Day one of work is halfway through. Just stopped for lunch and a break.
I was woken up this morning by Dawn and Lucy who were walking down to the river. Dawn was having a morning mandi (bath). Breakfast was at 7. Rice, noodles, tofu and cereal and oatmeal for those who already didn't want Indonesian.
Ruth took us to the bridge, where we carried wood. Lucy and I jumped into the swamp almost immediately to lay out a basic path with the iron wood planks.
I hear the buzzing or flies, trees in the wind, and distant chainsaws. I smell fire. I taste my grape-water mix. I feel the dripping down the backs of my legs and in the middle of my chest. I see my tired group laying out of the sun on mats, napping or resting. The heat has already taken it's toll.
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
8/1 9:00PM
Driving in, I felt like I belonged here. Besides the obvious difference in skin color, language, religion, hair, etc., it felt amazing riding in the back of a pick-up truck through Pangkalanbun. It just felt right.
We arrive at Camp Rendall and were greeted by the young orangutans who quickly climbed the front bars of their cages. Ruth, the coordinator (who speaks Indonesian! She's from Canada) showed us the main building first. It's large, open, green and white-green on the outside and white tiles and white walls inside. There's a western toilet and a squat toilet. Ruth then took us to the river, which you get to by a 500m bridge built by previous volunteers. I only dipped my hands in at that point and it felt heavenly--cool, crisp. The water itself was a deep yet clear red, which quickly made me think of leeches and blood.
We then had noodles made by Ibu Reis...they were good today, but I expect by the end of the trip I will hate them. We then were introduced to the orangs from a distance (we're on quarantine for a week). There are 26 in total. The youngest is Roxanne, who is with her mother Roxy, and she is only 6 months old. Then there was Momo, a male, sickly thin, completely hairless orang. Poor guy. Ruth said he eats perfectly fine, besides being a bit picky.
We bathed in the river--girls first. We saw red leaf-eating monkeys in the canopy on the way to the river. They're very red, with long tails.
Dinner was rice (Nasi), egg and vegetables. Very yummy. I love eggs. We also got a treat--banana and sweet potato-esque soup. Very sweet, not my favorite.
It was dark by 5:45, like, nearly black dark. It made me really sleepy.
After dinner, we introduced ourselves, as did the Dayak men/boys who run the camp. They speak no English, which is fair enough because unfortunately, I speak no Indonesian yet. This was followed by 3 rounds of Baybek, a card game.
The moon was incredibly bright tonight and the stars were beaming. I can't see them now in my hammock--I can pretty much just see my mosquito net. I can hear all sorts of nighttime critters chirping, whizzing and buzzing! No cobras today! Oh! No leeches either! Ruth said she rarely sees them here. Also, it's dry season, so barely any mosquitoes/mosi's/bamooks.
Throughout dinner and cards, and even now, I could hear the prayers for Ramadan at the distant mosques.
Super tired, but I have so much to write! Luckily, I'll be here for a while!
We arrive at Camp Rendall and were greeted by the young orangutans who quickly climbed the front bars of their cages. Ruth, the coordinator (who speaks Indonesian! She's from Canada) showed us the main building first. It's large, open, green and white-green on the outside and white tiles and white walls inside. There's a western toilet and a squat toilet. Ruth then took us to the river, which you get to by a 500m bridge built by previous volunteers. I only dipped my hands in at that point and it felt heavenly--cool, crisp. The water itself was a deep yet clear red, which quickly made me think of leeches and blood.
We then had noodles made by Ibu Reis...they were good today, but I expect by the end of the trip I will hate them. We then were introduced to the orangs from a distance (we're on quarantine for a week). There are 26 in total. The youngest is Roxanne, who is with her mother Roxy, and she is only 6 months old. Then there was Momo, a male, sickly thin, completely hairless orang. Poor guy. Ruth said he eats perfectly fine, besides being a bit picky.
We bathed in the river--girls first. We saw red leaf-eating monkeys in the canopy on the way to the river. They're very red, with long tails.
Dinner was rice (Nasi), egg and vegetables. Very yummy. I love eggs. We also got a treat--banana and sweet potato-esque soup. Very sweet, not my favorite.
It was dark by 5:45, like, nearly black dark. It made me really sleepy.
