Okay! I'm here to blog about OBS, so this post will be damn damn long. Anyway, today woke up at about 1030, then decided to go down to Fairfield to play volleyball. And I enjoyed myself, it was a good workout to get my ball sense back. Awesome. Headed down to Ikea for dinner, and I must say I really love it there, cos the ambience is very much like the restaurants overseas, which I really like. A whole new feel. Okay, here goes!
Y'know how I said I didn't really look forward to going to OBS? Now I change my mind. Haha. It's a really really good trip.
Day 1
Reached the jetty at about 830am, and waited for TPJC to arrive, and the OBS instructors to do some admin. Waited really long, and everyone was excited cos thought got pretty girls coming. Hahaha. Anyway, got in the same watch as Weijie, Nicholas, Yile and Clara, and i was fairly comfortable with them. They arrived and we formed some first impressions of 'em. So we stuck in our cliques throughout our whole journey on the ferry to Ubin. Our watch was called Tenzing, and Syed was our instructor. It sounded funny at first. But okay la. Not too bad. Did some icebreakers there since it was raining, and we couldn't do any other activities. Got to know everybody and not too bad. Surrendered handphones and wallets, which was the start of our non-urbanised life. Did the trust fall for our first activity. Did the belay training after that, and then chose partner for our kayaking expedition, and for the next high element activity. Some logs parallel with each other and the ground, have to climb up, with only yourself and your partner. I partnered Khairia, the best partner in the world, cos they said have to be different school and gender. Haha. Did the log thing thrice, twice with Khai and once with Weijie, cos we wanted to try how fast we could reach the top. Hahaha. And they kept calling me short, so Nicholas (same height as me) and I proved our worth, short still can be strong. Haha. First day sian, not much. Had dinner by the beach, quite romantic haha, rice and stuff. Pitched tents then slept. Weijie, Nicholas and I shared one tent. Nicholas damn gay. We gossiped like siao hahaha! And slept.
Day 2
We woke up damn early, then walked 1.2km with all our barang barang to Camp 1 for our kayaking drills. I was damn damn damn scared of capsizing, but that was what we had to do. We used the easy kayak first, with no load, and practiced manouvering and then capsizing. I hate it, water rush into nose and ears, irritating. And the water DAMN dirty, and salty. Next we changed to the higher end kayaks. 3 kinds, Amaruk, Crosswind and Penguin. Khai and I took the Amaruk. Hard to manouvre, but also hard to capsize so not too bad. Capsize drill again. Sian. Yile was scared too, haha then we just chiong the capsize, after doing it a few times then it was starting to get fun, once we got the hang of it. Then had to do Channel crossing, 64 people in 34 kayaks moving together, not easy. To allow ships to see us from afar. Damn tiring man I tell you. Then we were supposed to leave for our expedition already, but too late, the sun was setting, so no choice gotta stay in camp, start the next day. Didn't really get to shower, and slept in tents again. Ate the same stuff. ALOT of mosquitoes. Again, gossip session, we likened ourselves to Survivor, and then talked about tribal council, who we wanted to vote off first. And our vote was unanimous. (:
Day 3
Went off to start our expedition, going to the Causeway and back, and we started kayaking at about 8am i guess? Can't remember. And we kayaked and kayaked and kayaked till siao, damn boring i tell you. Stopped a few times to help others, and had breaks in b/w, the whole time all of us moving together as a fleet. We reached Sembawang Wharf by about 2-ish, and started to rain, damn cooling. Stopped for a while, then hot again. Reached Senoko Power Station and we stopped cos time wasn't on our side. Had to reach shore before sunset. Then came the heavy rain. It was damn hard to paddle, cos the current was against us, and it felt like we weren't moving at all. I was super tired but had to keep going. Motivated by Khai, she never stopped paddling. The rain was too heavy so after like 20mins we stopped at the shore outside Senoko, basket, the water hot one, cos they release the water that generated the power. Sick man. Hot and oily. We took a picture before the storm, outside Senoko, and then the current brought us past Senoko, then rain, then paddle for 20mins still in front of Senoko only. Sian. So got to shore, and then finished our rations to lighten the load, and it was pouring already. Waited a while, the rain lessened, and we decided to con't cos it was getting slightly dark. So paddled like mad, and then it came. A huge thunderstorm. The rain was damn damn heavy, they called it a whiteout. Means can't see anything 10m ahead of you. I was damn damn scared. Lightning every 5 seconds, and the thunder that came with it was booming and I seriously could feel the vibration. Damn scared I was gonna die. Paddle and paddle, could barely see the kayaks in front rafting up, so we just joined