Last Days: Celebrations, fun and farewells

The project, the kids, the heat and the energy have made these last three days all blend together. Our desire to make significant progress on the project as well at our inevitable return to normal life is growing like uncertain shore on the horizon. While the idea of meals without rice, cooler weather, and friends and family are excitedly anticipated, what we have each learned about ourselves and this wonderful place will make for a bitter sweet departure. The projects walls continue to grow higher and higher. We are now standing on scaffolds of nailed together coconut boards which even the locals seem skeptical about. To our surprise Wyan joined the effort cementing layer after layer of bricks toward the sky. He has suggested that we donate a round of beer to the workers on the last day to celebrate, we have no objections. The wheel Barrows are maxed out at 12 bricks a load, however 8 is the standard in this heat. Micel and Exel are helping to keep us company on the return trips by riding in the barrow back to the brick pile. Perhaps the people whom are feeling our departure the most are the children. Their behavior has turned to a passive aggressive engagement. They are looking for things to occupy their emotions but at the same time seem to be closer to us than ever. Hugs, hands, pictures, and words are all exchanged frequently. When lunch times comes on the final day, there is much planned for the afternoon. The children are dressing up in the traditional sarongs and dresses to perform an incredible show. Just when we think its winding down, they grab us off our seats and make us dance with them. Wyan and the staff have some touching words that Lena helps to translate. The habits die hard as they still think we are all from Canada and refer to us as so. It is an inside joke between Lena and us; we all get a good laugh. They give us gifts of homemade bracelets and we in turn give socks and books; then hype the kids up on candy. Mary is turning 29 today and they sing her happy birthday for at least five minutes straight while moving in a quasi conga line around her. The whole Orphanage is involved. Then it is time to go. Some Kids have said their goodbyes and don’t hang on the departure, while other watch and wave. Nenden is not getting off so easily as we kid nap her for a dinner out in Negara. We wish and the baby a safe and happy arrival with the promise of pictures. It is time for the long drive back to Denpasar. It is the usual demonstration of organized ciaos. We meet for the last time at Wydha Asih headquarters to see the heart of the operation. It is impressive how much they accomplish with so little resources. Our time as a team has come to an end. One by one we split off as the next two days unfold. We look forward to the next adventure with Tommy Marx and DWC.    

DWC Team
Gregory, Tommy, Arnaz, Bob, Mary and Jen  

Day 12: Football anyone?

The timing of our drivers is improving, they broke inside of the 20 minute late window this morning. In anticipation of our day we had all eaten a good breakfast, which some of us almost lost on the subsequent drive. Our closest call of the trip occurred today when we found ourselves head to head with a bus passing a truck. The rule of passing is “they who hesitate will lose.” When the passes get to close for comfort (and we use that term loosely), the plan is as follows. The oncoming car as well as car being passed both slow and pull as far to the side as they can. The passing car then floors it if not there already doing so to complete the pass quicker. Though this sounds barbaric, it actually works. Oh yeah add 10 scooter into the picture as well. 
Today the project went vertical with the construction of the buildings rear and side walls. Half of us hauled bricks and sand while the others showed their talents cementing the bricks in place. The locals at more than one occasion to us “plan plan” which means “slow down.” We responded by saying that our “plan plan” was to make progress today, and we were setting a new pace. They responded by joining the push and we all got a lot done. All members of the team are now certified brick layer in the eyes of the Indonesian government. The usual suspects, Micel, Gasper, Exel and the lot were nowhere to be found. They had gotten into something that kept them busy until lunch. The heat was present though, and we were happy it was the only distraction to negotiate. Finally lunch time came about with the faint but persistent ringing of the bell. 
During lunch we asked Lena if the bell was also used as a fire alarm, to which she said there was no such plan in place. Once again the “move your butt or get burned plan,” let’s hope it works out as well as the swimming hole (heaven forbid). We were spend from the mornings work and still had a soccer game at 3pm. We gathered in Nenden’s office to sit on the couch, a move we like to call circling the wagons. The children have a post lunch energy high that can consume you if you’re not careful. Our strength in numbers helps to share the load of children as they move in and out of the office. 
We rallied for another hour of work and before we knew it the van was pulling up to take us to Malaya for the game. We arrived and were met with a sea of kids eager to engage with adults from far and away. The Balinese refer to tourists as “Oraung Bule” which means people who are white. The origin is the same for the English word, “orangutan” Which when separated into Indonesian means Oraung – people; Hutan – from the forest. This is the way people are classified in the Indonesian language. It is not to compare anyone to apes, just a way to make sense of our physical differences. After another short meet and greet it was time to move out to the soccer field for the match. When we say field we mean pasture complete with cattle and the scattered signs of their continuous eating. According to Joe the German aid worker, field conditions are the best he has ever seen due to the wet season weather… there is actually grass. The kids are not dissuaded and teams are drawn in short order. Most of us play bare footed with the exception of three DWC members and one older boy whom actually had real soccer shoes. There is no feeling like running through a muddy hole, then tall grass and then stepping in a cow pie to get to the ball. Soon you put it all behind you and just have fun. The only girls that played were two members of our DWC group, but we did manage to get the sewing teacher out there, he was quite good. The game lasted 40 minutes which was three times longer than we had expected in the ambient conditions. After five minutes the sweat was so heavy you had difficulty just keeping it out of your eyes. These people are on a high carb. and almost none of them are overweight, now we know why. The kids play hard and with consistent training would produce a competitive team on any stage. Their skills are picked up by watching professional teams on TV and then applying them as they can on their own. In the end the score was 3 to 1 and as is sometimes the case in soccer, the weaker team won. Heads were hung low, but for only a moment as the children all know that in the end they are all on the same team. We returned rehydrated and said goodbye to our new friends. The sea of children reformed around the van making the experience one of the most difficult of the trip. There is so much we can share and learn from each other, and these kids are at the most critical age. Nenden said she has never seen them soo happy as she did today which brings a tear to some of our eyes. We pray for their success. The day was done and so were we.

