Day 1
When I learned that I was going for this leadership camp, me and my other friends who were going, was so excited as this is a rare opportunity for us! OBS is recognised locally and internationally as a leader in the field of adventure education and outdoor leadership learning. In tandem with the schools' student development curriculum, they have a wide range of pragrammes designed to further develop youth leadership and outdoor technical skills. The OBS camp that I was attending was a 5 day 4 night programme that challenges everyone both physically and mentally.
On the first day of camp, which was 18th June 2012, me and my friends gathered at the school canteen at about 6.30am, then we boarded the small van to Punggol Jetty. After reaching there, we were split into groups with other students from other secondary schools. My group was group 8 - Munshi. After a long wait, I boarded the ferry 'Symphony' to Pulau Ubin Island. My group was led by my instructor, Kai Yong. We started the introduction and played some icebreakers to get to know each other better. My first lunch at OBS was held at their kitchen. It was nice and we had to wash and dry our own dishes as well.
My group went to do the Trust Fall activity and I volunteered to be the first to go up the steps, trust my new-found friends and lean backwards to fall onto the fabric my groupmates were holding. It was a bit scary at first but I managed to push myself to fall backwards. I felt that it was affinity and fate that bought us together in the same group, Munshi. After eating our first dinner together by cooking maggi mee and some other ingredients that they gave us, we pitched out tents in the woods nearby, bathe and slept. At first, I could not sleep as I was sleeping in an unfamiliar surrounding - the wilderness. Then I started to miss my family and my home. This reminded me of what my senior experienced when she came for this camp last year. She said it was tough but fun and that I will miss my family more and more as the days go by. I did not believe it at all but it is true...
Day 2
On day 2, me and my group had to wake up at 7am, pack the tents, wash up, eat breakfast and meet Kai Yong at 7.30am. We were a bit late. Kai yong decided to have a chat with us as we were not getting along well as a group and that we were a very quiet and awkward group. He then showed us a few pictures that he drew on the cardboard. He told us many stories and told us the process of a group: Forming, Norming, Storming and Performing. It made me remember that I have learnt that in the Adventure Experimental course: Planning an outdoor camp [AEM}. He also gave us a card and asked us to write a journal of our daily reflection in this camp. Then, we learned to belay someone. After learning that, we did the super challenging High Elements there. It is definitely much tougher than the ones in my school. It was so Cool! I paired up with Stephine and then we climbed. We managed to finish it finally after a bit of help from our instructor, this needed a lot of teamwork. We were both glad that we could complete the High Element. Then we ate lunch and pitched our tents before it gets dark.
We went back to our own camping bags and took out the stuff that was needed for 2 days and 2 nights. We were going to the Jungle in day 3. Me and Stephine became best friends in this camp and we shared the same camping bag provided by OBS as there were not enough bags. I learned that there was a need for perseverance, team spirit, team work, encouragement and motivation in every single group. As without these few qualities, the group would not be able to withstand the difficulties ahead of them. My instructor also wanted the group to remember and love our family that had took care of us for the past fifteen years of our lives. He is a passionate instructor.
Day 3
On day 3, we had to kayak from 10.30am to about 5.30pm, from Camp 1 to Camp 2. We practically kayaked the whole of Pulau Ubin Island which was about 32km. It was very tiring. Me and my buddy had to keep encouraging and pedalling each other while encouraging the rest of the people who were slowing down their pace. At first, me and Stephine could not kayak but after Kai taught us how to change direction of the canoe, we managed to get a hang of it and started to chase after our group as we were very far behind. The kayaking group was three smaller groups combined together and was named as Camp 1 Charlie. In the end, after eating lunch and drinking water in our kayak, we finally managed to reach Camp 2 earlier than expected after all the hardship and obstacles we had gone through together.
We pulled up the kayaks and put our camping bags at the destinated place. We started to take out the pot and the food and our belongings. Some people went to bathe first, some went to cook dinner for the whole group, some went to wash the metal tins while the rest went to pitch the tents. It was very chaotic and busy. After a long day of kayaking, all we could think of was to have a good night sleep while the expedition leaders had to stay back for more briefing for day 4. I could not sleep until Stephine came back into the tent from her briefing. It was a very short night.
Day 4
On day 4, we had to pack our stuff and the tents, eat breakfast and change our clothes. It was the Land Expedition, We had to carry our heavy backpacks and water bottles with us and had to walk back to Camp 1 which was about 5.5km away from Camp 2 without counting any checkpoints. By the time we reached our first checkpoint, we were tired. It was the summit or the tallest point of Pulau Ubin. Kai asked us to shout 'We can do it!' and we did. It echoed back. This gave everyone the motivation to move on. By the time we reached our second checkpoint, we were exhausted. Then we ate our 'Happy Food' for our lunch, It contained small buns, cookies and other small snacks. By the time we reached Camp 1, I was itching all over as I had dozens of mosquito bites on me. And the worst part was that Kai said that eating medicine is not good for the body so I could not eat my Zythec which could help to relieve the itchness of the mosquito bites. My groupmates were so happy that they made it, It was a great accomplishment for all of us!!!
The instructors gave us a very long break for us to rest and wash up. We washed up, put our things back into our own camping bags, counted the OBS stuff that we took out in day 3. We went to bathe, eat our dinner, played games, chat. After the long break, the instructors said that they had chosen Munshi and Marshall to do a Community Involvement Project (CIP) for the needy. Everyone agreed and felt excited to be a part of this programme.
Day 5
On day 5, it was the last day of camp and everyone started to miss each other. We were all unhappy and wanted to stay on. After doing the morning exercises, we went back to eat our last breakfast together, pack our own stuff and clean up before leaving the camp. After clearing everything, we sat down in a circle and played many games like 'Truth or Dare'. After that, we went to assemble in their hall, and said our final goodbyes before taking the ferry back to Punggol Jetty. I took the ferry 'Symphony' back to Punggol Jetty.
Although this camp was tiring and exhausting, it was a great camp. As I get to know more friends and a very good instructor, Kai Yong. This taught me a lot about leadership, especially on team work. I will always cherish the wonderful moments and memories! It was definitely a great experience for me!!!
Our instructor said that Yoke Mun and Claudia did better as it felt more 'solid' the '厚' feeling again. My section teacher said the same thing. But I totally can explain the 'solid' as it really depends on the fingers' sizes too as both of them have "fatter" fingers than me if you can understand. My fingers are too small and thin to be able to get that feeling..sigh~ The next CO combine practice will be on 12th November 2012, Monday. Hopefully, it would be a better day!!