An Outward Bound Journey ; DA-GAMA


I take back my words & I survived!

The camp was more fun then expected. I made many new friends, I was excited? I guess so. I thought it would only be a bonding between my class but it was the whole school being thrown around and sorted into different groups.

I've learnt many things, heard many inspiring stories and learnt to appreciate and cherish whatever I have. Outward Bound is indeed very educational because you won't listen to a teacher in a classroom telling you to appreciate whatever you have unless you experienced a life without those material-things you have at home.

Group Name : Da-Gama

Instructor : Jonathan

Members : Hong Wan. Robert. Sun Yu. Charissa. Yi Jun. Michelle. Josephine. Hazel. Daryl. Darren. Jonathan Goh. Tyson. Timothy. Ajay. Rachel.

& I love Da-Gama, totally.

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Day 1 - Tuesday 24 June 08

Arrived safely at the multi-purpose hall at OBS Camp 2. Got sorted into groups and met new people in my group then got introduced to our instructors. Jonathan collected all of our handphones and valuables to protect them so I was disconnected from the world for 4 full days. Had briefing and played many lame games, but I still enjoyed anyway. I became Food I/C with Michelle but we were pretty useless because he suck at distributing food. We played games to learn to trust our teammate, pitched tents and had the height-element test. I was height-phobic, LOL.

I'm starting to forget what I did but dinner that night was disastrous.

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Day 2 - Tuesday 25 June 08

Had Physical training on the second day then went to do the height-element activity : Flying Fox. Jonathan Goh belayed me and was like downstairs laughing about how slow I am in climbing the ladder. Hahaha, I'm height-phobic. What to do? Plucked every ounce of my courage and did the Flying Fox.

A rush of wind and my feet touches the ground. Hahaha.

Afternoon activity was trekking (land expedition) our way through three checkpoints with heavy backpacks to the next campsite - Kekek Campsite with no help from Jonathan at all because he emphasises that he is a tourist. I guess this trains our navigation skills and independence. Mosquitoes and insects are plentiful. Work well as a team and managed to finish in time. Jonathan took out his fly swatter and swatted a huge mosquito on my leg without warning me. Hahahaha, I had fun times with my group members. Went for a life-vest test in the sea then had a jump into the Kekek Quarry lake.

A rush of wind and I found myself trapped under water. Hahaha.

Jonathan told us scary stories to make sure we went up fast because we were staying in the water for too long. Dinner was maggie-noodles and mine was stiff. Slept in a horrid campsite and I didn't managed to sleep well.

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Day 3 - Tuesday 26 June 08

Woke up late! We were supposed to meet at 6.30am and we woke up at 6.22am. What fun. We didn't even do the sentry duty. Hawhaw, let's just say we can't wake up.

Formed a human chain and delivered our backpacks onto the boats. Then we had kayaking lessons and we watched a demonstration on how to maneuver our kayaks and the capsizing activity was SHIOK.

Kayaked (sea expedition) with Tyson and Sun Yu on the same kayak. & I realised why we forced Sun Yu into the centre. Because Tyson's peddle hits his back (then I'm pardoned cause I was in front) and I pour water on Sun Yu whilie peddling (Tyson spared because he was behind), so let's just say - Poor Sun Yu.

5km of journey and 3 hours of keyaking. Our boat always get hit off-course when people collide into ours and you can hear Sun Yu's complaining and nagging. Reached our destination and washed the kayaks and had a little water-rinsing session. I have an ulterior motive for washing kayaks. Bobbie was the water man and he's my friend. So I took the chance and rinsed myself first. Hahaha, evil.

Third day was much free-er because the activities were almost done with. Then I had a very good laugh while packing the store. I saw Darren forcing the raisins down Tyson's throat then Tyson grabbed and handful and started eating when Sun Yu and Jonathan Goh walked over and asked if they got the pack that was on the floor. Darren asked why and Sun Yu and Jonathan Goh started laughing before they confessed that it was the pack that they trampled on before dumping it onto the floor. Tyson immediately went to the dustbin to dump the raisins on his hand and puked. Hahaha!

Third night dinner was buffet-style because we realised we had plenty of food left! Hahaha, breathed in too much solid fuel fumes. It sucked. Had trouble finding our lost equipment but we managed to do a perfect store.

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Day 4 - Tuesday 27 June 08

Finally done our jetty jump in the morning at 7am when the sea water was freezing cold. Shouted out a commitment before we jumped. Mine was - "I want to try to overcome my phobia of heights." Then I pulled onto Jonathan's hand for support because my legs were numb and walked to the edge. He was - "By doing this?" I was like nodding furiously and I hesistated before jumping. He told Charissa to wait for me, hahaha. I had company!

A longer rush of air and emptiness and I was trapped under sea water and sniffing some water through.

Had to wait for Hazel because she was a non-swimmer. Robert's way of jumping was...accidental. Hahahaha!

Packed the store and ran about in my wet clothes to clear rubbish and look for missing items. Our group worked together to find missing items, so fun! Managed to have a little chat with Jonathan before we received our photos and certificates and writing the evaluation forms. Bought an OBS T-shirt for memory and left for home. SO GLAD.

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Da-Gama needs the service award! Hahahaha, took alot photos with our instructor and the group. The fun shot was carrying Jonathan on our arms that were arranged like a mat. He was impressed with us! Hahaha, so fun!

"Your mind must be like a parachute. It is only useful when it's open."

"Egg, Carrot and Coffee Bean."

"Struggling through the cocoon, becoming a strong butterfly."

"Cherishing and appreciating."

Jonathan tells inspiring stories and I love Da-Gama! Carrying the memories of OBS with me throughout my life. It is a long post! I had so much fun and opened my eyes to many things and learnt many too.

OBS - Outward Bound Singapore & Others Before Self



Da-Gama




Ja-ne!