Jungle and Dragons!!! And building a library...

To my knowledge, San Damiano's House Cooking is supposed to be a monthly event where we go down to the river to camp out and eat. Considering this was only my second time experiencing it, you can only conclude that it doesn't hold too much weight in the calendar and can be disposed of with the mere cross of a pen, but for the life of me I don't know why! The boys loved it, I loved it, and the mosquitoes certainly loved it! Last time, I was a late arrival, and shortly after I joined the party it began to rain- party over. This time I was there from start to finish, thoroughly enjoying the time spent with the boys, and trying desperately to prove I'm not just a city white boy who can't chop bamboo (granted, my technique needs improving). But we built some rather impressive bamboo shelters, and once we were done with the hard work, we cooked, played in the river, had a takro tournament (like football volleyball), sang and sat round the fire. It was essentially a Scout camp with a jungle backdrop, which is no bad thing. Well, apart from the mosquitoes. They were definitely a bad thing. They made sleeping difficult, then it started raining at 3 in the morning, which made sleeping nigh on impossible. That's when everyone bailed and took a long, hard 2 minute walk back to the hostel to the comfort of their own bed. 

The beginnings of a hard days work.

Some of the boys collecting giant leaves that would later become a roof.

Blue shorts- smallest and cutest 13 year old you're going to find.

The boys having some gentle fun in the river

But things turned violent and sand war ensued. It became a savage battle between the Sabah people and the illegal  Filipino immigrants. No racism here at all..   

Fortunately both Sabahans and Filipinos found some common ground on which to build up a friendship. It involved burying a helpless boy up to his neck in sand. But they all came together and worked well to give Gianfranco a delectable female physique. 

The finished product, a fine bamboo specimen!

A dead bat that we found in the bamboo. Clearly had an absolute mare.

Hey

Fearlessly handling a scorpion. James Bond eat your heart out!

The beautiful game of Takro. 

You wouldn't think so but I do actually have a tan. But stick me next to a local like this and I'm still a milk bottle. 

I'm definitely not that pale and I do still have a face. 

The next day, after not the best nights sleep, we were off to Monfort Youth training Centre for another Chinese New Year celebration (one minus the alcohol). Us San Damiano boys took our moment in the spotlight as we sang a Chinese song, so I'm now claiming I can speak a bit of Chinese without having a clue about what I'm saying. We got to witness the classic Chinese dragons (a bit more dancing that the ones in KK who essentially walked up the road) which was great to watch, and enjoyed a solid meal with a selection of meaty goods. Generally, it was a weekend well spent with our boys; precious days as our time in the hostel dwindles further- just 4 months of teaching left. 

As for our Library, I was planning to get some pictures (with me posing with my new Roald Dahl colelction which I'm immensely proud of), but it currently looks so pathetic I frankly couldn't do it. But take my word for it- we've made progress. All we need to do now is actually get a few more books so the shelves don't look quite as empty as they do now...

On stage belting out our Chinese number

I did really enjoy myself, and I took the "keep a smile on your face as you sing" very seriously

Dragon giving us a cheeky pole dance. 

I think someone shouted something offensive from the crowd. The dragon heard and spun round on the attack. It wasn't pretty.

Happy posing before the demolition of the orange.

A stunning spread- Chicken and potato curry, battered fish, green beans, chinese sausage, roast pork, and rice, but that's a given.

Two dancing dragons, one sleeping dragon. The sleeping one wasn't so entertaining.

Didn't see a staring competition on the cards but here's the proof. Intense stuff.

Chinese New Year, Valentine's and everything else

Apologies to all keen followers of my blog (Mum) for the lack of blogging of late. Despite a lot happening, there's been a distinct lack of pictures to accompany the tales of my travels, and with pictures being the more interesting of the two, I've been putting this off for some time. However, for fear of forgetting what I've actually done this month, I've decided acting now would be wise.
For those who don't know, February is the month for the Chinese New Year celebrations. As I live in a country with a vast Chinese population, I was setting myself up for a whirlwind of parties and feasts to fly my way, gobbling up 'ang pow' (money given in red envelopes) as I go. With just two days until the start of the Chinese New Year, me and Hugo had no plans, no invitations. Disappointing to say the least. We traveled into the capital, fairly deflated, but hoping to find something interesting to do. We stumbled across a Chinese parade where we observed two dragons dancing to the beat of the traditional gongs, expertly played by children far younger than us. During the parade we were briefly filmed by a cameraman, but I had no idea we were being filmed and continued to stare gormlessly at the dragons much to everyone's amusement (text book me).

Some fine camera skills to snap the dragon from behind..

In the absence of anything Chinese to do that night, we had a night out with a couple of the Monfort students, Saran Rau and Alex, a night where these lucky boys were exposed to the splendor of my dance moves.

Me and the boys at our favourite Shamrock Irish Bar

Next day, our boss Remy saved the day and invited us to his house for a nice, chilled celebration at his house. We ate, we drank, we talked and we played cards. Good night.

Me and my students at Remy's playing China's fancy version of Rummie, 'Mahjong'.

Plenty to contemplate in that fridge.

With the help of Amy and Hatty, fellow Project Trust volunteers, we were then invited to another Chinese celebration a couple of days later. This one had the full works; traditional food, karaoke (Westlife got destroyed), plenty of drink, mini hand-held fireworks (simply a miracle nobody got seriously injured), ang pow and musical chairs, where Hugo literally came alive in the most brutal way possible, barging innocent old ladies off their chairs. He received 50 ringgit for his troubles, but the applause when he got his prize wasn't so generous..

