I fail to be able to translate dengue fever into Bahasa Indonesia. So I continue to let everyone believe that I have malaria. They both are the result of mosquitos. And the empathy necessitated is surely in equal measure. I was determined not to lavish on the woes-me. I was determined to carry-on functioning. I wasn’t dying after all. However, it was when I heard that we were going to Bajawa for a (maybe) a week that I suddenly felt decapacitateingly ill. Life could not go on as normal. So I bailed at the crossroads and continued my journey to Mbay. Informing every listening ear of my illness. That’s right Sir, I’m facing a near death from ‘malaria’.
Just back from a week in Bali for an Annual VSO mtg. I spent a great deal of the time catching up on sleep and cable television… and daily blood tests at the hospital. However, I thought the highlight of the week was probably the rap written and performed by John and I about each volunteer. Showcasing our not-so-secret ghetto fabulousness. Or perhaps it was the cultural night where each country performs something special, something cultural. Typically involving costume, dance, song, etc, etc. This is always a stumper for us North Americans (USA and Canada Unite!). Nevertheless, we pulled out a stellar performance this year as we showcased our talent (or lack of) at setting up a tent, building a (pretend) campfire, and roasting (pretend) marshmallows. Unfortunately, we did not receive a thunderous applause. More like a perplexed silence.
Ok, perhaps not the most impressive cultural performance.
The community day was definitely the highlight. Teaming up with a local community environmental group, we started an insanely hot morning off with a community and beach clean-up. Our brilliant red VSO t-shirts turning a dark blood color from the buckets of sweat that seemed not humanly possible. Next came lunch. Assorted types of seaweed and fishballs… and rice. Despite the nose wrinkling it was incredibly tasty. Then on to the main event. Coral planting.
The local group, Kelompok Nelayan Pesisir, began transplanting coral in 2002 using methods of grafting. They use cement bases to glue on bits of harvested ‘seed coral’ in order to encourage coral re-growth and thus increasing a nearly depleted fish population (who live amongst the coral). The leader of the group, Pak Wayan Patut, has shared his experience locally as well as internationally. Several years ago he traveled to Johannesburg, South Africa for the UN Earth Summit to promote this project and lobby for environmental awareness. Pretttty cool.
We loaded a giant cement ‘VSO’ and 50ish people into three boats and set off for the coral gardens. Several of the group dived into retrieve seed coral and as the rest waited on the boats… groaning with increasingly seasickness and nausea from the motion of the ocean. Opting for more stable land, we headed for the beach to the cutting and gluing of coral. Although, mostly the volunteers just frolicked in the clear water. Then back to sea, where we donned snorkels and watched as the coral was transplanted into the VSO letters now resting at the bottom of the ocean. Soooo… if you ever happen along a coral encrusted large ‘VSO’ off of the Bali shore, this my friends is how it got there…
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