The siamang team

"Now look professional"
(not sure if my word for professional was an accurate translation..)







"..and now look silly"

Walking out of the forest..

A problem of collective action: there is a trail in the forest, used by villagers who go out on market day to sell their products and buy supplies. This trail needs maintenance, plants grow quickly, and very often fallen trees block the way. So, when you are carrying a heavy load, got into your stride, it is great to find that somebody has cleared the way, while it is quite undesirable to have to do it yourself.
As I think all this, walking out of the forest with my relatively light backpack, I snap a twig that is conveniently in the way, and keep walking, guilt subdued, my shallow feeling of self-worth restored.

A lightning

If you are fascinated by thunder this is definitely a good place to visit. Storms are mighty and loud, the amount of water and noise is overwhelming. Last week I was in camp, when I saw, for the first time, a lightning touching the ground. It ran through the tree that holds the antenna for the phone. The crackling noise was impressive. I was hoping to also smell something cool, but no. Also, the tree didn’t seem to be negatively affected by it (and it didn’t crash on our hut, which is good).

Comunicazione di servizio

It is amazing how one (or I) adjusts to different living conditions. I sometimes realize that some aspects of life in the field station are very different from, say, life in NJ or Italy. So I feel I should describe some of them to prepare people planning on visiting. I really don’t want to discourage anybody, but if one is seriously arachnophobic, for example, it would be an unpleasant surprise to find that we sleep in bed made of spiders.. (kidding)

So, here is a list:
- Mice: there are many mice. Even some you could call rats. But they are forest mice, not the nasty, disease-ridden city ones. Still, there is no way to keep them out of your room (unless you wage a full-scale war). Sometimes they run around while you sleep, fight, eat things you wouldn’t expect (like half of my bar of soap). When we finish eating and leave the plates aside, animals are attracted to it. Mice, squirrels, and tree-shrews, which are a cool and taxonomically very interesting animal (they are related to primates, sort of. Squirrels with a fire red tail, for those who don’t care about phylogeny), fight for the leftovers.
- Fighting for food, too, but on the ground, are large monitor lizards. They are usually afraid of people, so no problem with them (they may startle you when they run away noisily).
- There are some big and fast spiders, not many, and they disappear when they see you.
- There are some snakes, sometimes. Mainly pythons. The others usually go away when you approach.
- Sometimes there are invasions of flying termites, which are attracted by the light.
- We usually wash in the river. When the water is too murky due to heavy rain and currents, there is a well, from which we take out water and we shower in the bathrooms. Of course, no hot water and no proper shower, little pans to grab water and throw it on yourself. The water is not always crystal clear. We agree that after going through that we will consider ourselves clean.
- There are two bathrooms for about 15 people. But we are all in the forest for most of the day, so I never had any problem with it. We had peaks of 34 people, but they usually camp in the forest and use the river.
- Mattresses and pillows have conducted a long and exciting life in the forest, which leaves traces on them (a little bit musty, not the best examples of fluffiness).
- Electricity only about 3 hrs per day.
- It may rain a little bit inside the room.
- To get to the station, after leaving the roads, there is a 1-hour (+- 1hr, depending on the trail condition and speed of the party) walk in the forest. If you thought of bringing a TV set (which wouldn’t have been a good idea), you would have to carry it by yourself (actually there are porters who will carry your luggage if you want). The bright side of this, is that once you are there, you are really into the forest. One siamang group sleeps right above my room. Which is very romantic, until you learn that the first thing siamangs do in the morning is poo, and they are large animals, and a heavy “object” falling from 40m high into a corrugated iron roof makes an awful lot of noise. Especially at 4.30am.
- WCS, the organization running the station charges 10US$/day to stay there. This includes accommodation and food. It is expensive, but they have to carry everything on foot, and have cooks to pay. And the place is “aaawesome”.
- After a long and delicate bargaining with the Park officers, here is the deal I managed to obtain. Visitors may stay a maximum of 7 days in the forest without going though the nightmarish procedure of obtaining a permit, and without being followed by a ranger (which is great, since they are expensive and annoying). The only thing you will be asked to pay is a tourist entrance fee, which amounts to $1.5, so that is feasible.
- Diet consists of a lot of rice. Really a lot. Then fish, many vegetables (not much fresh), chicken (if the monitors don’t kill them before the cooks do). The base is not very spicy, you then can increase it by adding sambal, a hot seasoning.