DWC Team
Gregory, Tommy, Arnaz, Bob, Mary and Jen

Day 11: A visit to another Widhya Orphanage

Today we hit the ground running again, The remaining forms needed to be set, and the concrete filled in over the rebar. We finished this in short order and by the time the lunch bell rang all the concrete was set. The locals all seemed to split for the rest of the day indicating that we would begin again tomorrow when the concrete had dried. Wyan suggested that we go visit the Orphanage #5 in Malaya where the older kids lived. We hopped in the van and Wyan surprisingly jumped in the driver’s seat. Wyan drove in a manner that by Indonesian standards would be considered extremely conservative. It was almost uncomfortable based on our experiences over the last week and a half. Lena, Whom was along as well informed us that Wyan had purchased his first car ever just a month ago, and was still getting used to driving. This reminds you of just how financially difficult even owning a car in this part of the world can be. We arrived at #5 in a short while, after snaking slowly through one back road after another. When we got out of the van all ninety children came out to introduce themselves to each one of us. The excitement was easy to see in their eyes. They had new faces they could learn from and practice their English with. Many of them spoke very well, and had manners that would put an English butler to shame. The man in charge went by Frankie; he and his staff shared with us a rundown of the operation at #5. The children, upon reaching the age of junior high school, come to number five and stay there through high school and some vocational school afterwards. They grow their own food, and raise animals just like the younger kids, but also produce textiles and cement bricks to sell. The kids were eager to take us on a tour and show off their work living areas. Joel, another German aid worker, has been at Orphanage #5 providing English teaching the same as Lena has been doing for the younger kids. He is a good influence on the older kids and you can see how close they have all become. The children entertained us with a performance of music and dance that was impressive to say the least. The camaraderie between the kids of this age is like none ever seen by us before. They truly care and stand by each other as a basic necessity for getting through their lives. Their mission statement included healthy body and mind, spirituality, Life skills, higher education, and good Living conditions just to name a few. These tenants are apparent everywhere you go. We collectively wished to have another two weeks with these kids as well. The time came to go but not before we scheduled a soccer match for Wednesday afternoon during the hottest time of the day, 3pm. With that we headed for the hotel to stalk up on water.

DWC Team
Gregory, Tommy, Arnaz, Bob, Mary and Jen

Day 10: Back to the project & determined to make some progress

We returned from our weekend of fun ready to make some real progress on the project. The speed of progress from the first week was not going to cut it anymore; we had four days left and wanted something to show for it. The locals tried to set the usual pace, but when they saw the piles of gravel and sand growing relentlessly as well as the rebar and form boards set in place, it had been decided. Thin slices of coconut tree trunks were set around the rebar to make forms for the concrete. We mixed wheel barrow after wheel barrow and had half the forms filled by days end. The workers will pace themselves based on the heat, but take a long time to adopt simple adjustments that would also help prevent their tiring. For example, they preferred to have us empty a barrow full of gravel into the pile while at the same time filling another up from that same pile to add to the concrete mix. Next, they decided to fill the easiest forms first, making it more difficult the move concrete to the farther forms. In the end we decided that they have their reasons and most of all we are here to learn and help. After lunch we spent some time with the kids, playing Uno, Talking, Hexogram building, and of course soccer. At their young age these kids still are learning and understanding their world and environment. Most of their games and interactions are focused on understanding and learning, rather than perfecting a known skill. The inquisitive nature and explorative attitude is enjoyable to partake in. There is much we have forgotten from our childhoods.

