ru shi youth camp

its been a week since i left this camp, where this, i shall call, my official 2008 camp to continue wth my camp tradision 2001. i have been joining camps since 2001 and till this year, it havent stop. this youth camp was organised by youth for youth. which made me think about the age limit of the word 'youth'. i didn't know i am still a youth =) hahaha.. ok i am not dat old. there are older members around. better keep my mouth shut on this before everyone flame me.

"Wenqi, join camp a not??"
"harr?? when??"

anyway, the previous 2 camps was.. well, not challenging at all, and was disappointing (sorry to say that) therefore i didn't keep my hopes high for this as well to prevent further disappointment. So.. the clever me went for a badminton game the night before the camp and only pack my stuff 7 hours before checking into camp. (mistake number 1). nevertheless, the pro camper like me, can pack his stuff in 15 minutes and off to bed. and.. i over pack my stuff instead.. >.<

"wenqi! you are here"
"am i late??"
"nope. ok.. everyone here intro yourself starting from the left"

after 2 hours of badminton and 6 hours of sleep, my muscle was sore all over (lesson learn from mistake 1). anyway, i made it to the gathering spot bracing the cold winter wind on time and off we go to the camp site. upon arrival, usual stuff, registration, unload our stuff and all, and mix around with camp members. Camp members mostly from south east asia region and also aussies. mostly from malaysia. To sum 4 days n 3 nights together, like i said, the camp is organised by youths for youths. and activities ranges from neuron killing thinking, taste bud fooling to physical demanding and being graceful and soft during dancing sessions at nite and in the early of the morning. the events are so proper plan that i had to use my old fungal growing high school camping skills to catch up. it really brings back the good old days of mud and sweat of high school camp back to me. Plus, the all-out commitment given by the committee members really made the camp a great one.

"hey, my name is wenqi. u??"
"hi, my name is *insert name*"
"ah.. "
[30 minutes later..]
"ei.. wats your name d ah??"

all the activities had meaning behind them. from training us to be patient, to trust our leaders, or even to imply the malay saying 'masuk kandang kambing mengembek, masuk kandang kerbau menguak' [literally translate to: enter a goat pen, bleat; enter a cows barn, moo.]* and many more. there was once all members were blindfold and was call to eat their lunch with hands and blindfold on. you might think its a hard one, but for me i seriously enjoyed my lunch a lot. and i had my 2nd serving. there was also once we need to feed each other for lunch. it was a great experience doing so and understanding how disable people and the care givers feel. other than all those 'torturing' games, we also was force allowed to sleep in the middle of the day for a 'light and easy' time. We even went to japan to enjoy the tea drinking process tru 'tea zen' session.

"ok.. now we need to select a leader, who wants to be??"
"err..... you lah.. i don't want"
"aiyah.. scissors paper stone everyone"
"harr?? i be la.. "
"really?? ok settle. you be leader"

like always, camp activities are not the best parts in camps. the best part is when all of us get together and chit chat, laugh, sing and dance together. the times we had together between meal times, or during our free time where we are free to do anything. we talked, sing, share our past and present and many more. there was also one night when i and 2 other guys stayed up late to prepare for our drama's props.. i didn't expect to see such dedicated members around. those times are where memories come from. of course, the process in preparing our cheer, dramas and debate was absolute fun. i have and will apply this quote from now on. 'enjoy the process and not the outcome, for at every outcome, there begins a new process' i really enjoyed myself being part of my group in being a multi-talented group. its one of the few times when i manage to see all group members come out with their talents through all the activity. maybe i am just over observant or is just myself feeling dat way. i notice that i as part of my team, we come from different backgrounds but with our backgrounds we manage to put in all our strength in preparing for the activities and games. with this wonderful group, although there are no best group award, i feel that we already be the best group =) thanks verdanians.. thanks alot

"EI WAT HOSPITAL?? I DIDN'T BUY HOSPITAL LEH??
"i said your mum needs an surgery.. she is at the hospital..."
"WHAT SURGERY VERSUS HOSPITAL?? GOT MEH?? WHERE GOT??
"I SAID UR MUM NEEDS SURGERY AT THE HOSPITAL!!!"
"WHAT??!?!??!?"

the whole camp was such fun of course goes to all committee members that had put in effort into making it a good one. with their effort, i think the outcome of their effort is clearly shown tru the end of the camp where everything turns out well and all the members went back with a great experience. maybe there are some problems arise behind the scenes, but, WELL DONE committee members. you guys were great. maybe all of you know that already, but i guess i can't stop myself from telling you guys (and gals) that u all are really good. i being a camp committee member before really understands the effort needed to make such camp a great one. special thanks to our 2 group facilitators that give us the support and ideas and also help us in understanding the questions of the drama titles and discussions and stuff. as for the discipline master, duty time was fun, especially i manage to prepare asam laksa [yes.. we had penang asam laksa in camp. something we hardly get in aussie]. programmers, the camp plan was great. the dance was great. the activities was great. the chef(s), thanks for all the meals, to the president, all the best to you in your trip to the largest country on this planet. can catch 1 panda for me?? hahahha... on last time, all committee members, you guys did A GREAT JOB!!~

"ok.. 1st you need to get a partner"
[everyone gets partner]
"now i want you to look into your partners eyes, and feel, what is he/she feeling"
"what??!!?!?"
"just do what i just say till i say stop. start now"
[everyone looks into others eyes]
*3 seconds later......*
"HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAAH!!!!"

its been a week past the camp. and people say it takes time to really find the true words to use especially when one wants to describe an event that they really like and to allow a time frame before saying anything stupid. 1 week is enough i guess to really figure out what my mind is thinking (being mindful here =]). i really enjoyed myself a lot. looking forward to kids camp soon!!!