Last night Ben, Perry and I ventured into the jungle around 10:00pm. Evidently, nighttime is when your chances of seeing wildlife increase.  If I’m being totally honest, I might have been trudging along a bit louder than necessary in an effort to announce my presence to any snakes, etc. (If Ben reads this, I will likely be banned from any future hikes). And when I accidentally got the hiccups a few minutes into the walk, I could’ve tried a bit harder to suppress the noise.  Anyway, we didn’t see much of anything except this little scorpion below. Also a glow-in-the-dark caterpillar but I was too preoccupied to bother taking a picture.

The möbius circle is continuing, parts in darkness, parts in light, always continuing.

Today it felt like I was stuck in darkness.  Of course, most extended travel follows a rollerrcoaster of extreme highs and extreme lows.  My day of darkness included feelings of great inability to make even a dent of positive change in the spiraling devastation to Borneo.  Last week a palm oil company in Sumatra set massive fires to the forest in an effort to clear the land quickly.  And so with the raging fires come reports that the last of the orangutans in Sumatra might be wiped out in a matter of weeks.  Obviously the orangutans are not the only precious animals caught in the middle of such evil.  Sitting with JoJo and Juvi today, it all felt pretty hopeless.  What does their future look like?  Is there any land that is a safe release spot for them?  What is my role in all of this?

And yet in the darkness there is always a drop of light.  My afternoon consisted of an inspiring conversation with Ali, a former manager of an orangutan center in Borneo.  With years of experience in this field, he shared stories of overwhelming emotion.  The moment when you carry a rehabilitated primate into a safe forest and lift the door of the cage one final time.  The brightness in the orangutans’ eyes when they realize their training is complete, they are free.  He shared the exuberance in his young son’s voice when he saw his first wild orangutan swinging high in the canopy of the rainforest.  Such beauty and freedom when any creature is able to live out the life they are meant to have.

Tomorrow is another day- fortunately for me the möbius circle is continuing and there will be parts of light ahead.

I’ve been back in Borneo a little over a week.  It’s so good to be here again- yet so much has changed since my trip in September.  For starters, I’m no longer employed.  That was a big risk but a lesson in taking leaps of faith.  There are relationships and friendships that have been temporarily left behind, and their daily presence in my life is missed.  And in the rainforest we learn of burial grounds and villages that have been destroyed since our last trip.  The best change since September has been a potbelly.  It sits comfortably between the strong arms and growing legs of a baby orangutan named JoJo.

It was pretty much love at first sight with JoJo back in September.  Her big curious eyes, feisty personality; even between the hair pulling and testing bites, she easily weaseled her way into my heart.  While I was home, I spoke to various audiences about my experience in Borneo; a Microsoft conference, churches, schools, and friends.  Stories and pictures of JoJo stole the show every single time.  So arriving back in Sintang and seeing her loving local caretakers providing for her (one easy piece of this evidence being her potbelly) was heartwarming.

Also…she may or may not have a new playmate…but I’ll save that update for later. 

Joining up with the global team was another highlight.  They are all so amazing.  The energy this international group of ten people shares is like nothing I’ve ever been apart of.  (The group lost four people because of jobs and other personal reasons.) They are a constant source of support, laughter and motivation.  The running joke here at the longhouse is that we are stuck together for life.  But I expect it to be true- an experience like this, with all the ups and downs, heartbreaking situations, inspiring stories…this is the type of thing that bonds individuals for a lifetime.  No one else can truly understand the intensity of this project.

The past week has been spent reconnecting with Dr Willie Smits, the film crew, all the wonderful locals, and school students here in Sintang.  We have had day after day of planning, budgeting, discussing, planning again, etc.  Some were really productive meetings; others were mind blowingly frustrating, but we are slowly working out our plans for the next 80 days.  Careful budgeting of the limited finances that we have and debating how our energy will be most useful to the local communities are our biggest challenges.

We also had a few days where we were able to dive in and get our hands dirty.  We started with the Sintang Orangutan Center.  Painting, rebuilding parts of the fence, planting new trees–it already has made a difference around here and we are just beginning.

Here’s a few photos from my first week back in Borneo:

A pregnant cat gave birth in the longhouse two days after our arrival. To say I was THRILLED would still be an understatement.

Jojo.

The growing gal! JoJo.

I spent some time painting the new security station at the Sintang Orangutan Center.

Turns out I'm not the most coordinated painter.

Here is my set up in Sintang (Please notice the can of tuna on the bed for a certain furry friend).

Oh hi.  A life update: I leave TOMORROW for 80 days in Borneo!!!

Check back on this little blog soon because I promise to share more updates as the adventure begins!

Last week a mini-teaser for the 3D Movie was released. If you already saw it, what did you think? If you haven’t seen it yet or would care to watch it again, I thought I’d share a few “behind the scenes” details with you, using the counter at the bottom of the clip.

