| "PREFECT CAMP WUZ FUN!!!! of embrassing moments, bond-bond sessions, weird ghost lurve stories, black underwear n paper boobs....."
Feeling: i had fun. uhuh. satisfied. happy. stuff. =P
here's my prefect camp report. it took 11 A4 pages on microsoft word. =P. n i left out loads of stuff in it!! hehe... so anywayz, enjoy da report.... it pwetty much sums up wat i wanna say.... xcpt 4 a few more stuff here n there... which r juz xtensions of wat i've oredi sed in da report... if u noe me well, u wud b able 2 get da message wifout needing me 2 tell u on diz... so yeah.... a gud, long piece frm me after lyk wat, 4eva? =P
Day 1 – 1st April 2005
SMK (P) Sri Aman’s Prefect Camp was held from the 1st to the 3rd of April, 2005 at E.D.I. Training Centre, Durian Tunggal, Melaka. At 2.00 pm after the morning session ended, all the prefects attending the camp gathered at the Pondok Ilmu. Unfortunately, not all the prefects could attend the camp as they either had to go for Cheng Beng, ballet exam or their parents did not give them permission. At least majority of the prefects could make it, but the other’s absence was definitely felt throughout the camp. The teachers accompanying us on this trip were Mrs. Chua, Datin Yap, Mrs. Sibyl and Ms Norinda. Some of the teachers even brought their family members along! We also had three special guests, namely Christine Chai, our Head Prefect of the year 2003, Swarna Lakshmi, our Head Prefect last year and Jovina Chua, our Assistant Treasurer for last year. It was fun having the three “old ones” back with PBSA, even if only for that short period of time. It certainly proved that – as Christine puts it – “Once A Maroon, Always A Maroon”.
There were two buses. Bus A consisted of all the Form 5s and Form 4s except Sukanya while Bus B consisted of all the Form 3s, Form 2s and Sukanya. We all boarded the bus around 2.30 pm and arrived at E.D.I. Training Centre around 5.00 pm. Despite the bus ride being a fun and jolly one, I fell asleep during the journey as I had had a tiring week. But even so, I did not miss out on all the fun. There was the occasional moment where I would wake up only to hear my friends singing “99 Bottles of Beer” or poking fun at the way I slept. I even managed to wake up just as they were finishing all the 99 bottles of beer, a few minutes before we reached the centre. Feeling rejuvenated from the sleep, I followed the crowd down from the bus and into the hall where our training sessions were to be conducted.
After everyone else arrived, we were introduced to our trainers for the next three days. Mr. Gopi, or rather, Mr. Energy, the main facilatators, and Mr. Wan and Mr. Zafri, his two assistants. If ever there was a person who was a living proof of “never judge a book by its cover” it would have to be Mr. Gopi. No offence, but before this, if I were to bump into him in PJ, I would have thought that he was just another construction worker or “nasi kandar” waiter. But once he started speaking, it was like, “WOA, this guy is for real!” Mr. Gopi is a really good trainer. The way he talks exudes such confidence and passion, such energy, which, without a doubt, is probably where he got his lil’ nickname from. He has a funny habit of jumping up and down excitedly while talking, making it even more entertaining for us to both listen and watch.
Before starting the programme, Mr. Gopi told us a few rules. At first, he joked, saying that there were no toilets in the area. I knew he was just trying to pull our leg, but some people actually believed him. He went on and on about how we would have to bath in the swimming pool instead but in the end, he admitted to tricking us. He also told us that we had to wash our own plates and cutlery after meals everyday. That was not really a problem with me as I had done that before during church camp last year. After cracking a few more jokes here and there, he started.
The training programme started with a little ice-breaker called “Colours of Love”. We were asked to vote for our favourite colour out of the colours green, blue, black and red. Blue garnered the highest number of votes, and I am proud to say that I was one of them. =P. After that, we were told what our favourite colours were supposed to reveal in us. For example, people whose favourite colour was green were said to be creative people who love growth in life. Blue, on the other hand, signified people who were lovable and like to be loved. When it came to black, Mr. Gopi said that among all the other schools and companies for which he has conducted training camps for, Sri Aman prefect’s were the ones with the most number of people having black as their favourite colour. He then proceeded to caution us against these people – for apparently, these people were dangerous. And when he came to red… Well, let’s just say that the people who previously voted for red tried to change their vote when they heard what Mr. Gopi had to say.
