After breakfast, we had about an hour until we left to work with them in the pepper farm. We donned our new hats, piled into the back of pickup trucks, and set off for our farming adventure. We were shown how to weed the pepper plants so that each stalk was surrounded by a foot-wide border of clean, weed-free dirt. Our whole group was there, so the work was fairly light. We each needed to complete the weeding for eight stalks in order to finish the field. It was difficult at first, but eventually we settled into the work. (It reminded me of summers weeding at my grandma's house!) It was a good bonding experience for us to work together. Ranzinger even sang to entertain us while we worked.
Soon, we had finished the whole field! We walked back to the longhouse community with a deep sense of pride in our accomplishments. However, we were a mess. It was only 9:30 am, but we had already sweated through our shirts and gotten covered in dirt. After we cleaned up a bit, Nikki, Meggie, and I helped the women make lunch. We sat on the ground or on woven mats and helped chop veggies. After the prep work was done, the women made french fries and hot chocolate and sliced up a hard papaya to eat with a chili soy sauce mixture. I'm not sure if this is what they do every day, but I sure enjoyed it! Only one of the women spoke English, so she translated back and forth for all of us. The women all wanted to take pictures with us, and we had a great morning with them even though we couldn't understand each other's languages.
We had lunch, then headed out to a nearby boarding school. We all rode in the back of a pickup truck to add that extra adrenaline rush to our trip (even though our entire drive was probably 2 minutes in duration). To reach the boarding school, we walked across a swaying suspension bridge that spans a wide river. When we reached the other side, we walked through the jungle, past the ruins of an abandoned schoolhouse, and then reached the school. There was not a child in sight. It was very odd. We must have arrived during the last few minutes of a study period, for soon enough, the kids began to appear. When they saw the soccer ball that we had brought, they were over the moon. We played volleyball, soccer, and basketball with the kids. It was so fun! Most of the kids were very proficient with English in general, but all of them had excellent soccer (football) vocabulary skills.
After our visit, the school board, principles, and other members of the school community took pictures with our group. They also presented us with two banners to commemorate our visit. They were so generous!
After we said our goodbyes at the boarding school, we headed back across the bridge to the car. Nikki and I hopped inside the truck this time. Riding in the back of a truck is fun and all, but definitely not comfortable with a group. Everyone else went to the back of the truck again, and as soon as we took off it started raining HARD. It was the hardest I've seen it rain yet on this trip, but the driver did not pull over to let the people inside the truck. They were huddled together in the back, and we rolled down the windows in the cab to grab their smartphones and keep them from getting drenched. Soon, we arrived at a longhouse that was much older compared to our longhouse, and constructed out of wood instead of the more modern cement blocks and bricks. We all looked like drowned rats after walking from the truck to the door of the longhouse. It was still raining very hard. They greeted us with towels, and welcomed us in to meet their chief, who, as a side note, is one of the rare women chiefs. She showed us around, and soon they began an elaborate ceremony for us including speeches, dances, and many local delicacies. They had gone all-out on the planning, and it was such a wonderful experience to spend the afternoon with them.
When it was time to go, we took the truck back to the longhouse and had enough time to pack up a bit and play with the kids before dinner. We were treated to a sprawling potluck buffet. The whole village came out for dinner, and we had a great time with them. As it began to get dark, Nikki brought out the glow-sticks she had stowed away in her bag from California. Not only were the kids in awe of the glowing jewelry, but the parents were equally enamored! All the adults wanted glow-stick bracelets too!
After dinner, we went across the driveway to the other longhouse (the one we stayed in last year). While they were getting set up for the dances, a giant locust flew into the longhouse. It was huge--about 4 inches long--and had wings and flew. It was like an insect-bird. Giant wings. It flew. Flew, I say, FLEW! I will be having recurring nightmares about it, I'm sure.
After we got the locust out and cleared the dance floor, we danced the traditional Iban bird-dance with various members of the community. It was hilarious and fun. Soon the younger crowd had brought out speakers and plugged in their iPods and invited us to join in their favorite dances. We followed their lead, and the songs and dances reminded me a lot of the ones I've tried on Dance Dance Revolution. It was probably one of my favorite memories of the trip! They wanted to see an American dance, so Royce, Matt, Satchel, and Andrew Ugalde showed them the "Watch Me" dance. They loved it, and I'm sure they will be practicing up so they can perform it for the group that goes to visit next year.
Kids at the Longhouse
Kids at the Boarding School
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