I'm in Pensiangan, Sabah and I have every reason to be grateful

I'm now in no man's land, so to speak. I'm in a secluded area of Sabah, really. To be exact, Pensiangan. Some of you might have heard of it, some of you might not. I've always heard of stories about this one hell of a lost world, just never in my wildest dreams have I ever thought of actually being here one day. 

Well, I'm here anyway, and here's a newsflash - I'm alive and I'm doing well. This place isn't really that bad, you know. ('Bad' is relative - if your definition of 'bad' is not being able to chat with your loved ones via phone, or not being able to shop in the trendiest shopping complexes that exist, then yeah. Not for me though.) I won't lie through your teeth and say it's all a bed of roses - I'm having a hard time with the mosquitoes and the like because they harassed my skin so freaking bad - but come to think of it, being here really is a blessing in disguise. I've thought of all the things which made me want to say "Thank God I'm here" and here they are, ladies and gentlemen; 

1. I get to experience a life away from all the toxic fumes of the big cities. Breathing fresh air is damn refreshing! 
2. There's no telephone line, but that means I get to save some money since I won't have to reload my cellphone credit as frequent as I used to. 
3. Which brings me to point number 3 - who needs a phone when I've got an exclusive and FOC access to the Internet? And at an even higher speed than those slow-ass broadband connection I've got at home!
4. I learn to be more friendly here. Normally I just don't greet strangers - but here in Pensiangan where everyone knows everyone else, I cannot act as if I'm living in The Big Apple, yes? 
5. Along with one of the Senior Assistants in my school, I'm the only female in a male-dominated workplace. Thank God they are all nice and cooperative! 
6. While we're at that, let's say I'm grateful because I've got some single and damn good looking colleagues to feast my sight on (forget this one, this is me going berserk, heh)
7. There's access to electricity from 6 pm - 12 am daily. Another thing to be grateful for because I don't have to bear with having no electricity 24-7. Some might say it's not good enough because the electricity doesn't run 24-7, but I say it's good because that means less to be paid at the end of the month. 
8. Keningau (my hometown) relies on Jabatan Air (Water Department) for water supply and of course we have to pay for water. Here, water supply are FOC! Talk about being money savvy! 
9. People here are nice, and they treat me well. Some of them treat me even better when they know who my father is. My father used to work here for quite some time during his younger days, long before he got married to my mother. It has been almost 30 years since he left Pensiangan, but the villagers still remembered him. 
10. I get to feel living on my own. Now, don't get me wrong and say I hate living with my family. It's just that I want to feel how it's like to live independently, having lived under my parents' supervision for the last 23 years. 
11. I don't go out often for now because the road into and out of Pensiangan is not the type that your Ferrari can drive on. That means less random shopping trips, and - you know it - more money saving! 
12. Nights in Pensiangan is kinda cool. Even without the electricity generated fan. 
13. Last but not least, I got a daily view to the big river of Pensiangan, which is beautiful. Every now and then I would see boats riding across the river and wishing to board one someday. 

So far, these are the things that I can think of. I'm sure there are more but I just couldn't think of anything else right now. Hey, thinking positively and seeing things positively are keys to survival. I'll be honest - I'm homesick sometimes. I'm homesick now. But I won't give up. After all, why focus on the ugly side of life when there's so much beauty surrounding us waiting to be seen?