After that insight on colours, we continued to the next activity, the Portrait Game. We were each given a piece of paper and told to draw a picture of ourselves. I had no idea what to draw, so I just drew a simple sketch of myself, but I did not have time to finish drawing, so it was a sketch of me spectacle-less. I could anticipate what we had to do next. We passed up our sketches without our names and were then reassigned papers. We had to guess who the person on our new piece of paper was and then interview her. My paper showed a slightly plump girl with shoulder length hair. I thought it was Liyana(Form Two) at first, but it turns out that it was Katyana. I disagreed with the pairing because Katyana’s hair was longer than how the picture made her out to be. But I was lucky because I found my pair quite fast. There were a few people who never figured out who their pair was. Anyways, I interviewed Katyana on a few things, and after that, Jen Nee interviewed me for she was holding my sketch. I think that the main purpose of the whole thing was so that we could get to know each other better. Their hobbies, interests etc., and to talk to people whom we might never talk to otherwise.
Dorm arrangements had to be reshuffled as the centre gave us more dorms than we were supposed to get. I was shifted from Family Dorm to Attap House. Honestly speaking, I was a little reluctant to go because I wanted to be in Family Dorm, seeing as how it had the most number of people in it. But Attap House turned out to be very fun and interesting as well. It consisted of Eshana, the dorm leader, Amira, the assistant dorm leader, Zubaidah, Raihana, Yuet Chern, Syafika, Jen Nee, Chyna, Liyana, Shasha and me!! There were altogether 7 bunk beds. I bunked with Chyna, with me on top. Ieka was next to me and Jen Nee next to her. We were given bed sheets, pillow covers and blankets to set our beds for ourselves. I did not have a chance to enter the toilet, but according to the others, it was not exactly very pleasant. As we did not have much time, I decided to check it out for myself later in the night when I would have to use it. After checking into our dorms, we went for dinner in the cafeteria next to the hall. The food was… very… interesting. Me not being a spicy-food-eater could only eat a few dishes. Plus there was beef and mutton there, so the Hindus, Buddhists and Catholics could only eat the vegetables and fish only. Even so, I suspect that I found a piece of beef together with the vegetables. The trainers apologized for the inconveniences and after talking to the cafeteria people, we did not encounter any problems with that anymore.
The next session was a slideshow about how we should break out of our ‘elephant’ mentality. After that, we were divided into five teams and told to come up with a team name and cheer. Every team name had to have the words “Sri Aman” in it. Before that, we had to elect a leader who will change throughout the activities in camp. Riyana was our group’s leader for that activity. Sukanya, Raihana, Adlyss, Shirlene, Sue Wei, Nury, Sofia, Thaya, Syafika, ‘Aqilah, Faizatul, Rui Rong, Ilham and I made up the rest of the group. We were called the “Sri Aman Maroon Monsters” and our cheer was “We’re mean, we’re maroon, we’re monsters, and we’re watching you." Adlyss came up with that idea and we all agreed on it together with the actions. The other teams were called SA Elephant, SA Meow, SA Planet Shakers and SA Kukuwana. SA Elephant’s cheer was kind of cute – they were imitating elephants. SA Meow spoofed the “Smelly Cat” song sung by Phoebe in Friends while SA Planet Shakers did a little beat routine which ended up a little messy. SA Kukuwana was by far the most creative one. It involved Sook Leng as the tribe leader being worshipped by her followers, dancing in a tribal war dance around her. In the end, our group won first place and were awarded 100 marks.
That activity marked the start of the overall competition. We all then returned to our seats for the next activity. Each group had to send three representatives – the prettiest, the most tomboyish and the shortest and fattest one. Our group sent Riyana, Shirlene and Raihana as our representatives. When all the other group’s representatives had gathered, Mr. Gopi then explained what they were supposed to do. They were to relive a Bollywood movie scene where the tomboyish one will be the boy, the prettiest one the girl, and the shortest one the tree. Props included a Malaysian flag which was supposed to be tied like a sari and a branch to be held by the “tree”. It was really hilarious and interesting, watching each group present their creative ideas. Some danced Bollywood-style, some feigned a kissing scene, and let’s not forget the quintessential Bollywood scene in which the couple has courtship around a tree.
Next, we were given a piece of A4 paper. We had to divide it into six pieces and tear it out. On each piece, we were told to write something. First, we had to write down our names. Then, we had to write down our IC numbers. On the third piece of paper, we had to write down our father’s name. The fourth piece of paper was three things we would do if we were invisible followed by the name of our favourite artist and what we would do if we had 24 hours alone with him. Last but not least, what we would do if we were the headmistress of Sri Aman.
