How Bario Has Changed Me

Our stay in Bario was an eye-opener to many of us in different ways. Subsequently, after having spent 16 days there, I have changed my attitude towards electricity, medical staff availability, and food.

Electricity

Bario’s major electricity comes from their small hydro dam which is located about a half an hour walk away from the longhouse in Bario Asal. So because it is such a small hydro dam, it cannot generate a lot of power which means Bario is supplied with electricity for about four hours a day only. They usually have power from about 7pm until 11pm. This made things like charging our phones or other chargeable electronic equipment a bit challenging. And at night, we literally had to lighten our ways by using our own torches – the lights didn’t work at nights. So even though it wasn’t always very easy, it was still manageable. However, this experience made me appreciate having constant electricity supply a lot more; it has made me realize how important electrical power is and how much convenience it offers. So after this experience, I have come to appreciate things like lights (both in-house and outside) at night, fans and air-conditioning during the day, my refrigerator, plugs that work 24/7 to charge my phone and laptop, and my water heater in the morning a lot more.

Medical Staff Availability

In our last week, one of our project members suffered from terrible stomach cramps and vomiting. It was quite worrying because the pain was so bad that she was hardly responsive. As none of us really knew what to do, I asked Dan to call the doctor at some point because we simply didn’t know what was going on with our fellow WHEEtard. However, Dan then informed us that the doctor was not available that very night which meant we somehow had to take care of her on our own until the Bario Clinic would open the next day at eight in the morning. It was about two o’clock in the morning when we were informed about the doctor’s unavailability and that was a really, really helpless and worrisome/scary moment. So one of us called her sister who is a doctor to get her advice. So she told us to locate the pain in our fellow WHEEtard’s stomach because if the pain happens to be from the right side, it might very well be the appendix. And when this girl who was talking to her sister on the phone mentioned the word “appendix”, there was a moment of silence in that very room. We all knew that if that very stomach pain is caused by her appendix then she needs immediate surgery. However, we also knew that the next plane would only leave in about eight hours. So the looks we exchanged in that very moment… Well you can imagine how worried we must have looked.

However, we did have some medicine which we could give to her and we were advised to simply let her sleep. So what we did was to take shifts – some people would always be up to check whether she is doing fine. Then, in the following morning, she was brought to the clinic whereby she was given some medication; she luckily recovered within a day. This incident just made me realize how much we really depend on 24/7 medical staff availability. We obviously do not need a doctor to be around us at all times; however, when we actually do need one, we don’t wish to wait for one for several hours. So this simply made appreciate constant access to medical facilities in our urbanized place of stay a lot more. Knowing that an ambulance is only a call away may be the standard for many, but because of this experience, I see this as a luxury as there are a lot of people who do not enjoy such a service.

Food

Another thing I have come to appreciate a lot more is food. After having seen and experienced how much hard work is behind food production, I would never ever waste food again. Especially after having worked on a paddy field, I have always eaten every rice corn on my plate ever since I have returned from Bario. Farmers do a great job and we wouldn’t be able to survive without them – they and their hard work needs to be appreciated a lot more.

In conclusion, I am very, very grateful for all these many experiences in Bario because they have made me look at things differently – I value many things a lot more now.

The Hills Have Eyes

The Hill

One of Bario’s iconic mountains is called Prayer Mountain (locals call it Bukit Doa) located near the Arur Dalan village. 

Now, for those in the dark, Prayer Mountain is approximately 15 minutes walk away from the Bario Asal homestay.  At the base of the mountain, a 10 minute walk through mildly dense fern plants is required before the proper hike up the path where you will start cursing the over-hyped ‘kampung adidas’ shoe that doesn’t fit your feet properly. The trek up is certainly not easy with the dried leaves on the ground giving zero grip for your shoes.

Some sections have steep ‘steps’ formed by tree roots which require you to use your hands digging onto the ground to support your way up.

There are ropes at the more difficult sections to help pull your way up if you don’t mind having blisters on your skin (note: bring gloves). However, a broken rope which was snapped in half by an overweight man found halfway during the trek serves as a reminder not to trust your life with those ropes.

I had my first climb up the mountain on our second day in Bario with the the entire Batch 3 participants. It was a big group of 12 where Karthik had an injured foot and Alicia had to descend halfway due to asthma, so we took frequent breaks and reached the peak under 2 hours.

