Team Habibi is back in the city after 2 weeks in the Jungle!
Living life with the Asli (native) people has been awesome! We were living in a world where everything we’re used to is completely different. It’s funny, cause as Americans, we think we know how to do everything, but we really had to learn how to live in the jungle by watching and doing what the Asli did! They speak a dialect of Malay, so our main form of communication was sign-language, copying each other, and – of course -smiling, laughing, dancing, and music. Our friendships with the Asli were built around those universal four.
So as a tribute to our life in the jungle, i’ve compiled a nice little list of things you are currently taking advantage of =) :
A toilet
Our toilet was a squatty-potty outhouse…not the most fun to
stumble out to in the middle of the night…
A sink with running water and soap!
Our main hand washing method in the jungle was to rinse our hands with
river water, and throw on some hand sanitizer!
Variety in food
We ate rice with veggies for every lunch and dinner while in the jungle!
Up until two weeks ago, I loved rice! Now my team and I are avoiding it like the plague!
Ice
Every World Racer goes crazy at the chance to have
a beverage that is NOT lukewarm. it’s a commodity we rarely enjoy…
AC and Electricity
While not having AC is a given in the jungle, the Asli people DO have
a generator. Every night we enjoyed a few short, sweet
hours of electricity. Gotta keep those iPods chraged!
Washing Machines
Clothes just don’t turn out the same washing them by hand. I have a hard
time getting all the soap out, so my clothes are always stiff, and always
have a distinct I’m-a-back-packer smell to them that just will not come out!
Showers
In the Jungle there are two options:
bathing in the river
-or-
bucket showers
Michelle demonstrates the beauty of the bucket shower below:
(BTW, a video from our time in the Jungle will be up in a couple days!!)
