Today we got up at 5 AM and finished packing. I was able to call my parents while I packed, and then we headed down to breakfast at 6 AM. We left at 6:30 AM on the tour bus and drove to the harbor area. We were there at 7 to get tickets, and got on the ferry at 8:30. This gave me time to do some sketching, which kept me entertained.
Yesterday, when we were riding around in a very small river taxi, Dr. Perumal and our tour guide, Nikki, told us that we would be taking a similar boat to Sarikei, Sarawak to arrive at the longhouse. They were just teasing, because the actual ferry was good-sized. We had first class tickets, which reserved our seat on the upper deck. As soon as the boat left the dock, they started playing the movie, "The Gods Must Be Crazy" in our cabin. We sat inside for the first half hour, then went outside on the open deck to get some fresh air.
It was such a beautiful day. At first I stood by the railing, but soon I sat down on the outdoor deck and made myself comfortable. I sat there for a couple of hours. It was very noisy and windy, but so beautiful. I actually didn't realize how noisy it was, because when I went back to the quiet indoor cabin I couldn't hear anything for several minutes.
We arrived in Sarikei and met the SDA pastor of the community where we would be staying. He took us to a rooftop, open-air food court where one of the stalls served completely vegetarian food. It was delicious Chinese vegetarian food, so we had egg drop soup, sweet and sour fake chicken, and sautéed vegetables. Again, it came with a mountainous plate of rice for each of us. We've been carbo-loading recently.
After lunch we went to a local grocery store for supplies to take to the longhouse. A longhouse is a very simple form of communal living that is popular with tribal groups in Malaysia. Basically, every family has their own apartment with a front door that opens onto a family gathering area for the community. Originally they were built out of wood, but now the government has started encouraging communities to build with materials like cement and metal to help prevent fires. We are staying with an Iban tribe in a more modern longhouse, but it does not have clean running water. We stocked up on water and other items like toothpaste and toilet paper before heading out. Dr. Perumal found sleeping mats, pillows, and towels for all of us to take as well.
We drove for about an hour to get to the longhouse community. The pastor drove us to his house first, which is separate from the other line of houses. His wife welcomed us with fresh fruit from the gardens cultivated by the community. We drove about 100 yards ahead to arrive at the longhouse. The women of our group are staying with the chief of the longhouse and his family. The men are staying in another longhouse right across from us. Typically, each longhouse has its own chief, but in this case, the chief presides over both longhouses. There are 57 homes between the two buildings, and 396 people.
Everyone is so hospitable here. Not many people speak English, but they are all very friendly and welcoming.
We helped sort pepper plants with the women today. They worked in stations, stripping the leaves from a stalk, or making neat piles of the stalks with leaves on them. At another station, they pruned all the tiny branches off the stalk and formed little piles of them, ready to be taken back out to the fields to plant again. This type of plant can be chopped off and planted back in the ground, and it will start growing again.
We also entertained the children today. We taught them games, they taught us games, and we all had lots of fun. Ashlee brought a pink tennis ball that the kids are going nuts for! The main hallway is made of tile, so they bounce the tennis ball off the walls, play soccer with it, and make up new games to play. The options are endless!
We helped the pastor's wife (who speaks English) and the chief's wife (who does not speak English) make dinner. They went to a lot of extra work finding vegetarian meat products for us to eat. When we got to the kitchen, the pastor's wife was sitting on the floor with a cutting board chopping ingredients for dinner. I helped chop the ginger, while Pam helped chop the onions.
After that, they insisted that there wasn't that much work to do in the kitchen, and that we should sit down and rest. We went back to entertaining the children, which was very fun. It is so hot here. Today was the most uncomfortable I have felt in the heat so far. Everyone wears sarongs here, and they are perfect to cover up while bathing in the river.
For dinner, we placed all the dishes on the floor of the kitchen and formed a circle around them. We sat cross-legged for our meal of various local vegetables, fried gluten, rice, and eggs and beans. It was very delicious.
After dinner, we all took a bath in the river in our sarongs. On the drive over, the pastor told us we would scandalize the community if we went bathing in the river in our bathing suits, especially bikinis. "Ok," I thought. "Fair enough, they're conservative." However, when we drove in, one of the first women I saw here was topless. I don't understand the system. 
The river was so refreshing. We were able to wash our hair and swim a little bit. It was just what we needed after the hot day. The weather has been extremely hot in this area because they have been in a drought. But tonight as we headed for our longhouse, I saw lightning. Maybe rain is coming after all.
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