Prefects' Camp 2011. First thing upon arrival on the 25th, a few things. One, we surrendered our phones, wallets & electronic gadgets for safekeeping. Two, we had to finish all the junk food and snacks we brought there and then. Everyone helped of course... Wise moves by me, as we got to lodge in tents! (Oh how long it has been...) Not only that, but we were also sharing the site with some sticky-fingered primate friends. Or should I say, clawed, sharp-toothed, primate friends who are unstoppable once they pick up the scent of food. Indeed, a college group sharing the site had one of their tents torn into by the little things...
First spot for activities was a little sand pit. I found it humourous that Seniors and Juniors occupied seats on totally opposite sides of the pit. We played an icebreaker and a few games, testing our communication and strategy, and formed our groups. The facilitators saved us the trouble of having to think of names by limiting us to names of Malaysian islands...
After tea, wait, after tea was a rest session... After dinner on the other hand, (By the way, the food throughout the camp was surprisingly good given past experiences) we demonstrated our group cheers and had a really (really) long session of SWOT analysis (on our own board of course). And surprisingly (very surprisingly), almost everyone (read: everyone) grabbed the opportunity to speak out and let their voice be heard. Even the completely silent in school were master-debaters on that night. Needless to say, as their leader, I am most certainly proud of them. After all, they were neither prodded nor pushed. They just did it.
Just do it
After that was the nightwalk. Each one went solo along a park path with a candle and the occasional path light for light. (Probably would've been more fun with a jungle path and no artificial illumination, but some were trembling already...) A lot of funny stories were shared on that night. Whether someone tripped over the facilitators, got spooked by mysterious voices, got their candles blown out or what not. As for me, the walk was okay. The candle light was a bit glaring though, and limited my forward sight by a lot, to the point where I could only see something in the dark once I had passed it... And then halfway, the wax was dripping onto my hand, and the flame intensified. Pain is a good motivator, don't you think?
Bunking in was at 4.00, and a mere two hours later was rise and shine and morning exercises. After breakfast, we headed to the nearby lake to a clearing in a jungle area to learn some outdoor survival cooking. From that, we learned a few things: We're kinda hopeless in trying to start fires, and we can barely cook, even then we were afraid to actually try out our own cooking... Nevertheless, it was fun, and a good experience... After that, we trekked through the jungle (albeit a different, straighter, less fun route than the ones I've been on), followed by a really (really) long trek along 2+ km of the winding, sloping roads of the park back to camp. Did I mention how long, winding and sloping it was?
After lunch, we had orienteering and abseiling. (Which was awesome) Too bad we didn't get to do the flying fox, or swim. But then we've actually already missed our departure time. It was supposed to be arrival back in school at 6.00. We left the park at 7.00. So yeah...
You know, it's interesting... My first Prefects' camp, back in 2006 with the guys, was right here at Bukit Cahaya Seri Aman. (Though it wasn't really a camp per se, more of a one-day seminar...) And now, my final Prefects' camp as a Cochranean prefect in 2011, is also right here at Bukit Cahaya Seri Aman. A lot's changed since then, obviously... The old gang, Nikraj, Debbie, KenYung, Francken, Thines, Kirubha, etc... with our Seniors at the time, they've all graduated and moved on. Only Bainun is left to share this with. Back then we were lowly Juniors, the youngest of the lot. Now we're both Capt and V.Capt, the head honchos, the leaders of the pack. And it goes without saying that the place has changed considerably too...
A simpler time...
I also got to thinking... When I left two years ago, my work felt... unfinished. I thought I'd ended my book, but I had just stopped writing and closed the cover, with a lot of threads left hanging. Now I realised... I came back to end the book, finish the story, and finally find closure to my time at SMKC. And now, at last, I've found my ending.
Time to write it out.
Only the best. Because we're the most elite organisation in SMK Cochrane. Because,
"On our bearing, the tone of the school depends."
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