this is just a re-editted post of my 5 june entry.
this is long long over due...
my uncivilisation was a great experience..definitely!!its a once in a lifetime experience.i wouldn't like to repeat it but i wouldn't have missed it for anything!!haha so i left on the 8th of april or was it 7th?nvm...i reached there early, then was posted to the changeover site,this beach hotel cuz i went there late and missed the first phase..so instead of going for 3 phases,i only went for 2.there's community,adventure and environment.i chose to give up the latter. a phase is 3 weeks long.
so it was the day of announcements, they were to reveal where i'll be going to spend my next 3 wks and who with.i was sent to the poorest region in sabah in a kampung called kampung liu.its got a primary school and a kindergarten.we're supposed to build a kindergarten to replace the old one(cuz it was in a building owned by the church and they have to return it).so i got the know the villagers.they are soooo nice to me...they sayang me so much...its really heart warming.they taught us a lot of things.like how to make beaded bracelets.(i got this traditional Rungus necklace they made for me).and how to cook sweet rice.how to process rice(by gounding, pounding and sifting the rice).i only manged to master the first 2 steps though..hehe...i learnt how to cook over open fire(was amazed at how they could do tt without burning the house down...haha)..how to make oats interesting for the next 6 weeks. .i was also the translator.its really stressful considering my malay is how chao bad!!!how to straighten a bent board.
.the planks they use are untreated.so they change according to the weather and they warp really easily so we learnt how to find planks of the same thickness how to reduce a step, how to put up a window.and in the process, how to break into a building(we had to get something in the locked old kindy). we even came up with a whole new way of sawing a plank while sitting/lying on the ground and how to hammer a nail in the fastest way(use small taps then use long heavy strokes to get them in there).unfortuantely, i got some really nasty wounds tt got themselves infected and so i was incapitated for the last few days.
we also had 5 hr long treks to the beach and got eaten alive by mosies and sand flies.set off during dawn and watched as the sunlight kissed the hills..its as if the hills are alive!!.reminded me of sound of music.and then we got lost ..haha but continued walking using our instincts..rejoiced when we see the sea far off.. taught english lessons to the really cute younglings of the kampung,taught english math and science in the pri sch cuz i couldn't go to the work site, taught the children games and played with them.i was reminiscing on my own childhood when we played batu seremban and getah and skipping rope and bladi bladi bla.also learnt how to use an elastic...could shoot pretty accurately..hehe.(oh i miss those little things!!)and also played volleyball with the teenagers there when they came back during the sch hols.and also sunbathe in the middle of the padi field to even out my tan(wait, its not a tan,i'm chao da.)
then there was also our nites out in the half-built kindy or ard a fire during Radio Raleigh(this entertainment thing they thought up for our entertainment.)we can't heard a thing half the time anyway.haha.but it was just good fun to sit ard and slack.and we had Tim Tam slams...go buy Arnott's Tim Tam, read the side label and u'll understd wat i mean...it's total luxury!!we also had dampers.a kinda aussie thing like bread to cook over the fire.milo was a delicacy there.even for me who really hated milo.we also slept under the stars once.in the kindy and it was threatening to rain and we woke up with our mosi nets all wet cuz of the morning mist.
went to church once with them..it was quite interesting listening to the service in mixed Malay and Rungus.then I tried on a Rungus traditional costume(tt they use during marriage).but its in Eddie's camera so i dun have it yet since he's still traveling ard Sabah.I also explored the village a little..their houses though made of wood, are actually really cosy and good looking..haha oh ya there's no electricity there so they use generators and it causes such a din right outside our house tt we can't hear ourselves think and can only sleep after they shut it down...haha but it was all part of the experience. we dug a new longdrop(toilet) and it's humongous!its 6 feet deep and at least 1 sq metre wide. the guys are crazy!!if the planks fall thru..oh u're in deep shit..haha
basically it's been fun fun fun and i'm really glad my presence there made an impact in somebody's life.although i regret not having spent more time with the locals..and was really surprised when Raini(the kindy teacher) smsed me yesterday!!!haha so happy!!! and eddie is there now i wanna go back too...he's the malaysian who was in the same phase as i was..oh i miss them...living such simple lives..envy..
there was a farewell party, lots of tears and food.we danced the Sumazau and Joget.they sang 'Auld Lang Syne' in Malay.we had a "cultural sip".haha just to test their tapai(rice wine)..then it was the end of 3 wks and we're back at changeover.then it was adventure next for me.i got into the dive trek trek group.so first week was diving in this deserted island.we had 4 days of intensive training, it was hell lots of fun.a whole new world down there.but i was a little freaked out when i had an accident on the second day of dive.here i learnt to put up my own hammock stretcher style so that its like a bed.they had a sturcture there.we woke up to a fabulous view of sunrise over mt k. everyday..and then we also had a treasure hunt and we got the prize!!!its so easy i dunno how the rest of the groups dint get it though.our little island had a sunset spot as well.dint get to take pics though but it was BEEEAutiful...haha then we had our finals and i past it with flying colours to be a certified open water diver.can dive up to 18 m.was fun.saw lots of clown fish and this fierce little white fish and also lots of colourful corals and urchins.for the last 2 days we had reef survey out in the blue.and i was in the transect gr.to lay the lines for the survey. our group had a lot of bonding sessions aka card games..ahaha most commonly played game is shithead..haha next on the list was strip piggy.the person who lost gotta strip off a piece of clothing.we also played volleyball and basketball with the dive instructors.talked to the other visitors there.the ang mohs and prcs and japs.was good fun...the island was so pristine..such a sad thing to leave..sigh...