The Church

The church built three quarters up the mountain was the first place of prayer in Bario. It is a simple structure put together by unpolished planks of wood. Each wood is obtained from the trees of Bario; each plank brought up by the local Kelabits and Penans. Such a unassuming little church, yet it is as if the hands of God molded this church in the midst of forestry, high up above, signifying a spiritual revival. Without any excessive embellishments, the church is most organic in its form. This speaks volumes how the Kelabits have such untarnished, honest love for God. 

The Mission

As part of our community service duty, YC and Dom have been planning to clean the church in Prayer Mountain and carry out some maintenance work to the toilet (small shed with a hole) there. I offered to help out but was the most unprepared one considering this will be my 2^nd time up Prayer Mountain and it’ll be their 3^rd time. Let me just take this time to clarify that YC does ballet whereas Dom does Muay Thai. Both have longer legs than I do.

However, I didn’t want to waste another chance to wear my RM9 ‘kampung adidas’, so I went ahead with them. With equipment"s ready, YC and Dom marched their way forward, each step exuding purpose and a mission to accomplish, speeding their way up. I on the other hand, tried to catch up behind them and forced myself not to pant too loudly. Halfway up, my head was pounding, my arms felt weak, I was out of breath and my thighs were sore. YC and Dom graciously waited for me while I take frequent short breaks to catch my breath and motivated me to push forward.

“Keep your head up Ai Jin!”

 “Hear that pounding in your chest? It means you're alive! ”

 “One, two, one, two!”

We arrived at the church in 50 minutes; an achievement, I would say.

Dom brushing off cobwebs.

YC clearing the floor from dead leaves.

Nailing planks to the toilet.

After we were done, a hike up to the peak was necessary just for the heck of it. My already fatigued limbs took another beating and for each painful step, I began to ponder upon every mistake I made in life including this hike up to the top (exaggerating a bit here). When we reached the top, the view didn’t amaze me but maybe that was just me being used to the beauty of Bario that this birds eye view was nothing compared to the accumulative beauty this place has revealed to me in the past week; the thing that amazed me was how I've pushed through and endured the pain (physical) to reach my destination. For that, I am proud of myself.

The attack

The sky was slowly dimming and it was getting chilly at the top, it was time for us three to leave and get quickly to the hydrodam to shower due to water rationing in the homestay. 

We bid our last goodbyes to Prayer Mountain, but apparently this mountain was not done messing with us. At the foot of the mountain, when we were about to exit the shrubbery to the opening, we got attacked by bees probably because we were bustling the shrubs too much. It was a chaotic scene: YC screamed, I panicked and froze on the spot, thank goodness Dom yelled for me to run and we soon got out to the opening. Well, there was a lot of pain and panic but all was well when we found out the stings weren't poisonous.

Prayer Mountain has given me a lot of memories. Good or bad, it's all in nature, I'll take it as it is.

Ai Jin 
Aren

A Beautiful Community Like No Other

Since I got back home, people have been asking how my experience in Bario was. I tell them of the crazy things we did there, the ice-cold showers that we endured on a daily basis, the limited electricity supply, the fresh air we got to enjoy and the list goes on and on. But one thing I make sure I talk about is the people in Bario. 

The people in Bario specifically the Kelabit community that I had the privilege to know, are the most beautiful people inside and out. Never have I met a community so close-knitted to one another, ever so loving to the outsiders and completely selfless in the things they do for those they love.  

Picture taken on 5/8/2014 while walking with
Aunty Nicole to a sundry shop.

If I were to use a picture to describe them, the above picture would be it. Like the sky that reflects its beauty on the waters contained in the paddy field, so are heavens glory and beauty reflecting in the lives and hearts of this group of people. 

I have experienced the most genuine love and care given by the people that I did not really know when I first arrived. When one of us got ill or hurt, they gathered people and held a prayer meeting to pray for healing and recovery. When we needed help, they offered their hands immediately. When we were tired, they pampered us with durians and pineapple juice. 

Such people are difficult to come by especially living in a world where people are self-centered and selfish, always putting others second after themselves. People are constantly looking out for themselves that they ignore the rest around them. I, too am guilty of this at times. And what I have witnessed through the Kelabit community for the mere 15 days definitely impacted to me to imitate their actions. 

