Perhaps I could begin by writing a life-long story of my life. I am currently 30 years old and I am not married. Like all mothers, out there I would like to have children of my own. It occurred to me how I want to have a child of my own as I sat there watching my nephew play. I began my first learned education in a Chinese school in Lahad Datu while my mother was working as a nurse. Then I got transferred further across the state when my parents divorced. I got into high school and after graduating with good grades I was given a scholarship by the Malaysian government to pursue my studies to Australia. It didn’t go well when I was doing the preparatory programme as the government stopped all higher learning to overseas as the ringgit dropped. I was offered to many universities within the country but opted instead to study in Universiti Malaysia Sabah. Again, I had to take a matriculation course to enter into that university. The course I chose was Conservation Biology. It took arduous task into getting in as I was registered to take multi-media instead. After much consideration with the deans they had it a go. So there I was into the selection of my choice. Having graduated with Second Upper Class and after an involvement with a volunteer programme of a month with the Kianabatnagan Orang-utan Conservation Project, I was offered a scholarship to take my Master’s degree which I fully accepted. I had to do many chores but I liked what I did. The directors who are French are very well learned and they thought me everything there was to know about orang-utans.
One thing that I like was when we were introduced to Indonesian students from Kalimantan and Sumatra. There was a Dayak boy called Agung. We played maths together during the course in the test of intelligence which I won. I couldn’t remember how’d he came about with it. Then there was a time when we did field-work in Sukau. He said would you like to read a special book? It was a book by Ibu Birute Galdikas. I never knew her but it would have been a privilege to have known her considering how beautiful and poetic she wrote the book. I couldn’t finish it as I fingered across the pages. I couldn’t resist on gleeing everything there was printed. Suddenly in one of those pages, I caught a pink bookmark probably left there by accident. It was a romantic poem. He asked if he could borrow me some by of my gears and mammal guide book which I wasn’t reluctant. In exchange, I got a surprise by my supervisor of a gift he left for me. Some old things that I really need for my research. Again, in one of those items I saw a book of proverbs. And he especially gave me a poem for me to read entitled “If I could Live My Life Over”. He wasn’t that handsome, but what attracted me most were his eyes. He had eyes that showed kindness. What was funny was my Malaysian supervisor saw this and she caught us behind the research station talking and another time when I stole a glance of him while taking a photograph. She gave me the nod! Oh, brother.. He was a beautiful man, dark skinned. Lean and well muscular. It really shows how strong these men worked. I never quite spoke to him what Indonesia is like to him. But he said he has a mother at home who has many banana trees. I quite could imagine what he meant by that. It would be splendid to have seen his village.
As for Sita, she was slightly different from Agung. She comes from Sumatra and she is now married to a European man. Where she has children with him. She is more determined I can see that. Trying to grasp any way of truth from the course we partake with painstaking heart. It is something she would like to achieve in best way for her and her country. I could imagine her bearing the slight resemblance with the late Fairus, my friend. He died just recent from pneumonia. I was very sad when he died. It’s like losing a good friend. They both are very highly esteemed individuals with great perseverance. Sita, is a nice name. It sort of reminds me of an ancient Indian epic. Hence the very virtual blend of Indonesia and it’s cities. Fairus graduated his PhD in genetics. Guided thoroughly by someone from Cardiff who had experienced working in Sumatra. As for me I have a background in the ecology of orang-utans which I hope to further elaborate in my PhD about it’s distribution and conservation.
As for Eawa, she is someone who is currently managing a turtle conservation programme in Java. She used to work in Kalimantan with orang-utans. She has her hair cut very short and seems to be very comfortable with this. She’s cute and is a very friendly person. We went out eating and I introduced her to my sister and cousin. I am still in contact with her these days. And had given her a proposal I intended to do in case I was to enroll into marine biology.
Now, comes this question of what we can learn from one another? I was never good in presentation. But being around with friends who are passionate and who happen to live day by day with conditions helped us to become stronger in our commitment. Take for example, Ian Singleton, a residing scientist in Indonesia had further enhanced my knowledge about orang-utan ecology. My results will help young scientists or my friends on further improving their data. We discuss a lot through the internet. And in that along comes a book published by Oxford. I was working as a research assistant (primatologist) when that happened. As well as I was working as a field biologist for WWF in 2005 when the idea start of preserving forests for orang-utans came up. The trend is now that forests in Indonesia can be protected from further destruction by buying certificates or lands from foreign countries. This is how you can get your economy. And that oil palm products must be registered to ensure sustainability.
