1st Kiwanis Builder Camp 29-31 Aug 2015


Posted by Xian Wei

This was the first Kiwanis camp organised for young teens. At first, I felt that this was just going to be like any other camps before. Since I didn’t know any of the campers (except one) I felt shy and nervous and didn’t talk much. Nevertheless, I felt really enthusiastic about a new experience. 

We slept in dorms, much to my delight, and after we settled we went for ice-breaking sessions. When we were to be separated into teams I felt lonely because I’m not with my friend. So I just sat with my teammates and we discussed about our team name and cheer. After that we played station games. That warmed us up a lot and soon after that was over we became friends with one another. 

Next morning I felt refreshed for the obstacle courses. This was the part that was most fun to me because I like more hands-on activities. We did the flying fox but it wasn’t as exciting as I’ve done it many times. After that long, tiring afternoon we had a lesson on first-aid. This, to me, was quite new.

That whole afternoon, I kept thinking about our team’s presentation in the evening. I didn’t want to do badly so I thought a lot about it, with the help of my teammates. Finally, after a lot of discussion but little practice, it was time. By then I was really nervous. All went well and I thanked my team for sticking together. 

The next morning was MERDEKA DAY!!! After the morning exercise and then we had sort of free time. I made friends with every camper. They were very friendly and so we talked about the camp. I was really sad because I would miss my good friends. We bid farewell and left. 

This camp had let me discovered more about myself. I  participated a lot not just in activities, but also in discussion, acting, planning and more vocal than before. I learnt how to lead and communicate with my team especially when we were playing team games. 

My teammates were quiet, reserved, shy and came from different backgrounds. Some came from sheltered homes and from cities so I had real difficulty in communicating with them. However, we shared some similar qualities like we do not easily give up, very cooperative, and full of ideas. These qualities help bring our team together.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Spilling the Beans in Ipoh - 6 Apr 2012

Image
Ipoh's familiar specialty - Nga Choy Kai or the Taugeh (Bean Sprouts) Chicken. What else to accompany the poached chicken than the fresh, fat and crunchy Ipoh famous bean sprouts!! The bean sprouts are served blanched, with a dash of sesame oil, white pepper and soy sauce. Ipoh is a well-known food haven in Malaysia, and most will agree that Ipoh's bean sprout is the best in Malaysia. The premium-grade bean sprouts come from the Buntong New Village, which is also my husband's hometown. Growing bean sprout requires only water and more importantly, watering techniques. Madam Toon told us that there were at least 8 operators in Buntong. They were all family-owned businesses, and the three Toon brothers have been growing bean sprouts for more than 70 years.  Bean sprouts are grown from black mung beans imported from Myanmar. The beans need to be watered every 4 hours throughout the day for 5 days, no shortcut, otherwise they will be not be fat and juicy. At
Read more

Al-Attas Garden in Janda Baik - 4 August 2012

Image
Besides being a well-known contentious writer, little do we know that Syed Hussein Alattas is also a self-taught gardener and an architect. He had built Taman Hana in Janda Baik from scratch and named after his wife.  Taman Hana sits on a 8-acre plot of land in the quiet village of Janda Baik. It boasts a collection of 1,000 species of plants including fruit trees, more than 700 big flower pots and five buildings that include the home of the Alattas family.  The good news is that it is open to visitors every day.  As we made our way past the entrance, this place appeared unkempt. It was well beyond its heyday (in 2008) but still showing off its faded beauty. Some parts were badly neglected, which was so unfortunate, because it originally was to be a quiet kampung retreat. A mix of traditional Malay, Peranakan, Indonesian and colonial British architecture and a Minangkabau styled roof. Syed Hussein had actually started building the structures in 1982 and he spent a lot of time
Read more

Sungai Besar Fishing Town - 12 Jan 2014

Image
I have no clue where is Sg Besar before the trip.  I thot it couldn't be that far cos it's still in Selangor. Together with my boys, I went with my friends to their hometown.  It's a small, quiet fishing town, home to mostly TeoChew fishermen.  The drive  on a Sunday morning  was  very relaxing and a good getaway after a crazy week.  Very scenic driving on the west coast and we passed by many small villages, paddy fields, interesting roadside stands and some cottage industries. There're familiar names like the Kuala Selangor town, Sekinchan, Tg Karang, and some homestays eg Kampung Haji Dorani in Sabak Bernam. I was worried by then cos we've not even reached Sg Besar, and it's already 150km! After another 15 minutes, and we're there! It took us about 2 hours in total. Fishing boat coming back with bountiful catch! Spending time at the jetty to watch fishing boats back in late morning.     Locals looking for bargains and fresh produce
Read more