A Waterfall that Patrick came across!

Waterfall at Poring Hot Springs

    So the first week of fasting is over and I'm afraid my fasting hasn't gone very well. I managed one day to last until 5 pm but then a plate of spring rolls was too much for me! My problem is not getting up early enough for the huge meal before daybreak and that seems to keep everyone going. I am noticing this year that there is a silence around Ranau at 5 ish while all the Muslims are waiting and often sleeping or resting before the breaking of fast at around 6.30 pm - the time gets earlier each day. Around 4 pm there seems to be quite a carnival atmosphere with people buying food and drink ready for the evening feast. I know now that if for whatever reason you can't fast during Ramadan for example the olympic athletes, sickness, pregnancy, menstruation...you can fast at any time during the year. The aim is to remember the poor and hungry people in the community. There are some children fasting at school and they appear to be encouraged as part of a training process and perhaps are given targets of just until lunchtime or with water. Anyway I know that compared to other countries it is not as strictly followed and that a few people go off the rails without any great punishment! I was invited twice last week to break fast with two teachers and I only wish that other religions and countries could learn from the seemingly effortless way the Muslims and Christians seem to celebrate each other's festivals here.

  With Patrick with me I have been more enthused to watch some of the olympics on internet and we managed to watch the opening ceremony which I thought was great - well done Danny. Patrick spent a couple of nights in the jungle near Poring Hot Springs and went on a trail and ended up at the most amazing waterfall on his own - I hadn't even heard of it but now will be wanting to visit.It has been boring for him while I work although we did have nice weekend at the Tip of Borneo (fourth time for me!) He leaves on Wednesday and I will have one day before Christine, Valerie and Marc arrive.

A Rungus longhouse

This time last year

This time last year I left my wonderful family and beautiful home to fly off to Borneo. I can still relive every moment as if it was in slow motion. We arrived at Paris airport and had to wait ages to pay the  excess baggage bill and then it was a real rush to get through in time as they were calling the flight. I nearly turned back and wanted to say goodbye again to Andrew, Tanya and Gen but I couldn't as I was through the security and the flight was boarding. We were all trying to be so brave but I think we couldn't imagine what the reality of it all was going to mean to us as a family. Once I got on the flight and it took off I knew that there was no turning back , no scene like Rachel in Friends, this was it, this was my adventure and I decided then that I would make the most of it and just see how it went.
  If you have been following me through this year you will know that it has been an amazing experience. My job is challenging, very varied but there are moments when it is so rewarding and humbling, I feel very fortunate to have been given the chance to do it. Sabah is just the most wonderful place and although I asked to be placed near the coast and found myself at the top of a mountain you will know that the presence of Mount Kinabalu is very important to me now. The people here are warm, generous and kind and I am so privileged to have met so many lovely people.
  There are of course times when I do feel very homesick and wish I could be back with everyone  ( like Ben and Agathe's wedding this Saturday) but I wouldn't have missed this year for anything. I would just like to say a BIG thank you to my family for being so understanding and supportive about their mother's wanderlust craving - sorry I might have passed it on to you! However none of this would have been possible without Andrew's support and encouragement. Thank you, dearest Andrew for understanding that it was something I had to do.

Kinabatangan River Basin again!

Sunrise from our bedroom window

As planned Patrick and I met up at Sepilok and there he was looking clean, shaved and healthy - not like any reality show on the tv! It was lovely to see him and he had obviously had a great time in Tabin Wildlife reserve, learning about the birds and animals, as well as making good friends with the staff members. So as soon as he was out of the jungle we headed off towards some more i.e. the Kinabatangan river basin where a corridor of jungle either side of the huge river is now protected as the Kinabatangan Widlife Sanctuary. The palm oil plantations encroach either side but at least now the government recognise the importance of trying to preserve the incredibly diverse wildlife in this area and also realise how lucrative eco tourism is for the economy!

Blue eared Kingfisher

Golden backed woodpecker

Male proboscis monkey

Stork billed knigfisher

Orang utan mother and baby

Hooded pitta

Blue flycatcher

    We hadn't made any booking and just turned at a sign for Bilit Kinabatangan Heritage B&B and arrived at the most perfect spot on the edge of the river. The B&B is run by a most charming lady and the  accommodation was a few wooden houses on stilts, nestled in among the trees with monkeys jumping from the branches. There were about 10 of us staying which was small enough to get to know everyone and our trips on the river were unpredictable and exhilarating as we never knew what we might see. Patrick soon showed his expertise by spotting birds and even an orang utan before the guide and everyone was asking him for the names of certain birds! Our most exciting boat trip was last night when we saw two female elephants and their calves grazing by the river edge. We had been told that the elephants were further down the river and that there was no chance of seeing any so it was an extra bonus.