any group that was closest to us, cos the instructors were signalling us to get together to get to shore, it was too dangerous. When we rafted up, I was really really really honestly damn afraid that I was gonna die. I mean, one lightning strike the water, we all die leh. And every few seconds one lightning. What the hell. Everyone was near panicky mode, shouting and screaming for safety. We held on to each other's kayaks, telling everyone to bend down and keep calm. The instructors were damn brave, despite the disaster, they kept their cool and told us what to do. Some of them were praying and I know we were all damn scared. I really thought my life was gonna end. I mean, I tell you now you'll think it's nothing. You had to be there to experience it for yourself. Those who were there would agree with me. Near death experience. Honestly. Lucky for us, the current was now pushing us toward shore, and the nearest shore was Sembawang park, so we all paddled furiously toward shore, with the help of instructors of course. Really shouting and screaming, we all quickly pulled our kayaks to shore, group by group, and those who reached shore first helped the others to get to safety. The waves were crazy, knocked around like mad, and alot of things were lost. Water bottles that were strapped on top of the kayaks were dropped in the ocean, paddles were floating around cos we had to hold on to each other's kayaks for safety. At that time,I couldn't think of anything else but to get to safety. I know I was damn scared. But everyone else was too, and there were people still in the ocean being pushed around. We all helped each other and all of us go to safety. All 64 of us hid under the shelter (a wooden hut) with our ponchos, all huddled together for warmth. Damn cold I tell you. Freezing. At that time, I was seriously grateful that none of us had any accidents. The kayaks were starting to float away into the sea, but the instructors were there just in time to pull them back on shore. Really kudos to the four of them, Syed, Andy, Iskandar and Nadia for their bravery. I could tell they were afraid too, but no choice, safety of students first. Damn relieved to be standing in the hut. The whole process took about what, 30mins? I swear I'll live life to the fullest now. Waited under the shelter for about 30 mins and then the rain started to die down, and we were all calm already. Pulled our kayaks up after that, and then cooked food. I swear the food never tasted that good. Didn't shower again cos nowhere to shower, only one public toilet. But don't care, too tired already. Changed into dry clothes, and after debrief and some packing, we slept, at about 12am.
Day 4
Woke up at about 4am cos we had duty to watch and account for the number of kayaks, make sure none floated away. Another group came at about 420am, so we went back to sleep, but had to wake up at 5am again to start the day. I was seriously damn tired by then, felt like I was gonna collapse. Anyway, kept everything, packed our stuff into the kayaks again, and set off at about 930am. You think b/w 5 plus and 930 alot of difference hor? Got so much crap to do, pack tent, change clothes, pack stuff into kayaks, plan the route for the day and all that. Everyone was in a cheery mood cos we survived the storm, and we set off in good spirits. We managed to stay close together, a diamond shape for the whole journey, and after 2 hours and 40mins, we reached back to camp. Amazing huh. We took the whole damn day to reach there, and only approx 3 hours to reach back. They call it 'go home-atitis'. A disease where you're so motivated to go home you'd do anything. Helped Yile do Starboard duty cos she had trouble with the rudder. Reached back and I was super happy. All in all we kayaked about 21 nautical miles, that was about 42km. Amazing huh. We cleaned up, packed up, washed everything, and hiked back to camp 2 - home sweet home. Finally got to shower thoroughly, soap, shampoo, facial, everything! Damn good feeling. Brushed my teeth, and then we had a cooking competition. They provided fresh vegetables, eggs, chicken stock, luncheon meat, sardines and rice. Eat like siao. They didn't tell us who won, but the instructors kept hanging out at Tenzing's area, so i guess we all know who won yeah? (: We cooked fried rice, me, Kin and Nicholas, and stupid Yaojie kept coming over to steal our food. They started calling me hawker, cos fry the rice macham hawker. LOL. It was damn nice i swear. Chocolate fondue - alot of milo powder with little water, heated over a long time. NICE. And we put oats in another mass tin too, so after you dip apple/biscuit in the chocolate, can dip in the oats, SUPER GOOD! Everyone from other groups wanted to try it too. Hahaha! There's a saying, the chef doesn't eat his own food, so I let them eat, and then leftover a bit I chiong. Yile also. See? Self sacrificial sia. Hahaha. Had a confession session after, where we had to like, thank and say sorry to whoever you wanted to, and yeah, let's leave it at that. After that, washed up, pitched tent and slept. Tired ttm. Again, only for 4-5 hours of sleep.
