OBS camp

Back from OBS camp about 5 days ago already, but was too lazy to post anything. So, sorry for the long wait!! xD

WATCH 19


Day 1:
It was just horrible.
Most of what I remember from that day was how pissed I was. It was a gradual build-up of my negative feelings. The day before that was Mother's Day. I was supposed to be out celebrating but I ended up feeling so tired and worried about OBS that my day just did not end on a very happy note. Those unhappy feelings flowed over to Day 1 and I started the day feeling queasy and nervous.
We also had to sit under this hot tent/shelter to wait for the boat. IT WAS SUCH A LONG WAIT. And that only helped to intensify my dissatisfaction.
Furthermore, there were some things (I cannot remember what) that revealed the fact that my watch (group) was not very united or organized. I guess this got me frustrated and angrier. A vicious cycle uh.
And poor Yunyi had to put up with my pissed off state. HAHAHA. SO SORRY YUNYI!

Day 2:
Was basically a continuation of Day 1.
Okay, I admit. I was feeling homesick. I really felt 'lost' in the camp - I had questions such as "WHY AM I HERE?" running through my mind.
High elements was basically okay for me despite the fact that I always feel scared before I climb. There were some people who took a long time to complete - so it was really a test of perseverance (for the climbers) and patience (for the onlookers). As an onlooker, I felt really motivated at the beginning. I kept urging people on, telling them where to place their footing. But energy levels DO go down. I got tired, and impatient I guess. That was probably one of my flaws - I GET SUPER IMPATIENT. And, somewhere in my heart, I just started feeling frustrated, ALTHOUGH I KNOW I SHOULD NOT. But I just couldn't help the feeling of frustration and irritation that they were taking so long. It was like there were two sides of me then - one which was impatient and angry, the other still wanted to see my friend make it through. Furthermore, time was running out - we still had a trek to carry out.
That was really an emotional conflict going inside me because I did not know what to do.
SO I JUST KEPT QUIET - best way to avoid any potential conflicts. HAHAH.
Anyway, I managed to climb up the wall pretty easily, except for the fact that I had a slight cramp in my thigh from the lack of regular exercise. However, I did not managed to climb to the highest point. Those who saw the wall would know what I am talking about. Yep, so climbing was considered an achievement for me I guess :DD
Due to the lack of time, my watch just RUSHED THROUGH THE TREKKING TO CAMP 1. It was madness - the bagpack was heavy, we were tired. But the thought for dinner being provided for us was enough to entice us all to move fast. And we made it! :)

Day 3:
Camping at camp 1 wasn't so bad, except that it rained. But then there was shelter at camp 1 so we just kind of continued our interrupted sleep.
I guess I got kind of angry today as well because our tent could not be pitched up because of some problems with the ten-piece. Due to that, our tent group had some slight disagreement on how to dry the tent etc, and that really got on my nerves. (I am so easily affected, I realised)
We then packed and got ready for our land expedition. After getting a taste of the trek yesterday, I was absolutely dreading the land expedition. The bags were supposed to be 1/3 of our weight (IMAGINE THAT!!!).
After we set off, I immediately felt DAMN.... (no words can describe it). It is a mixture of suffering and frustration. Like how you are a mice trapped in a mice trap. You cannot get out and yet, you still have to try every possible method to do so. THAT WAS HOW I FELT. I was collapsing under my bag; I want to STOP MOVING, but I know I cannot do that to my watch. I needed to continue moving on.
In the end, Xuechun exchanged her bag with me -  A BIG THANK YOU TO XUECHUN! (I heard her back got hurt after that; I really felt guilty :(( ) I could move a lot easier after that. And yes, I made an effort to drink my water faster so that I could lighten the load on my bag which she was carrying.
We also had some PROBLEMS during the land expedition. WE WENT THE WRONG WAY - WORST THING TO HAPPEN DURING AN EXPEDITION UH. So we ended up skipping one check point first, then completing the rest. However, when we reached something like a cross roads, where we had to choose if we wanted to complete the last (and skipped) check point - which means 500m up and another 500m down, or just go to campsite straight away (about 1km), we hesitated.
JUST LIKE MY TWO SIDES (HAHAHA):
- One side of me wanted to complete all the checkpoints. Furthermore, the instructor said that there was some significance in every checkpoint we did.
- The practical side of me said no. We were so tired, and furthermore, if we wanted to get to our campsite on time, we would definitely have to skip the last checkpoint.
Everyone did not know what to do, so I just raised my thoughts and said that practically speaking, we will never make it on time to the campsite if we went to the last check point (which was a hill man!!!). This kind of decided things, so we decided to skip the last check point. I guess all of us felt a big regretful, but at that point of time, I really wanted to say this to Watch 19: "I do not think that we have failed. We have walked the long way round, and I believe, that if we had taken the right path then, it would have meant that we would have already completed that check point that we missed. I believe that all the additional road that we have travelled would have allowed us to climb up to the hill, and back down. It was really just bad luck and bad choice. So, just imagine that we have already climbed the hill, because our efforts have shown it." I truly felt that way. Yes, it was a waste that we did not climb that hill, but I truly felt as if we had already climbed it. I felt bad that we had to miss a check point, but I do not see anything wrong with that. It was a wise choice made with the best intentions in mind.
On reaching the campsite, the teacher that had been following us during the whole land expedition was leaving. She said this, which really really comforted us, "Thank you for allowing me to accompany you. And thank you for not climbing up the hill." Although we all knew that she meant it in a because-I-was-tired-as-well manner, her words really comforted us at that point of time, and we needed that comfort.
Oh, and we tried to use the natural toilet. Zephania, zixin, yunyi, xuechun and I went into the 'woods' and dug a few holes. All of us actually made up our minds to do the big business aka shit, but none of us could, HAHAHAH. Because the feeling/ mood wasn't there!!! XD
And I overheard Eugene asking Louis for tissue paper (AWKWARD MOMENT when you realise what's he going to do).

