Part I is located here, Part II is here, Part III is here, and Part IV is here.
The last night that we had in Kalabakan was probably the most mixed-up in terms of emotions. We were:
- angry because we were leaving Kalabakan the next day
- overwhelmed of what has happened over the past few days
- happy and ecstatic of the work that we had done
- inspired to pursue our dreams and do something to the world
- sad because we were going to miss the moments that we experienced
…and probably so much more emotions were running from our minds at that exact moment. As we went back to the resthouse after the festive village-prepared ceremony, we all could not help but remember all the innocent and smiling faces of the kids and the locals. That was really the last night of our stay in the village. But to our surprise, some of the teenage friends that we had while building the school walked to the resthouse and visited us one last time. Talk about sincerity and real dedication. They walked for roughly 45 minutes just to say their last goodbyes. I was really touched and at the same time, realized that there are still people who are so simple yet filled with such big hearts.
All of us filled with emotion
Alexter – one of the kids who visited us that night
What an experience our Global Perspectives Trip was. It really was quite the experience. To sum up everything, this is my final post in our school website about the trip.
More than two months has passed ever since we came back from our trip to Malaysia. One of the questions that I continue to ask myself is… “will I ever come back?”
On the first few days back in school, I really felt a sense of longing to go back. Almost everything I saw, heard, and felt had something to do with Malaysia. Maybe you could even say that I went through quite a tough re-entry process. During class a few weeks earlier, Mr. Matheny brought up the diagram about the Five Stages of Culture Shock which he presented to us prior to the trip. I remembered it quite fondly, and on the first few days that I was back here, I knew that I would experiencing the last stage more so than the other ones. Stage Five was re-entry and adjusting back to normal routines, normal lives.
I really wish I could just step on the plane and go back to where everything seemed like paradise. Malaysia to me brought so much happiness because it sort of became an escape from all the responsibility and problems that I was undergoing through in Canada. More importantly, Malaysia was a great learning experience. I learned more than what I thought I would.
There are just so many things that I can continue rambling on about the trip but all the words that I write would probably not fully explain how much Malaysia now means to me.
There are just so many lessons that you learn – and it is really great to see how people change, improve, and carry on what they have learned from the trip back to our daily lives here in Canada.
So the question still remains… Will I ever go back to Kalabakan?
I surely hope so. I continued to ask myself this question as the days passed and the months rolled by after coming back to Canada. If you ask this me this question now, I would probably say yes. But the real problem is whether I would say this answer two years down the road. I am worried that when the time comes, I would not be able to vividly remember the great times that we as a group experienced in Kalabakan, and more importantly, the relationships that we had made during the trip.
I really hope that when I am asked this question a couple of years later, I would be able to say a resounding yes. I always say that Kalabakan is one of the experiences that I will never forget because of how it has made me look at myself in the mirror and have a reality check. Now it is the time for me to actually live up to what I say.
One last note: The image that you see as the header of this post (and below) is the school before and after. This is really the living proof of our efforts. I hope you guys enjoyed reading as I had enjoyed writing and retelling some of the most special experiences I had in this trip.
Part I is located here, Part II is here, and Part III is here.
Although the weather still continued to be so unpredictable (Day 1 was so sunny while we were faced with heavy monsoon rains in Day 2 and 4), we still continued to do our work and ensure that our school would be finished by the handover ceremony, which was on Day 5, our last full day in the village. It rained quite a lot in Day 4, which caused us to temporarily halt painting the school.
See what happened to the painted parts of the school?
Busily repainting before the handover ceremony
We really pushed ourselves to the limit and ensured that the school would be ready for presentation in the afternoon when the handover ceremony would occur. All of us were so excited and ecstatic to see that our hard work after the past year has paid off. We were actually seeing the physical structure of the school intact and ready for students to learn.
The school moments before the handover
As soon as we were finished repainting both the inside and outside of the school, we immediately rushed back to our resthouse to freshen up and have some lunch. After that, it was finally the moment that our group had all been waiting for. Our handover ceremony. We placed a Canadian flag and a plaque officially handing over the school to the citizens of Kampung Kalabakan.