After writing down all the information, we folded up each piece of paper and handed it to Mr. Wan who put it in a big plastic bag. The pieces of paper were scattered at a few different places outside the hall. We were told to go out and look for our 6 pieces of paper. The whole scenario tuned into a frenzy as everyone rushed to look for their own pieces of paper. It was no easy task, considering the fact that it was pitch-dark outside except for the streetlights and that there were probably 400 over pieces of paper out there. At first, I was not so sure whether we were allowed to take the paper for our friends and hand it to them later. It seemed like the right thing to do, but I did not know if it had to be an individual effort or team one. But I guess, like Mr. Gopi said afterwards, all of us were too preoccupied with getting only OUR own pieces of paper back and not think of our own team. However, after awhile, people started taking pieces of paper for their friends, group or no group. It was basic courtesy to do so. Luckily for me, I have a very recognizable handwriting, and the items I wrote about were also very recognizable. I think at least three out of my six pieces of paper were found by someone else who then passed it on to me. Basically, in the end, it was a race to see which team had the highest number of people who found all their six pieces of paper. Our team won that as well, with 14 out of 15 people having found their pieces of paper. From that activity, I learned that if we have the same goals as other people, then we should work together to achieve that goal, for as they say, “two heads are better than one”. But then again, “too many cooks spoil the broth”, so we must know where to tread. For example, during the activity, all of us were crowding over the pieces of paper, rummaging through them, looking for their own pieces of paper. Then, our goal was the same – to find our pieces of paper. If we were to work together and help each other, we would have been able to find them faster. Laying out the pieces of paper instead of folding them back certainly helped save some time. And when there were too many people crowding over the same pile of paper, not much could be done as it was too hot, too messy and the light was blocked out.
All the pieces of paper we had gathered were put on the stage in front. Mr. Gopi then decided to entertain us and read out a few of the things written on them. We had a good laugh over those pieces of paper. Especially the one where if the writer was the headmistress of Sri Aman she would declare an all-year holiday. Mine was read out as well – the one on what I would do if I were invisible. I knew that my friends who knew me well enough would be able to identify the author of that little piece because of its content. True enough, once we reached the second thing I would do, everyone looked and pointed at me. It was really fun, especially when we managed to find out who wrote that particular piece. We were laughing all the way, and Liyana Kim, the cheer director, kept blowing her whistle for us to cheer.
As it was already quite late, we then adjourned and went for supper which was “bubur cha cha” which did not look or taste like “bubur cha cha”. A lot of us just went straight to our dorms to wash up and rest. Later that night, our dorm had a little “sharing session” where we had to tell everyone our embarrassing moments. I really enjoyed that moment, not because I discovered potential blackmail material, but because it felt really comfortable and nice, talking and chit-chatting. No senior-junior pressure, no awkwardness. Well, maybe the Form Twos did feel a little awkward, judging from the way they were a little reluctant in sharing. But overall it felt really good and nice. It was just the way camps should be.
One by one, taken over by tiredness and fatigue, we fell asleep.
Day 2 – 2nd April 2005
At 7 o’ clock sharp, everyone gathered at the area in front of the hall for a little morning exercise. The group that had everyone assembled first – our group, SA Maroon Monsters - was given a bonus of 10 points for being punctual while the group that had everyone assembled last was deducted 10 points. The morning exercise was quite fun. At first, Mr. Gopi told us to massage each other’s back in 3 steps, saying things like “It’s okay” and “You can do it” while massaging them. Then, some people took turns to lead the morning exercise. When that was done, we all went for breakfast fully awake and not half-asleep as we are sometimes wont to.
After breakfast, we went inside the hall and played a simple game. It went like this. We formed a circle, and a group leadera from another group would be in the middle. She would point at someone to start, and that person had a choice of either looking to her right and saying “Mewah” or looking to her left and saying “Aha”. Then, the next person to whom she looked at would continue, also having a choice of either directions. It would continue like this until someone slipped and said the wrong word while looking at the wrong side. That person would then have to go in front to be penalized. The game would continue until two people from each group had been sent out. The two people from our group were Shirlene and Ilham. Mr. Gopi told us the penalty when each team had sent out two representatives. Their penalty was to imitate an animal, same team same animal. Each of them was “killed” by Mr. Gopi and they had to act accordingly, in other words, imitate the way that animal would die. Shirlene and Ilham were really funny. They probably had an advantage as they went last, so they had time to discuss and watch and learn. If I am not mistaken, they were imitating either a bird or a duck. And when Mr. Gopi shot them, both of them just said “ploop” together and pretended to fall down. It was really cute because they did it together right at the same time.
