Is it July yet? 6/18

This trip, though my longest, has not been a great one for blogging. This is partly due to the fact that (1) Grace was here for a little more than a month and is a wonderful listener, (2) a month of nearly straight rain eradicated my running and though it’s stopped raining, food supply is so low, that I can’t bear to be more hungry, and finally (3) my return home (home!) is drawing ever so nearer that in the evenings I often think of nothing else but avocados, regular exercise, and cuddles. Oh and my to do list which broke my app when it surpassed a million items. 

I can tell you about the movie we are making -  but I hope it will also speak for itself when it’s finally ready. This trip was partially funded by the Firebird Foundation to support a project in which knowledge is passed on - from elders to youth and also from me to the community. This has manifest itself in the form of a community movie, in which the stories of four of the oldest Ende people are illuminated for the entire village, especially the youngest people who won’t remember what life was like when these old people were young. The first third of the movie is “Ende culture pre-Christianity”, second third is the story of the first Ende people to go to bible school and bring gospel back to Ende tribe, and third third is “Ende culture/life today” and how education religion and outside influence has changed (or not changed) Ende life. 

I’m really proud of some of the scenes - for example I think the hunting re-enactment is really beautiful. Hunting is done the same way nowadays - only difference is back then men wore grass skirts and not clothes! The men I went with to shoot had already killed a deer and fashioned some literal props to make the deer look semi alive again. The shot of them actually shooting the deer is at the same time so fake (the deer doesn’t fall or scream) and so genuine (the hunter who shot it is beside himself with giddiness and pride in front of his friends) that I think though we failed to capture an animal dying, we actually captured something much more important - the significance of bringing home meat for ones family, and simply the humanity of the men. 

The project has also been realized in the form of daily technology classes in which I teach lessons on the cameras, video cameras, computers, solar panels, and projector that will stay here after I go home. Mostly people are excited to learn how to type since it’s a marketable skill. But the first three weeks were learning the camera and video camera for shooting the movie. The class is made up of mostly men but quite a few women too. Almost twenty people come every day, many from nearby Malam. Everyone is extremely careful and good at listening, which makes for a wonderful teaching environment. And I really feel like people are progressing in their skills and are proud of their accomplishments. I certainly am!

This next week includes: adding narration to the movie, making final edits, premiering the movie and celebrating the technology class. I’ve also planned an anti-domestic violence rally after a man burned his wife last week. A birthday feast, and a goodbye party! Much to do and prepare for so I better get some sleep. 

Kate