Their actions that are deeply rooted to their faith and what they were taught from generation to generation. Regardless of whether it is people who are blood related to them or people that they have just met, everyone is treated like family nonetheless. And personally I think it is something that I will always remember and hold on to. 

Thank you, Bario, for blessing me with the privilege to know these group of people :)

Top 5 Manis List!

A full batch at the church! Photo credit to Alicia.

1)   Arriving in the arms of my team!

Not sure if I could have expected a better way to be welcomed into a new space, so new so foreign to me. Arriving a week later than my whole team meant I lost so much prior experiences, the adjustment phase and basically getting familiar with my surroundings and the people around me. However, I have had the best team (YAYY BATCH 3) mates I could have ever asked for. Starting from my surprise presence and all of their memorable screams and reactions to informing me bits of pieces of things I should know around the place made me feel at ease very quickly. I am so glad I pushed myself to recover fast and so thankful for being given a second chance. All of you deserved to know how it felt like to have a full team and I’m glad the last addition, the number 13 made it in time! To all of you Batch 3 members, thank you and I love all of you dearly.

2)   Church bells!

It was my first time stepping foot into a church. What a beautiful place to experience a first time than in Bario. I loved the whole ambiance, the slow building crowd and the sermon being read in Kelabit was quite therapeutic. I very especially enjoyed the tambourine dance by the young local girls, clapping and singing along to all the songs. It was a new feeling altogether. However, the peak of this whole experience had to be the performance our whole batch did in the church on a cloudy Sunday morning. We performed two songs and I personally thought our group did a really good job despite only having practiced a couple of times. But, it was fulfilling to see and know that people who attended church that very morning sang and clapped along to our songs.

3)   Ice cold water.

I was warned by my team members the day I arrived that the bathing water would be ice cold. And I went, ‘Oh I’m fine with cold water ‘and a team mate replied, ‘This is something else, trust me’. And, I recall my first bath just for the first time wanting to get out of the shower as fast as possible. This coldness has to be included with the dropping temperature in Bario. I wouldn't say I hated it, but it was very interesting how I never got used to this one routine. I am reminded every day how shrinking cold the water is and the chills that run down your spine will bring your mind back awake even if you have had a long day. Cold like no other definitely!

4)   Meals by the paddy field.

Oh boy, what do I say about the afternoons I had lunch by the paddy fields? Tepuq Ribet and Tepuq Ulo are the awesomest! Together, they bring more than enough meals thinking my team mate and I are monsters. Such tasty foods ranging from chicken curry, mixed vegetables, pineapples, rice, fried chicken, juice and even a can of Coke!! Yes, now tell me why I wouldn’t call them the awesome duo! Hehehe. We would have lunch at about 12.30PM, under big tress or sometimes a wooden hut; on hot sunny days sometimes cool breezy afternoons with food prayers being led by Tepuq Ulo’s husband. My, the conversations we had over lunch are the most remembered. The jokes the both of them crack can leave you laughing till you feel tears in your eyes. It was on these days I have felt truly blessed and very appreciative, to have shared and experienced a little of life with Tepuq Ulo and Tepuq Ribet. They have made me feel so comfortable and have gone all out, all out, to make us happy.

Meals by a beautiful paddy.

5)   Let’s play ball at the paddy field!!

 I believe this was only the second day of my arrival in Bario, when everyone had planned to play ball at the paddy field. It was a bright, cool Sunday afternoon and everyone walked to a paddy field not far from the long house. The paddy was wet and muddy which was great to play ball. The game was called Captainball and the batch was split into two teams. Initially, the game was slow and clean, but within 20 minutes everyone got competitive and also started to push ‘clean’ people into the mud fully! Highlight of the whole game day was when a few children decided that they wanted to join the game. The more the merrier as we would have expected! Overall, it was such a fun, carefree hour we had as a complete team for the first time! Everyone did not miss getting down and dirty, not forgetting ending the match with mud face arts :) Hoping for another Captainball match at the paddy with the same team again!

Dressed to get down and dirty!