If more comes to mind, I will add them. Again, I don’t want to discourage but give a clear picture of what to expect (the negative parts).

Asuransi

I decided to get a health insurance. After all, that healthy feeling of invincibility with age wears down a bit..
So, one month ago, a very serious man with a puzzled look, dressed in traditional Arab clothes, came to talk to me (who wasn’t at that time prepared to understand him). After some conversation, and the realization that we might need the prices of the various policies – which he didn't bring, we agree on a plan, I transfer the money and go back to the forest, all happy and reassured. After two weeks a fax reaches me, I have to pay much more, for some unclear reason. So now that I came out I thought of calling him again. He comes, explains, produces a fancy, brand new laptop. He doesn’t know how to use it, doesn’t have glasses, moves the head up and down and left and right, “hunting for a… K! … now.. an… O!…”. The temptation was strong (I could SEE myself moving away his hands and type myself..). We finally enter the program, but we don’t know how to use it. I convince him that a deal is a deal, and that I should pay the new premium starting from next year. He calls his office (using the cellphone light to illuminate the numbers while he types them on the cellphone itself – all is painstaking) and confirms. Then I think that the ordeal is over, but I am soo wrong. He closes some windows, and starts a video! Of the “Achievers’ day” of the company!! Blurred pictures of determined people exhibiting prizes and confident thumbs; lame (inspirational?) music. I couldn’t believe it. Clearly, my attempt at transmitting a sense of urgency had failed. I try again, more vigorously, at the end of the video: gathering (again) the papers, standing up, uttering closing remarks.. and I fail again. Another video. Showing what? Adult males holding each other’s penis, while peeing. I am serious. Illustrating the concept of teamwork. I smile, stronger men would be in shock. Then (well, after another video, on the glory of the company – which I won’t name), I make some poignant comments and many smiles, and terminate the interview.

Technology 3

I am waiting for the bis (bus), in Way Heni, a small village outside the forest. As I already said, cellphone signal is only available 15km away, across the mountains. I am talking about it, and the plans to build an antenna soon, to the owner of the bar/restaurant/ticket counter/bus stop (he is Budi’s brother). And he shows me two pieces of metal welded to a cable that disappears towards an iron pole, which goes through a hole in the roof and straight up to the sky, becoming a small antenna. With an omnipresent rubber band he secures the contraption to my phone, and there you have signal!

Swimming with Daus

In an (unsuccessful) attempt to open up possibilities of finding a girlfriend for Daus, and to have some rest myself, I proposed a trip to the sea. After some consultations, Daus and Iyung agree. We go buy appalling swimming trunks for myself, then to get goggles and fins at the Dept. of Biology of the University of Lampung, where we also pick up Ica (another student), we buy water and rose-filled biscuits, and we are off. We reach a small promontory closed to the public, we lie that we are there to do research for the University, Daus goes to pray and change shirt and we are ready. Except that the two are fully dressed. I ask if I can take off my t-shirt. Once in the water, Daus, with his resigned smile tells me that to obey the rules he cannot show his body from below the knees to the navel – especially if there is a girl. Once in deeper water he can take them off, and asks Iyung to bring them back and hang them on a pole in the middle of the sea (he cannot stand up to do it, eheh, he would expose himself!). The fun part comes when Iyung, cold, comes out of the water first, and Daus has to retrieve the pants by himself. I expected delicate discretion on the part of his friends – "especially the girl" – instead the whole sequence has been documented with pictures.

Frustration 23

I am waiting for an email, it is late night. I go up to check what is Waktre watching on TV, and surprisingly there is a watchable movie, just started. I am happy, and settle to watch it. After five minutes Vicky comes, sits down, makes a superficial comment and after three minutes (really, no more than 3 mins) he starts snoring extremely loudly. And of course, Waktre is not concerned in the least, since he only reads the subtitles anyway.. I give up, and go back downstairs.

Technology 2

I bought good pencils, to take notes in the forest. They are good, but don’t have erasers on top of them. I don’t use erasers, but the assistants do, they are very tidy. So, how do you solve the problem? You wrap a small rubber band (here they are everywhere, for example used to seal plastic bags with food and drinks) to the top of the pencil. And being rubber, it perfectly erases.

..anthropologists..