First of all, this isn’t meant to be a stand-alone clip. One of the producers of the 3D Movie, Cathy Henkel, was given the opportunity to speak at a TEDTalk last week. She compiled this short teaser to aid in her story about the first 20 days in Borneo. And, although it requires a bit of background knowledge to understand what’s going on, it’s incredibly powerful. Remember my post about culture shock? Well, I was sent this teaser a few days before it was released, and this is what officially broke the flood gates of tears. Seeing the familiar faces of the villages, the sights and sounds of the forest, the orangutans still needing rescue…..yup–it hit me and made me all, ya know, emotional.

But enough chatter about culture shock. Let’s dive in to the clip and some “inside” details!

The teaser starts off at the beautiful longhouse of Ensaid Panjang.

0:10sec you see a chicken. Said chicken and all his friends were INCREDIBLY confused about the time of day and to say they were “punctual alarm clocks” would be a gross understatement. These suckers would be crowing and cockadoodling their little hearts out at 2:30AM, again at 3:30AM and then when the sun actually came up. Eco-Warrior Anne-Sophie actually went tearing out of the longhouse with a broom one night around 3:00AM to “encourage them to take a walk until sunrise”.

0:11sec the Dayak women of Ensaid Panjang are pounding rice flour. The wooden beams they are holding are unbelievably heavy, and my arms were aching a few minutes after being assigned this job.

0:20sec is the river at Ensaid Panjang, also known as my laundromat for the 10 days we stayed there.

0:30sec is the shot of a field smoldering. This field was recently stolen from a Dayak farmer by the palm oil company. They planted palm oil seedlings there and, in a desperate act, the farmer whose land had been taken set the entire field on fire. It was very moving and a sad sight to see.

0:43sec Oil palm fruits being carted away.

1:10sec The first two orangutans the Eco-Warriors witnessed behind bars. We were taken to their cage on our very first day in Borneo. This scene was shot a few hours after the rush of excitement from us landing in Borneo and meeting each other for the first time! Emotions were raging from one extreme to another, and suddenly we found ourselves witnessing the despair of these two beautiful primates. Earlier, there had been a third orangutan kept here but it died due to the conditions. However, we have secured the official paperwork needed to rescue these two orangutans and they will soon be relocated!

1:30sec The speedboats! Oh how we scrambled into those eleven speedboats with excitement! And OH how sore were our butts after an 8+ hour ride up river on those blasted speedboats! They took us deep into the interior of Borneo, where roads cease to exist and the only way to get there is by river. We were able to visit countless Dayak tribes and listen to their stories; it was on this journey that we began to truly understand the enormity of the deforestation issue.

2:29sec-2:30sec My scalp was extremely itchy on this day. Damp and humid climate + thick locks of hair = the shot seen at 2:29sec! (What? TMI? Sorry, I’m keeping it real!)

3:26sec My “ah-ha” moment was during that meeting prior to this interview. The Dayak leader was begging the fifteen of us to go back to our countries and share what we had seen, share the plight his community and others are going through right now. My tears during this interview were because I was suddenly connected to him, to the problem and to helping them reach a solution. It hit me like a ton of bricks, and it was in an instant that I felt responsibility. I had been privileged enough to be in that room during the leader’s moving speech and he was asking me for help. No turning back now.

3:57sec Jojo!!

More teasers and trailers and clips to come, I’m sure! This is just the first and I was excited to share it with you! Feel free to pass it along to others. The Dayak leader asked us to share it with our home countries, but each of you can play a part in spreading the message farther than he ever imagined.

As promised, I’ll attack your top ten questions with 100% honesty– here goes!

#1) How big were the bugs?
Answer: quite large.  I had foolishly looked at picture books of Borneo wildlife before my departure as I was trying to prepare myself for flying snakes, spiders the size of my face, all that good stuff.  Fortunately for me, we didn’t see too many creepy-crawlies.  One thing that was helpful was that the rest of the team loved this kind of thing so if a bug crossed our path instead of being squashed, it was more likely picked up and admired. (I’ll admit that I too admired the bugs, from a safe distance).  I’m working on it, ok?

#2) What was the hardest part of the trip?
Answer: Saying goodbye to the team after it was over.  Leaving the longhouse community at Ensaid Panjang.  And there were some animal sacrifices I could have done without.

#3) Did you know the history of the Dayak‘s before going to Borneo?
Answer: That they were head hunters?  Yes, I was aware.

#4) Best part of the 20 days?
Answer:  There were obviously a lot of highlights but probably the biggest was rescuing and getting to know little Miss JoJo.  It was fascinating to watch her personality emerge as she grew comfortable with her new enclosure. This was my first interaction with an orangutan and she certainly set the bar high.  I know her release into the wild is years away because she has many skills to learn, but I know she’ll do just fine out there in her “real” home.

