Anyway, 4 days in ipoh have come to an end. I've got back many nice memories from that place, made awesome friends. On the first day, everyone seemed to be so unfamiliar with each other. So, after a 10 hours train ride, we finally reached ipoh. Then we took a bus to our campsite, earth camp. On my way there, me and fec were complaining about how bad the place is. The campsite is located deep inside some kind of forest, everywhere around was trees. After reaching there, i seriously dislike the place so much coz there were so many cats around. Maybe i didnt said this before, but i am really scared of cats. So throughout my 4 days there, i kept screaming whenever i saw a cat nearby. Anw, the campsite is some kind of eco-friendly campsite. The toilets there was from recycled water tanks, we bathed in rainwater, which i apparently didnt really like it alot. There's lots of mosquitoes, bugs and weird insects around. I felt it was worse than other campsites which i've went before. Maybe to some people, they feel that the place is just like nature, but i just couldn't adapt to the environment. And on the first night, we also had to choose our buddy, who is someone we will depend on for the rest of the days there. So we were told not to choose someone whom we were close with, but someone whom we dont really speak to or dont really like. Yeah and so we did, most of us stepped out of our comfort zone and chose someone we aren't close with. And we had to think of a group name. Our group called ourselves "grassroot leaders" since we were at earth camp, its like nature and we are all leaders. Lol i know it is so random but i thought that we were actually quite creative to think of it.
Alright then for day 2, we had some activities. Firstly we did kayaking at kampar river. It was fun coz it was actually my first time kayaking. I was with my buddy and we had a little practice first. I was so noob at it and didnt really know how to control the direction, so we ended up going straight into a bush with tree branches sticking out. We had to lower our heads to go through but all the disgusting branches and insects ended up dropping on our kayak. Then after that we kind of switched partners and tried kayaking again. This time round we went straight into the bush a few more times and it was really painful coz some of the bigger and thicker branches hit my head. We also capsized once after hitting the bush, but i feel capsizing was fun, i floated in the water awhile before some of my teammates help me up to my kayak. So after that we had another activity, which is the high rope challenge. We went to mountain school and tried the high elements. There's actually 3 different elements. The first one is the easiest, followed by the second and third one. The third one is at about 9m high. I was rather scared at first, because i didnt try it before. So again, we had to go with our buddy. I wanted to try either first or second element, but the queue was too long, so in the end, i told my buddy we shall try the third one first since there was not much people there. I guess most people didnt dare to try that first. So we went, we were the third pair of buddy and i was the first girl there to try. So we went up, after climbing the giant ladder i was already very tired, my legs were trembling, because i was tired and perhaps also because it was too high and i was so scared. So for the third element there are also several parts to it. I kind of regretted trying that element first after i climbed the giant ladder because i realized i wasnt mentally prepared. But i've got no choice. So we went on to try the first part of it. I dont know what it is called, but there is just a rope and we had to walk on it to reach the other ends, there were only ropes on top for us to hold onto, nothing at the side. I personally felt that was the most scary. I took my first step out, my heart was beating so fast, my buddy was infront of me and he encouraged me alot. I was scared, but i told myself, there's no way i can turn back, if i want to get down, the only way is to complete it. If i don't move forward, i will just be stuck there. And the instructors have a rule, your buddy needs to be always near you, i think only one arm distance away. So if i don't move, he can't move either. So i did, i challenged myself and kept moving forward. I was really thankful to my buddy coz he encouraged and motivated me a lot throughout. If it was in the past, i would be screaming and shouting like a mad woman up there, but i didnt. And the trainer even said that i am very good at concentrating and focusing :D So i went on, moved forward to complete the rest of the parts. My favourite was the forth part, flying skateboard. We just stood on a board and held on to a bar and just "skated" across to the other end. And the last part was flying fox which was also very fun. You know, i was so proud, so proud of myself when i finished it. I had a phobia of height and i did the third element first, i didnt stop, i kept moving on until i finished it. My phobia of height wasn't that bad after i joined cheerleading, but still, that height was much higher than the kind of height i've went for in cheerleading. The trainer told me, " if you can deal with such intense pressure at that high level, you can actually deal with a lot of problems in the future". I was really proud and happy for myself. I know i sounded as if im bragging, but whatever, i know i've done a good job that day, so yes, im proud to say it out.
