Thursday 16th July

3:34pm

Although I was once again in bed by about 8:30 last night, it was a little while before we could actually get to sleep as Hattie and Rosie had a rather large fit/breakdown/screaming session over how many bugs had invaded their beds. It was one of those things which you couldn't help but have to stifle laughter over, even though you'd probably have reacted in exactly the same way if it was you in that situation...
     This morning we were working on the student pathway again, and we managed to beat the record of the number of batches of cement made by one team in one session, completing 10 batches, so it was a successful last session here in Bongkud.
     We came back to camp to find that we do have water for once, so we all jumped straight in the showers. However, we also found that some considerate members of the other teams have blocked up all the toilets by flushing toilet paper down them, when we're supposed to put it in the bin because the drains go straight into the jungle and are really easily blocked. So whilst the staff try to fix the toilets, they've opened up the old squat toilets in the shower cubicles. The toilets themselves aren't a problem (once you get over the idea that you're standing right next to the hole which is the toilet whilst you shower) but the main problem is now the limited number of toilets and showers available, as there's 4 combined toilets and showers between about 80 girls... By the looks of it the other toilets should be opened up again soon enough though!
     After my shower I had a nap, got woken up for lunch, and then after lunch went straight back to sleep again!! At 2 our group gathered together as we needed to rehearse our farewell performance for tonight. We've had to create our own interpretation of the dance we saw on our first evening in Bongkud, backed by the Malay song that we learnt on our first day too. Several people are dancing, some are on the gongs, and I'm one of the singers (which can only end well....) Ethan led the choreography, so we have the basis of the performance, but I think there will no doubt be a certain amount of winging it!
    Now we're all just sat in the cabin by the river relaxing. Several of the others have gone down to the river, but it looks like it's about to rain again, so I think I made the right decision staying here!

10:05pm

When the others got back from the river they brought with them some mangoes that one of the local children had given them, so we cut it up and shared it out between us. It was nice but much more sour than any I've had before.
    After dinner, the Chief came down to camp again to welcome the newest group. We're now at full capacity in the camp with about 110 people and it's getting pretty crazy! After we'd watched the proper version of the sumuzau dance once more, we performed our own version - complete with Joe in a wheelbarrow bursting through a curtain!! Another group are also leaving tomorrow, so we watched their performance too, and then the dancers sang three songs to us as a goodbye - two of them required us to join in with actions - and then Eve, the camp manager, presented us all with a bead necklace and hugged us goodbye.
     After a slice of chocolate cake Malay style to thank our team for our efforts here in Bongkud, we all signed the guest book which Eve keeps and now it's finally time for bed on our last night in Camp Bongkud...