The “Shaker-Shakee” activity was up next. Mr. Gopi told us to go round shaking 8 people’s hands and say “It is a GREAT day today”. We then got up and started shaking hands with the people around us. It took some time before we all settled down again. Then, Mr. Gopi told us about the 5 types of “Shakers”. The first one was “Shaker”, a person who takes charge and takes action, like the people who went to other people to shake their hands. Then there was “Shakee”, a person who is controlled by other people and events, like those who just stood there and shook hands with whoever who passed by them. There was also the “Shake-Shake”, a person who does just the minimum required of them, like most of us who just shook 8 people’s hands and left it at there. A “Shake-lah” was a person with a know-it-all attitude and a closed mind, a person who just does things for the sake of doing it, reluctantly, thinking that she is better off without shaking other people’s hands, but does it anyway. Last but not least, there was “Shake What?”, a blur and confused person who was always out of sync with time. Then he told us about the different standards of a person. There was “Poor”, “Average”, “Expected”, “Excellent”, “Outstanding” and “Unbelievable”. He said that most of us fell into the “Expected” and “Excellent” category, but even that was not enough. We should all strive to be the best, to reach “Unbelievable” status and to do so, we had to use the words “Raise Your Standards”. Already we had learned the power of words on our sub-concious mind and how we should use the words “Cancel! Cancel! Go Away!” and “Gone!” to get rid of them. Now, we learned how we should use the words “Raise your standards” to encourage ourselves to constantly do our best and ultimately achieve “Unbelievable” status. After that, we were given another chance to go round shaking people’s hands. This time, everyone was inspired by what Mr. Gopi had just said. We all went around the whole hall, shaking everyone’s hands. There was even a part where we unknowingly formed two lines in the middle, each line walking in the opposite direction, and shook everyone’s hand down the line. We even went outside like Mr. Gopi suggested and looked for people outside to shake hands with. But there were not many people outside anyway, so we all came in again.
The talk on the power of words was not done yet. To continue the talk, Mr. Gopi called for a volunteer, the strongest person, to demonstrate the power of words. Kartigha went out and was told what to do. Mr. Gopi instructed her to hold out her right hand straight, and he would attempt to push her hand down using one finger. She had to try and resist his attempts to push her down and continue keeping her hand up. He tried, and as expected, he did not manage to succeed. Then, he told Kartigha to do the same thing again, this time while repeating the word “bored”. She did so, and in no time at all, Mr. Gopi managed to push her hand down.
We were all lost for words. There was no way he was cheating his way through, for you could see that he was exerting the same amount of energy during both attempts. Yet, this time, he managed to push Kartigha’s hand down. Was it really just because of that one word? To further prove his point, Mr. Gopi made another attempt. This time, Kartigha was told to say something like “I feel great” while keeping her hand straight. There was a little struggle as Mr. Gopi tried his hardest to push her hand down and Kartigha tried to keep her hand up. Mr. Gopi and Kartigha were really using up their energy and in the end, Kartigha managed to keep her hand up.
Mr. Gopi proceeded by telling us which words we should replace in our vocabulary and with what. For example, saying “Challenge” instead of “Problems” would put our minds in a positive attitude and we would think of solutions to overcome the challenge instead of coming up with excuses to get rid of the problem. When he had told us all the different words to replace, again, he requested for volunteers to help him with his next demonstration. I volunteered along with Ain, Manjuli, Shahira, Shalani and Shamala. Our task was to lift up Ain, who was sitting on the chair, from the chair using only one finger. At first, it seemed impossible, but after Mr. Gopi told us the way it could be done, it did not seem so impossible afterall. However, before we managed to lift her up, we had to be very sure that it could be done. I told myself that we could do it, that it was possible, for it it were not, Mr. Gopi would not have called for this demonstration. But during the first attempt, we failed because not all of us fully, wholly believe that it could be done yet. We reassured ourselves again, with greater spirit and determination than before, and with that positive mindset, we managed to lift her up!
Later, we went back to our groups and discussed about what we learned from the previous activities. Syafika was chosen to represent our group in sharing what we had learned. Sukanya said that it was a little ironic that our group, one of the ones which did not help their team mates look for their pieces of paper in the “Search & Find” activity, won the competition when Mr. Gopi was stressing on the importance of teamwork afterwards. It reminded me again of how these sort of things usually conflict and contradict each other till sometimes you get confused because you do not know how to strike a balance between those two. But I guess that it can be applied in the sense that we should not have searched for our pieces of paper individually, that we should have helped other people when we saw their paper and then pass it to them later.
