Me, Anne, new Bersih friends, Elton in front, and Carrey on right end.
Sea of yellow!
Last weekend on April 28, I came into the city (Court decided to stay in our lovely village to hang out) for a political rally called Bersih. Bersih is a huge campaign by the people asking the government to clean the system. 'Bersih' is the Malay word for 'clean.' The campaign has 8 "demands" including free access to the media as well as a clean and clear elections process. It's a huge and important movement here in Malaysia and I am really grateful to be able to witness it (if you want a better overview of Bersih and its history in Malaysia click here - I'm not knowledgeable or competent enough to speak to it).
So my Saturday started with making the 2 hour journey into the city, which included being stopped twice by police. Bersih's color is yellow so we were all asked to wear yellow, or green for the Green Earth movement. I have a yellow Bersih tshirt that I bought but I was told not to wear it, because it invites the police to question you. I'd rather not get deported before my time here is finished so I just use it as a pillow case for now. So I was just wearing a plain yellow top, though I made sure to put my yellow Bersih pin on my backpack. The second time we were stopped by the police, I got paranoid and so I made sure to cover my pin with my hand! But as I was the only one wearing yellow on the bus, we were waved through no problem. Later I found out that the police were indeed stopping people on their way to the rally - that's how taboo the movement is treated.
After spending some time in an internet cafe, I received a text from friends Carrey and Elton asking me where I was. They picked me up and I walked over to the start of the rally with them. It was SO cool to see all these Sabahans in their yellow Bersih tshirts, coming together to make their voices heard. I felt especially cool because some of our friends were part of the organizing committee of Bersih Sabah! So we saw Anne and June and Sabrina and co. running around with walkie talkies, literally moving the crowds of people. I felt really proud of them.
The atmosphere was interesting to me. There were a lot of young people which was really cool. Andrew, another friend here and local rap artist, whose performance name is Atama, was the one who led the crowd on the march from the meeting place to the "Padang Merdeka" or "Independence Field" where we were all gathering. There were a bunch of guys with dreads and instruments doing some cool songs and chants and creating good energy. Reminding me a little of the SOA rally. So the atmosphere was a little festive. Very peaceful I thought. It also seemed to me that a lot of people were kind of just checking it out, almost cautiously. Especially because this was only the second Bersih rally in Sabah and also because the Bersih rally in Kuala Lumpur is huge and has gotten aggressive even violent reactions from the police (my boss here in Sabah was in KL this year and was tear gassed unnecessarily!).
I am really proud to say that I know the organizers of the Bersih Sabah rally and I am really proud of the work they do! It was really cool to hang out with them after (I crashed with them) and hear their take on how the day went. Of course I missed a ton of different things. Which made me all the more grateful to know them. It's funny to think that I have never followed politics in the States, but I eat up anything I can learn here about Malaysia's political system. Perhaps because they are still struggling to figure out what the Malaysian political identity is, that uncertainty resonates with me. I think my mom would also say I'm more interested in politics now because I'm growing up, which is probably also very true! Whatever the reason, I was very inspired by my friends' leadership and involvement. Their dedication to making a change, to engaging youth, to keep pushing forward - inspires me.
Of course, after the long day was over, we went to McDonald's, sang a little karaoke, and then watched 2 movies including The Avengers which I loved :)
BORNEO INTERNATIONAL MARATHON
Was today!! Courtney is a runner and has done tons of races back home, including a full marathon on a torn ACL! She's crazy amazing, yes. So as soon as she heard about this race here 7 months ago, she signed us up. I agreed to train and run the race with her. At first it was just something I was excited to say that I've done. But over the last 7 months as we have trained, or rather tried to train, I became more and more excited for the race itself. And then Court's good friend Andy, who is also a runner and has a quite a few marathons under his belt, decided to join us and visit Court (he also has a goal to run a marathon on every continent, so check! - Asia).
Courtney and I have trained for this race in lots of different and random places. Along the rice paddies and amidst the buffalo in our first placement. Court regularly ran through another little village where she was a local celebrity amongst the paparazzi-like kiddos. I obtained a 7-day pass at a really nice gym when we were living in the city and overdid it on the treadmill. After 2 days I got really sick and couldn't go anymore. In case you're interested, I've realized that I really do like to run, but I much prefer running on a treadmill in the gym. If I'm outside, I'd much rather walk, even in a seemingly boring residential neighborhood, if only to look at everything around me. Anyway, in the last 5 months that we've been in our current village, we have trained when the weather permits. For me, the weather really limited me because A. I don't like running in the sun and B. I don't like waking up earlier than I need to. Therefore, I could usually only run after 5pm. Unfortunately, it usually rains in the afternoon at some point. So I really was at the mercy of the elements. But I never cursed the rain for disallowing me to run :) My training, therefore, consisted of yoga and random runs when I could.
At first we ran around the local soccer field which was good. But then games became more frequent and it would also get flooded. Then we were introduced to a really nice grass road running along the river, amidst the buffalo. So that was nice. But then I realized the grass and unevenness of the road was more stressful than I liked, so then I just took to running up and down a short paved road. Or when it was raining and I really felt like I needed to run, I would run in circles around the buildings at the Good Shepherd training center where we work some of the week. The staff there was pretty amused by that. I actually really enjoyed the repetitiveness of this kind of training because it reminded me of a treadmill! Anyway, I only trained up to 1 hour of running - and I don't even know how far of a distance that was.
I was nervous about my endurance today but I'm happy to say that everything turned out fine! First of all to set this up, because of the heat and humidity, our race started at 5am and Andy's full started at 3am!! Which meant that he was out the hotel door by 1am and we were out the door by 3am. Which also meant that I slept no more that 3 hours before. But it was all good! I was super pumped.
I'm very familiar with the race day atmosphere, seeing as my dad is a triathlete machine (he did a FULL IRONMAN today!!!!). I have always really enjoyed going with my dad to his races and experiencing the culture and excitement of that world. So it was really fun for me today to be on the other side! I was so stoked to get my own bib with my name on it!!
It was funny to start in such darkness, but it was REALLY awesome running with the full moon. It was equally awesome to watch the sunrise halfway through our run. I had decided a couple weeks before to run for my best friend Ana's brother Adrian, who passed away because of brain cancer 4 years ago. It felt really right to run for him, more especially when I read Ana's most recent blog. I really felt like I was running with him. When I wasn't chatting with Court or new friends along the way, or rehydrating, or just basking in the fact that I was running a half marathon!, I would think about Adrian and every time, I would get this energizing tingly feeling all over. It was similar to what I sometimes feel when I meditate which I thought was really cool. But I really felt that he was cheering me on.
I've felt this for a while about running, especially last year when I would run to destress, but I really understand now why running can be so therapeutic. Really awesome values come out of it. Perseverance, strength, courage. And also values like smiling at people and encouraging each other on. Courtney was cute and really cheered for all the runners we passed. I was being a little more stingy with my clapping and whoops, though I did pitch in once in a while. But I did make it a point, especially during the second half, to smile at everyone I passed. And it was amazing to get genuine smiles back! That so simple action energized me just as much as the 6 strawberry shot blocks I downed halfway! (I love those things, I pop them like candy.)
During the last 6k, my right knee started to throb badly which persuaded me to walk for about 15 minutes. I also walked at all the water stations which probably added up to about 5 minutes of walking. But I have no regrets! I'm really proud of my performance and would totally sign up for more races! I finished in about 2 hours and 35 minutes. Court of course is amazing and finished about 15 minutes before me. Andy is a warrior and finished in about 5 hours and 30 minutes, jet lag and humidity and all. Right now as I sit here in this internet cafe before I get on the bus back to Pukak, my legs are really sore and I know I will probably have to use Salonpas tonight. But I'm pretty high on life!
I love Sabah. I love Sabahans!