Day 5
Woke up at about 5+ to change and all that, kept the tents, blah blah. Met Syed and then he told us to change to dirty clothes. Then we all knew - Jetty jump. It sucks to have bathed already, and on the last day you get dirty again. SIAN. But I think this was the activity that was the most impactful, besides kayaking in the storm. We couldn't communicate with each other, just on your own, think of the bad habits that you want to kick off, and let a small rock symbolize it. When you jump into the water, alone, you let it go, at the same time, using that as a symbol of letting go of your bad habit. I nearly cried, cos it was too much to take. Like, i think of my bad habits then also scared i can't let go. I thought about volleyball and how hard it was to get the team together when people don't come for trainings. I was super sad, cos really, I can't even get my team to stick together, what type of leader was I? In the end, I jumped first cos I knew i was ready, but I stood on the wooden plank for about 3 mins I think. Super intense moment. Everyone was solemn and all. I let go of the rock in the sea after I jumped, and I felt better. After everyone had gone, we walked over to the trust dive. This time it was different. There was a bell in front of you, you had to dive forward to hit the bell with your hand, at the same time trusting your teammates to catch you with the mat. Again, the bell represents your goal, and you jumping forward to hit the bell symbolizes your desire to reach your goal. Proud to say our whole watch managed to do it, again in silence. This was the only time that everyone was silent, and we actually had time to think. And I really thought about the volleyball team, and how I was gonna lead them, and I felt so damn weak and helpless. Anyway, I don't know what to do now, so that aside. Bathed and cleaned up, packed the storeroom and washed everything, and then it was the last debrief. Syed asked us to draw pictures of the whole course, like a comic, and it was interesting, super funny. Hahaha. Had some goodbye words and then got to thank Syed and all, and then got back valuables, got pictures we took on the first day, and certificate. After that, the moment we've been waiting for. HOME SWEET HOME. Took the ferry back and bought an OBS t-shirt at the centre, and then Tenzing went to Compasspoint to have a feast - KFC. It was damn good i swear, but after that nearly stomachache, cos suddenly so oily. But okay, had great fun on the train, gossiping about the whole thing with Clara, Weijie, Nicholas and Yile. Damn funny. Laughed like SIAO.
Well I guess I really really enjoyed myself. I have a new nickname - child. Hahaha. Cos I behaved like one, to entertain the whole group, and they all kept making fun of my height, but okay lah, quite funny. Hahah. All in all, I loved it. I guess now would be the time to think about regrouping the whole vball team and start making plans for next year. Unforgettable near-death experience, a memorable camp I would keep with me, and all the new friends I've made. Thanks to y'all. And Khai, thanks for being such a wonderful buddy. (:
Tenzing: Joanne, Kin, Khai, Kim, Priscilla, Amirah, Clara, Nicholas, Weijie, Wanfong, Yile, Ying Hao, Jay, Serene, Leonard and last of all, our beloved instructor, SYED. (: