Fun Camp Overall Reflections
Fun Camp Overall Reflections
By Scribe Brenda Wang
The Fun camp was indeed fun, as its name suggests. During the 4 days and 3 nights, not only did we learn independence, we also had lots of enjoyable moments with our friends.
One of the main highlights of the camp was the low and high elements. These challenges are tasks we do not normally attempt or think we can overcome. They stretched our confidence level and challenged us to undertake seemingly “impossible” tasks. It’s okay if you fall during the high elements, indeed some did. However the act of trying is already half the battle won in building one’s self-confidence.
During my attempt on one of the high element, I was asked to freeze at the other end of the balancing beam as another scout was climbing up the central pole that I was about to descend by. The boy was scared and was climbing his way up slowly. I could not pull him up, because if I were to let go of the pole, I would fall. Instead, I encouraged him not to worry and to take his time. While doing so, I was actually also quite scared in staying up at the pole for so long. However the scary thoughts soon drifted away while I focused on rendering encouragements to the boy making his slow ascend. Finally the boy managed to climb up, making his way through the high element confidently. This episode demonstrates the importance of encouragement and support from our peers in overcoming difficulties.
There were also the low elements which was much less scarier than the high elements, but nevertheless, tested us on many other skills. The first low element was the Mohawk Walk. There were two poles, attached to each other by a thick rope. The objective was to bring everyone across the rope without touching the floor and without support from other people. The next person has to be of the opposite gender.
It looked so easy. Everyone started to try it all at once. Alas! When the second person stepped onto the rope, the string wobbled, and both fell. Thus, we decided to plan and strategize-something very crucial that we need to do in order to succeed. Soon after, we executed our plan and after a few refinements, we finally succeeded. We all felt a great sense of achievement.
The next low element was called spider web. In this activity, the objective was to get everyone across to the other side of the net. Once a certain hole was used, it could not be used again. After the briefing on the rules of the challenge, we started our planning process. Our strategy was: The stronger boys would use the bottom few nets to go across to the other side. A few bottom nets will also be left unused for the last few people to go through. Some strong boys would stay behind on the other side to carry the lighter ones over. We set ourselves a goal, and in the end, we succeeded. It is very important to set ourselves a goal. Why? By setting goals, the team has a common direction to work towards. We also motivate ourselves and others to work harder towards the goal together. Otherwise, we would just be pieces of wood floating aimlessly on the surface of the water, no goal, no aim, no direction.
Last but not least, we had Whale Watching. In this game, we had to sit or stand on a giant see-saw, and balance it. We all started to try out the new gadget, trying to make it balance, while some team members were tired and just sat on the giant see-saw playing finger games. No matter how we tried to encourage them to pay attention, they would not listen, until our instructor came to tell them to help us.
Soon we realized our weak spot: Whenever the giant see-saw balanced, we would get very “gan cheong” and would fidget around, thus causing the giant see-saw to be unbalanced. In the end, it was our instructors who came to the rescue. We were instructed to sit down, and move our body forward or backward accordingly if needed. In the end, we succeeded, and managed to make the giant see-saw balanced for 4 minutes and 1 second! I learnt that when we face difficulties, we should keep calm and think of solutions. If we do not succeed, do not feel discouraged. Instead, think of what went wrong. How could we improve? Then work on them and achieve your goal. It may be hard, but we must not give up.
We also had a night walk, which included a short solo walk. In this solo walk, we had to walk a short distance by ourselves. There would be instructors along the way to make sure that we were okay. Some were very scared, and cried even before the walk began. We should not laugh or tease them. Everyone has something they are afraid of. Even the bravest person you have encountered has something that he or she is afraid of. Maybe he or she just does not show it. No one is perfect.
Confidence, Encouragement, Support, Strategizing, Setting goals, Staying calm, No one is perfect, Responsibility, Teamwork, Cooperation, Communication are just some of the takeaways from this camp. Not only is this camp fun, it is also a great learning experience for all of us!
