The holidays this year will be something to remember! It all started the day I left for the orangutan trip. It was a Muslim holiday in which they sacrifice animals, and my neighbor invited me to the mosque to take a look at this ritual. Watching goats and cows being sacrificed was sad but they do give the meat to the poor. I reminded myself that we also kill animals this way............the meat dept. at Safeway would be empty if we didn't.
I met up with the other fellows and we headed for Tanjung Puting park in Kalimantan (Borneo). We boarded a small boat and headed up the river in search of monkeys and orangutans. The trees along the river changed from palm and pandanus trees into dense, mysterious jungle. It was surreal to see monkeys and orangs swinging from trees! Our first trip into the jungle yielded one giant orangutan, a downpour of rain, and leeches on the legs of my coworkers. We had much better luck the other days. We trekked trough the jungle to feeding stations where once captive orangs are given food to supplement the food they find in the wild. A highlight was seeing the baby orangs ride piggyback on mom's backs. Watching their behavior I can understand why they say they are 97% like humans.
After the orang tour we took an 11 hour bus trip to our next destination. I guess it was a preview of things to come when the driver taped the trunk closed to keep our luggage from falling out! The following 11 hours was the bumpiest ride I have ever taken! The bus had no shocks so going over the pothole filled road was intense. We also drove through a 2 foot flood, but arrived with our bags still in the trunk.
At Loksado we did an adventurous jungle trek through bamboo forest, Dayak villages, and beautiful mountains. The downside was that we slipped around in the mud and at times couldn't see our path because of the thick jungle. Our last day we spent bamboo rafting down the river which was a great way to end a busy trip.
Happy New Year to all of you! I spent New Year's Eve at my counterpart's house. Her husband picked me up on his motorbike and I held on with one hand while balancing a meal of goat's innards on my knee.
Since classes don't start until Jan. 28 I've decided to go to Bali for a week..........Jan. 8-15. I can't believe Bali is only an hour flight from my city........and $25 each way! This makes all of the struggles and adjustment issues worth it!
I met up with the other fellows and we headed for Tanjung Puting park in Kalimantan (Borneo). We boarded a small boat and headed up the river in search of monkeys and orangutans. The trees along the river changed from palm and pandanus trees into dense, mysterious jungle. It was surreal to see monkeys and orangs swinging from trees! Our first trip into the jungle yielded one giant orangutan, a downpour of rain, and leeches on the legs of my coworkers. We had much better luck the other days. We trekked trough the jungle to feeding stations where once captive orangs are given food to supplement the food they find in the wild. A highlight was seeing the baby orangs ride piggyback on mom's backs. Watching their behavior I can understand why they say they are 97% like humans.
After the orang tour we took an 11 hour bus trip to our next destination. I guess it was a preview of things to come when the driver taped the trunk closed to keep our luggage from falling out! The following 11 hours was the bumpiest ride I have ever taken! The bus had no shocks so going over the pothole filled road was intense. We also drove through a 2 foot flood, but arrived with our bags still in the trunk.
At Loksado we did an adventurous jungle trek through bamboo forest, Dayak villages, and beautiful mountains. The downside was that we slipped around in the mud and at times couldn't see our path because of the thick jungle. Our last day we spent bamboo rafting down the river which was a great way to end a busy trip.
Happy New Year to all of you! I spent New Year's Eve at my counterpart's house. Her husband picked me up on his motorbike and I held on with one hand while balancing a meal of goat's innards on my knee.
Since classes don't start until Jan. 28 I've decided to go to Bali for a week..........Jan. 8-15. I can't believe Bali is only an hour flight from my city........and $25 each way! This makes all of the struggles and adjustment issues worth it!
