OBS CAMP

I SURVIVED THE OBS CAMP !!!!
i am back frm the camp save and sound
no major injuries
only a couple of insect bites and afew infected wounds and burst blister
came back filling enriched and even more energetic
not to mention abit more taned
missing OBS and the peeps i met there
wanna go back again
DAY 1
set off from home with three bags
waited for the bus to come and fetch us
was kinda brooding on the bus
was worried about whether i'll be able to clique with the other school peeps
reached Pungol jetty
felt like running back home
saw the other schools peeps
Teck Whye Sec, Fairfield Sec, Hong Kah Sec and Yuhua Sec
waited for the boat to come
came to know that we'll all(St John peeps) be in different Watch
sat on boat and arrived at Outward Bound Singapore
got to the multi purpose hall and got divided into the different Watches
i'm in the Watch called MAGELLAN
after a briefing
got to know our instructor,Sam(Samantha)
handed over our valuables and got our food rations
got to know each other and we each got a post as an I/C
was the medical i/c of the group
ate lunch and got changed to the wet attire
first activity was learning how to pitch tents
pitched our tents for tonight and went off for the sea
second activity was a basic lesson on kayaking
buddy watch was LIVINGSTONE
who has got quite a pretty instructor Shu Yun
after about 3 hours our kayaking around and learning how to do the wet exit(capsize)
and how to do the T rescue
got out of the sea and bathed
cooked dinner and ate dinner
had some interaction time
instructors told us about the medical bag(my baby)
then had this briefing where we were told who is MAGELLAN
all the group names actually came from names of explorers
and this Magellan guy was actually the first guy who circum-navigate the whole Earth
then was told about the commitments of the camp
had to sign this commitment book with all the signature and names of ex-Magellanites
then went to sleep
slept very well
DAY 2
woke up at about 6 am
unpitched tent
brushed teeth and ate breakfast
packed up the backpack provided with my clothes and food rations
two watches were late in meeting our instructors because of that
was given a speech on punctuality
was kinda suprised that we were not scolded because we were really late
Sam was even smiling during the whole speech though Shu yun was expressionless
played the mingle game
everyone thought that Sam did the mingle really nicely
played the giant wizard and dwarf game
then shared our group journal
Shu Yun told the frog story
after that was given more time to pack our bags
then put our bags aside
did the trust fall activity
couldn't bring myself to do it because i was scared
ate our lunch
it started to rain so our hiking trip was delayed
played Giant skip where the whole watch had to skip in one giant rope
played key punch where we were given another speech about listening
then played group tangle
set off for the next campsite as it was not raining anymore
had to carry the damned heavy backpack and trek in the forest for about an hour
had to carry the tent too
finally reached the campsite
pitched the tent
cooked dinner
ate dinner
pee-ed in the forest behind some foliage
saw fireflies
slept not very well because tent was near ant hole and was sleeping at the door
kena bitten all over by an army of ants
DAY 3
woke up at about 5:30 am
unpitched tent
did not bother to eat breakfast
continued to hike to Campsite 1
finally after hiking about 1 hour we reached Campsite 1
it was really nice
like some resort
but we still had to camp outside
shared our journal
everybody was obsessed with Sam's mingle
kept on begging her to do it
Sam told us about why Kurt Hahn wanted to build Outward Bound School
it was about some 6 declines (physical,creativity and memory,skill,self-discipline, spectatoristis and i forgot the rest )
did rock climbing (totally sucked at it)
pitched tent and had lunch
did high elements
completed the obstacle(soo darned proud of myself)
cooked dinner at the beach
bathed together with Tracy because there weren't enough shower rooms
planned for the Sea Expedition we're gonna have the next day
after that we went to sleep
switched tents and went to sleep with Xin Yi,Tingmei and Ryna
discussed about the two jerks and about our schools
slept well
DAY 4
woke up early because we had to catch the right timing for high tide
packed bags and unpitched tents
ate breakfast
shared the journal and Sam shared story about a grandma praying story
later had to move our bags onto a motor boat to be sent back to campsite 2
carried the kayaks out
got ready the safety vest
got out in to the sea
my kayak was somehow always somewhere behind
though i already was paddling for my life
changed partner after awhile because we couldn't coordinate
kayaked into the mangroves and the scenery was great there
botaged as we had to cross over muddy land
had a rest and had lunch
changed partner again because he thinks he's too good a kayaker and i wasn't
But i was glad we changed partner because i felt quite miserable kayaking with him
got teamed up with a not-so-good kayaker like me
but i was finally able to laugh and enjoy the trip
was soo stress free working with him
kayaked the rest of the way back to campsite 2 with him
was soo darned happy when we reached shore
by then we had kayaked for about 9 hours
we had to clean up the kayaks and put them back in place
later on we did jetty jump
after that we got our bags
unpacked the backpack and stuffed everything into my bags
was pitching the tent by myself because the two jerks didn't want to help
and the person accompanying me did not know how to pitch tent
was kinda pissed off at that time because i did not get to eat and i had very little time left to bath luckily Tracy gave me some of her Watch's food
saved my life
after that had to help clean up the MAGELLAN store
we lost several thingies
but our case was not as bad as some other Watch's
after a short briefing we went to sleep
slept damned well that night though many peeps were talking
DAY 5
woke up early again
unpitched tent for the final time and went to clean the tent
the two jerks didn't really help again
assembled everything and calculated that we each had to pay $0.40
had to share our journal one last time
shared our journals one last time
Shu Yun told us the story of the broken pot
got ready bags to go home
bought some souveniers from the souvenier shop
bought 2 shirts and a bottle
had this final debrief
shared all our thoughts and feelings for this camp
for me.......i really felt that we have learnt many life skills which we would never learn in school
and that it was really worth it exchanging 108 hours of my life for this experience
Sam told us that our outward bound journey only starts when we have stepped out of the jetty
and that we have to be independent and make full use of our time on Earth
we each have a bank of our own
everyday there would be 24 hours in there
if you finish using it, it will still replenish itself with 24 hrs each day
if you don't use it, it will be gone but another 24 hrs will replenish itself
so with each hr you waste it will be thrown away
felt that it was kinda true
got our group photo and our certificate
did a survey and said our final goodbyes
was kinda sad to leave OBS and the Magellan peeps and Sam
was looking at OBS camp slowly fading away on the slow boat
felt very very sad and kept silent throughout the trip back
when i got on shore
i kept beating Melissa
was feeling kinda reluctant to go
took 82 bus back home
Tracy and Melissa came too and slacked for awhile
bathed and changed
watched some tv
Tracy's father fetched us back to school
was happy to see my friends
hui ching, deborah, jeslyn.......all the St John peeps
stayed back to help do public duty for full-dress rehearsal
felt really wierld and out of place
really missed OBS
*sighx*
i'm still missing it
i would love to go back there if i have a chance again