Love Letter to Kalabia

One of the sweetest stories I have heard over the last year of Kalabia operations in Raja Ampat is the story of the "Surat Cinta Kalabia" (or "Love Letter to Kalabia").

After an intense and highly successful environmental education program in the village of Dibalal, on the island of Kofiau in the south of Raja Ampat, the Kalabia pulled away from the dock to move on to the next village in the schedule.  (To give you an idea of where on earth Dibalal is, here's a Google Earth map with placemark)

The kids from Dibalal had left a special bag of pinang on the boat as a gift for the education team... and once it was opened, something even more special was discovered in the bag...

The Kalabia (or, realistically, the Kalabia TEAM) had received a love letter from the kids of Dibalal.

(I've been wanting to post this for some time (as you can see by the date on the letter,  it was back in late 2008), however I've only just found a scanned copy of the letter now.

In the letter the students thank the Kalabia team profusely, telling them how much they have learned, how much fun they have had, and how much they miss them already, and hope the Kalabia will soon return to their jetty.  They say, "You, (naming the team members' names), our big brothers and sisters, don't forget us, as we will never forget you."  They also included the lyrics to a local song (in the local language), and translated its meaning into Indonesian for the team; it is a song of longing for loved ones.

This is not unusual -- the Kalabia often arrives at a village jetty to great excitement and activity, being welcomed with traditional song and dance; team members are led into the village in a traditional ceremony of welcoming, and adorned with the traditional local token, sometimes a small wreath made of native vines, sometimes a stroke of sand on their face.  Upon completion of the program, there is always a closing ceremony, and when it is time to weigh anchor, the entire village gathers on the jetty to say thank you and good-bye -- tears can be seen in many participants' eyes, and show the strong bond that has been formed with the education team during the program.

It is such an inspiring program -- I still get goosebumps when I think about what an incredible initiative it is and what a positive impact it must be having on marine conservation.  The new team is just beginning the training and capacity building program - we've a longggg way to go, but I hope we'll be able to get these guys up to scratch so that before too long they'll also be receiving love letters!

You can see a few previous posts about the Kalabia by following the links at the right to the themes Kalabia and Environmental Educaiton, or at the following links (Most of you will know I tend not to write about this here, but I did want to share a few things):
- The Education Vessel
- The Namesake
- The Maiden Voyage
- The Program
- The Kalabia in Friwen Village
- The Team
- The Kalabia in Yenbeser Village
- Kalabia Refreshing

Plastic Scrotums and Big Shyness

I was reminded of a few more language stories this evening... when it came out that 'butuh', which in Indonesian means 'to need', in Balinese, actually mean scrotum!  (We could have water bottles that say "The Sea is not a Plastic Scrotum" instead of "The Sea Doesn't Need Any More Plastic"!?!? - hahaha!)

So, to add to the theme I started on this a few weeks ago, I want to share the story about having big shyness, as experienced by another dear friend while learning the Indonesian language.

The Indonesian language has a very interesting grammatical construction whereby with the use of a combination of prefixes and suffixes, you can create a plethora of words from a single root word.  In fact, this is one of the things that can make this language so easy to learn... At least there aren't a thousand exceptions for every single rule, as in English... however, the few exceptions that you tend to stumble upon are the most embarrassing possible words!

So, one way in which you can make a noun or adjective in Indonesian is to take a root word, add the prefix ke-, and the suffix -an... now USUALLY, the root word used in directly related, or at least logically related to the new word produced.  But sometimes, it's not entirely intuitive.  Such is the case with shyness....

My friend thought, ok, so I take the root word shy (malu), add on the pre- and suffixes, and I can express the feeling of being shy (which in Indonesian, one would think of as 'having shyness'... another example, as in Spanish you 'have thirst'....)... so the root word 'malu' turns into 'ke-malu-an', kemaluan.  Grover would have so much fun with Indonesian!

Near the beginning of her time in Indonesia, everyone wanted to introduce her to the heads of organizations, and government ministries... but my friend wasn't yet entirely confident in her language ability... telling everyone that she had big shyness about talking with these higher-ups, and maybe the meeting could wait until her big shyness subsided a bit, and she could talk more constructively with them.

Turns out kemaluan means something entirely different - she wasn't telling people about her 'big shyness' as she thought, but instead about her big genitals!!!

Just imagine the confusion of her colleagues as to her reasoning!?!

Jurassic Birds

No, I'm not writing a post on teradactyls, although these Cassowaris would give that wild thing a run for its money!

Although native to Papua, my first and only encounter with a Cassowari was in the Bali Bird Park.  At that time I was up quite close and personal as you can see from this incredible photo I got (without using zoom)!