By Scribe Brenda Wang
The Fun camp was indeed fun, as its name suggests. During the 4 days and 3 nights, not only did we learn independence, we also had lots of enjoyable moments with our friends.
One of the main highlights of the camp was the low and high elements. These challenges are tasks we do not normally attempt or think we can overcome. They stretched our confidence level and challenged us to undertake seemingly “impossible” tasks. It’s okay if you fall during the high elements, indeed some did. However the act of trying is already half the battle won in building one’s self-confidence.
During my attempt on one of the high element, I was asked to freeze at the other end of the balancing beam as another scout was climbing up the central pole that I was about to descend by. The boy was scared and was climbing his way up slowly. I could not pull him up, because if I were to let go of the pole, I would fall. Instead, I encouraged him not to worry and to take his time. While doing so, I was actually also quite scared in staying up at the pole for so long. However the scary thoughts soon drifted away while I focused on rendering encouragements to the boy making his slow ascend. Finally the boy managed to climb up, making his way through the high element confidently. This episode demonstrates the importance of encouragement and support from our peers in overcoming difficulties.
There were also the low elements which was much less scarier than the high elements, but nevertheless, tested us on many other skills. The first low element was the Mohawk Walk. There were two poles, attached to each other by a thick rope. The objective was to bring everyone across the rope without touching the floor and without support from other people. The next person has to be of the opposite gender.
It looked so easy. Everyone started to try it all at once. Alas! When the second person stepped onto the rope, the string wobbled, and both fell. Thus, we decided to plan and strategize-something very crucial that we need to do in order to succeed. Soon after, we executed our plan and after a few refinements, we finally succeeded. We all felt a great sense of achievement.
The next low element was called spider web. In this activity, the objective was to get everyone across to the other side of the net. Once a certain hole was used, it could not be used again. After the briefing on the rules of the challenge, we started our planning process. Our strategy was: The stronger boys would use the bottom few nets to go across to the other side. A few bottom nets will also be left unused for the last few people to go through. Some strong boys would stay behind on the other side to carry the lighter ones over. We set ourselves a goal, and in the end, we succeeded. It is very important to set ourselves a goal. Why? By setting goals, the team has a common direction to work towards. We also motivate ourselves and others to work harder towards the goal together. Otherwise, we would just be pieces of wood floating aimlessly on the surface of the water, no goal, no aim, no direction.
Last but not least, we had Whale Watching. In this game, we had to sit or stand on a giant see-saw, and balance it. We all started to try out the new gadget, trying to make it balance, while some team members were tired and just sat on the giant see-saw playing finger games. No matter how we tried to encourage them to pay attention, they would not listen, until our instructor came to tell them to help us.
Soon we realized our weak spot: Whenever the giant see-saw balanced, we would get very “gan cheong” and would fidget around, thus causing the giant see-saw to be unbalanced. In the end, it was our instructors who came to the rescue. We were instructed to sit down, and move our body forward or backward accordingly if needed. In the end, we succeeded, and managed to make the giant see-saw balanced for 4 minutes and 1 second! I learnt that when we face difficulties, we should keep calm and think of solutions. If we do not succeed, do not feel discouraged. Instead, think of what went wrong. How could we improve? Then work on them and achieve your goal. It may be hard, but we must not give up.
We also had a night walk, which included a short solo walk. In this solo walk, we had to walk a short distance by ourselves. There would be instructors along the way to make sure that we were okay. Some were very scared, and cried even before the walk began. We should not laugh or tease them. Everyone has something they are afraid of. Even the bravest person you have encountered has something that he or she is afraid of. Maybe he or she just does not show it. No one is perfect.
Confidence, Encouragement, Support, Strategizing, Setting goals, Staying calm, No one is perfect, Responsibility, Teamwork, Cooperation, Communication are just some of the takeaways from this camp. Not only is this camp fun, it is also a great learning experience for all of us!
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