Cultural Experience

One day I was asked if I'd like to visit a school that one of our workers started.  Knowing that it would be a great opportunity to experience something new and see a dream being accomplished, I said "yes!"  What an experience it ended up being.

The worker, I'll call him Mr. B, is from a tribe that is known for having limited educational opportunities.  The boys are usually expected to be out herding.  The girls are supposed to be taking care of the home.  Having grown up in the culture, Mr. B saw a need for a quality school in one of his tribal areas.  He began praying and asking what he should do to help his people.  After much prayer, things began to fall into place.  He was given land.  He sold his cattle, the most valuable possession for his people, to fund the building of the school.  And now, there is a pre-primary school where these precious children are getting an education that they previously wouldn't have had access to.

The students were so cute.  They were actually on their school break, but they heard that visitors were coming so they put on their uniforms and came to school to greet us.

It's not easy to find teachers who are willing to teach in rural areas with limited access to resources.  This sweet young teacher, on the right, has decided to make personal sacrifices to work at the school because she loves the children and believes that this is her work from God.  I am quite certain that her faith is growing as she works through the many challenges of teaching and living in a new culture with a different language.

Mr. B and the school have the support of a dear pastor friend.  The school is in the area where the pastor grew up and where his family still lives.  It's truly a community effort to make sure these children have a bright future.

Mr. B on the right with the supportive pastor, students, and teacher

An exciting thought is that as our teacher training program gets into full swing, we could possibly train up teachers to teach in this school who are equipped with effective teaching methods and rich classical curriculum and resources.  Can't wait to see what the future holds!

Not only did we see the school, but we also got to learn quite a bit about the culture.  We learned of the challenges and persecutions that the local believers are facing. Traditional healers are quite opposed to people of their tribe having faith in someone else.  But there were amazing stories shared of the power of prayer and perseverance in the faith.

This kid is going to be a leader one day :)

Traditional horn for milk

The cattle pin to protect them at night

After learning about the school and the immediate area, we were invited to the pastor's mother's home.  What hospitality!  Of course, the kids followed with smiles and eagerness to greet us with "good morning".

With access to education and the support of their church community, just think of what these kids might become one day.  Here are the future leaders to make positive changes in their community, their tribe, and their country.

At the end of it all, we were honored by being clothed in the traditional dress.  We pretty much look like we're members of the tribe, right?!

Pastor J

Two teachers from the school are on the ends

Welcoming, gracious, hospitable family members

I thought it was pretty funny to watch the number of people in the picture grow from 2 to 3 to 5 to 10.  I am so thankful for this day.  I learned so much and grew a whole new appreciation for many things.  It's a day I won't forget.

I drove all the way home in the traditional dress and got some pretty funny looks along the way, especially when we got pulled over by traffic police because they wanted to greet the pastor in my passenger seat.  Not every day you see a white girl driving down the road wrapped in traditional cloths :)

Monkey Forest Bike Tour

Friday night, a few girls asked me if I was interested in joining them on a biking tour the next morning.  Liking spontaneous fun adventures, I responded "I'm in!"  It was a great way to see some new parts of the surrounding areas, get out end enjoy the beautiful weather, and spend time with friends.  I'm going to have trouble sitting for a few days, but it was well worth it!

The tour started at a little cafe in town.  Our guide had the bikes and helmets all ready to go.

We had our feet on the pedals and started off shortly after 9 AM.  We carefully made our way through town and then got out on more open roads going south of town.  The first part of the ride took us through a sugar cane plantation, the 2nd largest in the country.  It was interesting to learn about some of the process and see some of the operations.

The group - our great TZ guide, two Danish neurologists,
a German ophthalmologist, and me

We came to a village with an adventurous bridge, which of course we had to cross just for fun :)

She wasn't so sure this was a good idea

I'm sure those cables are strong

After a little leg stretch, we hopped back on the bikes and headed out of the sugar cane plantation towards a new developing village.

Since the sugar cane plantation employs thousands of workers, new villages are popping up nearby.  We came across this brick making spot.  Very interesting to see how the bricks are formed, fired, and then made ready for building.

The start of a new tower of bricks to be fired

A tower that has been fired

The well used for getting water to make the bricks

Awesome baobab tree in the background

We rode through a number of villages, which was always interesting.  White girls on bikes make for quite the spectacle!  But everyone is very nice, especially the kids calling out many different greetings all along the way.

Next we went through some rice fields.  Growing rice is no easy task.

Then into the Rau Forest (also known as the Monkey Forest).

We were very excited to spot
colobus monkeys right away

They are funny little monkeys...

Huge trees!

After going through the forest for a bit, a path took us out into another field where our guide knew some men who would get drinking coconuts for us.  It was a dream come true for me!  I miss drinking fresh coconuts from when I lived in Pohnpei!  And let me tell you, these were fresh from the tree!

Fields for growing root plants like taro and greens

Apparently also good for growing coconut palm trees

Hanging out at the farmers' hut and cooking area

Looking back at the forest

A-M-A-Z-I-N-G
We were so nervous watching him!

He made it!

And then knocked them down with his feet

I was one happy biker!  What a sweet treat!

And we even had natural straws from the forest

Cheers!

After feeling totally refreshed and hydrated by the coconut, we biked back into the forest to our picnic area for lunch, which was also the sight of a 200 year old tree.

Hot lunch boxes delivered by piki-piki (motorcycle)

Very generous lunch box provided - fried chicken,
samosas, sandwich, boiled egg, vegetables,
watermelon, apple, banana, cake, yogurt, and juice!
I guess they thought we'd be extra hungry after all
that biking.

We actually did manage to reach all the way around the massive tree by all 6 of us (lunch delivery guy included) joining hands and giving it a huge hug.

Then it was back on the bikes for more monkey sightings.  It was interesting to notice how the birds alerted the monkeys that we were coming.  Then the monkeys would sound their alarm.

But once they saw it was just us harmless humans, they would stop. It was almost like they told each other, "False alarm!  Continue climbing and jumping as usual."

We didn't want to leave the forest, but it was time to head back to town.  So back on the bikes we went to follow the train tracks back to town through villages and one small water crossing.

Before we knew it, we were back at our town train station.  Now I know how close I am to a monkey forest!  The things you learn on exploring adventures.

No, the trains don't actually run here ;)

We did it!

What a day!  We got back to the cafe around 4:30 PM.  We put about 45-50 km on the bikes.  Hence, we needed cushions to sit on the pews at church this morning.  Haha!

I would highly recommend this to those who like biking adventures, and would definitely recommend our guide for any of his outdoor adventure options.  We hope to do another sometime soon!