As it turns out, these over-grown grouse are the only one ever known to have actively attacked, and killed, humans.  In Australia, apparently it's not uncommon that they hospitalize people, and have even been known to disembowel with their razor-sharp claws!  It looks like the bird-keepers are keeping them trimmed nicely!

But in hind-site, I can't help but thing perhaps 'mom' should've been a little more careful when she asked me to take this picture of her boys with the beast at the gate to its enclosure (the rest, really is a single rail fence!)!?!

They're not carnivorous, so are not attacking for food, but they are very territorial birds -- they get extremely feisty if anyone that they perceive as a direct threat comes within their 7kmsq stomping ground.  After hearing all this, I would think Bali Bird Park would at least use a more complex enclosure than a simple rail fence... or at least put an 'aggressive bird' warning sign up!?!  I guess that would spoil the feeling of communing with these creatures from Jurassic park....

Bubur Manado (Manadonese Porridge)

This delightful dish, the regional specialty of the city of Manado, is also called Tinutuan. All Manadonese claim that the dish improves health and vitality.  It is one of the three things Manado is famous for... The Three B's:  Bubur, Bibir, Bunaken!  (Their porridge, the lips (of their women, thought to be some of the most beautiful in Indonesia), and the island paradise of Bunaken).

This is definitely NOT your typical porridge... Tinutuan is more like a hearty vegetable stew than porridge. It is made with rice, pumpkin or squash, sweet potatoes, corn, greens (like cassava leaves, spinach & kale), lemongrass, tumeric, scallions, and of course, chilies!  And, true to the coast, it is usually served with fried salted fish.

As it was described to me, the word 'tinutuan' really means 'mish-mash'... a bunch of random things all thrown together into the same pot, boiled down and mixed around, the result being a wondrous new entity that come out delicious, and HEALTHY!  The Manadonese feel the same way about their city, which is why their slogan is "Manado, kota TINUTUAN" (Manado, the Tinutuan City).

I really miss this treat - it was one of the staples of my diet in Manado.

Transit Tales

I feel like I've spent a lot of time in transit over the last few months...  in fact, I'm writing this post from a transit lounge in the Makassar airport.

Perhaps this feeling of extended transit also relates to the fact that I feel like I'm at the point in my life where I'm waiting for my flight to be called in the departure lounge as well....

Anyway, my last two trips between Indonesia and Canada, with imperfect connections, were longer than usual… and conducive to jet lag, and arriving not knowing which end was up!

Singapore Changi Airport

The massage chairs are gone!?!  Imagine my dismay, when, after walking from the far end of Terminal 3, ALL THE WAY through terminals 2 and 1 to my favourite spot in Singeapore’s Changi International Airport, the Oasis lounge, only to find out that its major draw for me (ie. the free full-body massage chairs) are no longer there!  Now, those of you who know Changi know that it’s no small feat to walk all that way… but I figured I’d get some exercise after my 6 hour flight from Tokyo to Singapore, then have a delectable rest at Oasis… unfortunately it was not to be!

But I found Sanctuary, which was the next best thing… super-comfy reclined chairs, surrounded by live plants, and dimmed lighting.  I have since been given some insider information that I must look near the out-of-the-way window seating in T 2 next time…

Personal Entertainment System

The advent of the personal entertainment system on long-haul flights is something I praised until my last flight... Someone forgot to tell the dude sitting behind me that it’s TOUCH screen, not punch screen… so for 14 hours from Toronto to Tokyo, I had to put up with my head bobbing about at the whim of Mr.IronMan and his entertainment selections… not fun.  Oh, but this guy couldn’t just pick a movie and go with it… no, he was listening to music the entire time, and choosing it SONG by SONG!

The flight connections didn’t work out so smoothly on my last trip, so I actually had an overnight in Japan.  Ok, well, I got the cheapest airport hotel available and figured at least I’d arrive well rested!  Lucky me, the Hotel Nikko Narita has a free shuttle service not only from the airport to the hotel, but also into the city of Narita.  (Yes, another case where the Tokyo international airport isn’t actually IN Tokyo… the nearest city is Narita).  But anyway, the shuttle meant I actually got into town, had some fabulous Japanese food, and visited an absolutely gorgeous temple and park compound.  I had the entire place to myself.

... there happened to be a few geocaches hidden in around there, so that is what i had for a tour-guide!

On my more recent transit through Frankfurt airport, I got a LOT of exercise!  I decided to try a geocache which was IN the airport… well, it turned out that I had to walk the entire length of the airport to get to it (then RUN BACK to my departure gate so I wasn't late for the flight!) – I approximate it was at least 3 kilometers each way!