In Malaysia, we have a short term exchange in March where we go to a different state for two weeks. This is one of the only times we are allowed to really travel without the constraints of school, so everyone was looking forward to being in Perak for two weeks, a more northern state. (Although, coming from Johor, literally every state is more north than our own). The first stop on the two week exchange was the Batu’ s of the orang asli (Native Malaysian people).
Alberto told me that he wanted me to get the most jungle of the Batu’s because I was the farthest away from everyone else. At first, we pulled up to a stone house and Alberto crossed his arms and took a big breath saying, “UGH Sejal you are not truly jungle!!!” The coordinator heard him and looked confused so I asked what house was the one I would be staying. She then pointed to a draw bridge over a chasm (well really it was a river but it felt as though it was a chasm) and said that we must walk there. So, Corey, Harnoor, Alberto, Carlo, Martina, and I lugged my luggage across the bridge and into the jungle. As we walked and got farther away from all of the other houses I remember turning back and looking at Alberto’s face as he became more and more shocked at how far we were going into the jungle. After about seven minutes of walking we finally reached the house. I was living with an older couple who had decided to move back to a traditional orang asli house after they retired. They had built three off-the-ground huts with palm tree roofs and the entire property was surrounded by dogs and chickens. When we first got there, the family showed us all another small river that was close to their house. When we got to river I immediately began to climb the rocks in the river. Oddly, I felt as though I had been transported back to North Carolina. In North Carolina, we have a lot of trees and small little rivers. This one that I was at with the orang asli family specifically reminded me of the main river people go to in Durham, the Eno. I kept repeating to my friends how amazed I was that the river looked so similar to the one back home. The trip to the Orang Asli is supposed to be the most uncomfortable environment that we will be in while on exchange. Instead of beds we slept on a bamboo floor, instead of electricity there were candles, etc. But because of the surroundings, I felt the most at home and comfortable .
After my friends said goodbye, I was left with my new temporary host parents and some of the extended family. Originally, I had thought that the extended family was also going to be staying with us but when evening came they said goodbye. Since it was only three of us staying there, I stayed in one of the small houses all by myself. The quiet during the night was very calming. The next day, they told me that in the afternoon I would be learning how to create a palm tree roof and use a blow gun but I could do anything that morning. I decided to draw the house that I was staying in and spent a few hours just drawing. Since there wasn’t any WiFi or cellular there weren’t any distractions. This is very rare in my life, as I am always connected to the outside world. That morning that I got to just spend drawing was so relieving. As I am getting older, it seems as though I always have something to complete. If I am not completing an assignment or looking at colleges I start to get anxious that I am wasting my day. I rarely have time to just sit and draw. Having that time reminded me of when I used to create imaginary worlds in my family room using my brother’s cars as the main characters. Learning about blow guns and palm tree roofs was very interesting, but I was most affected by that morning.
The next day my host dad gave me a lesson about the orang asli. I learned about how there are three different categories: negari, senoi, and melayu asli. In each category there are six different tribes. The family that I was staying with were apart of the semai tribe of the senoi category. The language of the orang asli is also different than bahasa melayu. For instance, makan (to eat) is cak (pronounced cha).
To truly see the difference in language here are two paragraphs, one in bahasa orang asli and the translation in bahasa melayu:
Bahasa orang asli-
Ku jis ahad eng ru kawat kawat eng ku kampug senoi bermuh kampug chenghoi batu 13 nong Cameron highland tapa, Perak, malaysia.
Eng berasa amat serunok ru sua sana tenang, sunyik ru damai. Eng ru keluarga, apak berancak ku deg kampug. Beg kampug adeh mong nenek teu ru talag debor ru ietu senyet ru sigar. Eng amat terharu ru rekedaan kusukitar kampug adeh jaoiceknet keneng pelek begi keneng sempak, batar, langsat, legos, ru larah.
Bahasa Melayu-
Pada hari Ahad saya dan kawan-kawan sampai di kampung senai bernama kampung Chenzhou batu 13 jalan Cameron Highland, Tapah, Perak, Malaysia.
Saya berasa amat seronok dengan sua sana tenang, suntik dan damai. Saya tinggal dengan keluarga, ayah angkat di rumah kampung. Berhanperan kampung ini ada sebatang sungai dan air terjun yang cantik dengan airnya sangat sejuk. Saya amat terharu dengan keadaan di sekitar kampung ini banyak poko buah-buatan seperti poko Durian, poko patai, poko langsat, rambutan dan larah.
Overall, I had a great time in the batu learning about the orang asli and, surprisingly, getting a glimpse of home. I was very sad to leave the family and I hope to see them again.
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