Poetically Pathetic - Amber PacificBack! Finally, I came back to Singapore yesterday after spending a solid 5 days over at Pulau Ubin going through my OBS camp. How was it? It was a blast! And that's to say the least. It certainly lived up to its "mentally and physically challenging" nametag. To basically summarise the whole camp journey, I've been put through the "Marine Mobile" course, and it consists of spending two days at campsite, and three days out in the wilderness.
If I were to give a day-by-day account, I'll probably be ending up writing an essay. So, I'll try my best to summarise each day. Being a "newbie" at OBS,(I didnt get the chance to go during my Secondary Sch days), all I could depend on were the sharing of tips and experiences by friends whom been there, done that. They were saying," It's gonna be a great time for you," "You'll be feeding mosquitoes like mad!", " You'll learn plenty of new things"," You're gonna get super-tanned", etc. Well, in a way, whatever they said, they were all true.
The first day was the usual camp routine, getting to know your people and way around. Being the only year 1 student in my group,(my friends were in another group), I felt a little apprehensive at first, but in the end, we ended up fine. We went about our logistics and other adminstrative stuff, and moved on to one of the obstacle courses, and did our first activity of the day. It was basically a "learn your ropes" kind of thing, so it wasn't too challenging.
Moving on to the 2nd day, we were off to our expedition to other campsites, and the mode of transport? Kayaks! Being a first-timer, it was a great experience learning how to kayak, and I wouldn't mind kayaking often. We set off to our destination, and it was really interesting to camp on the wilderness, cooking our own food and sleeping in self-built tents.
We moved on to the next destination on the 3rd day, which required us to nagvigate and manouveur through mangrove areas. It was quite an experience indeed, kayaking in the tight areas, crashing into plantations like trees, and having all sorts of insects on your kayak. An experience indeed. As a result of some wrong turns, the journey was lengthened, and thus, we were all pretty much exhausted at the point of reaching our destination, where we got to get inside a quarry, and being able to swim in it too. Another great experience.
On the 4th day, we began our journey back to the OBS campsite, and it also signalled a closure to the outside camping. We had our games, like captain's ball, and that helped to bond the group even further. Our last dinner together, and we were all led into a room to share our thoughts on the past 4 days, it was quite a touching moment. Of course the laughs were evident as well.
Last day! Everyone was looking foward to home sweet home, not because camp wasn't fun, but rather the lethargy and longing for our loved ones. We had our clean-up, and our last activity, which I felt was the most meaningful of them all, another obstacle course, but must more challenging, and we had to say our goals upon reaching the summit. We finished that up, got our personal souveneirs from the shop, and it was time to say goodbye.
To summarise the whole camp experience, I would say it's the most meaningful, enriching, challenging camp I've ever been to, and I haven't regret it one bit. Although the countless mosquito bites are quite a deterrent, I still felt that this camp has been FANTASTIC. Enough said.
And to digress from the topic of OBS, I'll be starting school again in a day's time, and I'm pretty much up for it, because it can get quite boring staying at home. I know as well, that I must stay extremely focused, and get the results I desire. I definitely need to buck up. Well, that's about it I suppose, so I'll be back soon.
Cheers!
