COUNTRY: Borneo
PROGRAM: Expeditions
PROJECT: Teaching & Environmental Conservation
WRITTEN BY: Borneo Expeditions Volunteers
Coming to Borneo, I had absolutely no idea what to expect. At first I had no interest in coming here but honestly, I'm so glad I did. The culture, the people, the atmosphere, is all so amazing. The camp staff are beautiful no matter where you go and the locals are just as nice, despite the language barrier.
Our first stop was Tinangol, the best place to go for our large group of 10. We had no clue who anyone was but we were going to be living together in a traditional long house. It became our home and the place we bonded. It wasn't just the close living quarters that brought us together as a group but the whole camp. The camp leader, Kenny, was enthusiastic about everything and just the nicest guy we could ask for. Because of this we felt we needed to step up our game and work incredibly hard.
The project site was a 45min walk from where we were living so we were exhausted before we even started any work, but we took it as a warm up. After a 10 minute rest we would be up ready to smash out either the kindergarten, nailing and cutting bamboo or to mix hefty wheelbarrows of cement and level out soil. We wanted to do something for this community, and we did just that. Not only did we use all the cement the camp had but we did far more than Kenny had planned. It felt fantastic to really see that as a team we could do something.
As part of our project we also were able to teach the kids we were making the kindergarten for. Now this was an experience. The kids were the loudest bunch I have ever met but when you sit them down and find something they love doing they'll do it for hours. We first went in for only 45 minutes and had them running around hanging off us and giving them piggy back rides, so we ended up leaving there sweatier than when we left project work! After that we were all a bit scared to head back and teach but when we did, they loved it. We read the books, drew them pictures and even taught them a few animals- it was such an incredible experience. After meeting them it made walking around in the community so much more fun as we would laugh and greet them every morning, 'Salamat Pagi!'
The last morning in Tinangol was emotional; we had formed a bond with each other in that place and also with Kenny so we really didn't want to leave. However, Kenny's last words inspired us to keep adventuring: "Follow you're dreams guys and just enjoy!"
After Tinangol we headed to the most confronting experience so far, the homestay. This is where our really close friendships helped us a lot. Hellie- the girl I was staying with- and I did not have the best first impression. We were tired and all we wanted was to feel welcome and sit down with the family. Obviously this would be hard at anytime due to the language barrier, but we were also exhausted from our 8 hour trip to Bath Petuh, however we found it extremely difficult as we were thrown right into the deep end and sent to a ceremony with the youngest daughter of the house (Sophia, 10) in traditional dress. It was quite intimidating walking into a house with over 100 people in it, all of them staring at us. Not only that but we were unable to communicate with them. Unfortunately we ended up leaving early from this ceremony but we were able to attend a second one before our time was up.
The work at Bateh Puteh was extremely laid back compared to the cement mixing and gravel laying of Tinangol, however it was still really enjoyable. We travelled on an amazing river on the way to the eco camp, we saw all kinds of monkeys, birds and even crocodiles! This camp was all about bringing back the rainforest from the devastation of palm oil plantations. Not only were we working in the jungle but we had a night sleeping in hammocks there too. This was one of my favourite days so far. After setting up the hammocks we were allowed to roam freely around the jungle. This was amazing, we were following elephant footprints and butterflies it was amazing. The only blemish in the trip was when a group of three had to be hunted down after getting a little lost in the jungle. The guides kept a very close eye on us during the night walks, where one group saw the second slow lorris of the trip and my group saw many gorgeous paradise birds.
The second ceremony of this stay was much more enjoyable, but very culturally shocking. All 10 of the group were invited to this, however the boys sat in a separate room to the girls. The men then proceeded to pray for half an hour, while the woman sat in the back room, with all the food in front of us. However as this was a Muslim community the men had to be served first, not only that but they ended up eating all of the rice so the women had to wait longer for food. This was extremely shocking for us as our culture is completely different and a lot of the girls in the group struggled to understand and were getting quite frustrated. Just to elaborate- we got to this ceremony at 6:00pm and ate at 9:30pm!
Our stay ended on a positive note, however, as we all dressed up in traditional clothing again on the last night to watch the locals sing and dance, joining in ourselved at the end. Leaving Bateh Puteh was hard for us as we knew it would be the last bus journey for 6 of them. As a group of 10 we had become a family, we had the worriers, the foolish brothers, the responsible sisters and the immature kids, when they all left it was the first time I felt homesick. At first it was hard to imagine the trip continuing without them, but continue it did. And for an update, well… you're going to have to wait for the next blog!
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