Hospitality At Its Best

Upon arriving Bario till the day we left, there were many things that impressed me. From the clear blue skies that we got to witness every day without fail to the delicious food prepared by our respective Tepuqs and Sinahs, one thing that continually amazes me till now is the hospitality shown by the community to those around them. Be it strangers, friends or family members, the community is always so hospitable through the little things they do.

There were two scenarios on one particular event that left me amazed by their kindness and thoughtfulness. It happened on our second community service when we went to Arur Dalan in the morning to clean the local church. After borrowing some equipments needed to clean the church, all of us got to the task at hand. We went about cleaning the church, sweeping, wiping windows, destroying cobwebs and mopping together with some children in the village who happily came to join us. We were not even halfway done with the cleaning when Sinah Sarina, one of the Sinah who lives in Arur Dalan, came into the church carrying a kettle of tea, a bowl of biscuits and some fruits, asking us to take a break from what we were doing.

After that short break, we continued with cleaning the church and that was when Rhon and Dan told us that an uncle who lives in Arur Dalan invited all of us to have lunch in his house. So instead of having lunch at Tepuq Sinah Rang's homestay on weekends, we had lunch at the uncle's house when the cleaning was completed in which his wife, Sinah Maren, prepared a scrumptious meal despite the water rationing issue Arur Dalan was facing.

These two simple acts of kindness really warms my heart till this day because we were just a group of young people whom they barely knew personally but they cared for us anyway. They went all out with their actions to tell us that they are thankful for us being there to help them. Everything was done out of sincerity and love. Even the water rationing issue did not hinder them from preparing and cooking the food.

Living in a society where people only do good to another selectively, this experience in Bario as a whole is so precious. Through this, it reminded me to do everything genuinely and without asking anything back in return. It has also made me realise that we do not need to hold back acts of kindness just because we do not know someone well enough or because we think that person does not deserve it. Sometimes, the little things that we do with sincere hearts will make a difference in someone's life because what I have experienced in Bario certainly made a difference in mine.

To all the people in Bario who cared for all of us unconditionally: Thank you so much! Your love shown to us will always be rememebered.

We're Finally Here!

31^st July was the day Batch 3 arrived Bario. The long anticipation months before was finally put to an end. The Twin Otter plane landed and we all got down, overwhelmed with excitement for the journey ahead of us.

Yes it was the first time most of us sat in such a tiny plane.
So, a selfie wouldn't hurt, right?

After some 15 minutes spent taking pictures at the place we landed, we were finally ready to retrieve our luggages that were already brought into the airport. We loaded them into a 4 wheel drive that would take the bags to Tepuq Sinah Rang's homestay - the place where we were going to stay, then headed to the shop in the airport for a short break and  started our walk to the homestay. 

The walk took us almost an hour partly because we were a little slow but also because we were too mesmerised by what we saw. Bario is such a beautiful place and I can now understand why the previous batches spoke so highly of its beauty. It is surrounded by never ending mountains, the skies were cloudy on that day and most importantly, the air was so fresh that I could take really deep breaths without being worried of inhaling haze that so often haunts the air in Peninsular! It was also breezy which made the walk so much more enjoyable. Last but not least, it was my first time seeing paddy fields up close. 

The journey to Bario Asal with the threatening skies.

Oh look! Paddy fields!

We arrived just in time for lunch and met Tepuq Sinah Rang who warmly welcomed us and made us feel at home. I remember all of us took turns shaking her hand and hugging her while she introduced herself to each of us. It was evident that she has been looking forward to meeting us and I felt really honoured to have met such a lovely lady. 

The rest of the day was spent resting, walking around Bario Asal, familiarising ourselves with the place, meeting some of the people and bonding together as a group. It was a good first day in such a beautiful place.

The Story of Us.

Us. 

Do you believe in fate? How amazing it is for you to meet someone for the first time and yet feel a sense of familiarity with the individual? There is just a comfortable feeling, the feeling as if you have met the person before but you just do not know where.

