Secondary 1 Camp (day 2&3)

continued from day 1

All of us in the same hut woke up at around 5:30 in the morning and went for breakfast at 7. After 45 minutes of breakfast, we had area cleaning. Our group was allotted to clean up (or in other words, pick up the rubbish) the path which led from the huts to the white tentage where we had our meals. We finished our task at half past 8.

We took part in Sarimbun Challenge where we competed with other groups in 4 station games. In the first station, nine of us had to walk on six wooden planks or three on two, while others threw as many balls as they could into the basket of the last person of each two wooden planks. This demanded teamwork spirit of each group member. In the end, we managed to get about 289 balls into the basket within 3 minutes, which seems quite a feat to achieve.

In the next station, we were supposed to build a catapult with unlimited wooden planks and ropes. There were disagreements again on the structure of the catapult. Eventually, after some discussion, we settled with a decision. Although the catapult failed many times, we were not discouraged and insisted on not giving up and finally managed to launch a water bomb only eight paces away. However, we were in high spirits and cheered all the way to the next station. Later, we found out that the record was 29 paces while many other catapults were failures.

The third challenge was quite a disaster. We had to walk through parts of Sarimbun that were remote and where the trees are dense. Unfortunately, we misinterpreted the map and went the longer way. Along the way, we were stung many times by mosquitoes and I had an ant bite. Finally, we reached the place where the fourth challenge was held. We were supposed to boil water. This was elementary! We completed the task and went to the place where we should go after finishing the challenge. We were pleasantly surprised to find out that we were the first group to complete the challenge! We thought that we had wasted a lot of time in the second and third task, and for sure there were few groups ahead of us. Till now, I am still pondering about it and please tell me if you had any idea of what had happened.

We had lunch and after that, cooking, fun fitness games and campfire preparation. The fun fitness games were fun, just like its name. The first two games required teamwork from all team members. The third one was where we had the chance to get wet, dirty, muddy and smelly. We slided down and splashed into a pool of muddy water. It was quite fun actually, but many missed the opportunity as rain came pouring down and the activity was called off. During the camp preparation, we practised old cheers and learnt new ones. We showered and ate dinner, probably the best meal we ever had during the 3 days camp. I even took a second serving. It was the campfire afterwards, which was supposed to be the climax of the camp, but I do not think so. It was quite monotony actually. After supper, we went to sleep nearly midnight, terribly exhausted.

We woke up at 6 and embraced the final day of the camp and packed our things. Breakfast that day was the worst meal we had during the camp in my opinion, and was endorsed by many. Personally, I felt that better food was served at the start to give us a good impression and the last meal, you should know. Then, we helped to carried the floorboards of the tents set up for those who were not sleeping in huts. We had area cleaning again, and our group cleaned up the campfire site.

At eleven, it was prize presentation with only two prizes to be given -the best group and the best improved group. Group 17 and 2 won the awards respectively. The journey back to start at 1145 hours and last 45 minutes and thus marked the end of the camp. Back in the boarding school, I repacked my luggage into the going-home mode and boarded the bus at 4:30 in the afternoon. I am back in Malaysia now for the school holidays!

The camp left me a good impression and I have gained much, especially experience, through it. I hope that I am able to take part in future camps and shall grab any opportunities, unless it clashes with more important events.

As we have been temporarily cut off from the outside world with mobile phones and other electrical devices disallowed, I just found out that Liverpool triumphed 4-0 against Real Madrid and advanced into the quarter-finals. Great display. They will be facing (or is it taking place now?) Man Utd and the result shall decide the fate of Liverpool's title hopes. The best of luck, Liverpool!

Secondary 1 Camp (day 1)

It has been a long time since I have blogged. This was because I was busy preparing for the Sec 1 camp and afterwards, school holidays. I spent days packing and buying the necessary things. Before the camp, I felt excited as I have never participated in any camps before. However, I also thought that the camp would be boring and unsuccessful as this is what we heard from our seniors.

The night before the camp which was held at Sarimbun, I tried to sleep early as we were told that we would not be getting much sleep during the 3 days 2 nights camp, but to no avail. I was simply too excited and keep thinking about the camp. The next morning, I woke up quite late and after having a hurried breakfast, rushed to the school. After flag raising, we were being grouped into groups of 20 and I was in group 4, with 7 from my class (1A2) and 13 from 1A3. We assembled at the clock tower and boarded the buses after the ice-breaking session. For reasons I did not know, our group was named Lyche² (Lychee) as the majority agreed.

The trainer in charge of our group was known as JK. He refused to reveal his real name and was never seen without his cap. He was humorous and joked with us throughout the camp.

The journey took approximately 1 hour and we arrived at our destination at 11. We went to our respective huts which can house 10 people and where we would be living in the next 2 days. The huts were quite small and dirty, especially the floorboards and we had to clean them. We had lunch at the white tentage after that. The meals were actually quite good, at least better than I had expected. Then we had team building games, which was a little boring as I had played the same game for many times already. We also went rafting which was fun. We were required to build a raft with 3 tyres, 3 planks and as many ropes as you need. There were disagreements on how to build the raft but it was eventually settled. We launched our raft with 3 brave volunteers on board. Our raft was the fastest among 3 groups. After that, we also had fun fitness games.

At 1830 hours, we had dinner and went to shower after that. We were supposed to have open shower but few abide by that. We went into the cubicles instead. After song session and supper, we went to sleep. Everyone was tired out and wished to sleep soundly, but we were constantly woken up by chatters and giggles of those who had or did not sleep.

To be continued -(day 2&3)