then it was out to the wild.we trekked from inobong to our jungle camp,i was the smallest girl ands carried the heaviest weight.and ppl were wondering y i was slow.stupidity. then for the next six days, we lived in a hammock and tarp over our heads. the river as our bath tub(water is damn cold!), a hole in the ground for our toilet.we call it the long drop.we then climbed a hill everyday to our trail clearing work site, improving the oldest trail through e crocker range. we had to build step.so there was lots of shoveling and parang-ing and mattocking and sawing.
we made steps for about 2 km stretch in 4 days.it was hard work.but really fulfilling.but i dint get a pic of it...sobs..it was as impreesive piece of work!!.i'm proud to say i'm the only girl who use the parang(its a huge chopping knife)and dint hurt myself in someway.(dunno how the rest use it one...tsk tsk)we did such a good jopb tt the other gp who are making steps in another part of the trail praised us and said it was much better than theirs!!hehe
then after tt it was off to complete the trek to terien then buayan then kianobe next bamboo camp aka leech camp thenits tikalod our end point..oh btw, we carried a lot of stuff w us. we carried our stoves, our food, our radio which weighs 7 kg. and then batteries for it its the huge batts tt we use in physics lab to weigh down the retort stand.and there's two of them!!!and solar panels to recharge them.and our tools as well.and of course our personal kit.
and did i tell u abt the food we eat everyday?hehe...everymorning, we get oats(they call it porridge)..so we learnt how to make it more interesting by adding milo or coconut milk or bananas,raisins,nuts and yadaaa yadaa yadaa.then lunch is without fail,cream crackers with a)tuna, b)sardines,c)corned beef, or d)peanut butter and chocolate spread..everyday!!!!and dinner there's greatest variety.either noodles,pasta,mash potatoes(instant ones) or rice(they are hopeless at cooking rice..heh so am i)with either beef,chicken or mushroom pasta sauce.occasionally get beef curry.once we got frankfurters.then there's this terrible mixed veg thing they call chop suey.and kidney beans are the horror of horrors!but my saviours are pudding.there's custard,cake and tinned fruits.those being my fav..they curb my sugar craving.ahaha i can drink all the syrup in one tin..they thinki'm crazy.and we girls drank condensed milk straight out of the can.heh no wonder my sis said i got rounder.
so everyday,put abt 20 kg on our backs and trek uphill and occasionally downhill for abt 4-5 hrs and cross river reaching up to our waist line...battling the shrubs and the heat and leeches!!leeches at the back of my knee,on my shoulder, under my shirt, on somebodyelse's bum, leeches everywhere!! and of course,as the time goes by, our body gets used to the pain and the aches tt we have and our saving grace was the fresh fruits in the villages.and we had the fastest trekking record among all the groups and we dint(thankfully)have any whiners.others take 5 hrs, we take 4.and it was like tt until the last day when we stopped continuously to eat..haha the guide will just come up with diff kinds of fruits along the way,bananas,pineapples,papayas,citrus fruits,guavas.haha it was a hell lot of fun.
i'm really glad i made it thru and for me, the biggest challenge was the physical challegnge of pickingup my rucksack and picking my way thru the roots.and singing to myself was definitely a plus.i walked and walked myself into oblivion.its like ur mind stops thinking abt wat u are doing and u are in a kind of limbo.weird?hahabut it got me thru it all...the rivers were amazing!!but i dint get much pics of it either..sobs...i mean them its like practically every camp is close to a river.got some really beautiful pics of sunset.the stars were so bright and beautiful as well...definitely breathtaking.and moon was exceptional.its like in story books u read abt a moonlit path.and there u can experience tt.in the city its just too bright to see tt. and its as if u've got a giant street lamp over u...it was simply beautiful!!have to see it for yourself.i can walk ard without a torch!!it's tt bright.
then to top it all off, we climbed mount kinabalu, the tallest peak in southeast asia for the sunrise. it was breathtaking as well. i was really really tired by then.at least we dint have to climb w our 20+kg rucksacks.and it took me lots of effort to get up there.but the view was worth it. and it was very very very very cold!!!there were 2 stages. first climb in the afternoon to the halfway point, then leave the halfway point at 2 am and start the trek to the summit. tt last bit was taxing. good thing it was dark. cuz when u can only see wats directly in front of u, it helps u focus and i think its part of the reason why i made it up ther.i got up by 5.30,before sunrise.and froze my butt off waiting for the sun to rise.my gr was the only gp where every member made it up before sunrise. so was trigger happy during sunrise but it wasn't really clear.then started the trek down afterwards.was amazed at how high i managed to climb and the view was fantastic!!
then it was the end of my expedition.
then we had the end of expedition celebrations..haha party in another deserted island..we played in the sand with the sun and sea as our companions..although it did drizzled a bit, all of us are roughened out and wat's a bit of rain?haha partied all nite long..they had some auction thing going on then it was dance time.the next day, left the island for kk and its just a matter of time when i came back and had to rush for my NUS and NTU scholarship interviews..crazy schedule!!
was amazed i came back in a piece....one thing i learnt was tt no matter how xin ku it is at tt point in time, i'm not gonna die from it. i'll have to live thru it anyway so y go thru it miserably?why not have a time of your life and be happier?so i'll learnt to stop moaning so much...and also became more confident i think although i'm still a shy shy girl...hahaha another thing is that also know when to stop and smell the roses. live life for yourself, not others, for u will lose yourself along the way and one day wake up asking, wat the hell am i doing?...and so i see uni as a whole new start for me and i hope i'll make it thru with everything intact.haha..
