The thirty-seventh week

Day 255-261

Originally, we wanted to take a day off today, on 17.06. According to the workaway arrangement, you work for 5 days and then have 2 days off. Since we have to share the scooter available to us with Marlon and Laura, we always coordinate the days off. 

However, since it is raining a lot today, Ivar and I decided not to take the day off and just hang around the campsite. 

In the afternoon, when the rain stopped, Ivar and I continued working on our new project. We cut down some bamboo and will build a frame for a new tarp. 

Unfortunately, Ivar got sick this week, so the project had to be put on hold. I can't do it alone. 

Somehow, Ivar caught a cold with fever, cough, runny nose, body aches, and fatigue. 

So, I built ashtrays. The last guests flicked their cigarette butts all over the place. It was annoying to collect all of them. I know it's not in their 'culture' to use an ashtray. Some cultural traditions can be rethought...... 

The first offering then would be the ashtrays. So, I built bamboo ashtrays over the next few days, painted them nicely, and wrote 'Tempat abu rokok' (Malay for ashtray) on them. I will distribute them everywhere. Maybe some people will take up the offer. 

Owner MD brought us many mangoes and a new shelf. I assembled this and built a hiding spot for the cats out of the cardboard box. They loved it and played with it. Sometimes, the cats are cute. But this week, as I was cleaning the house, a cat (I didn't see which one) pooped right in the freshly cleaned, still wet kitchen!!! 

One morning, the muezzin was particularly loud. I think he turned up his microphone. 

We did a lot of laundry. In Asia, all washing machines use cold water. We wanted our own clothes to be warm, so we heated water multiple times. It worked quite well! Finally, fewer stinky clothes!!

That day, we finally had something delicious after a long time: Pancakes!!! So delicious! 

The next day started warm. I made my coffee and went to the stream. Suddenly, there was a rush. It sounded like a train, but it was getting closer. It was rain on the leaves. 

The whole day was supposed to be rainy. Ivar and I got a bit bored. So we made a blind sign for the cat mom Stevie. It lasted about 1 minute, then she had bitten it off again. 

In the evening, we played a Malaysian game called Congkak. It's usually played with marbles, but we didn't have any. Rice was too small as a replacement. So we used lentils. It was a bit tricky, but it worked.

One night, there was a short but intense storm. We ran out and took the clothes off the railing. Ivar and I had to put a chair against the door from the inside, as the wind kept pushing it open. 

When the storm subsided, I checked on the guests. Fortunately, they were fine and the tent was intact. 

The next morning, the whole devastation was visible: there were sticks and leaves everywhere in the house, the whole place was littered with sticks, either a guy line was torn or the bamboo on which the tarp was laid was broken, several bars were broken on a beautiful bamboo and the women's prayer tent was completely flat on the ground, submitting to the storm. 

I didn't know where to start first. Ivar and I first fixed all the tarps, swept and cleared many leaves. 

The next day, Ivar and I took a day off. We took a nice and slow walk so that Ivar wouldn't overexert himself. He is not fully recovered yet. 

In the evening, MD came by. We helped him tidy up a bit. Later, he told us that the waterfall where we bathed last week is closed to the public due to the Leptospira bacteria. These bacteria cause the disease leptospirosis, an infectious disease with flu-like symptoms. Aha! Now we know where Ivar got it from! Good thing I don't have it. Not yet. The incubation period is between 1-30 days....