Day 4:
We were supposed to have century (it's pronounced the same way but spelled differently I think.And I don't know how to spell it so let's just leave it as that) duty. Upon waking up, my tent mates immediately knew it was going to rain, HEAVILY. There was lightning and thunder everywhere. It was actually quite frightening. We only did our duty for like 5 minutes, then went back to our tents in our ponchos to wait for the rain. How helpless we were.
The rain came, fast and heavy. We just sat in our tents, waiting for it to stop.
It rained for about 1 and a half hours, which totally screwed up our time-tables and schedules for the day. But it was actually quite nice to sleep in the tents, in our ponchos, with the tent leaking. A WHOLE NEW EXPERIENCE MAN. But my butt seriously ached after that (and it still is!!!! D:)
The rain finally stopped. We had to pack our tents (huge amounts of effort involved in packing a WET tent). One of our watches' tents got infested by ants because they left the trash near their tent. We were seriously behind time so I just told them to pack it in. I helped pack it in - I was frustrated and did unimaginable things like touching an ant-infested tent with my bare hands. The ants climbed onto my arms and BIT ME. IT WAS SO PAINFUL. AND THERE WERE SO MANY. Some even crawled under my track pants =_=
Finally, we managed to pack everything. We went kayaking, I peed into the ocean before kayaking. Yeap, I know it's gross but when you have no toilets there, it's the best option available.
Kayaking was tiring, but damn fun for me.
I was HAPPIEST at the beginning of the sea expedition.
Basically, it is because 1) OBS camp is ending. 2) There is no heavy bagpack on my shoulder. 3) I love the feeling of drifting in the ocean - I had been looking forward to kayaking because OBS started.
I was feeling damn high then. Especially after Yunyi and I waited for some slow kayakers, and the instructors started playing Fantastic Baby. The rush we both got made us pedal so fast that we caught up from the last to the front :DD
But towards the end, we ended up feeling quite down in the spirits. Yeehan (the navigator) told us that we were halfway there (though we were not hahaha), and the instructors told us the hard truth. Everyone's spirits went down, and we started pedalling slower. It was an especially trying time because we could have all given up and just drifted in the ocean forever. But we still pushed on (I mean, we had to). I think it really built up our level of tolerance for obstacles. When we finally saw Camp 2, there was a sigh of relief. Not much celebration, just relief. Like how I feel everytime I finish my 2.4km. We were just very tired, relieved, and glad that we did not have to pedal anymore.
After the exhausting process of clean up, we had to bathe etc. It was during this time I guess that I kinda took charge. I did not bother to take charge the past few days because I was feeling really down in the dumps, and there was always someone to rely on, like Shuwen. I guess I felt better after the kayak, and so bothered to actually do something. LOL. I think leadership really depends on the circumstances. BUT IT WAS SO CHAOTIC DURING THAT TIME. Because everyone had to bathe, the lifevests had to be taken out etc. There were so many things...
After that, we had our celebration dinner. Jaime managed to crap so many stuff out eh. But some of our dishes were not very tasty because we did not get our share of vegetable stock, so most stuff tasted bland.
That night, we had a pretty good sleep. My tent mates chatted a bit (the first of many nights). I guess we all felt for once, truly happy then.

Day 5:
Day of packing up.
Zixin and I took charge that day (my taking charge feel is still going on from Day 4).
Packing up was really COOL. BECAUSE THE WHOLE WATCH WORKED TOGETHER THEN. I mean, we gave out the parts, but then everyone still did their job properly and diligently. That was what was missing on Day 1. I finally saw it in Day 5 - and I felt kinda happy :DD
Shao shan, zixin, Nadia (instructor) and I were scrubbing the pot with soil. We chatted quite a bit and I think we really bonded during that time, which was really cool because that was probably the few times we had an intimate talk with the instructor.
We lost 2 jack knives - gotta pay Cherlyn for that (someone remind me!!).
After reaching Singapore, I felt really liberated, but sad at the same time. I guess some part of me will still miss OBS. It opened my eyes and made me experience new things that I would not have dared to try for. This whole memory will stay with me forever :)
And we ate lunch at compass point with a few of us after that -  great lunch :DDD

AND I THINK I HAVE TAILBONE PAIN. Because of sitting on the hard ground in an improper way during OBS. DD: Hope it cures itself naturally!!!! IT'S DAMN PAIN SOMETIMES WHEN I STAND UP AFTER I SIT.

Oh yes, I bought three books today. Gonna start reading them :))
And, I got into Hufflepuff for Pottermore D: (I wanted Slytherin) but whatever, I think I will stop playing it after a while though.

I am too lazy to start packing for the UK trip ~~~