"Nancy just sent me the blog...and i got news for you.

this is serious. very. sit down and relax.

because, i hate to break it to you, but....

you're turning into a friggin' anthropologist!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

chapter headings with ethnic names? done.

pretty pictures of "the field"? done.

deep admiration for the native rites? also done.

weird foods, resourceful technologies and striking cultural differences? also done!

profound feelings of self-consciousness and, mostly, self-inappropriateness (no idea what the hell you're doing there and why people are being so nice to you)? of course!

welcome darling...."

Domino

Here is something else that I have never taken in consideration. I was invited to fill a vacant place, and I played. I did my best, and of course my overthinking brain is still now discovering layers of complexity, while before I thought it was the stupidest game. I started changing my mind when I realized that after three turns they all new what bloody tiles I had left (and politely – or not much so – laughed when they would leave me stuck).

Budi

Budi is young. Small, but well proportioned, strong. Black, Muse-styled hair (dangerously close to an “emo”). Black shiny eyes that can show chasms of concentration or puzzlement. When following siamangs, he gives 100%, tries to stay with the focal. It is only normal sometimes to lose them. He walks twice as much as the rest of us. Cannot find peace (for intensity reminds me of my dog Ciro with the ball). Murmuring, or asking quietly aloud “Dimana?” (“where is him?”), with a typical, lovely cadence. When he has a doubt, about the identity of an animal or its activity, he asserts his guess, then, with exactly the same confident tone he asserts all of the other possibilities, with increasing speed. E.g.:

“What is the female doing?”
“She is… Feeding!… Resting!.. Suckling! Moving!Grooming! Grooming! The female is grooming!”
(reminds me the exam scene of Ecce Bombo, cult movie by Nanni Moretti)

He plays the guitar very well. I ordered him (jokingly) to learn this very popular Indonesian song, so that he can teach it to me. He smiled, then laughed, we will see how it goes.
He is quick, he learned to use the computer program much faster even than the “educated” assistants, those who went to secondary school. He is impatient when others have to fill in the data and are slow. He is the youngest and last arrived, lowest in the hierarchy, but in these cases he is completely oblivious to it, and also the others don’t react badly. He laughs at my jokes, he has learned to expect them also in the middle of serious work. And he is good at laughing, responding, without losing concentration (others completely forget about the data collection, stand there, adding up to the funny topic, the arm holding the PDA hanging, forgotten).

He tells me about his past. Of course touched by the relocation programs, he lived all around Java before coming to Sumatra. He traveled, saw some world. His sister traveled too, she has worked for years in Egypt (Mesir, usually countries have similar names in every language, not in this case..), Kuwait. She washed dishes, and she is tough, respected. She married Rahman, the stoic WCS assistant (who named his daughter Nectarinia, scientific name of a colibri’-like bird.. hmm, the forest can make you lose perspective..)
Before coming to Sumatra, Budi was a martabak-maker. Martabaks deserve their own post. During Lebaran, when everybody else stayed home with the family, he drove to cool Krui, with his friends, on their bikes. He wears cool t-shirts. He has a friend from France, Pierre, who gets angry when they call him mister, as he is not married yet, and studies the social organization of isolated kampungs. Yet, when you talk about music, he likes Avril Lavigne; about TV, he likes Tom and Jerry; about wild pigs, he tells you the story of the gold chain..

This mixture of coolness, street-wisdom, and utter naivety, is adorable. Now, I have already been made fun of for being the stereotype anthropologist in the field. Imagine after I write this, eheh..

The secret life of wild pigs (as described by one of my assistants)

The really big and old ones, with mighty fangs, heavy body and ancient wisdom, lead their broad groups through the forest, look out while they feed, protect them from predators. When they reach a good mud puddle, they delicately leave on a branch the thick golden chain that they carry on one of their fangs. If you manage to steal it, causing furious anger, you are guaranteed protection from any harm. Meaning that if someone shoots you at point blank, you don’t die. A bomb? Nothing. You can find these “rantai” in some Chinese markets, but they are understandably very expensive. A man recently made the news for having spent 6 billion rupiahs (about 600,000$) on a fake one. Not sure of how he figured out it was fake.

Imagine me, watching the backs of this fleeing group of pigs, siamangs feeding above us, in the middle of the mud, in the middle of the forest, trying to reconstruct this explanation. Making large use of the dictionary, and increasingly extreme examples to make sure I understood it right, while looking at the dead serious face of my young and intense assistant.

Dialogue

"Tarmin, why are you so late!?"
"Well, the river flooded, and a 3m-long python was lurking by the tree trunk I needed to cross.."