Day 1

On the early morning 6th of May 2008, Fairfield Methodist Secondary 2 students embarked on a 4 day, 3 night outdoor experience camp at a campsite in Jalan Bahtera. Students and teachers alike were carrying heavy backpacks and other necessities. Everyone’s faces either showed looks of anticipation, apprehension or perhaps mixed feelings about the camp. I had butterflies in my stomach, and yet they were stopped as I thought of the experiences and good values such as having more confidence, perseverance and getting to know my classmates better through the camp. That’s what camps are for!

Upon reaching the Jalan Bahtera, my thoughts were frenzied seeing how the layout of the campsite was like. As my class was sorted into two big groups, my good friends and I were all separated. This was no wonder as we were supposed to mix around with our classmates, especially with those whom I don’t really know. Imagine that! We did not sleep in tents on the fields; we stayed in spacious wooden huts which could fit 30 to 40 people inside! They remind me of tree houses as they had stairs leading to our “room”. These huts are also better than chalets as we could get natural wind to cool ourselves while sleeping and even to dry our wet clothes hung on the strings at the base of the hut or so says the instructors. It’s hard not to agree with them. Our class’s instructors, Yuan Shan and Tammy, and many others are all young, fresh faced and energetic.

After the introductions and briefing of the camp, we started off with some real good outdoor experience which the whole class was waiting for. My toes were tingling, wondering how it would go. Some of the first daring classmates did flying foxes from such a great height of 3 storeys. The rest of us cheered for every single one of them whenever they ‘flew’ down the rope as if like a flying fox indeed! Following that, we did some lower elemental rope courses and I managed to complete some of them. Although my arms were aching, I was pushed on by all my group mates and Yuan Shan and I persevered till the very end. My efforts weren’t wasted. Although I wasn’t a sport, my coat of awkwardness eventually fell away. In the late afternoon, the class built a raft from 4 barrels and 6 poles and carried it out to sea. The rafting was a success! 12 classmates could sit on the raft, floating on the sea without fail. I had never seen my entire class so bonded before; everyone did their part faithfully with enthusiasm. Shouts and tears of laughter and joy filled the surroundings though our tired faces showed otherwise. We had a night activity; all of us were blindfolded, following one another through obstacles such as climbing down the stairs and crawling under tables. We lost contact a few times, being tugged forward and backward at the same time and I almost got strangled. The day passed by fine. By the time it was lights out, we were so tired to even think about the next day.

Huts; where we stayed.

Preparing for the flying fox.

A classmate alighting down after doing the flying fox.

The raft. The successful result of our hard work and perseverance.

Day 2

7th of May 2008. The day when many of us would face, having plenty of perseverance, confidence and mental as well as physical support from classmates. We learnt the rules and regulations about rope courses. We did indoor rock climbing to start off with as it was raining outside. The first classmate who started and whom I supported, literally, was Rachael. She kept me really awake and well shaken whenever she dropped into my hands from a height. She never gave up and eventually reached the top and everyone cheered the loudest they could. She took a long while but everyone was proud of her for not giving in. This was one classmate who has left me a deep impression. We proceeded on the campfire preparations. No one wanted to start the ball rolling as we did not have much inspiration. Fortunately, Sherrill took away the uneasiness among us. We agreed to do a dance item.

The rain stopped. We went to the high elemental rope courses area. The broken bridge seemed as though it was smiling cruelly upon me. The winds shook it and it moved sideways, the sight of it made me nauseous and faint. The rain was coming back, only one classmate, Elle, tried. She was way up; I didn’t think it was funny to see her shake so vigorously on the bridge. Most of my classmates went into the shelter to further prepare for the campfire. Staying on as Elle’s physical supporter, I was able to see her shining face when she finally came down from the bridge. Just then, I never imagined we were going back to the broken bridge.

The weather turned out fine later and we returned to the broken bridge. Those who have not gone for the rock climbing should go for the broken bridge obstacle. I could not escape. As time was short and not many could try, I still ended up being the last one to cross that appalling broken bridge. I did not want to run away from one of my utmost fears; I did not want to be discouraged by my friends and I rushed at it. I suppose not only did I take the longest to climb; I also kept my classmates really anxious. The broken bridge was so shaky and it nearly threw me off many more times than I wanted. I shook worse than a cold and shivering chicken. This was definitely not as easy as it looked before I set my mind to cross it. It was as though the broken bridge was broken into many more pieces. I wasn’t going to let go of the side ropes of the broken bridge; I persevered more than ever. I made it, finally. I got embarrassed whenever some classmates told me how envious they were and how good I kept at persevering. This experience will always be etched in my memories.