#5) What did you eat?
Answer: Rice with a side of rice.  And more rice.  And delicious fruits, and rice.  Sometimes ferns from the rainforest.  Rice.  Tofu and vegetable stew stuff.  Topped off with rice.

#6) Weather?
Answer: Hot and I loved it.  There has always been something wrong with my internal thermometer, thus the reason it’s not unusual to find me bundled up in layers on a warm day.  Equator/ jungle temps suited me just fine.  While others were melting, I was comfortably plodding along.  Honestly, it was in the nineties most days and very humid.  My kinda weather!  It was supposed to be turning from the dry season to the wet season during our trip, but it only rained 2-3 times.

#7) Who was your favorite Eco-Warrior?
Answer: Ha!!  Every.single.one.of.them.  For realz.  I’ve never been a part of a group with this much energy.  Our passion and dedication is so similar, and that gives me such hope for this project and it feels incredibly powerful.  We formed a special little family during our 20 days.  We experienced and saw some intense stuff, felt heartbreak together and positively cracked each other up.  They are some wonderful people and I am excited to introduce some of them to you through this blog.  A little guest-blogging if you will.

#8) When are you going back to Borneo?
Answer: We are hoping to return in late February/March and I can’t wait!  Also, I’m nervous!  But, mainly just extremely excited!

#9) Did you get sick?
Answer: Oh yes.  Food poisoning two days before I came back to the States.  All I could think of as I spent the entire night by myself in the bathroom (hey pity party!) was “what if I’m THIS sick during my 4 flights home?!” Thank goodness it passed quickly, although at the time it felt like it would never end.  Borneo = not the place you want to be sick.

#10) What’s the project called again?
Answer: DeforestACTION.  De-for-est-ACTION!  Use “the Google!“

Alright old friends, new friends and internet stalkers.  I’ve gotten a handful of questions since my return from Borneo and I promise I’ll attempt to answer them next week.

I’m sure many of my loyal readers have things they are wondering as well.  And since this blog is nothing if not real, fire away!  Whaddya got for me?

(Just head up to the “comment” tab at the top of the homepage and shoot me a message.)

Monday was the first time I had downtime since I got back from Borneo (thank you Christopher Columbus.) First I sorted through my photos (soon to be uploaded to “The Facebook”). Next, I watched some short clips I had of Jojo, the world’s craziest and cutest orangutan; and then, I spent time reflecting on the 20-day experience, brainstorming on what needs to be done before the 80-day trip to Borneo; and then…I broke down into a heaping mess of tears. I thought about all the villages that will be destroyed before we return next year. I thought about the farmers we met who were only weeks away from losing their land, their livelihood and their lives. I thought about all the orangutans who sit and wait to be rescued. It was intense and it was a time.

Last week, the transition from Borneo on Friday, to Seoul and Singapore on Saturday, to Washington, DC on Sunday, and then to work on Monday, sent me for a loop. On Monday morning at 8:00am, I found myself walking down the familiar hallway to my desk. And it felt so surreal. Nothing had changed on the surface–except for the 940 unread emails and 44 voicemails from various members of Congress, politely asking for a call back! Didn’t they know I was a changed woman, that I had been shaken to my core by sights and stories so devastating, that I now feel immense pressure and responsibility knowing the truth about what is happening to the innocent villages and animals caught in the middle? Then, later in the week, I had a work event at a very “see and be seen” restaurant a few blocks from the Capitol. It was ritzy, and politicians and lobbyists were milling around, and I sat there with my glass of red wine, struggled to keep it together. My memory replayed to a week prior sitting on the floor of the longhouse in Ensaid Panjang, children scattered around playing, while we ate a simple dinner of rice and forest ferns. The disparity between the two evenings sent me into a spiral, full of guilt and a fierce desire to create change for the village of Ensaid Panjang.

Speaking with a friend on the phone earlier today, I tried to explain that I’ve never considered myself an “environmentalist”, and I don’t even think I deserve the label “Eco-Warrior.” Before Borneo, I didn’t “get it.” It took me and my own two legs standing in a virgin rainforest, literally being drawn to tears by the overwhelming beauty surrounding me–and then just a day later– standing in a palm oil-demolished rainforest, to fully understand the utter destruction we are causing this planet.

In my opinion whether you find yourself on the climate change train or deny that it’s happening till the cows come home, I really don’t care. What I care about is the fact that until we figure out a way to live on the moon, we are stuck with planet Earth. And call me crazy, but I don’t think Earth is such a bad gig. She’s beautiful and she’s willing to provide EVERYTHING we need for very little in return. But truth be told, we are stretching her thin, especially in parts of Borneo that are being rapidly destroyed for consumers . But the battle for Borneo isn’t over yet. For me, it’s just beginning. I hope you all join with me in this growing movement to stop deforestation and give back to a planet that has given us so much.

DC dinner

Borneo dinner