I've been here 6 months and I've failed to share with my friends, family, and all you curious ones back home in the safe, comfortable United States the craziness that is my home island of Borneo.
Borneo is the third largest island in the world. It's HUGE. It's quite diverse in geography - from endless, dense jungle forests filled with orangutans and pythons to gorgeous sandy beaches with vast coral reefs to the towering giant Mount Kinabalu. The territory of Borneo is shared by three countries - Malaysia, Indonesia, and Brunei, with the majority of Borneo belonging to Indonesia and the northern territories belonging to the other two countries.
Borneo is also a bit crazy. Borneo's the island you hear about on National Geographic with the world's deadliest snakes and spiders. It's the one where 10 years go, people were cutting off each others' heads and posting them on spears in the midst of an ethnic conflict. It's also one of the two last places on the face of the earth where you can see orangutans, a quickly disappearing endangered species, in their natural habitat.
Here are a few of my everyday experiences living in one of the world's most fascinating places:
A week ago, a four foot long monitor lizard (think cousin of komodo dragons) just randomly walked across my backyard.
I went on cobra patrol at the local playground yesterday to make sure none were hanging around the kids I was supervising - and the park looks JUST like a park in the States, like in Michigan. It's not like I'm in the jungle at all.
Today, I was working on my computer when a spider bigger than a tarantula ran across my floor and refused to die when I sprayed it with bug spray. It had a HUGE body and long hairy legs and fangs. Not okay. I hope they're not poisonous. Talya and I think I might have a nest in my room, possibly in my mattress, so we BATHED my room/mattress in bug spray.
Two weeks ago, when I was coming back from vacation, traffic came to a dead stop because there was a 12 foot long python chilling out in the middle of the road IN A CITY. It had just had lunch (hence the bulge in its stomach).
I was bitten by red ants in my backyard and the bite swelled to the size of a quarter. You can see the ants on the National Geographic channel.
Talya (my roommate) was stung by poisonous coral while doing coral eco-relief the other day.
I saw a bright red snake near my house. Bright colors typically mean danger.
There was an awesome frog climbing on the walls of my garage and my neighbors said to stay away. Apparently it pees acid or poison or something.
I was working at the local orphanage when a monkey randomly climbed in the window and started going through my purse. I scared it and it hissed at me with its teeth bared.
A group of us went hiking in the forest (you can't really call it a jungle...it's more like North Carolina than the Amazon) and saw a bunch of orangutans in the trees. Apparently my friend was getting too close, because the male orangutan decided to pee right above him.
On a random note, we know the coral reefs near us don't have sharks because the locals would sell them for food in the market...and I have yet to see sharks in the market.
I miss spiders the size of quarters and snakes that aren't poisonous and frogs that don't climb on your wall and pee acid.
Also, look up Haplopelma. That's the type of tarantula that lives near my house.
Anyway, that's a piece of my life. If you're interested in learning more about my neighborhood, just turn on your TVs and watch Nat Geo.
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