After dinner, we introduced ourselves, as did the Dayak men/boys who run the camp. They speak no English, which is fair enough because unfortunately, I speak no Indonesian yet. This was followed by 3 rounds of Baybek, a card game.
The moon was incredibly bright tonight and the stars were beaming. I can't see them now in my hammock--I can pretty much just see my mosquito net. I can hear all sorts of nighttime critters chirping, whizzing and buzzing! No cobras today! Oh! No leeches either! Ruth said she rarely sees them here. Also, it's dry season, so barely any mosquitoes/mosi's/bamooks.
Throughout dinner and cards, and even now, I could hear the prayers for Ramadan at the distant mosques.
Super tired, but I have so much to write! Luckily, I'll be here for a while!
8/1 11:56AM
Just boarded for Pangkalanbun, Borneo. This morning we woke up at 5, grabbed our bags, ate breakfast (rice and toast) and left the hotel. We got to drive through crazy Jakarta again. They have lots of chickens that I didn't seem to notice yesterday--small and scrawny chickens, not like the ones at home.
Airport security here is close to nothing. Put your bags through a scanner and you're good to go.
We flew from Jakarta to Semerang, had 3 hours there to sit and eat. I had/tried more rice, jackfruit (spicy), spicy green chili and hard boiled eggs. I also had "pulpy lemon juice" which is more or less pulpy lemonade. David and Cecile had funny coffee (Kopi) and there were some meat dishes as well--anorexic chicken, etc.
The plane I'm on now, you had to get on from outside, like in movies.
Side notes-
-Instead of toilet paper, theres a hose or a scoop
-They will only accept crisp American dollar bills from after 1996 for exchange
-It's rude to sit with your legs straight out if your toes are pointed to the ceiling, they should be pointed horizontally
-I need to get ready for lots of leeches (Dawn says you'll stop caring after 20 or so...we'll see)
Borneo-here we come!
Airport security here is close to nothing. Put your bags through a scanner and you're good to go.
We flew from Jakarta to Semerang, had 3 hours there to sit and eat. I had/tried more rice, jackfruit (spicy), spicy green chili and hard boiled eggs. I also had "pulpy lemon juice" which is more or less pulpy lemonade. David and Cecile had funny coffee (Kopi) and there were some meat dishes as well--anorexic chicken, etc.
The plane I'm on now, you had to get on from outside, like in movies.
Side notes-
-Instead of toilet paper, theres a hose or a scoop
-They will only accept crisp American dollar bills from after 1996 for exchange
-It's rude to sit with your legs straight out if your toes are pointed to the ceiling, they should be pointed horizontally
-I need to get ready for lots of leeches (Dawn says you'll stop caring after 20 or so...we'll see)
Borneo-here we come!
7/31 8:04PM
First night alone in bed=one sad puppy named Erin. Just pulling the covers up made me wish Alex were here. Despite the difficulty that has plagued us for a while now, at least I feel safe next to him. I'm here and have to be strong, with a blanket and a stuffed duck at my side.
I met the group tonight! Anne from Iowa who's around my age and is also my hotel roommate. Lucy who is also my age from England. Ilse from Mexico, also around my age. Cecile and Laure are a mother/daughter pair from France--Laure's a bit younger than I am. Leah from Washington state, Dawn is originally from England but now lives in Australia. Cecile, Leah and Dawn are anywhere from 35-50 probably. David is the lone male, older, probably late 50's, and from Australia as well.
In general, everyone smiles here, and squats! The Indonesian's are very flexible in comparison with the US...maybe because they're actually in good shape unlike in the States. It's nice to see the smiles though!
My malaria meds are making me dizzy--goodnight!
I met the group tonight! Anne from Iowa who's around my age and is also my hotel roommate. Lucy who is also my age from England. Ilse from Mexico, also around my age. Cecile and Laure are a mother/daughter pair from France--Laure's a bit younger than I am. Leah from Washington state, Dawn is originally from England but now lives in Australia. Cecile, Leah and Dawn are anywhere from 35-50 probably. David is the lone male, older, probably late 50's, and from Australia as well.
In general, everyone smiles here, and squats! The Indonesian's are very flexible in comparison with the US...maybe because they're actually in good shape unlike in the States. It's nice to see the smiles though!
My malaria meds are making me dizzy--goodnight!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)