My final time at San Damiano

My pictures are off the wall, the office is barren, the desk has been cleared (although a thick layer of dust remains), and it's the end of the road. Leaving here will be the hardest thing I have to do this year, and saying goodbye to the boys is going to tear my heart apart, however I can always look back at my time here with nothing but fond memories, and my final two weeks here has epitomized everything I love about my life here.

 It hasn't exactly been the usual routine in these last two weeks. Formal tuition practically ended, and apart from some English related games with the morning boys, my class was no more. However, there's still been plenty going on. A lot of preparation was done for the local Harvest Festival celebration, Kaamatan, between the boys and the girls hostel. Choir rehearsals, dance practice, decorative preparations, it was all going on. Even though we've been living here for a year, we could play little part in preparing for a traditional Dusun celebration because at the end of the day, we're still a couple of white boys, but there was nothing stopping us from entering the singing competition. Me and Hugo decided to learn our favourite Dusun song called 40:40, which is essentially about a girl who used to be slim and pretty, but is now fat and has a waist size of 40, a blunt and quite cruel song that is accompanied by a jolly little beat! As we prepared for this cheeky number, we were oblivious to the seriousness of the competition, and when we were told on Thursday that we had auditions to get to the final in just half an hour, we realised just what we had got ourselves into! A bit of good impro dancing and being white got us through to the final; we were just pleased we had a role in the celebration so we could leave our final mark on Kiulu.

Other than the singing, I played my part in some of the food preparation as well. I didn't have any intention to kill anyone so I didn't actually cook anything, my job was far more enjoyable. One afternoon one of the boys, Rahul, spontaneously invited me out to his kampung to go and collect some fresh water snails to cook for Kaamatan. These snails make a delicious soup called siput, cooked with garlic, ginger, onions and some seasoning. It's a bit of a local favourite, one that I've certainly taken to! As if I was ever doubtful to go, he clinched the deal when he told me he had two pet monkeys at home! Rahul, Fredron, Chel and I began our hike into the interior, crossed a couple of rivers and eventually reached his home at the top of the hill overlooking the rest of the village. Rahul then revealed his surprise leaving gift for me as he unveiled the entire jaw of a jungle pig. I had to decline the kind offer as it was a little too big and might be a little difficult to smuggle into the UK, but he wanted to offer something, so out came the hammer and out came the teeth of this jungle pig jaw. So as of now I'm the proud owner of 4 jungle pig teeth, and I'll forever treasure each and every one of them. Then it was off to the river to collect these fresh water snails! It was a good haul, but I was just happy to be enjoying my afternoon with a few of my boys swimming in a beautifully tranquil river, embracing my surroundings and company. It was the same the next day as well! Not another trip to a kampung, just at our own river, but we had loads of fun collecting some more snails, skimming some stones, and watching Rahul attempt a front flip in the water. It was great to have such quality time with the boys, exactly what I wanted. The evenings as well have been filled with chats late into the night, assisting them with some Maths here and there, simply enjoying our last moments together.

About to hit Rahul's river and find some snails!

Rahul and Fedron after a good snail shift

Down at our river with Marcellus

Rahul's attempt at a flip. Literally inches away from the ground

All the snails!

On the Wednesday we had Part 1 of our leaving celebration. Slideshows, cake and music was all great and had me in high spirits, but a couple of speeches from the boys had me in floods of tears. It was such a beautiful evening though with the boys saying some really touching things and presenting us with little gifts of appreciation. Part 2 this Wednesday could well destroy me.

Our banner at the farewell party

Just about stopped crying at this point

All the lads

Another highlight of my week came out of absolutely nowhere. It was Tuesday afternoon and I was playing sepak takraw like any other day when these two guys arrived at the gate and wanted to speak with me. Once I'd finished my game i went to have a word. It turns out that they heard about a white guy that was living in Kiulu who plays football like Michael Carrick. On the back of a fine season from Carrick, I took this as a massive compliment, and was extra pleased that word of my footballing ability had spread further than I thought. They invited me to play a friendly game on Thursday at the next village called Melinggan. This sounds like a normal request, nothing too special, but this was a big thing for me. I've been cycling and bussing it past the field at Melinggan all year and I've been desperate to play on it as it's one of the best pitches I've seen in the area. So this was an opportunity I had to take! I only found out on the Thursday that i was actually playing for Kiulu FC who play in the KK League, and they're no mugs! Ex- state players, warm ups, the lot! We won 8-1, and my contribution of 5 assists seemed like a good shift. I was just so thrilled to be able to play a proper competitive game of football at long last. It was knackering but it felt so good, and reassured me that I hadn't completely lost it!

"Smile Van Persie!"

Finally onto the main event, Kaamatan! Jason, Barney, Hatty and Amy all came to join us as well, and we all had a great day. Me and Hugo managed to get our hands on some traditional Kadazan Dusun costumes, so we looked the part (minus my white trousers) (*Hugo's white trousers). It was everything you'd expect from a Sabahan celebration- singing, dancing, eating, with some extra additions of arm wrestling, some acting and even a cheeky raffle. As for our performance, it went down an absolute treat! I was really nervous, maybe because for some it was to be our parting memory, so I wanted to end on a good note. Musically, I'm not sure a good note was ever achieved, but it was at least a bit of a crowd pleaser.

Barney and a couple of tribal warriors

Winning the crowd over with my cultural dancing

Congratulating my competitor, Ben, for first place, while I had to settle for 4th

Me and Hugo looking sharp

Me, Hugo, and the hard working prefects that made it all happen

So now it's my second last day, and this time next week I'll be cycling through the jungles of Borneo, riding closer and closer towards the end of this epic year. These last couple of weeks at my project are something I will remember predominantly as a happy time and not one of melancholy and heartache. Of course at times it's been hard and it's horrible to think it's all coming to an end, but when I look back on my time here, I've got nothing but fond memories and great friendships to reflect upon, and I can't look upon it with anything else but a positive outlook. My time at San Damiano is up but there's still one big adventure to go before I'm back. Wish me luck!