DWC Team
Gregory, Tommy, Arnaz, Bob, Mary and Jen

Day 9: Shopping and Exploring

Late wake up, late breakfast, late start on our shopping day. Wyan and Nenden gave us a wish list for the Orphanage, and we set out to go mid-evil on it. Socks, writing books, pens, pencils, paint brushes… We got them all. After all that effort, there was a collective decision to catch a ride back to the hotel on a collection of horse drawn buggies. We paired up, loaded up, and the trio headed out. The ride to the hotel cost $1 per buggy, a bargain to beat the heat. Next on the plan was a drive to a local beach. The weather was not the best for beach goers, and soon after we arrived the rain began to fall. Luckily there was a bar about 50 yards (45M) away where we could enjoy our favorite Indonesian habit; drinking Bintang. The rain was short lived and our boredom motivated us to venture out and explore. We found a lady selling BBQ’d corn and decided to try it out. The spice was so hot that few of us got past the third bite. At 25 cents a pop it was worth the risk. The beach seemed to be a hangout of the younger crowd and as the sunset drew nearer more and more people showed up. We noticed from one of Tommy’s pictures that some of the crowd were not to happy with our presence. No words were exchanged or hostilities raised, but the gesture was clear and present. The time had come to head back and call it a day.

DWC Team
Gregory, Tommy, Arnaz, Bob, Mary and Jen

Day 8: Discovering Menjangan Island

Wyan surprised us today with a nearly on time arrival at our hotel. We stuffed down our breakfast and piled into the van for our trip to the northwestern coast of Bali. We arrived an hour later at the Mimipi resort area for a boat ride out to Menjangan. Based on the number of white people we saw at Mimipi, you could say we finally wandered into a tourist area; it was unusual for even us to get used to. The vessel that took us out to the island was a sampan style boat painted in a United Nations two tone. You could see Bilge water sloshing back and forth through the Boards on the deck. After a short trip we arrived at the snorkel spot. The guide took us out into some shallow water to view the various fish and coral that could be found. As we moved farther out, all of a sudden the reef dropped off from 8ft (1.5M) to about 80ft (27M) which provided an array of extraordinary marine life. We all must have spent an hour and a half out there, and mind you it was the first time snorkeling for one of the members of the group. The lunch bell was rung and we were all surprised to be handed a turkey sandwich; what a nice change from the usual… Rice. Around the island we went for another run at snorkeling a different reef. We got more awesome sights again as well as a pretty good sun burn on our back side. By the time we got back to the hotel most of us were aching for some relief. Despite our Grammy winning performances acting out sunburn pain, the drug store clerks ended up giving us anti gas cream which was not the problem we wanted to solve most at the present time. What an adventure.

DWC Team 

Gregory, Tommy, Arnaz, Bob, Mary and Jen

Day 7: Fun filled day with mattress jousting and dancing!

Oh boy, it’s Friday, the weekend is right around the corner. This seemed to be the theme at all levels at the orphanage. We arrived to find the locals moving at just above idle speed and not really having anything important for us to do. Eventually they taught us how to put together the rebar assemblies that will be going in the concrete forms above the stem wall. They use four long lengths of ¼” thick rebar arranged in a rectangular formation. Short lengths of rebar are bent into a square which are wired in place to help the long length keep their rectangular formation. We finished this in short order, and spent the rest of the morning visiting with the staff and other people lingering around. All the troops (children) returned just prior to lunch, which was the usual circus. After lunch we engaged with the children as they did their various chores and tasks. One item of business was the airing out every mattress in both dormitories. As usual the children made a game of it by running into each other, jousting or diving on to them when they got to the grass. The most notable part though was when Exel, only five years old decided to carry back the whole lot of mattresses to his room. He hefted them one by one and made nine little trips to and fro. It was like watching a worker ant through a microscope. Each mattress was right at the limit of size, weight and dimension for little Exel. Once he got the thing over his head, he could only go at a certain speed, anything faster would induce an oscillation like that of a ship in high seas. Exel was always moving at, or just above this critical state which at more than one occasion had us running to help him. He would have none of it though, for his true motivation was to have an audience. As the afternoon progressed, the dance instructor showed up to teach her usual class of Balinese moves. Some of us decided to participate, most notably our uncoordinated leader Tommy. His years of gymnastics provided only a bare minimum for what he challenged to perform. Words cannot do justice but we can say it looked like a happy gorilla doing yoga and then chopping celery. You need to see the video. Our stomachs hurt from laughter and it was time to retire and prepare for the weekends adventures. 

DWC Team

Tommy, Bob, Mary, Jen, Arnaz and Gregory