Going Camping

Last weekend (Apr 8-10, 2011), I had to join my school's Kem Kepimpinan Pengawas. Below is what I had written when I was there.

X X X

9 April 2011

6.00 pm

The mood is light. Everyone seem relaxed. A group of boys are singing songs with one person strumming the guitar.

They were crooning popular songs like the evergreen 'Belaian Jiwa' and 'Kau Ilhamku', as well as more contemporary songs like 'I'm Yours' and 'Grenade'.

A bigger group of boys are playing rugby with the facilitators. They have a coconut husk for a ball. Earlier, I saw them playing 'baling selipar'.

Maghrib is roughly 1 hour away and for the first time since I came here, I'm enjoying myself.

Yesterday was a stressful and tiring day in which I was caught in the middle of an ugly dispute between an untrustworthy man and a hot-tempered one. Later that same day, I had to deal with a very irate parent.

The multiple crises made me want to pack up my things and leave the camp site immediately. I just hate confrontations and being in the thick of all the unpleasantness made me sad and angry.

Why oh why can't I spend my precious weekends in peace?

But being an adult means that I can't really call my mum/dad to come and fetch me, can I? (Although it's very tempting to do so)

I need to put up a brave and cheerful front to the kids and so that's what I did.

The kids are marvelous by the way. At first, I thought they were not the camping type.

When they got off the buses, I saw some students carrying strange items - things that aren't normally associated with camping like: a guitar, a stuff animal, a poncho and even a Louis Vuitton luggage!

Some people just have way too much money if you asked me...

But they proved me wrong. The kids rose to the occasion pretty well. They behaved themselves even though they were bored during some of the talks.

Further, when food ran out, they waited patiently (for roughly half an hour) for it to be replenished.

And at noon today, they scoured the length and breadth of the camping site for the fluorescent stickers the facilitators had hidden earlier. I could see that they were tired but they still performed the task energetically.

And later, when asked to get the facilitators' signatures, they sang, recited Rukun Negara, performed silat, dance, etc with much enthusiasm.

Nobody complained incessantly nor behaved like a spoilt brat throughout the camp. At least not that I noticed.

I didn't like the camp. Once I get home this Sunday, I'll breathe a huge sigh of relief and celebrate my return to civilisation.

Nevertheless, I'm glad that I came and stayed.

I got to know the students that I teach a little bit better and meet the acquaintances of those that I don't.

We got to pray, talk, laugh and go jungle-trekking together as well as share food and mosquito-repellent patches.

The kids impressed me by staying positive even when the situation is less than ideal.

This is one of the instances when you learn more from your students than they do from you.

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Pictures from the camping trip (courtesy of Wee Na):