Some time after that, we had the “Reasonable vs Unreasonable” activity. Each group had to find a number of things based on the list. We each also had a specific animal to catch. Our group was quite lucky as our special item was a mosquito which was available in abundance everywhere in the camp. The other items included gross, disgusting stuff that we would not, in normal circumstances, go near to, let alone catch, such as worms, grasshoppers, cow dung, flies, ants etc. Sue Wei and I were in charge of getting the ants. Two red ones and three black ones. I actually volunteered to look for the ants because the last I remember, our dorm toilet was full with them. Big, fat ones scurrying across the wall. The funny thing was, when we went there to look for them, there were nowhere to be found. It was as if they were playing tricks on us. When we did not want them there disturbing our lovely baths, they could be found everywhere. And when we wanted to look for them, they were nowhere in sight. But after searching for awhile, we found a huge row of them at the door. But it did not really matter as we had already caught a few ants outside while waiting for the dorm key. All the other groups could be seen hurrying about with plastic bags or mineral bottles with them, trying to catch whatever it is they needed.
In the end, our group won first place again. We managed to collect everything required. I think that we won partly because of luck for like I said, our special item was a mosquito. Other groups had to find animals such as lizards, live frogs, cockroaches and so on. And, we divided the tasks equally among the members, so it was quite easy for each person to find whatever it was they were supposed to find. Credits go to the “fly-catchers”, Shirlene and Adlyss, who used Shirlene as the “bait” while Adlyss waited for the flies and mosquitoes to land on her. Credits also go to Aqilah, who actually went into the fish pond and waded through it just to catch the fish. And of course, to everyone else for without which, we would not have managed to collect all the items.
After the “Reasonable vs Unreasonable” activity, we had the “Buddy Talk” activity. Mr. Gopi told us to close our eyes and walk around for awhile. When he told us to open our eyes, we had to look around at the person standing near us and if we did not know that person very well yet, and if both parties agree, we would then become buddies. My buddy was Melissa, which was just as well since I did not really know her that well yet. To tell the truth, I used to fear her in Form One, but ever since I got to know her better, that fear does not exist anymore. Basically, we took turns talking about whatever topic it was Mr. Gopi said. He also gave us tips on how to be a good listener and good leader, which was really useful. I mean, you hear people telling you all the time, “make eye contact, use body language” and such, but we never really got to practice it. But on that day, we got to practice those exact skills which we have been hearing about over and over again, and it helps in giving oneself more confidence in the future whenever we talk to someone. I do not know about the others, but I do know that I have always had a problem with talking to people casually one on one. I do not know why, but I could never bring myself to talk care freely and make small talk. Imagine my despair when I read that most successful people are good at making small talk. So what we did that day was very helpful. I might not have been able to master it yet, but it certainly is a good start.
We were supposed to stick with our “Buddies” throughout the camp after that activity, but it did not really turn out because there was no special ruling that we could only sit with out buddies during meals and such. Besides, everyone else wanted to spend time with their other friends, so the “Buddy” thing became a one-day thing for some of the people. In my opinion, if we were to start something like the “Buddy” programme, we should have started on the first day of camp, and not in the middle of it. This way, we would have more time to spend with out respective “Buddies” and we would have taken it more seriously.
The most interesting activity, in my opinion, was the “Blindman”. There were three stages to that activity. It started out with everyone in the group except four people being blindfolded. Those four people were the four most trusted people of the group, the people we look up to when we need help. These four people would then lead the blindfolded people through a route until we reached the first checkpoint. They were allowed to hold our hands and walk with us, while we blindfolded ones had to walk in one line with our hands on each other’s shoulders. After the first checkpoint, we had to proceed to the second one. This time, the four un-blindfolded people could not hold us. Instead, they could only instruct us where to go, and we had to listen to their instructions and act accordingly. From the second checkpoint onwards, there would be one person placed a distance away. She would call out to the first person standing in the line of blindfolded people and that person would then have to listen to that person and walk towards that person. When she reached the other side, she had to remove her blindfold and take over the other person’s place. She would then proceed to instruct the next girl to come towards her and so on until everyone in that group had already reached the other side. I found this part the most interesting and challenging part of the activity because it truly is a test of psychology. It tested your confidence, your trust in your leader calling to you, your ability to listen etc. It was bad enough during the first two parts but imagine, here you could not even hold your friend’s hand. You had nothing, no one to hold on to. The only thing you could rely on was that voice far away, calling you, beckoning you to come towards her. And with all five groups carrying out the activity at the same time, it made things harder for the blindfolded person. She had to identify her leader’s voice, and continue straining her ears in order to hear the right command. And you had to completely trust your leader. That she would ultimately lead you to the right place.