The plaque and the Canadian flag
A lot of the people in the village (mostly children with their parents) went up to the newly built school to witness the handover ceremony. It was a very heartwarming moment for all of us because here we are, seeing what we had done over the past week as well as the past year. We were really seeing the products of our efforts. For me, it really was so indescribable. The relationships I made here are so priceless and they are truly amazing people that I am proud to now call my friends. I tried my best to take as many pictures as possible with the kids as well as with the people who helped us throughout our stay.
The kids joining us over at the handover ceremony
^^ Kuya Berto and Ate Aida were two Filipinos who had been staying in Malaysia for decades. They were so welcoming and helpful as they served as translators for us. I got to know them quite a bit during our stay in the village and I thank them so much for their selflessness and kindness.
After the short ceremony, we were invited by the village people to participate in playing some traditional Malaysian games. So many people gathered in the field of the village’s elementary school to watch and spend time with us. It was extremely enjoyable and through that we were able to bond with the people from the village as well.
The kids over at the elementary school watching us
Four of us in the group were also chosen to wear traditional Malaysian costumes, as a kind gesture of sharing their culture to us. I was actually excited to be wearing the costume because it was something different and interesting.
Four of us wearing traditional Malaysian costumes
Of course I did not forget to find the kids who I really got to know during my stay in the village. I was so happy that they were actually in the area. So I took one last picture with them before we left.
Sophian and I
Mohd and I
My stay in the village would probably be one of the most unforgettable experiences in my high school life (actually my whole life to date). This was such an inspiring and life changing time for me; these words and pictures for the past four posts probably only explain a very small part of what happened during the trip. After our little party, we were all sad, hoping that we could stay a little bit longer in the village. So we headed back to the resthouse as we prepare to head to different areas of Sabah exploring their magnificent natural resources. But never did I expect that this would be a Night of Reminiscing. The last part of this series on the next post, so stay tuned! – Part 5 (finale) of this series is located here.
Part I of the post is found here while part 2 is found here.
By Day 3 of the project, there were still some missing planks of wood to complete the roofing and the sides of the building. In Day 4, we were busy with painting the school and ensuring that it will dry off before we have our handover ceremony where we give the school over to Humana.
School before planks of wood were placed at the top
School after planks of wood were placed at the top
Painting the school
As I said in the previous post, during lunch time, our group is so fortunate to be able to mingle with the locals and basically just spend time and have fun with them. I was able to get to know four kids and five teens (there were two kids who look very similar and to my surprise I realized in the end that they were cousins) very well. Some of the kids would usually go up to the worksite to watch us work.
There were two kids who helped me out when there was a huge wind when our makeshift tent went down. While the rest of the group was busy with doing their own respective tasks, I was in the tent getting some water until the tent collapsed. The two kids jumped up to the rescue and helped me out and get the tent up again. I thought that was such a nice gesture on their part; I was not asking for their help but they immediately approached me as if I knew them from the very start.
The two kids who helped me
The next day, another group of kids showed up. I was assigned to work on the toilet of the school (we had to dig quite a lot!). We were three people assigned to do that area so when it was not my turn to dig, I took the time to talk to the kids, trying to talk in Malaysian (using our very little knowledge! haha) and asking them simple questions like how old are you and what do you wanna be when you grow up. I had such a great time with the children because they were so down-to-earth and open to share their experiences.
The kids I spent time with in the worksite
In these kinds of trips, you really get to see how people have such simple lives. Sometimes I ask myself why I worry over such materialistic and stupid things. These children smile over the simplest things and you can really see how they do not take things for granted. It is really admirable and humbling to spend time with these individuals because you learn from them. We thought we were the ones that were going to impart something to them. And it was only in the end when we realized it was them who taught us so much more. To be continued, so stay tuned! – Part 4 is here.
Random: Lucky day today? 08.08.08! Haha. Good luck to all the athletes competing for the 29th Olympiad. Whilst writing this post, I am also watching the opening ceremonies.
![Global Perspectives Trip Part V [Final]](http://0bfuscation.org/wp-content/themes/bigfeature/library/timthumb/timthumb.php?src=/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/happysad.jpg&w=255&h=100&zc=1&zcp=2)