 Our weekend was over far too quickly and we said goodbye to our new friends and made our four hour trip up towards the mountain calling in on the way to see the Gomantong caves. These are very impressive caves that have been home to bats and swifts for eternity and also for  hundreds of years where man has harvested the nests and sold to the Chinese for the saliva to make birds nest soup.The harvesting is very strictly regulated now and despite the smell and huge piles of manure and cockroaches it was worth a visit. 
The photos or the weekend are taken by Patrick with my camera and he has got some amazing ones from Tabin.I'm afraid to say I was very ignorant about the bird names before but there are so many around it is difficult not to become slightly more knowledgeable than before!We have another 50 or so to bore you with!

Newsflash - Patrick is out!

   Patrick has come out of the jungle after being in Tabin Nature reserve for nearly six weeks. We haven't been able to speak on the phone but have only had short email contact. So tomorrow I'm driving down to Sepilok about 4 hours away to meet him and hear all about his adventures.
  The other newsflash is that the new date for Ramadan was announced tonight on the TV and it is officially Saturday now. So there can be another last day of "makan" (eating)!! Yesterday I was invited to a makan at one school and then went onto another school to "work" only to find out that they weren't working as they were all eating. So another day like that tomorrow!! I'm hoping that Patrick will contribute some of his photos for this weeks blog so please be patient.

Countdown to Ramadan

Bonne fête Nationale mes amis français. Andrew m'a dit qu'il pleut toujours en Normandie et Lisa a abandonné son camping en Bretagne en raison de la pluie! Je pensais à cette époque l'an dernier quand j'ai regardé les feux d'artifice a Livarot et je suis allées à Beuvillers pour ma dernière Foire a tout! Il me manque vous tous et j'ai hâte de Christine, Valérie et Marc arrivent bientôt et pratiquer mon français!

Another of the guard of the Nunuk ragang tree!

    With all the financial crisis going on in Europe I'm feeling very far removed and fortunate in many ways that I have a job, a salary and live somewhere where the cost of living is very low. I've just had my electricity bill for the last 6 months which is 95 ringitt - (25 euro) which seems very little to me. I can go out to the market with 10 ringitts (divide by 4 for euro and 5 for sterling) and come back with 2 pineapples, a bunch of bananas, tomatoes, cucumber, aubergines, a cauliflower and some peppers. You  can go to eat in a restaurant in Ranau and have a meal and drink for about 7 ringitts which is also the price of a good haircut! Before you all think of moving here there is of course the downside! Beer can be bought in Ranau for 8 ringitts a can but wine has to be purchased in KK at 50 ringitts upwards for a very average bottle of wine. And cheese?? - well Ranau hasn't heard of it but I believe it can be bought in KK at a huge price. So my french friends - can you imagine a life without wine and cheese??

Saturday morning market Ranau

Used to seem exotic to me!

  I have put up an Olympic Countdown at school but recently an even bigger and more impressive Countdown poster was put up - the days before Ramadan. There are approximately 5 days before fasting begins depending on the moon but I think we can safely say that Friday 20th July will be the first day of fasting. Emily and I arrived in Ranau on the first day of Ramadan last year and didn't comprehend how it effects the school timetable whether you are Muslim or Christian. The school canteen closes, all extra curricular activities, sports etc are stopped , the timetable is shortened and the Muslim female teachers are often up at 4 a.m. preparing the food before sunrise for the family breakfast. I am embarrassed about my ignorance and lack of knowledge last year and am very much more aware this year of what is involved. However I have much to learn and am contemplating having a go at fasting for a few days to see what it is like - the no water might be a problem I think!
   

Nunuk Ragang and Happy Anniversary Blog

The high priestess

The high priest

   Once upon a time, a long time ago when people moved and drifted with the wind, a group of people left their land (known as Mongolia now) in search of food. There were many of them and they landed in many places like grains of rice scattered on the land. Some of these people found the wind carrying them very far from their homeland into hot climates and they lived as they could by trading and fishing.
    They were near a land that was known as The Land below the Wind and though it was a very dense jungle they found a river that they paddled up stream. The boats continued for many moons until they came to place where two rivers flowed into one which they named Liwogu meaning deep calmness. Towering above the jungle was a huge tree,with its huge branches overhanging the river and in the distance they could see a mountain reaching into the clouds. " This is the place that we will stay" said the bobohizan. " This tree is the Nanuk Ragang (meaning red ficas tree) and this will be our home."

  And so it was the people lived for many years under the huge branches of Nanuk Ragang. The roots of the tree produced a red latex that had medicinal healing powers and the water in the Liwogu had a reddish tinge. The huge tree was their shelter and their protection. They had fish from the river, animals from the jungle and they planted food to eat. The people's philosophy focused on the belief of maintaining the harmonious relationship of all the forces of life. The foundation of a system of a balanced life in moderation was to become the blueprint of the Kadazandusun people. The Adat is the complex beliefs of their spititual values, customs, traditions and moral guidelines.

The costume is made from the pangolin animal and bark

bark and pangolin costumes

    Eventually after many generations living under the shadow of the nunuk ragang some of the people decided to go further up the river and leave the community. The people settled in many places but every year the origin of the Khadazandusun people is remembered and celebrated.