Through the evening we spent, the instructors showed some jokes and taught us many cheers and some campfire songs, most of these to which I’ll remember for long. For the last activity we did before lights out, one person from one group was “kidnapped” and we had to solve puzzles to get two keys to free our group mate who was Elle. After a puzzle was completed, we had to choose a number to get one key. The process was repeated until we got the two keys which turned out to be no. one and twenty of all combinations! We carried Elle who was thankfully quite light up the stairs, taking care never to drop her and did a cheer before letting her down. We weren’t the last group to finish. Looking forward to the next day!

Day 3

8th of May 2008. My group skipped Physical Training in the morning as we were in charge of serving breakfast to the whole cohort. Taking care that not a single student will escape to the toilets to wash their dishes, I brought out toilet papers for some who claim to want to dry their dishes there. I couldn’t afford to let my class wash the toilets on the last day as that was the threatened punishment given to the class who broke the rules.

We did some lower elemental courses such as climbing over high walls with only the support of group mates. It was worthwhile breaking my old wound while climbing over as I’ve never done that before. Further on, we lifted two huge and heavy tyres out of a tall pole and put them back. At another station, the group had to squeeze standing on a high and small platform and shout cheers to satisfy our instructor Yuan Shan. It was hard for us not to fall apart.

As I had an open wound, I could not go out to kayak in the sea. However, I went up on a motorboat with two of my friends who were also excused along with an unknown instructor. We talked of kayaking and the sea, and saw how the rest of the class survived under the ‘torture’ of the instructor who was teaching them kayaking. He scared the wits out of some girls, nearly capsizing their kayaks. I missed much of the fun they had. We had abseiling; some of us felt it was the easiest obstacle to overcome.

We spent the rest of the afternoon learning and practising the dance steps and cheers. Love the dance! Love the Cheers! We were all so hyper up! I couldn’t stop being lame for a moment! The evening drew near, campfire started. We were the second class to perform. Everyone’s eyes were on us, it was time for us to show what our class was made up of. I was proud of my class, I saw my class like never before, and I gave my all to my class. I was sure that everyone gave their all. The campfire was the best I’ve ever had in my life and yet the longest too. Our instructors, Tammy and Yuan Shan, shared their dedications to us. It brought me to tears when it dawned on me that the camp was soon ending. As we slept for the last night, the rain pattered on the roofs of our huts, also cooling down the heat left by the bonfire.

Lower Elemental Courses

My group.

The other half of the class.

My friends and I in the motorboat.

Abseiling.

Getting warmed up for the campfire.

Our performance.

Another class's performance.

Our teary-eyed instructors dedicating their final messages to us.

Day 4

9th of May 2008. The last day of camp has arrived. During this camp, I did not even have the time to think of my family. Thus I had mixed feelings when I realized I was going to miss everything about this camp. A part of me wanted to at least stay for one more day. A part of me decided to go home. Before we left, our class was assigned to clean up some of the huts the students stayed in. The amounts of unwanted clothe articles such as socks and even branded shirts, old and torn shoes which were used for the water activities were shocking. We weren’t supposed to leave them behind. Litter such as sweet wrappers were also found stuck in between the planks of the wooden huts! Eating was not allowed in the huts, some students must have found it hard to keep up with the rules. The class was satisfied when all the huts became much cleaner. Our jobs were complete.

I looked at the campsite for the last time with fondness of the memories and enriching experiences full of good values I had. We headed back to school.

Cleaning up the huts.
More unwanted shoes to come.

Survey time!

Our dear instructors, Tammy(left) and Yuan Shan.

The values I've learnt from this camp

During the camp, I've got experiences which made me open up to my classmates. There were always plenty of opportunities to get to know them better as we went through all sorts of trying moments. We started to cherish one another, be more empathetic towards one another's thoughts and their difficulties, giving one another encouragement. Nobody could survive alone. We have learnt that even a single absent group mate can slow down an activity. One such example was when we were constructing the raft, we were unsure of how the ropes should be tied. Rebecca who could guide us about handling the ropes wasn't around then. We missed her presence. Thankfully, we still managed to complete the raft.

Everyone was cooperative. When we were blindfolded, we had to trust one another even though all of us were uncertain and nervous about falling over or hitting the obstacles. We watched out for others, warning them of what obstacles they were about to cross. My group was so enthusiastic while running about doing the puzzles and finding Elle during the kidnap; there was a team spirit in us that never gave up.

There were also bitter disappointments to which we could not blame anyone. There were times when we lost our flags and disgraced ourselves. A group is a group; there was teamwork in everything we did and we had to look out for one another. We fell and picked up, careful not to fall into the same pit again. To keep up and going on, the class never stopped cheering and clapping for those who were in the midst of overcoming a challenge. We put our heads together and listened to one another's ideas and suggestions. We played fair to one another; seldom did we argue.

Every single one of my classmate is precious; they are all so unique with their different abilities and even with their disabilities to which they have overcome. My class gives me all the warmth and pride I have in them.