im back from camp, everybody! =D
this camp (about community safety and security) wasnt as bad as i thought. as this was more of a learning camp than a torture camp. which i think would be good.
Here is a brief report of wat I did there.
only 5 RI guys were there.
who cares, these 5 guys are all besties from my NP squad!
FIRST DAY
on the first day, all the campers met at bishan stadium and took a chartered bus to the campsite. me and zhenpng slept on the bus. -_- zzz
there, we got divided into groups. all of us got into different groups except for daniel and (omg whats his name?) who got into group 1. zhenpng got into 2, tengchuan got into 3 and me, into 4.
We then had to created a group name and get to know one another. My group... couldnt decide. so we randomly chose 'DYNAMITES'.
We then went to pitch our tents. the tents were very big and so were the canvases. there were also wooden planks which had to be placed on the ground. poles for support too. we had to bring all of these from the store to the campsite which was about a little less than 1 km away (ok, u dont know how heavy they are).
After we pitched the tents, we had our lunch which was chicken rice. mmm... tasty.
We had a talk on peer presure by the bishan NPC, followed by a civil defense demonstration on putting out fires with different extinguishers by the SCDF.
then, we had to create our own group cheers. our group, for some weird reasons, created a cheer with an extraordinary tempo. just as we were rejoicing, the group beside us heard ours and copied it, changing some little parts. but... they did their cheer louder than us. i was so pissed off. in the end we did not create any cheers and so, we lost LOTS of points.
Then, we had a telematch! Smthg like a relay, but the task was to:
1) Run to the pole and circle the pole 5 times.
2) Run to a basin on the floor. The basin was filled with water and fruits were placed in it. Stick ur head into the water and take a bite out of the fruit without using ur hands.
3) Get to the next basin. This basin is filled with flour and tictacs (small little minties) were hidden in it. Had to find a tictac and take it out of the basin only using ur head. (water + flour = sticky face)
4) Run to the next basin and pick up the chopsticks provided. Use them to pick up a marble placed in very soapy water.
5) Get back to the starting point as soon as possible.
We took a picture. And guess wat? There were lots of petals in it.
Cos we all had ‘floury’ faces.
After that, we went to wash up and had dinner.
we went outside the camp for the night challenge. We got into pairs and started down the path into the dark forest, one by one. actually it wasnt scary at all. except for some parts where some instructors suddenly jump out of the bushes and try to frighten me. really got shocked.
we went back to the campsite for debriefs, supper and shower.
then slept. no. not yet. it was stuffy in the tent. so i was like... perspiring for bout half an hour before i was sapped off all my energy and slept.
z z z...
SECOND DAY
I woke up with an aching back. must be due to my sleeping position. =(
I woke up an hour before assembly time, but heck. I slacked around, washed up and went for morning stretch after assembly. We then had breakfast followed by the unpitching of tents. It was seriously tiring.
Cos: 1.had to carry everything back
2. had to clean the tents with newspapers/ rags
3. had to fold them up neatly
4. had to re-clean the tents, but this time with water, as the tents weren’t clean enough. (this is very tiring, as every part of the tent stained MUST be cleaned)
5. had to redo steps 2-4 lots of times
6. had to do all steps 1-5, to all the 8 tents.
7. had to do them under the hot sun (although we moved into the shade after that)
.
.
.
After about 3.5 hours… we were exhausted and so we were allowed to rest for bout half an hour. Then we had a talk.
It was time.
The thing we were all waiting for.
Was here.
LUNCH!!!
Then we went for our water activities! Supposed to go for kayaking, water rafting etc. but just as we were starting to enjoy our first activity…
Pitter-patter. Pitter-patter….
It started to rain. Heavily.
So, we were instructed to get back to the campsite as soon as possible. I ran, with my friends. It was so fun, running in the rain. Especially with friends. I really enjoyed it. =D
We didn’t manage to go for the activities. But, who cares? Isn’t rain water too? Lol.
And so, we went to shower.
After the refreshing shower, we went to the canteen and had a sorta ‘talk-cock’ session. But it was fun too. we played some clue games, sang some songs, shouted some cheers and chatted with one another.
After that, we used our points earned throughout the camp to auction for BBQ items like, marshmallows, cocacola, satay…
My group had the least points, but we got some good deals. Like the giant packet filled with little packs of snacks!!! However, we got a bad 1 too. A bottle of cocacola and marshmallow tagged with ‘MYSTERY PRIZE: COMBO 3”. We auctioned for it and got it at a price 4x its original amount. =p
Of course, we began to BBQ and eat after that.
We then continued the celebration with a PS2 challenge and a video clip challenge. We had to choose representatives, two for each event. We played winning eleven 10, one of the newest soccer games. But I didn’t play because I dun like soccer games. my friend, tengchuan participated. So I watched him play and he got into the finals!!! But I didn’t watch all of them as I was too tired le. It was 1.45am, and I slept.
Zzz
Rise and shine. The last day was here. We played some mass participation games like: Simon says, Captains on a deck and the Incredibles for our morning stretch. Then breakfast, followed by area cleaning. My group was in-charge of the BBQ things. It was difficult to clean with charcoal on the floor, ants crawling around and charred food left uneaten. But we managed. =)
We then had a reflection session and another fun clue game session. But then, officer John called for me and so I went to him. He then started talking to me about myself, the camp and then to networking, how important they r etc.
I was so puzzled. Then he challenged me. He said I must find 10 contacts if I didn’t figure out one of the clue games he specified.
Ok.
Ok.
Ok.
Ok.
Ok.
I didn’t figure it out.
I actually wanted to cheat by… Nvm. Pple paiseh wat.
So I started going around asking for their contacts.
But of course with some help from my friends.
Got about 13.
It was lunch time. Gobblegobble.
We changed into our camp T-shirt and left for KCPSS for the closing ceremony.
There, we did a survey form and I passed the list of contacts to officer John. He told me that I must hav at least 10 girls on my list. I was like… omg. But I still managed after some ‘hard work’. Haha, completed the challenge.
We then went to the auditorium for the closing ceremony. After the opening speech, they showed the videos we created during the camp and the audience voted for the best 1. followed by the PS2 challenge finals. Tengchuan lost, but it was already good job done. We then went on stage to collect our certificates. They announced the best male and female camper awards. Which went to Keith and (omg, wats her name). Congrats.
The results for the video competition was announced. Group 3 and 1 got first and second respectively.
We then went down to the canteen for a buffet lunch. Good food. I saw my parents and Jack there. ^^
While we were eating, the officers talked to my parents about me, the camp and jack joining next year… etc
We ate a little and then went home, also giving zhenpng a lift on the way.

I hav to thank these pple for the help, care and support u have given me at the camp:
1) The instructors: Christine, Karen, Jasmine, Am, Aloysius, Faris
2) The officers: Jacky, John… (cant remember all)
3) Fellow campers: Kotarou, Jason, Alex, Melvin, Yati, Qiu Ping, Shu Hsing, Keith, Daniel, Yusof, Zhenpng, Teng chuan, Daniel, YingYing, Tracy, Peiyi…
(too many)
4) My family: ok, maybe not AT the camp. But sry for making all of u worry bout me. =)
5) My friends: not AT the camp too, but sry for not chatting or whatever with all of u.
6) Organisers of the camp: for organizing such a fun camp.

I met lots of pple, made lots of friends, learnt lots of skills and saw lots of things at the camp. I am considering going again next year. But lets wait and see how things go next year, before I make a promise. =)

(I might post some pictures at a later date if I manage to get my hands on them.)
Jim Tan signs off.
12:02 AM