Friday, September 15, 2006
Sharing
Sharing on National Camp ‘06
National Camp ’06 was held on the 10th of August to the 13th of August. The camp is held once every 2 years and this year it is organize by the National Cadet Corp (NCC). There were about 1600 campers involved in this camp and were the 2 lucky ones to represent PL SJAB. The theme of National Camp ’06 is “Building Global Connections”. Hence the motive of this camp is to bond people from different uniform groups and also the foreigners from countries like Thailand, Malaysia, India, Hong Kong and Indonesia together. So we got to know friends from many countries.
Day1:
We reached Pasir Laba Campsite and we were separated into Companies and then platoons. Fortunately, both of us were in the same company and platoon, which is DELTA PLATOON 1! After reporting we were brought to our bunks and the bunk wasn’t like anything we would have ever expected. It consisted of a bed, a blanket, a pillow and a personal cupboard for each person. We were very happy as we expected ourselves to be sleeping on the cold, floor with our sleeping bags.
Programs we did:
Mountain biking- It wasn’t very interesting but it was really and experience cycling on rocky and bumpy roads instead of the smooth roads we usually cycle on.
Paintball- It was very interesting as we have never done it before. First we had a trial and we proceeded with the real shooting.
Campers’ night- This was where we got to play games and mingle around with the others to get to know each other better.
Day 2:
Programs we did:
Kayaking- Last year most of us had already gone for kayaking; therefore it wasn’t a problem for us as we knew how to kayak. The instructors made it more fun as we had a competition to see who can form the raft in the shortest time. We also had to stand on our kayaks in the middle of the sea. This required a lot of confidence and trust in our friends holding on to our kayaks.
Dragon boating- The size of the boat was lots bigger than a kayak. Hence it required more manpower and teamwork. Therefore of all the 4 days, Day 2 was the most enjoyable.
Opening ceremony- There were performances by the different countries and uniform groups. The whole event was a success although we did not really get a good view as we were very far from the stage.
Day 3:
Programs we did:
Standard obstacle course- There were several obstacles for us to go through and these obstacles the NS men use for training. So naturally most of the obstacles were very difficult and we not complete all of it such as the low wall and the rope because our hands were aching after day 2’s activities.
Archery- It was a first time experience for us and we were very excited about it but after trying it out a few times, we realized it was quite difficult to shoot the arrow. However, we only got to try a few times, it would have been better if we could try it out a few more times.
IMT range- This was where we got to handle the real rifles, however when we got there we realized it was all computerized and we had to shoot and aim at a computerized screen. It was really very difficult to aim and shoot and sadly both of us failed at this station.
Survival village- When we first reached there, there was a short lecture and it wasn’t very interesting. We got to learn about the different ways of survival like building a hut. So after all this, the instructor said there would be a good live show to watch so we went to sit right in the front. And guess what was the good show? It was the killing of animals to eat. First they showed us how to kill a snake. The instructor raised his hand, which was holding the chopper high up, and before we knew it, he had already chopped the snake’s head off. The most shocking thing was that the snake’s head was still wriggling and the snake looked like it was dying pain. However that wasn’t the most disgusting killing. Next there was the killing of a frog. First you have to hit the frog’s head real hard on the table to concuss the frog to knock it out. Then the frog’s face would look like this> XP. Next the skin of the frog is slowly peeled off the frog. The instructor did it with such ease that he looked like he was just taking off the frog’s clothing. Then after he was done, the frog was just left with skin on its head.
Campfire- We were all pretty excited about it. At first it was quite fun with us running around the campfire and all but then as it dragged on to late into the night until about 12 plus, we all got tired. Our enthusiasm also started to die down together with our energy levels.
Day 4:
FAREWELL:
The saddest part of the camp. We were all very sad to leave especially with common tests starting the next day. We exchanged phone numbers and email addresses with our newfound friends. Overall we really enjoyed this camp where we got to know more about people from other UGs and countries, which is the best part of this camp. And most of all we want to thank the teachers for giving us this great opportunity we did not even have to pay for.
Nationals (NC 1)
On 8 July 2006, NC1 went to tiffany’s house to stay overnight. Our hearts were filled with excitement for the next day when we were there.
On the competition day, 9 July 2006, our hearts were filled with anxiety We woke up at 5am and our trainers and sihui mdm came. Valerie mdm cooked delicious porridge for us. We left for Guangyang primary school at 7.30am. The first thing we did when we reached there was to pray. #6 helped us to carry our bags. Thanks #6 J.We went for reporting next and we reported to the wrong station. At that moment, we left totally embarrassed. After reporting, we went to the classroom and waited patiently for our procedure. Our first procedure was drill. When Emily told us that the judge commended us, we were in high spirits, but in the end we got 2nd last for drill. “=’((” Our next procedure was home nursing and that totally dashed our hopes from overall champion which we wanted badly. We spoilt the home nursing bed. We had lunch next. “=))” It was delicious. After lunch, we had first aid and it was a failure too. During our free time, all we did was to keep praying.
After the procedures, we slept for 1 ½ hours as we were very tired. Finally, the long-waited results. Our team was being asked to do demonstration of how to collect the prizes. Although we didn’t win, we still had the feeling of being up in the stage. HAHA!!
Feelings.We felt disappointed and discouraged after knowing the results. Our moral went really down. But we prayed to god and it dawned on us that even though we didn’t win, we gained a lot of values. A team before, will be a team FOREVER, no matter win or lose. We are still glad that we’ve found true friends in NC1. We remembered that our trainers once told us “as long as there’s unity in the team, you all are already champions in our eyes.” Maybe, the reason why we didn’t win, is because God has a better plan for us and we should just put out trust in him. Therefore, we are determined to win the zonal and national competition next year.
PL SJAB
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