So for day 3, we had swift water rescue in the morning. We learned few techniques on how to rescue people. So firstly we tried how to cross shallow water, the water was flowing so fast and its really difficult to cross over. Then we tried how to use a throw bag. Basically just throw it out for someone who's in the water to get the rope. So we went in buddy pair, one person will be floating down from upstream and the other buddy to throw the throw bag. I was the first person to be floating down and i was quite lost. My buddy missed the throw and luckily someone else saved me. Yup so they have a few backups just in case the buddy miss it. And when my buddy went, i missed the throw too. Actually i've never did a successful throw haha, i really didnt know how to. My facilitator said it isn't about the amount of strength used, its the technique, but somehow i just cant master it. Alright, then after that we went somewhere else where the water flows even faster. We were taught how to swim across in any case if our raft capsize and we fell into the water. In the swift water, when we swimmed, we have to swim at 45 degrees upstream. Yeap so we tried flowing down from upstream and swam at a certain point. It was really fun. Alright, then we tried how to overturn the raft if our raft capsized, and climbing back up. The climbing part is difficult in the deeper water, basically a lot of teamwork is needed for everyone to get back up on the raft. So after that, we had a quick lunch and everyone went back for white water rafting. That was the fun part. It was a few hours of rafting, there were many rapids along the way. Each raft have a guide with us and he really helped us alot. And after that, we had a competition. My raft came in first! We took 28 minutes to kayak back to the campsite! A lot of teamwork is needed for that. I was the leader for the raft, and im so thankful that my other followers cooperated with me and listened to all my instructions. So at night, we went to ipoh town to walk for a while. We went to a pasar malam, there was nothing much there, didnt buy anything back because the pasar malam there is just like singapore's one. Just that theirs is permanently there, unlike singapore one which will only be there for about a few weeks.
Day 4, we had our last activity which is to appreciate our teammaters. We were given pebbles, but we called them gems. So we were suppose to give these gems to people whom we felt have helped us. So first person we are suppose to give to is our buddy. It was quite awkward actually because we were suppose to say things like: "You are a gem in my heart, I gave you this gem because...". It just feels very awkward when we had to say it face to face yeah. Then after giving it to our buddy, we can give it to anyone else. But i really appreciated those who gave me the gems, and those whom i've given the gems to. And others who have helped me, but because of time constraint i didn't give it to. Yeap then after that, home sweet home, another 10 hours of train ride. Reached singapore at about 9.30pm at night, luckily there's my to send me back home. Imagaine im so tired and have to take train all the way home. Wanted to cab but im so broke recently and didnt want to waste money. His mum went to bukit panjang to drop gary off first, it was so near his house but he still decided to drove the rest of us to redhill. Yes my drove omg he is so smart, i dont even know how others can drive. I cant even remember the roads in singapore :X And he drove so well. Okay so thankyou my.
Alright so four days there, i've learnt a lot really. Through all the activities, the facilitators and trainers actually taught us different concepts. Some of the concepts also include the 7 habits which i've learned before in ctss. But this is so much more different. They made it so much more interesting and understandable by using the activities, and allowing us to see the concepts in a clearer manner when we do the activities. I'm more aware of myself, know what kind of leader i am, and i hope for all those things that i've learnt, i can apply it to my life and try to help my club in whatever way i can. I've made so many new awesome friends, they have helped me so much this few days. Especially those in my group, whereby we did the activities together. And also my buddy, who have help and encourage me alot. Throughout the few days, we often have to take a walk with our buddy and have a talk. I thought it was awkward, but still, it is through all the talks that i've learnt how to appreciate others. So i hope the friendship with this bunch of friends would last because i definitely think that leap camp is the best camp i've went to so far. I've brought back many nice memories with me, definitely it will stay with me for long. I've also got a lot of mosquito bites, cuts, bruises and also sunburn from the camp. I think the cuts and bruises were from the kayaking. And now my face is so red, peeling so badly, my hands too :(
But still, its worth it alright. So time for pictures now!
Around the campsite...
At ipoh town, the food..
On the train, we were all so bored. So we spam photos!
My group
My precious gems given by others.
Certificate :D
Yup thats about all, the fun have ended, im gonna start work next week and i'll take the time left to enjoy my holiday before it ends.
Bye people! Have a good week ahead! :D
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