Kiwanis Youth Camp - 11-15 Dec 2014

Posted by Xian Jin

I joined the Kiwanis Youth Camp again this year, since last year's camp had been a truly great experience. The theme was 'Learn, Live & Lead Together.' What I like about these sort of camps is that I can try something new, not just physical and endurance activities but also learning how to live up to our full potential.


This time, the campsite was in Dusun Eco Resort. Before we reached there, we visited a special needs centre. I could see that the camp participants were trying to interact with them, even though most of them were not familiar with the special needs people. I was touched to see that there were no barriers between us and the special needs people. We played telematches and had fun with them.


When I reached Dusun Eco Resort, I thought that it was very clean and spacious. I immediately felt at home. Some of us already knew each other so I just stuck around with the familiar faces.


After we were divided into groups, I felt sad because the rest of my team mates was new participants. I knew I should interact with new people rather than just staying with people I know. I cheered up after the ice breaking games and had a good night's sleep.


Morning exercise was fun and interesting at the same time. We danced and sang, at the same time preparing our bodies for the day's activities.


Paul, one of the facilitators who led us in many activities, only stayed with us for 3 1/2 days. I enjoyed his sessions the most and learned so much from him.


There were not as many outdoor activities as last year, but this year, the activities were more meaningful. There were serious and fun ones, individual and group ones. The activities changed how we think, from everyone wanting to win to helping other teams achieve their goals.


Sponge wars


Rope climbing


Obstacle course


Rafting


It had been a totally different experience, and I definitely would consider registering for next year. I learned to work together with new people, even though we may not get along well at times.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

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

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

A Potter Village in Sayong - 30 May 2013

Image
Pit Stop at the Perak royal town, Kuala Kangsar. The 1st rubber tree in Malaysia was planted in this town. That's about all I knew about this place. Labu Sayong or water pitcher from Sayong village, known for its health value to help migraine, lower blood pressure etc due to the special properties inherent in the local clay. Before this, we didn't know much of labu sayong.  We didn't go to the village or plan this visit. Out of curiousity, we bumped into this unassuming workshop at No. 3, Kg Setia, Enggor, run by Mohd bin Harun.  Pakcik was very open and gave us a tour of his workshop and how he makes labu sayong. His warm, friendly welcoming people made a lasting impression on all of us - a trait that we've lost in the big cities. The traditional way of making labu sayong uses hands to mould the clay into the shape of a 'labu' (gourd-like vase) but this is too slow. Now, the clay mixture is poured into standard mould blocks. It's
Read more