Well, that was how I felt the first time I met Nenek Ros. When we were first introduced to our ladies which we were going to be partnering with for the next 16 days, Nenek and me just started talking and it was nice because Nenek reminded me of my own grandmother. Nenek calls me Kijan, after her daughter.

The path leading up to Nenek Ros' sweet home.

This is where Nenek Ros lives. Every morning I will head over to her house, which is 10 minutes from the longhouse I lived in to teach and learn with Nenek.

"Nenek, oh Nek, Kijan datang!" 
"Oh ya, nak" 

Nenek will then come to the window and smile gently, watching me walking up the stairs to the house. Nenek and me do household chores together, and while we do it, we will be singing too. Nenek has a very sweet voice, and we will sing the songs that we learnt in church. I have to admit, the only time I sing is in the showers, but I was singing my lungs out with Nenek. It was like our very own private karaoke session.

Nenek and my favourite song from church.

Nenek and I learn to exchange greetings in English and Bahasa Kelabit. Nenek would laugh shyly as we repeat terms like "Good Morning" and "Good Afternoon" after each other.

"Good morning Nenek!!"
"Good morning, Kijan!"

I had trouble saying and remembering "Betapi Leketang" (Good Morning) but Nenek would teach me patiently and she would say,

"Asalkan Kijan cuba, sudah baik"

Sometimes, we would both burst into laughter without any reason. But I just find it so cute and when Nenek smiles, it just makes me smile too.

After doing housework, Nenek and me would both have tea. We would sit down and stare out quietly, just enjoying the company of each other.

Nenek would tell me the stories of her youth, while I share with her about the stories of my childhood.

I am very blessed to have bonding moments like this with Nenek. I have learnt so much from Nenek, and there is still much more for me to learn each day from my dear Nenek.

"You can't be the best at everything. You might not even be the best at anything. But, one can always be your best self. And that is enough."

This is one of the most important things that I have learnt from Nenek Ros.

 Terima Kasih Nenek. 

Signing off, 

YeeWan.

Moments.

Hey you there. 

How long do you think it takes for someone to change his/her life? Some may say just days, months or even the years that one has to go through 'sekolah menengah years' to find the change? 

Well, for me. I feel that it's actually the moments, the seconds that counts. 

The moment when I first met my Nenek Ros (the woman I was paired with) and the first time we hugged.

The moment when I had walks to the kedai-kedai with Nenek Ros, enjoying our kolo mee and enjoying each other's company while teaching English and Bahasa Kelabit to each other.
The moment when Nenek Ros and me cooked fish and sayur together, improving my skills to be the perfect wife material in the future (Haha!) 

The moment when us WHEE-IANS painted Tepu Sina Rang's (our homestay host) house and ended up having a paintwar with all of us looking as if we just came out from a warzone. 

And of course, the moment when I signed up for Project WHEE!. Project WHEE! gave me a chance to experience learning from a different culture and for me to have the opportunity to share what I have learnt with the lovely Bario ladies. 

In the next few posts, I would be sharing more about the moments. 

The wonderful moments throughout the last 14 days in Bario, Sarawak. 

Andddd...just scroll a little down, for pictures. 
(scroll.scroll)

Feeling surreal, this is actually happening! On my way to Bario!

This is where it will all start, a beautiful hand drawn map I found. 

The scenery we pass walking down from the airport to the long house. 

And last but not least, my NENEK ROS. <3 <3 <3 

I think with every second, one's life can change. With every 60 seconds, there will be a new minute. You really do not need to wait for New Year's Eve to start making resolutions for change. 

As a wise teacher has told me before, "The time is now"
So, do it today. For whatever you would want to strive for, leave behind, or create. 
Today can be the day of change. 

Signing off, 
YeeWan. 

