Biking in Borneo, A Rite of Passage

The Salok Api Ride By Brent Fullerton

ow much further until we reach the beach, Mr. Fullerton?’ asked one sweaty, tired grade 5 student gulping

down the last bit of water from his muddy water bottle.

Fortunately before I said something I might regret later, Jill Andryczak, the new math teacher, wisely answered with a proverbial response that only an experienced middle school teacher would say: ‘Focus on the positive. You get to enjoy the outdoors, ride your bike on a school day, and have the opportunity to learn too. Isn’t that cool?’

Meanwhile, I was thinking about what my father would have said to me if I had asked the same question: ‘Son, that which does not kill you makes you stronger.’ Sensing these words might be a bit too extreme for a young boy who innocently just wants to rest, I smiled instead.

We were mountain bike riding in Salok Api, a hilly farming region about one hour north of Balikpapan, located on the eastern shore of Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo). The activity was the “field work & observation” part of the Project Approach model used by the social studies classes at Pasir Ridge International School.

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The Project Approach model is an in-depth study method that has three main phases: Phase 1: Getting Started-make a plan, Phase 2: Developmental-field work & observation, and Phase 3: Culmination-concluding the project. Prior to the trip, Grade 5 students had studied the Elements of Culture (i.e. beliefs, values, social interaction, cultural diffusion, physical environment, and technology). For Phase 3, students will then culminate their understanding of the cultural elements, both learned in class and on the bike ride, by sharing collaborative projects with other students and parents.

On the ride the scenery is splendid – healthy farms, flowering trees and plants, fragrant gardenia blossoms, pineapple fields, and traditional wooden houses on stilts make this one of the more popular field trips. Riders pedal up and down steep hills on narrow dirt (and muddy) tracks that meander through small kampongs and farms, this is where their fitness is truly

challenged. Students get to practice their Bahasa Indonesian language skills by interacting with local farmers and villagers. They ask them questions about their culture and a general “How are you?” As we pass by, the people are very friendly

and offer warm smiles and a “Selamat Pagi” (means “good morning”). These friendly gestures naturally invite students to continue using more of their language acquisition.

“Allāha Akbar!" echoes the call to prayer through the valley. Men and boys dressed in their finest clothes ride motorbikes and walk to the nearby

mosque to gather and pray. The scene reminds us all of the unifying beliefs and values that tightly weaves together the variety of people living in the world’s largest archipelago—a fine example of cultural diffusion.

Basic forms of technology are apparent as students cruise along-side telephone lines delicately hung on tree branches. We stop to check out a large industrial looking cement bird house that is used to collect birds’ eggs for egg-drop soup. Students cautiously navigate a red clay dirt dike road that weaves through a shrimp farm leading the way to the beach.

After two and a half hours in the saddle, snapping photographs and discussing culture, our young and weary travelers finally reach the anticipated destination—the beach! Shoes and socks are flung into the air. Cold lunches are gratefully inhaled, and wiry legs race off into the sea. The water is cool and a welcome reprieve under the intense equatorial mid-day sun. As a couple kids slowly wander back to the shaded picnic spot, other inquisitive minds decide to chat with local clam diggers who are shoveling up the day’s bounty. One student brings back a live clam that was generously offered as a token of appreciation. Life is fair.

Eventually, sand is wiped off salty feet. Bags are packed. Bikes are mounted, ‘On on’ is hollered, and off we ride back to the pick-up point. On the drive back to school, we stop at a local ‘pasar’ to treat ourselves to a well-deserved ice cold soda.

The Salok Api bike trip gives students an opportunity to learn about local Indonesian culture in a meaningful way. But it’s also become a rite of passage

for many students at PRIS. Once back at school, some survivors share stories with younger kids about their thrills and spills in the mud; others show off a bump or bruise to the older students who have experienced the trip previously. And some just walk a bit taller, knowing they accomplished something they thought not possible before.

Later that week, having forgotten the pain in his legs and thirst in throat, that same boy asked, ‘Hey, Mr. Fullerton, when are we going on the next trip?’

I smile. Dad would be proud.