As a take-away present, when I was working with Habitat for Humanity in supervising volunteers coming from Dubai. I had few trips to Tambunan where we tried some local dishes at home-stays to serve to them. This project builds houses for the poor by asking volunteers from all over the country to take part. In one visit, there were students from Indonesia that came to visit the programme. They certainly had fun! There was a welcoming ceremony greeted by the beating of gongs and refreshments. What was nice was to see them dance. It was a rare occasion since this was a new dance. And all of them can partake whether they knew it or not. We all come from the same region, where nothing is as different as among ourselves. Even though we don’t know the dance, we could still play because it says, it’s the same as the beating of our heart.
One thing that I like was when we were introduced to Indonesian students from Kalimantan and Sumatra. There was a Dayak boy called Agung. We played maths together during the course in the test of intelligence which I won. I couldn’t remember how’d he came about with it. Then there was a time when we did field-work in Sukau. He said would you like to read a special book? It was a book by Ibu Birute Galdikas. I never knew her but it would have been a privilege to have known her considering how beautiful and poetic she wrote the book. I couldn’t finish it as I fingered across the pages. I couldn’t resist on gleeing everything there was printed. Suddenly in one of those pages, I caught a pink bookmark probably left there by accident. It was a romantic poem. He asked if he could borrow me some by of my gears and mammal guide book which I wasn’t reluctant. In exchange, I got a surprise by my supervisor of a gift he left for me. Some old things that I really need for my research. Again, in one of those items I saw a book of proverbs. And he especially gave me a poem for me to read entitled “If I could Live My Life Over”. He wasn’t that handsome, but what attracted me most were his eyes. He had eyes that showed kindness. What was funny was my Malaysian supervisor saw this and she caught us behind the research station talking and another time when I stole a glance of him while taking a photograph. She gave me the nod! Oh, brother.. He was a beautiful man, dark skinned. Lean and well muscular. It really shows how strong these men worked. I never quite spoke to him what Indonesia is like to him. But he said he has a mother at home who has many banana trees. I quite could imagine what he meant by that. It would be splendid to have seen his village.
As for Sita, she was slightly different from Agung. She comes from Sumatra and she is now married to a European man. Where she has children with him. She is more determined I can see that. Trying to grasp any way of truth from the course we partake with painstaking heart. It is something she would like to achieve in best way for her and her country. I could imagine her bearing the slight resemblance with the late Fairus, my friend. He died just recent from pneumonia. I was very sad when he died. It’s like losing a good friend. They both are very highly esteemed individuals with great perseverance. Sita, is a nice name. It sort of reminds me of an ancient Indian epic. Hence the very virtual blend of Indonesia and it’s cities. Fairus graduated his PhD in genetics. Guided thoroughly by someone from Cardiff who had experienced working in Sumatra. As for me I have a background in the ecology of orang-utans which I hope to further elaborate in my PhD about it’s distribution and conservation.
As for Eawa, she is someone who is currently managing a turtle conservation programme in Java. She used to work in Kalimantan with orang-utans. She has her hair cut very short and seems to be very comfortable with this. She’s cute and is a very friendly person. We went out eating and I introduced her to my sister and cousin. I am still in contact with her these days. And had given her a proposal I intended to do in case I was to enroll into marine biology.
Now, comes this question of what we can learn from one another? I was never good in presentation. But being around with friends who are passionate and who happen to live day by day with conditions helped us to become stronger in our commitment. Take for example, Ian Singleton, a residing scientist in Indonesia had further enhanced my knowledge about orang-utan ecology. My results will help young scientists or my friends on further improving their data. We discuss a lot through the internet. And in that along comes a book published by Oxford. I was working as a research assistant (primatologist) when that happened. As well as I was working as a field biologist for WWF in 2005 when the idea start of preserving forests for orang-utans came up. The trend is now that forests in Indonesia can be protected from further destruction by buying certificates or lands from foreign countries. This is how you can get your economy. And that oil palm products must be registered to ensure sustainability.
As a take-away present, when I was working with Habitat for Humanity in supervising volunteers coming from Dubai. I had few trips to Tambunan where we tried some local dishes at home-stays to serve to them. This project builds houses for the poor by asking volunteers from all over the country to take part. In one visit, there were students from Indonesia that came to visit the programme. They certainly had fun! There was a welcoming ceremony greeted by the beating of gongs and refreshments. What was nice was to see them dance. It was a rare occasion since this was a new dance. And all of them can partake whether they knew it or not. We all come from the same region, where nothing is as different as among ourselves. Even though we don’t know the dance, we could still play because it says, it’s the same as the beating of our heart.
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