in the jungle” and “We are picking jungle vegetables” over and over again. She couldn’t answer me when I asked her the same questions 5 minutes later so she got Sina Katherine to help her answer instead.

After filling one basket (we had two) with renuyun and dure, we continued uphill where we saw the dam that was the source of water for Arur Dalan village.

We later went on a route that led to something like a banana garden in the middle of the jungle where the two tepuqs quickly got to work. They collected the banana flowers and the “ubud” which are smooth white piths located deep in the middle of the bark of the banana trees.

There was a Pineapple Ceremony at 2pm later that afternoon in the Bario Asal longhouse and so the older people of the group (Tepuq Sina Do Ayu and Tepuq Do Ayo, the pros) began chopping up the banana trees like crazy while the younger ones (Sina Katherine and myself, the inexperienced kids) stood watching by the side without parangs (they didn’t trust me with a knife! >=[).

They worked fast and hard so Tepuq Sina Do Ayu and I could make it back in time for the Pineapple Ceremony. Watching them work struck me again how impressive these tepuqs are. Age is not a factor. You can decide whether or not to be physically fit into your sixties or seventies. Age is just a number.

Badass tepuqs “skinning” the banana barks.

After filling our second basket, we rushed home to attend the ceremony. Unfortunately, my tepuq and I still ended up late for the Pineapple Ceremony.

Nevertheless, it was a great day. It was my first time going so deep into the jungle and also my first time picking jungle veggies! What an adventure! Throughout the escapade, I was really moved by how everyone constantly worried and reminded me to be careful. They were very patient with me taking small steps along the steep parts as I am clumsy on my feet. The tepuqs also insisted on carrying the heavy baskets all the way back home but I carried one of them anyway. :)

All in all, it was a wonderful day. I probably say this since I was the only one with boots (THANK YOU SO MUCH TEPUQ!) and also the only one who walked out of the jungle without any leech bites!

(From left: Sina Katherine, Tepuq Do Ayo, Tepuq Sina Do Ayu)
Tepuq and family! Peace out!

Tuesday With Tepuq

Nuba Laya [noo-ba la-ya]

Food. A main course made of rice wrapped in a leaf called Daun Isip (which is the malay word for leaf, I know.) and then steamed to look very much similar to the Chinese traditional rice dumpling; a staple during my lunches with Tepuq, and something I can never finish alone.

"Makan. Habiskan." (Eat it. Finish it.) Tepuq would always say to me in her sing-song voice. But Tepuq! I would always manja, I don't eat a lot :( I really don't.

My favourite set of dishes: cherry tomatoes + catfish,
with my legs soaking in the paddy field.

Here's a not-so secret: I'm always the last one to finish my food during lunch. Not only that, I also eat very slowly because I tend to get full easily - and Tepuq notices too! Eventually after many days of her observation (and me convincing that her food is really good! + it's just me!), she came to accept that I'm a small eater and lets me give half of my nuba laya to Tok. Yay! I really appreciate little gestures like that, because God knows how seriously people in Bario take their food.

This happened on a slightly gloomy Tuesday with Tepuq.

I'm not sure why I was feeling both sad and stressed out that morning. Heck, finally being able to visit Tepuq's sawah near Bario Asal for the first time was supposed to be an exciting adventure for me, but I couldn't help it and secretly whined about the heat. I forgot to bring my gloves as well; another downer.

The beauty though.

Luckily for me, Tepuq was ever patient and loving. She wasn't fazed by my slight moodiness, and served breakfast by the paddy field as usual. That day, she was more initiative in asking me questions, and practicing pronounciations with me. It always makes me super glad to see an eagerness in learning language - something that keeps me going.

"What is XXX in English?" I especially love it when she asks me things in English itself!

 I taught her the word "picnic".

My mood lightened up soon enough (before noon). Thank goodness.

We ended work later than usual that day as there was more to do, and I'd forgotten my phone so I couldn't keep track of time anyway. Being so used to the fast-paced life here in the city, I relished in the luxury of a timeless atmosphere during my stay in Bario (after taking some time to get used to it); perhaps that is why I love the place so much.

I enjoy Tepuq and Tok's company, the way they'd always bicker (lovingly) about paddy things and how Tok would just give me his best smile like he was amused by Tepuq's words. Maybe he was, I'm not sure, I still don't speak fluent Kelabit, haha.

A couple that took me as their own grandchild, they named me Cathrine - not exactly the most Kelabit name (in fact, it's Christian) but I love it. They had given me their daughter's name.

Interesting fact: Names for new family members are to be chosen from exisitng names in the family. I'm honoured to be part of this Kelabit culture. :)


# Xueh Wei Cathrine #

Last Thursday

Mudan [moo-dan]  

Something to (secretly, guilt-riddenly) look forward to when working in the field; when water droplets fall from the sky. It means "rain" in Kelabit; Tok likes to say nangeh ("cry" in Kelabit) alternatively cause he's a hippie old man.

It was my third and last Thursday with the folks of Bario.

I decided to walk alone earlier (usually I walked with my Arur Dalan homies, Shu Anne Liging & Rui Ci Ganit) to Tepuq's house that morning to make up for leaving work earlier the day before. I'm really glad I did, because I got to enjoy a nice breakfast with their daughter-in-law and her baby girl, Nora!

 Here's a picture of Parthiban with little Nora! 
She's really cute when she isn't crying the roof off and making me look bad.

