Somebody to Lean On
Day 1
On the way driving to Gopeng, from the sights of tall buildings in the city of Kuala Lumpur, the view from the window changed to the greens of tall trees and hill tops and mountains.
Away from the city, all you can see are houses made out of woods.
I did not remember when was the last time I went into the nature. Honestly, I had never went for camping before until today. I had never liked it. I had an impression that camping is all things dirty and uncomfortable. However I had an unexpected good sleep that night. Sleeping in the tent that you built by yourself, feeling the sand on the ground- this is the feeling of satisfaction one can comprehend only when you step out from your comfort to try something you would never do. The night was fun, with the sudden heavy rain at 4am waking me and my tent-mates. We screamed and we laughed together that stormy and cold morning. Indeed camping is way more fun than I thought.
Sleeping on the tent that we built by ourselves, feeling the sand on the ground.
Day 2
The next morning we had approximately 45 minutes drive to the Ulu Geroh Village. This was no fun at all. All I felt was fear. One of the biggest fear in my life is chicken. Yes, I am alektorophobic. Yes, go ahead and laugh!
If you can see the chickens on the right in the pictures, this is the closest distance I could stand to face it.
No matter how much I was looking forward to get to know more about the orang asli community, I had a bigger concern of my own growing- to face my fear.The fear is indescribable, all I could feel was my world had stopped, There was no oxygen in the air, I could not feel my legs on the ground. I wanted to get out from there.
Even though after the day of facing the chickens, I am still afraid of chickens. However, what I have learnt is that a small step would help in becoming better. Today was the first time I came so close to living chickens, which I would have to thank my team who supported me. From shooing the chickens to guarding the kitchen door while I was helping the mak cik to cook, to keeping me company throughout which included guarding the car and talking to me about it with the warmth of hug and kind words of affirmation that “It is okay. I am okay”. A simple support goes a long way.
Doing art and crafts with the children from the village, we all had fun.
Never underestimate the power of your support towards your friends and family. To the people who need it most, it is all that they need at the time- to know that they have the people who love and care about them, that they can lean on.
Written by Amy Tam Man Wai