Rules of Aunty Tagung

Hi, this is Luke Pang, Kelabit name: Tidan. I was assigned to Aunty Tagung for 14 days, shadowing her while teaching her English. In Project WHEE!, each of us have been assigned to a lady which surprisingly suits our personality in a way. Aunty Tagung is unique compared to the other Tepuqs and Sinas, as stated in my previous blogs: Tough Love: Something Different and From KL to Cardiff to Bario. As many were curious about my Aunty and wondered how she treated WHEEans like me, this is a light-hearted post about the rules of Aunty Tagung that I have learned during my 2 weeks with her.

1.      The number of layers of clothes affects how hard you work

That was the first rule I learnt on my first day working in her garden. She had a sweater on top of her shirt, with long pants, gloves and arm sleeves while working in the garden. She also wore a beanie beneath her hat and had Wellington Boots on her feet. Being accustomed to cold climates, I have a low tolerance towards my home country’s high temperatures and humidity.  Therefore, I came into her garden with a T-shirt, shorts, hiking boots and a hat. At one point, she was scared of my outfit because it was totally opposite of hers. She quickly gave me arm sleeves, gloves, and asked me whether I have any long pants. She even gave me another hat to wear on the other hat, which I had to refuse because it was too small for my big head. She also complained that my boots were too low compared to hers. As much as you would be laughing about this, she did mean well. The high boots protect your ankles from being cut from the zinc plates lying on her garden to prevent the growth of weeds, the extra layers apparently keep you cooler due to evaporation of sweat close to your skin, and the arm sleeves protect you from insect bites. The gloves also sped up the weeding process I had to do while I was there. As absurd as that sounded, it did well indeed, although I can never make myself wear more than a layer of clothes here in Malaysia.

2.      The more you eat, the harder you work

Towards the end of the first week, I had a feeling she was fattening me us up for slaughter and meat. She usually makes a vegetable dish and an egg or meat dish for lunch. However, the amount of rice she makes is quite a bit, and she does not eat much. She would take a few table spoons of rice and dump the whole container onto my plate without asking, I could not object it because well it was on my plate. Same goes with the dishes, as she never keeps leftovers. Being the ‘cleaner’ for most of my life, I usually finish leftovers, but this was too much. I don’t eat much rice, but the rice she puts on my plate looks like a miniature Mount Fuji, it was that much rice. She always jokes about how I don’t work hard enough, maybe it is due to no energy, so she stuffs me up with food for energy to conduct more weeding for her.

Part of her long beans harvested from her garden.
These will be sold either to the long house residents or to the school.
Background: my flowery pants

3.      When she wants her peace, she means it!

I did state in one of my posts that we bonded due to our mutual understanding of space and quietness. Well, it took time to get to that unspoken rule. Aunty Tagung has impaired hearing and always wears a hearing aid on one side of her ear. So, one day, I had to return a water bottle to her at 8pm after borrowing it in the garden (remember she finish work at 6.30pm). I went to her place, opened the sliding door and called her. She did not respond, even though we were about 50cm from each other. I called her again, and only then I realise that she did not have her hearing aid with her. She did respond to me and I quickly returned the water bottle to her and left. Maybe that was her “Do Not Disturb” sign to others, to not disturb her after her meals. She was once annoyed at some people who talked non-stop towards her. She complained at how some were so “cakap banyak” (talkative), and how they just would not keep quiet. So, there are times where you can have conversations, but at other times, peace is wise.

4.      Listen, Listen, Listen!

I could not emphasize this last rule more than ever. Aunty Tagung has lived alone for quite a while already, so she usually has nobody to talk to. When she meets someone new, she will have lots of things to share. At first due to our language barrier, we may not understand each other well. After a while, you will get used to her speech and actually understand her well. Do not interrupt her while she is speaking, she really appreciates you as company. Yes, we were tasked to teach others English and that requires conversations, however she wants someone to sit down with her and listen to her, and that would be the greatest gift to her. If you are ever with her, it is nice to listen what she has to say, it can be food for thought for you at times.

These are the 4 main rules of Aunty Tagung, giving you a clearer picture of my beloved Aunty. For these 2 weeks, she has taken care of me well, with clothes and food alike. If we maintain space for others and listen to others, it could mean the world to many, not excluding Aunty Tagung. Thank you Aunty Tagung for everything you have done to me, and if any of you is interested in visiting Bario, do come and stay at her Dr Mattu’s homestay in Bario Asal. Any company is truly appreciated indeed!