Inside the tree performing blessings and rituals

 Today I was very fortunate to be invited along to the celebrations at Nanuk Ragang Heritage Monument, which is a huge concrete "tree" that is able to shelter many people inside and supposedly the size of the original tree! You will see from my photos that it is was an amazing experience to be amongst and Emily and I were the only fortunate tourists there. They believe that these people originally came from China or Mongolia during the 6 th century and many artefacts such as rice jars support that claim. Unfortunately much of the oral history of this ethnic group has been lost and was never written down but there is a strong belief that their common ancestral origin is from the people who settled at nunuk ragang.
PS. Much to my surprise I find that the 8 th July was when I started my blog. I find it hard to believe that a year has passed since my farewell party. Thank you all for following and your support. I have just looked at the statistics and I have had 6,230 page views since I started. Most of you are from France, UK and Malaysia but I have regular readers even in Brazil, Finland and Russia! I hope you will continue to read and enjoy my "adventures"!

Fame at last!

"Round and round the garden"

One of the aims of our project is to involve the parents and the community more into school life. This has been quite a difficult one for us all , partly because of the language barrier and partly because of the  negative attitudes some of the head teachers and staff seem to have towards the role of parents. Anyhow, the songbook sales have been an indication of actually how committed the parents are and has been a fun and informal way of getting to "know" each other and regard me as a person rather than an orang puteh. So in all my schools we've launched a series of workshops on literacy and encouraging parents to read at home. In one of the village schools, 33 parents showed up for the first workshop which with only 50 pupils in years 1 and 2 was a very high turn out - and they asked for more, as soon as possible. Another issue in the planning of activities is that a few of the parents are illiterate and at first I thought that could be a problem but it hasn't made any difference and we've had great fun this week, saying rhymes, playing games, illustrating "books" and with their children along too it has been a lovely experience for me and I'm hoping that it is just the beginning and that there are many more to come.

Making books

Bea, who has attended all the workshops!

I was invited to a "Motivational Camp" to give a talk to the Year 6's who are approaching their important UPSR exams in September. What on earth will I talk about, I asked? It doesn't matter, they replied, we just want them to see an orang puteh!! (white man for new bloggers) I accepted the invitation, not because I thought I could motivate anyone but because it was at this isolated village about 5 kms along a gravel road towards the mountain and apparently has spectacular views. So I was collected, as they thought I wouldn't manage the track, and after a bumpy climb arrived to see not just Year 6 waiting for me but the whole school and all the teachers. My Olympic quiz and motivational theme of "excellence"," struggle" blah, blah... went out the window and fortunately I had brought my guitar so ended up singing songs with everyone for an hour. They seemed to enjoy it and apparently just seeing me was opening their horizons! As I was leaving one of the pupils asked for my autograph which started a mob wanting me to sign their exercise books! At last fame and stardom  - I can see why stars have to shorten their signatures to scribbles.

The view from the school

   So what else this week at school? Well this is the season of sports' days and the primary schools not only practise for days, they then have at least 2 days to have the official sports (including the marching ceremony) and then they all have a day off as a reward. I think I'm used to it all now but there are always surprises around the corner. I arrived at a school on Friday ready to video a lesson only to be told that the whole school are doing aerobics. What for I ask? The Ministry of Education has asked all the primary schools to perform aerobics on Tuesday morning as a showing of solidarity for "One Malaysia". What next I wonder!
  Patrick is still down in the jungle and I only hear by short emails that he is ok. He has been allowed to see the pygmy rhinoceros in the research centre and has seen his first orang utan in the wild! I will see him on the 20th July and hear more of his adventures.

Sunset Music Festival

I'm just sitting outside, early morning,  listening to the birdsong at a lovely backpacker place called Tampat do Aman, meaning resting place. It is a traditional longhouse which has been built  to cater for many travellers rather than the extended family as is the tradition with the Rungus people. Sadly the communal living of the longhouses are becoming fewer but there are some efforts being made to keep the tradition alive and at Kampong Bavanggazo one can visit a longhouse still lived in and experience the music, crafts and rituals of the Rungus tribe famous for their beading and basket weaving.

 However I ended up here last night as it was  near the venue of "The Sunset Music Festival" at the Tip of  Borneo ( Simpang Mengayau) which I decided to attend at the  last minute. There were lots of mentors who had the same idea and we had a lovely barbecue on the beautiful beach at the "Tip".

 The concert started at 5.30 with the stunning setting of the stage built overlooking the sea and us spectators looking out towards the sea and the sunset. Sadly the sunset was not one of the spectacular ones but nevertheless it was a lovely atmosphere. Most of the performers were from Sabah and ranged from classical to jazz and folk but the star was a soprano called Syafinaz Selamat from peninsula Malaysia who had us all captivated with her wonderful voice. A good time was had by all, some of us danced a bit and all of us sang along when asked and it was completely sold out with many of us sitting on mats at the front. Despite the long drive it was well worth the effort and I must make myself go to more events like this.
P.S I have made it onto youtube! I'm with the group of orang putehs dancing at the front and the song is one of the most loved and played in Ranau. I love it too now!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJWCz5OKEN8