We dried paddy for the day, which wasn't much of a job for me since Tepuq did most of the work - technical skills I couldn't pick up instantaneously. Thus, she gave me the most important job in the world- "Kejarkan ayam" (chase the chickens away) she said, as she handed me a stick. This is so the chickens won't eat the paddy laid out for drying!

Let's be real, I was using the long stick as a microphone to sing We Are The Champions + as a light saber/any other weapon + messing with the cobwebs under the longhouse (until I see a spider and get scared), 80% of the time, heh. I hope Tepuq was amused!?

While singing, one must not forget our purpose in Bario! I tried English teaching with a song by teaching her how to sing the Barney I Love You song (I love youuuu, you love meeee, we are happy familyyyy) and you know what? It was pretty okay. She knows "I love you" and "family"! :D

Suddenly, as we were jamming our hearts out, a wild (and colour coordinated) Tok appeared.

"Tok! Nak ambil gambar Tok boleh?" He nods. He poses. #OOTD?

I could see how my Tepuq and Tok match each other - with Tepuq's love for singing and Tok with dancing, it's no wonder!

Later on it rained slightly, and after three weeks of doing this, I took the liberty of warning: "Mudan, Tepuq!" before Tok started his usual nangeh chant haha. I really didn't like moving the tikars (mats) in and out due to the fluctuating weather, but at least I got to take a short nap - a rarity and luxury during harvesting season! - at one point with Tepuq. Though my slumber was cut short when Rui Ci dropped by to invite us for tea over at Sina Mayda's place.

It was a very chill day; the only weekday that I didn't spend in a paddy field; a different kind of nice.


# Xueh Wei Cathrine #

The Random Work Post

A typical work day in Bario for me was something like this: waking up at 6.45 AM and getting ready, helping tepuq a little bit in the kitchen, having breakfast, and walking to Arur Dalan with Xueh Wei and Shu Anne. The three of us were assigned to ladies who lived in a different village from where we stayed (Bario Asal), unlike the other volunteers. One thing worth mentioning about our walk to Arur Dalan is everytime, without fail, a flock of white chickens trailed behind us! At first, it scared us because we thought we were about to be attacked by the chickens. After three weeks of the same thing happening, we got used to it.

The walk took around 15 minutes and the scenery we took in was absolutely gorgeous.

The lady I was assigned to was Sina Mayda Pitan. She is the youngest Bario woman to participate in Project WHEE!. An advantage of being paired with her is that she is very considerate and accommodating towards her assigned volunteers. She does not overwork them and makes sure that they are very well fed. However,  this advantage worked against me. Many times, I felt that she thought I was a city kid incapable of helping her. I spent quite some time convincing her that I am in fact able to work in the paddy field, get dirty and muddy, and sweat it out. Sometimes, it is really funny how things work out.

January is harvesting season in Bario. Hence, aside from brushing up Sina's English, most of the work I did was drying (midang) and harvesting (ranih) paddy.

The field Sina works in in Arur Dalan is very, very beautiful. The walk to the field was somewhat an adventure for me. First, we entered a house, walked through the backyard of the house, and ended up at a river. Next, we crossed the river using a bamboo bridge and passed by somebody else's paddy field. After that, we walked through a narrow trail with bushy ferns on both sides. Oh, did I mention, we went up and down a hill before finally reaching her field? The entire journey took about 10 minutes.

Crossing the first paddy field

The narrow trail with bushy ferns on both sides

Reaching the destination after walking over a hill

For a few times, I tried role playing with Sina Mayda. I played the tourist, while she played the guide. I made her guide me to the paddy field, name the different kinds of jungle vegetables we saw on the way and explain their uses, and point out Prayer Mountain from where we were. I also taught her simple sentences to caution tourists, such as "Be careful, the road is very muddy and slippery". However, the challenge I faced was she kept speaking to me in Malay instead of English. This is because I can speak Malay moderately well (I hope I didn't disappoint all of you too much, my BM teachers!) and language wasn't really a barrier for us. Therefore she always slipped back to speaking in Malay. Actually, she understands English quite well, but lacks the confidence to converse in it.

Hut

In Bario, for every paddy field, there is a hut. This hut functions as a storage space to keep harvested paddy, tools, sawah clothes... As for Sina's hut, it is mainly used as a place to chill and have lunch after working. There is also a fireplace for cooking. 

Inside the hut

The story behind this chair: On my first day at the sawah (paddy field), Tama Ricky, Sina's husband, decided to build a chair from scratch out of the blue. He sawed the wood, assembled and nailed them together. It was a really random little DIY project. 

A blowpipe (sumpit)

The one on the right is padi adan, the famous Bario rice whereas the one on the left is padi hitam.

Winnowing paddy

Removing the stalks from the paddy 

Spreading out the paddy with a rake for optimum drying

Harvesting paddy together

There is one thing I really appreciate about Sina: she took the initiative to work close by me in the paddy field, so that I was able to chat with her and work on improving her English. It was the little things like these that she did that touched my heart a lot.

:D

Some Instagram-worthy shots:

Sunglasses embedded in the ground.

Normally, if we went to the field on day one, Sina preferred to stay at home on day two. When we stayed at home, the things we did were drying paddy and cleaning the house. I always looked forward to days when we would go to the field, because I got to be more physical.

The official time for the volunteers to end work is 4 PM. Around this time, I walked back to Bario Asal together with Shu Anne and Xueh Wei. 

Shu Anne walking back to Arur Dalan from the field. On the left is the solar farm that supplies electricity to Arur Dalan.

Xueh Wei washing her socks after work

Werk it, gurl.