Me receiving my ang pow, absolutely beaming.

Westlife- Flying Without Wings

Doing the old Sumazau dance, an absolute pro these days.

I think that man passed out on the floor shortly after this picture..

Valentine's Day was the next celebration on the list. Me and Hugo devised a brilliant program to have a very romantic evening combining our hostel with the girls hostel next door for a night of ballroom dancing (taught by me and Hugo Du Beke) and love song karaoke. Annoyingly, but somewhat inevitably, the nuns at the girls hostel shot our splendid program down at first glance. Having no girls was certainly going to be a hindrance to our plans, but it wasn't going to stop us. Valentine's Day was to be re-named- 'Gay Night'. It comprised a fierce Waltz competition where the boys tried their best to master the steps we taught, and a Grease- style elimination process ensued until we had our ballroom winners. I didn't spot a John Travolta in the making (although I impressed myself at times, it seems I have a natural flair), but it was something a bit different; whether all the boys took to it is debatable, but it was certainly funny to watch.

Posture is poor but there's a significant height difference, I'm sure Len Goodman would understand.

Top Gay Night

In sport related news, we've been white water rafting for the first time in the Kiulu River, and now we have the taste for it we plan to go again to a more challenging river further south (no pictures I'm afraid). After unofficially becoming assistant manager of the local school team and helping them to cup glory in both age groups at a football tournament, I've now been asked to do some extra coaching at the school which is a great opportunity for me to expand my up and coming John Haswell academy. We've also purchased our bikes for our Charity Bike Ride across Borneo in July. The trip will be in July and will take us maybe up to a month, cycling through jungle, mountain ranges and in equatorial heat. We are doing it for Unite Against Cancer, so quick advertisement, if you would like to sponsor us or find out more about what we're doing, please visit our Virgin Just Giving Page by following this link:   http://www.justgiving.com/Hugo-Drummond 

or if you would like to check out our facebook page the link is: 

http://www.facebook.com/events/466601570067013/?fref=ts

OR if you would like to find out more about the charity, you can check out their facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/UniteAgainstCancer?fref=ts

Thanks for reading!

Our first day of training, the day we realised the sole disadvantage of living in a mountain range.

Stopping off for some much needed fluid.

Some beautiful views on our first bike ride, just 5 minutes from the hostel.

The real deal Jungle Run!

Many years ago, CITV's Jungle Run banished my idea of piracy as a future career prospect and planted the idea of becoming an explorer in my impressionable mind. For years I watched dweeby kids getting trapped in tunnels and monkey bellies. I witnessed fools blindly crawling passed obvious and precious silver monkeys. I even saw them fail to complete a four-piece puzzle even with the help of the ruby monkey. I watched on, always thinking it should be me combating those mischievous monkeys Sid an Elvis. Well last week I had a little taste of what it might have been like, except we were running through an actual jungle rather than a studio, and there was no Michael Underwood annoyingly pointing out the obvious fact that I don't have much time left, so I think I win on both fronts.

It was all part of the orientation week for the new Form 1 students who have joined us for this year. It was a week that was designed to bring the boys closer together as they had to overcome various challenges like the obstacle course and me and Hugo's spaghetti bolognese. They tried so hard to be polite, but telling me it was delicious after I watched them eat it holding their nose doesn't really work (I'd like to point out it was actually quite tasty, they just can't hack the herbs). 

But the main event was on the weekend. Saturday kicked off with your classic sports day games- sack races, giant slipper races, and eating bananas from a string with no hands. After a brief rest, it was straight down to the jungle obstacle course. This compromised crawling through mud/buffalo turd, climbing across bamboo hovering above mud, slipping through spider webs also placed above pools of mud, then lifting people over a bar from one patch of mud to another. It was quite muddy. It concluded with a challenging jungle trek to the top of the hill, than a triumphant descent back to the river to wash off. It was all very tiring, but the fun was nowhere near over yet. After watching a horror film the previous night, the boys (who all firmly believe in ghosts) had to complete a night walk through the jungle with only a candle lit path to aid them. Some of the boys came armed with their rosaries. Me and Hugo came armed with flour and tomato sauce, the vital ingredients for the jungle vampire look. We found our spots (trying to stay clear of giant ant nests), tucked in behind some shrubs and scared little children for the next three hours. Boys were literally jumping and falling in pure fear. One boy was so scared we came back to attack with me a stick. It was simply hilarious. Personally I couldn't think of a better way to give the new students a warmer welcome.    

Cooking spag bowl for all the students. Feedback wasn't great- "it tastes like medicine". 

Me, my awkward crouch and a couple of cute kids at the "tele-match competition".

Cheeky bit of ballroom. Posture needs some work.

Eating banana off a string no hands. I'm bringing this one home!

Muddy and having a ball!

Me, Hugo and our boy Charles

About to boss the spider web.

Looking like a cool kid nibbling on my rambutan fruit seed.

My 2nd favourite picture ever.

My favourite picture ever.

Crawling through mud/buffalo turd. This is just before our camera man decided to kick it all into my face.

Me defining triumph.

The classic Jungle Run dash to the next task.

Kid sloth.

Spider web come at me bro!

Team building is my favourite :)

Absolutely crushing the shoulders of helpless muddy Malaysians.

Best of Friends! 3-2-1- Youuuuuu SUCK!

Come on in, the water's lovely! Washing off in the nice, clean river, home to many a buffalo turd.

A triumphant walk home from the top of the hill after a tiring jungle trek.

Flour and tomato sauce on my face, all set to scare little children in the deep dark jungle..