After a night of tossing and turning the morning finally came. This is our last day in the Iban village and I wanted to make the most of it.
I was still full from dinner last night but took a little fried rice for breakfast to be polite. The rice was local and tasted really good.
At 7:30 we split up in to pairs and Ashlee and I walked with a woman to her plot of the rainforest. When we arrived we thought we were going to work very hard and were prepared to get started. Instead she invited us to sit down and enjoy a yellow type of rambutan fresh off the tree. She proceeded to show us inside an abandoned wooden house on stilts that had some work supplies inside. I had a bad feeling when I saw a live rat trap set in the room. Ashlee asked the woman what some hanging ropes were used for and the woman walked over to grab them. When she did a rat came flipping out! Literally, I saw it fly through the air. I am embarrassed to say that I flipped out when I saw it fly and ran screaming. Flying rats are not my cup of tea. I didn't want the lady to be embarrassed by the incident so I quickly regained composure and apologized.
After some more leisure time, and a chance to talk with Ashlee, the woman lead us into the thick of the rainforest to pick leaves. We slipped and slid and managed to pick leaves when we weren't sliding down the hill.
Our hostess who we were working with was quick to smile and had a contagious laugh. She was already a grandma but so strong and adept at using the machete.
Ashlee and I felt really bad because we wanted to help the lady more. The whole experience this morning made me realize how relaxed and stress free the people are here. I'm so used to a hectic schedule and stress that I don't know how to sit and enjoy quality time with people the way the Iban do. They have their priorities straight.
When I got back I got ready to cool off in the river when I saw the boys and Dr. Perumal heading outside to pick green coconuts! I love coconuts. I have been looking for one the whole trip, so I followed them outside. Once I saw how tall the palm was and found out the boys would just scale it with their bare feet, hands and a machete tied to their waist I got nervous. Daniel Larios made a brave effort and got 1/4 the way up before came down. Jonathan Rojas made good progress and got to the top. By the top we could see his legs shaking. It was very scary and I didn't want anyone to get hurt just because I wanted coconut. So I told him to come down. Eventually he listened to Dr. Perumal and started yelling for someone to catch him if he fell. Thankfully he made it down safely. Fatigued and scraped up, but safe. Meanwhile, most of the longhouse had come out to watch the process. The pastor told us not to climb the palm any more because it was too dangerous.
Then a man from the village, the husband of the lady helping us with crafts yesterday, scaled the entire palm in less than a minute! He stood on top of the palm branches and cut down more than two dozen green coconuts. We formed an assembly line and got them up on the platform and a muscular, elderly lady used her machete to cute them up for us to drink and then eat. I was in heaven. I can leave happy now. I have had my coconut.
In the middle of enjoying my delicious coconut an ant crawled up my sarong and bit me on the thigh. Let's just say that was a strong ant. It added to the speckles of bites I have, especially on my left leg. So far I've been very lucky and they haven't been unbearably itchy.
Today the sun burned down mercilessly and after picking leaves and being outside all morning I went down to the river to cool off. On my way down it occurred to me that no matter what I'm doing, or where I am someone is watching me. Often they are hidden behind a window curtain but they are there watching. I always try to smile back. I know that they are merely stares of curiosity.
At lunch I tried a "stinky" bean which actually tasted pretty good. It's like the vegetable form of durian. Food is such an important part of the culture here that I'm not sure whether I would ultimately lose or gain weight. Would the hard physical work and sweat cancel out the oil, carbs and salt in their diet or not? I almost think it wouldn't. There seems to be no polite way to skip a meal if your not hungry, but that could just be because we are guests.
Thankfully Dr. Perumal gave us three hours of free time. I packed my belongings and laid aside an exercise shirt and rain jacket I haven't used to give to one of the mothers later on. While I was packing the children came back from school and were yelling "hi" and coming into the room every dive seconds. I went outside to play with them and they all yelled "yay!"; it warmed my heart. With Ashlee's help we played red light, green light and duck,duck, goose. She left for a bit and there was a period of anarchy. The kids were screaming crawling all over me and trying to grab my phone for pictures. I couldn't understand a word they yelled at me and they couldn't understand a word I told them. Ashlee came back and explained that I needed to rest and they respectfully said goodbye. I took a two hour nap and it was the best I have slept since I arrived.
At 4pm we had our third reflection time with Dr. Perumal. It was very interesting to hear everyone's perspective.
As I was going outside to play with the kids, one of the mothers who helped me with the crafts and who has been teaching me a little Malay came outside. I asked her if she would like my rain coat and shirt and she said yes and took them. While I was playing with the kids she came up and sat down with five little rocks. She then proceeded to teach me jacks. Her reflexes were incredible. I was so clumsy! She laughed. She spent the next half hour teaching me all sorts of different games with the fives stones. It was so much fun and I appreciated her time and patience. She told me she was thirty years old and her husband, who cut the coconut for us, was twenty. They have two beautiful little girls.
By the time I came inside to change for dinner there were people parading in and out of the room in preparation for the potluck. I threw on a skirt and attempted to smooth down the frizz.
The potluck was amazing! The whole longhouse came together in the communal hall and there was a table filled with amazing food. As we ate women kept coming around to serve us more rice. Even when I wasn't done with my old rice. I could just picture it, death by rice. We wanted to disperse and eat with all the people, but the language barrier made it intimidating. But Zoë, Jenna and I found a lady who spoke some English and was a school teacher and had a great time getting to know her. She said that this was the first time that visitors from California had ever come.
After dinner everyone cleared and cleaned the hall very quickly and brought out the musical instruments for some cultural dancing.
The person who danced in the middle had to wear a hat with feathers and passed the hat on to the next dancer. It was a fascinating dance that was very graceful and bird like.
I had several kids on my lap in hopes that no one would see me. But soon one of the women passed the hat on to Pam. She did a great job! Then I did a dumb thing and gave her the thumbs up just when she was finishing. She passed the hat to me and I had no choice but to get up in the middle of the circle and try. I asked one of the women to show me how and she was very patient with my attempts. The best part was when I passed the hat to Dr. Perumal. The whole hall erupted in laughter and applause as he danced around. It was hilarious! The dancing continued like a game. The hat was passed around and the whole hall would laugh and cheer as the next person danced. Everyone in our group got up and either danced individually or as a group. I was so proud of them!
The children were the most impressive when they got up and danced so effortlessly. The women laughed and joked with each other but most of the men just watched from outside, more removed.
The musicians were ver gracious and allowed us to try playing the instruments. It felt good playing an instrument again, even if it was percussion. I can't wait until next week when I'm reunited with a violin.
At the end the chief Changan's daughter got me and the other girls to come up and do the electric slide Iban style. It lasted a while and definitely helped burn off dinner.
After the dance we went inside the chief's house where his daughter and niece got our FB information while we signed the guest book. They told us that we learned Iban dancing very quickly and tried showing us some different dances as well. Celia, the chief's daughter, told me that my hips moved a lot and gave me the thumbs up. We all had a good laugh. After they showed us the Iban dances they asked for us to play American music. I played some Marc Anthony to show them a little Latin flavor and they were like "oh, a lot of hips". Apparently there is an Iban dance similar to salsa. After that we had an all out girls dance session. The girls knew all the American songs and I had a blast being silly and dancing with them as the chief's wife sat laughing at us.
But all good things must come to an end and the girls had to go to bed to be ready to leave by 5:30am for their high school in the morning. We said our goodbyes and they asked us to come back and visit and said they hoped to go to La Sierra when they graduate. It was the best way to end our experience at the longhouse. The whole night was probably one of the biggest highlights of the trip.
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