i'm back..
since i have a little time to myself here,
i'll go do a detailed post about OBS...
for those that doesnt know,
OBS stands for outward bound singapore,
all sec 2 must attend it on 20/10 - 24/10 unless on mc..
honestly speaking,
i looked forward to the camp before we arrive,
and well, i still enjoyed it..
okok,
back to OBS...
1st day - seaside villa
we gathered at school and set off to the punggol jetty..
then all of us were divided into different watches,
mine is Battuta....
(click
here to learn more about battuta)
with kenny and evan as our instructors...
kenny is the main one though,
we were the only watch that have 2 instructors,
for some unknown reason...
then we were dispatched into the jetty by watches...
we were really quiet though,
since everyone still doesnt know everyone yet.
..
the only one that i know will be lionel..
kenny started off by introducing us to the camp site,
and we played a little game that requires you to pass a small ball without dropping..
we manage to cut our timing from 55 to 16 seconds as we get known to others...
then everyone of us is suppose to take on a leadership position,
i dunno why but i volunteered for the very tiring job of being a store i/c..
after checking the store we went for belay practice..
and the sherpa walk..
later go pitch tents,
although we still sleep in tents in sec 1 camp,
this is definitely harder to pitch and prepare....
i have to say that the dinner cooked is really nice,
especially the rice,
compare the rice to BS' you'll see how different it is....
we are quite lucky that the fire drill in not in the middle of the night,
to sum it up,
the first day is rather enjoyable...
second day - jungle villaneed to prepare everything by 0555,
we did rock climbing in the morning first...
it's a new experience for me,
rather fun and challenging...
we put the belaying into use after the practice yesterday...
there's two sides on the rock wall,
one is inclined and the other straight...
actually i wanted to take the stright one,
but since only one wall is available,
we must share with other watches and it's quite crowded..
so i took the slanted one,
which is well, manageable for me...
although i feel a leg cramp on my half way climbing,
almost drop down and kill myself,
i still reached the target i set for myself..
later in the afternoon is kayaking practice,
however when we wanted to start doing our capsize drills,
some huge waves approaches and the kayaks almost drifted away...
after the waves subsided, there's a heavy rain...
it's freezing staying under the shelter,
i fell asleep for an hour while waiting for the rain...
although the rain still didnt stop,
the instructors asked us to carry on and reach camp 1 asap,
since we moved our belongings there...
so we kayak there, about 1.5 km for an hour...
all 4 watches, known as camp 2 bravo!
since it's raining and stuff,
all our belongings are messed up with other watches,
so we need to share tents with other watches too...
6 of us 2f stayed in one tent and it's fun chasing insects away...
the second day is seriously tiring...
third day - beach villathe planned sea expedition..
we woke up at 5 and start preparing..
since we didnt manage to do the capsize drills yesterday,
we spent time on it and doing t-x-rescue..
by the time we go it's already 9 something...
i paired up with ming da,
and it's very hard to control the direction and everything,
as ming da is not very good in doing this...
our kayak moved rather slowly..
after some time, i start to feel sea sick,
to make things worse,
my whole body start to lose strength as the blood circulation went too slow..
due to long sitting in the kayak...
until the case that i cant even move a finger fast..
the instructors helped me although they are not suppose to interrupt,
gave me some orange and pull me up for a short stand,
until the blood start to flow back in normal speed...
ming da switched with lionel later as he can handle the kayak himself and look after me..
the good part starts when i started to recover,
i coordinate with lionel and we go damn fast,
going pass everyone...
but then a heavy storm approached and we were forced to land..
it's freezing there if not for the ponchos..
after having lunch in the rain,
we decided to turn back as we only did a quarter of the journey and there's not enough time...
so everyone went fast as we all wanted to rest..
we reached quickly back to camp 1,
according to the insructors, we were the only group that failed tha sea ex that day...
night treking is tiring,
cant see the road and we need to walk pass all kinds of obstacles,
not to forget about the 15 kg backpack..
it's good to ssee people starting to echo the messages around though..
and the roll call that's just memorable in a unexplainable way...
i'm getting sleepy tpying all these..
i'll try to cut short..
after reaching our beach, we pitch up the tents using rocks and collapse into our tent..
however, we need to do sentry duty that night..
our tent collapse in the middle of the night due to violent winds,
so we used the duty time to repitch our tents instead of doing our duty...
the third day is fun...
fourth day - shelter villaland expedition,
this time we walked in watches..
we were given 8 coordinatates that we are suppose to find in the map,
and look for the checkpoints there..
actually, with the check points,
we were motivated to go on and work towards our goal,
unlike the sea ex, where the more that we kayak,
the further away is our goal - behind us...
it is in the land ex that we truely start to work like a real team,
taking care of each other and helping out..
though we get scammed by marco polo on one check point,
we still remained a very fast pace and taking as little rest as possible though all of us are tired..
half way through the land ex,
we found out that the rarions inside our bag are really heavy,
so we stopped down and have a feast,
eating all we can to give ourselves energy and as well as lighten the load...
we manage to finish the whole land ex in just 6 hours,
a time that we all are very happy with..
it gave us a very strong sense of accomplishment...
then we went to clean up our stores,,
look for lost items and so on..
in the night,
we went on a rather unique activity only for our watch,
as we finished everything fast..
kenny and evan brought us to the jungle and briefed us about the "solo night",
where we need to finish walking a short trail just by yourself..
not any form of help from others but you yourself..
not to forget the gree lights along the way that's guiding you...
this adventure is very fun but painful for me..
getting in the trail,
i need to like dodge all the roots and braches that are everywhere,
and almost hit my leg onto a rock..
later we still need to go into a tunnel,
where there's seriously no light at all,
you can see nothing in it, can only feel your way around...
our whole watch manage to finish the trail...
bought a black polo tee in the souvenir shop...
we slept under the mph that night,
eat nice dinner that's cooked by me..
it's seriously freezing..
with strong wind and fans blowing,
forcing me to wake up in the middle of the night to change into my long pants...
the fourth day is a successful day..
fifth day (today) - boarding schooleveryone woke up and get ready,
today is actually the only time that everyone is on time,
as we are all excited to go home...
after packing our bags and eating breakfast,
we go calculate the losses in the store..
in the end we all need to pay 8.50 each,
in case you wonder, we lost one main tent that cost us 5 each,
annd a lot of small stuffs that's expensive..
one thing is for sure,
everthing that we lost is expensive...
after debriefing by the instructors,
we proceed home..
i'm going to collapse and sleep right after i post this...
still need to pack for taiwan exchange...
i'll do it tomorrow la..
this is a long post...
