love. music. peace

I’m Back from Rainforest Music Fest 2009!!!! :P It was AWESOME!!!! :p The music is out of the world!! So energetic, Vibrant and One of a kind! :)

The Zawose Family. Got blown away by their performance…

Will blog more bout the RWMF later but for now, im going to pen down some of the conversations i had with SOOOOOO many different kind of people throughout my stay in Kuching. :) I have to write these down fast before i forgot them.

I must say… Kuching is very much like ipoh. And i love small towns like these.. ;)

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When i first met Leo..

“Hey, why your voice is so soft? I thought an outgoing adventurous girl like you would have like a strong deep voice?”

- HAHAHAHA… :P Hmm.. i dont know, do i sound soft? :P

At the main entrance where i was doing security duties

“Hi, you look so familiar… were you in my dreams yesterday?”

- lol… that’s so corny… why do people use pickup lines like these.. lol!!! :P

From all the Philipino(PHP) guys doing security duties (Most of them dont speak english but these words they utter to me everyday were really meaningful).

“Good Morning!!!”

While i was patroling with one of the PHP guy around 2-3pm, he asked me whether i had my lunch; when i said No, he pulled out a packet of biscuit and mineral water from nowhere and offered it to me.. O_O!!!!!

i seriously dint expect that, and i was just thinking wow.. there are actually guys like this around. hmm :/

and on the last day… the bunch of PHP guys were standing outside the hotel waving at me and saying

“Goodbye Jenifer!!!!”

T.T kinda felt attached to them altho we all dint really speak much but still.. it was really nice having them around.

I was talking with Donald of Kinabalu Merdu Sound all the way @ the workshop. He was sitting beside me and the conversation was so insightful!!! :) It started with me complimenting his workshop earlier on bamboo sounds and then he continued with telling me histories of all the instruments in Sarawak and Sabah. He couldnt speak English that much.. and then halfway i told him that why dont we just speak malay… :)

He  told me the origin of the song “Jambatan Tamparuli”  folk song of sabahans was written by his late uncle. I reallly love Kinabalu Merdu Sound’s version of Jambatan Tamparuli but unfortunately it cant be found in youtube and i wasnt fast enough to record it.

But anyways… here’s the song

Jambatan Tamparuli

Pak pak kangku doh (bunyi kasut bila melangkah)
sumunsui do jambatan – (menyeberangi jambatan)
jambatan do tamparuli (Jambatan Tamparuli)
bakasut tinggi oku – (saya berkasut tinggi)

silaka no di kasut ku (celaka betul kasut ku)
naratu loh jambatan – (terjatuh di jambatan)
tinggal poh do sutakin – (hanya tinggal stokin)
nowit ku ginumuli – (ku bawa pulang)

ontok di hari tiga – (pada hari tiga (Rabu))
tamu hilod tamparuli – (pasar tamu di tamparuli)
mingusuk poh hilod kadai – (ke sana kemari masuk kedai)
mogihum do kasut tinggi – (mencari kasut tinggi)

This is my fav song from the Sabahans. The lyric’s quite funny but i guess it tells a simple story with a very traditional melody. :) Another song that i like is “Sayang Kinabalu” which they performed as well.

:) Anyways.. my point is that i have never met such a humble person in my life, and talking with Donald of Kinabalu Merdu Sound was really … refreshing and i find that the music they play closes the barrier of people around the world and showcases our traditional music at its best.

I was a little sad when the workshop ended as that will be the end of our conversation regarding music, politics and religion. I never knew that the people in Sarawak and Sabah have views and opinions like that and it really opened my eye.

Evertime when i was patroling @ the RWMF.. i always come around strangers who ask for directions and also just to ask anything at all.

I thought that most people would stop me and ask me directions to the loo but i was wrong. i was stopped/tapped at the shoulder at least 6-7 times with one similar question

“Hi, are you a Sarawakian?”

O_O?

Well.. my subsequent answer would obviously be No, and i’ll continue asking them why and so..

Few of them say i look like a traditional Sarawakian (O_O????)

and there’s a particular group of friends who were trying to guess whether they can tell a person is local or not. (60% of the RWMF attendees were foreigners), and if they are local, are they from Sarawak/Sabah or West M.

this group of girls and guys were actually betting that i am a true blue Sarawakian (O_O????)

And when i say im Not, they dint believe me.. O_O???

Interesting.. :/

Funny part was, even the foreigners were asking me the same question with the same answer.. i look like a sarawakian =.=” do sarawakians have a certain “look”? O_o … hmm

Anyways, moving on.

While i was @ one of the workshops, the stage managers called me up with a really interesting task.

i had to climb a few feet high stage with my skirt on and so, he helped me up but completely forgotten about me when i wanted to come down. (there were no stairs).  i took the plunge and jump down =.=” fall on the floor and bruised my shin. hurts like hell.  yeay T___T

the stage manager kept apolagizing but i really thought the whole experience was super funny.. lol..

completely forgot about it later when i saw the blue black on my leg but now that i’m back, i remember how i got it @ the first place. totally hilarious. lol.

i was talking with a security guard (50+ melanau guy) about politics O_o, food =.=”, religion (mainly about islam and melanau) and also artists..

the conversation is too long to re enact because we were chatting for almost an hour ..the conversation was one of the most exciting one i ever had with a stranger. we jump from topic to topic and he always relates it back to me with questions that i have never thought he would ask.

and yes, he even thought i was a sarawakian. =.= ”

guess what..

i even chatted with a 3 year old boy and 5 year old girl from london =.=

i was just hanging out at one of the orang iban houses on the wooden swing and both of them were playing there as well.

they started playing with me =.=” and i chatted with them for a good 30 mins omg O_O with a 3 year old kid O_O

guess what our conversation topic were…

guess

guess

guess!!!!

:P

it was about trees and plants!!!

omg. >< for 30 mins!!!

they were sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo cute! i dint take pictures tho . i was so into the topic i forgot! lol.. :P

i also talked with the inti-illimani group from chile and the english they speak is quite limited and they mostly speak spanish.

and so.. imagine a duck and a chicken talking, trying to find a common understanding..

phew. that was really .. something!

this is the first time i spoke to sooo many different people from diff countries in a span of one week !!!

i must say… a good decent conversation is so hard to get nowadays.

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anyways……………………………………….

from borneo ink tattoo.. :P

***

will update again soonest,
-J

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