8 Memories from Bario

1. Aunty Lucy & Aunty Bulan

From the left: my Sina, Aunty Lucy, Aunty Bulan

Aunty Lucy, Aunty Bulan, and my Sina combined are an incredible force of nature. Together, the three of them are capable of making me eat and drink around 3 times, all before 12 p.m. Jokes aside, these women are strong and so hardworking, and they made life at 7 a.m. infinitely easier for me. I remember how Aunty Lucy took my hand in hers when we were walking, and I remember how Aunty Bulan bought a little sausage bread thing that they call 'Doraemon', tore off a small piece and gave the rest to me. And I remember paying for our last meal together at the shop, and Aunty Bulan saying "semoga Tuhan berkati kamu, Ru." 

2. Church

Church was a special experience for me. When I was in high school I used to go hang out at the Christian Fellowship meetings (because, well, they used to serve good food) while waiting for my ride home, so I kind of knew what to expect from the church in Bario. But the intensity and love with which they carried the service out really surprised me and warmed my heart. Seeing the entire community come together to pray and sing songs was something we don't see often. And the songs - the songs, sung by the adults with such vigor and sincerity while girls danced gracefully in their white costumes. We also got the opportunity to sing two songs at our last Sunday in Bario, all in our Project WHEE! t-shirts standing in two rows at the front, and it is a memory I cherish.

3. Popcorn/night huddle

This memory is not so much the popcorn, but of my batchmates. Okay, no, actually I just wanted to share this picture I took of the popcorn.

Popcorn featuring Alicia and Karthik in the background

In all seriousness, memory number three belongs to the nights we went out and stargazed together. Our project coordinator Daniel said that it was like a special thing that we don't need photos of (but I'm writing from memory so he might not have said those things at all) and I agree now. The stars in Bario are so lovely and bright, and it was a special moment with my batchmates, huddling together for warmth and just.. being there.

4. The time the girls gave me a ride back home

This is us with Sina's eldest daughter, Dayang, after she gave me a ride back to the homestay. Little Mujan is right behind her. I really like this picture because Dayang looks like the complete badass she actually is.  

5. Planting Flowers - All Time Low

Before

I planted some flowers with Sina at the school one day. While we dug small holes and pushed the stalks in, Sina told me extremely touching things like "after you're gone, I can only talk to the flowers you planted", so I immediately started worrying and praying that the flowers wouldn't die. And they didn't. 

After (thank God)

Me : What will you say to the flowers?

Sina: You are beautiful! You are so pretty!

6. Prayer Mountain

Oh, Prayer Mountain. Listen, for the not-so-active and not-so-fit such as me, Prayer Mountain was a challenge. At first it was like, yeah! Prayer Mountain! Let's do this! And then some time into the hike it was like you know, do I really need to climb this mountain? It's probably worth it and all but do I? Does anyone??

Ha. Joke. But seriously, it was a struggle. But my batchmates were so understanding and good to me about it. They kept giving me pep talks and assuring me that we were almost at the top. And once we reached the top, it did feel like it was worth it.

7. Periuk kera

The first day I spent with Sina Sarina, we finished our work early. So Sina and I took a walk around school, getting to know each other and the works. She showed me the orchids and then the periuk kera - or, pitcher plant. It's like in the Peninsular, the plants are so special and protected, and then you come to Bario and they're just growing in a high school.

The high school of Bario is a prominent place in my memories because I spent so much time there with its people. This has probably been mentioned to death but the people of Bario are a truly hospitable, friendly folk. From meeting two babies to going uphill for fresh jackfruit, I have many good memories of SMK Bario.

8. Hydrodam

Or, the time we went to bathe at the hydrodam because of water rationing. It is about a 20 minute walk to the dam itself, and the water is freezing cold. There is a huge difference between standing underneath a cold shower, and walking into cold water, and I now know the difference very well. Aunty Nicole's kids Victor, Sigang, and Dom followed us to go bathe every time we went, and it was quite humbling to be shivering neck-deep in the dam while Victor casually takes off his shirt and cannonballs into the water.

Of course, these are only a fraction of the many memories Bario has given me. I will not forget how beautiful the skies in Bario are, I will not forget the many good people I've met and I won't forget the laughs we had and the things we've learned, too.