6 June 2011:
And so I am back from SL Camp 2011
[The previous two posts are scheduled posts I did after the camp, so don't be surprised if you see that I could talk about things that happened after the post date.]So on Friday, we set off from school to Tanjung Piai. There was a massive jam at the Causeway, which led to the bus moving less than 1m every 15 minutes for a stretch of road.
Finally we reached Tanjung Piai, with our schedule being delayed for about an hour. At around 1230, we got off. The sight was very, very nice.
After being allocated to a bunk, and after having lunch, we had our ice breakers with Transformers. We were spilt into two groups of six people, and we were supposed to "transform" ourselves into whatever object the other object the group told us to be.
Then it was our first theory session, with Mrs L covering the inconsistency in student leadership. Which I am guilty of it too. Like what she said, some leaders - or to be specific, some councillors - have two "sides". To the rest of the school, they are good councillors, doing their jobs dutifully. Within their friends, they scold vulgarities, and break some minor school rules. Would that really constitute a leader? Although the contrast between my two sides aren't that great, but now, I still feel bad for having this consistency. It's not to say that every leader has to remain very stern and firm with their friends, but there should still be a boundary.
In many cases, the boundary has been diluted.
Then after the theory session, we went on to set our goals for the camp. I must admit - I have forgotten our goals already. But I should think we did achieve most of it.
One other goal that we had to set was our CCA. Mine being Wushu, I went with B and discussed. Right from the start where Mrs L told us to set goals for our CCAs, I immediately thought of what Wushu needed. Wushu needs to have a batch of leaders that can maintain the passion and discipline within the team. Other CCAs talked about getting medals; I am not discrediting or putting down these goals, but I feel that with the right goal, winning these awards should be imminent.
Fast forward to after dinner and we had our night walk. Our night walk was generally alright, with no major issue. We walked for about an hour in (almost) darkness. Thankfully there was the stars and other lights along the way. In Singapore, almost no one bothers to look at the stars and enjoy it. We are all too busy with our hectic lifestyle. So this break from such a routine was really very appreciated by me, at least.
Besides reflection sessions, that was the end of Day1. Summary: I contributed almost nothing, I must say that. Which I am really guilty now, since more was expected of me.
Side note about the toilets. Although I came with the mental preparation that it is definitely not going to be as good as Singapore's, I was still slightly shocked at the condition. Then I realised it was our dorm's toilet that was la merde. One cubicle had no light and could not flush. Another cubicle had not light as well. The remaining three either had bare conditions, or had a shower head that trickled water.
Day2! We started with Wet N Wild, which had three stations. Our group (and other groups) only completed two, since there was not enough time. I particularly remembered one where there were floating wood platforms on the stream of water. We had to cross it fast enough or the platforms would sink and we would get wet. I went and ran past ... and still got wet. Which was very sad ... The ropes connecting two platforms near the end had spilt. So when I stepped hard (running), the platform went down under my weight. Luckily, I was only wet at the pants area, and a bit of the stomach.
Other people in my group were even more wet, with one of them getting their shoes stuck in the mud!! Hehe :) Won't say who, but come to think of it, I was one of the driest! :D Next we had sampan rowing, which was an okay experience. We tried to have a race with two other sampans, but it was inconclusive.
After dinner we also had our event planning, where two groups got together and discussed about Investiture. In the end, we had something like a debate, where both sides would "attack" each other. It started off quite well, but in the end both sides were talking with each other. In other words, everyone was talking and no one was listening. Many a time someone had to stop the discussion and revert it back to the speaker prior to the break. I wonder ... do they do that in Parliament too?
And that brings Day2 to a close. At least on Day2, I felt that I was improving in leading myself and others. Now, moving on to Day3.
Day3 started with a theory session. It was nice as usual, besides slightly enduring some off-colour jokes~ A lot of people think that theory lessons on leadership are boring and useless, and always pretend to be attentive during the lessons. Such unappreciative hypocrites ...
Then we had paintball. Paintball was not exactly fun for me, since I got injured in the middle finger and near my right wrist. Oh well, who else can I blame but me, for being so blur for failing to realise a gun was pointing at me ...
Highlight for the day (and camp) was Gala Night!! I feel that our group put up a nice performance, although in the end we did not win. But winning's not everything, so yeah it's alright~
Gala Night was really crazy. Especially remembered the "Jack and Rose" scene by J and D. Hahah, R(A) scene man. We did Rock You cheer so many times I bet every single word is deeply etched into everyone's mind!
Then came Day4. It was already the last day of camp. We had our final theory on encouraging the heart and then it was closing ceremony. ): Sad to leave Nina and the other trainers, and the whole area. We were back in CCHMS at around 1300. Had a short briefing by VP, and then we could leave. Went to eat Macs with lotsa people.
So ends my uber long post. TTFN.