I admit, when my name was first called, I felt a little afraid. I had no idea of how far the distance was between my leader and I. I had no idea how the path in front of me would be. And worse, I did not even know who it was that would be calling me. I thought that it would be Sue Wei, since she was standing in front of me, but I realized later that our group skipped one person so that the next person would be able to observe how the other person called the next girl up before she herself tried it out. What made things worse was when my leader, who turned out to be Rui Rong, called my name, I also heard Yuet Chern answering “Yes?”, so I was not too sure whether she was calling me or Yuet Chern. After a few times of confirming with Rui Rong whether it was really me she was calling, I finally took a deep breath and stepped out.
I still felt a little skeptical. I am ashamed to say that I did not trust my leader or myself fully. Not because that Rui Rong was a Form Two. At that time, I did not know who she was, and I was still trying to familiar myself with her voice. I was also afraid that I would wind up walking in the wrong direction and bump into a tree or something. For some reason, I imagined the path to be an uphill one, with big, tall trees planted neatly in rows, and that if I were not careful, I might just knock into a tree. I put my hands out in front of me to avoid bumping into anything that might cross my path and walked towards where my leader was calling me. Halfway there, I recognized her voice, and somehow, after identifying my leader and getting used to her voice, I began to trust her more. As I continued walking and her voice grew louder, I kenw that I was getting close and triumphantly, I stepped below the line – which I thought was a big pole, by the way – and took out my blindfold.
The first thing I did was to look back, and my, was I surprised at what I saw. All I saw was a few trees placed further apart than I expected, and before that lay an empty clearing. To think that I had been walking so carefully, afraid of bumping into non-existent trees! That part done, after the next person, it was my turn to lead instead. Leading was a much, much different experience from being led. How I felt before I was called and how I felt after reaching the other side were two very different feelings. Before starting my little journey, I was afraid, unaware of what the path ahead might have in store for me. But after crossing the path, the only thing on my mind was how to get my “followed” across as soon as possible so that our group might claim victory. Which we did, in the end. Our group was once again the first to reach the other side. But it was what we experienced while carrying out the activity that mattered.
One thing that irked me during the activity, though, was when we were all at the starting line of the third stage, each waiting in lines to be called. It was bad enough that the people making the journey could scarcely hear their leaders’ voices. The other people who will still waiting for their turn just had to start talking and making noise, disrupting their attention and making it harder for them to concentrate on their leaders’ voice. Despite being shh-ed and shushed a few times, they still continued talking. To them, it might have been no big deal, but it does make a difference to that person making the journey. They could at least be considerate and keep quiet while waiting for their turn. Instead, they just had to talk and make noise.
After the “Blindman” activity, we went to another small field for the next activity, “Flag Raising”. The rules were simple enough. Each group was given five poles, five connectors, a Malaysian flag and raffia string. All they had to do was raise the flag and sing the national anthem while keeping the flag up. Here’s the catch though. We could only hold onto the bottom pole, and the poles with the flag right on top had to be kept straight throughout the national anthem. So we got to work. Most people got the concept straightaway. Tie raffia strings to the top pole and pull the pole from at least four directions in order to keep it up. But coordinating each other’s efforts and using just the right amount of energy was the tricky part. If this side pulled too hard, this side would fall, If this side did not pull hard enough, this side would not go up. Team spirits were dampen slightly whenever they saw another team succeeding while that team itself was still struggling with flag poles. In the end, all the groups managed to raise up their flags, setting two new records in Mr. Gopi’s facilitating history. The first record was that one of our teams was the quickest to raise their flag. The second one was that one of our teams was also the slowest to raise their flag. But the activity certainly taught us something – that perseverance is the key to success, and that everyone had to contribute their effort to make something work.
When we managed to raise the flag, we were told to draw lots. On each piece of paper was written the name of a character. That would be the character that we would have to portray in the next activity after dinner – “Mixed Characters”. Each team had to create a sketch based on all the characters they had, and everyone had to be involved. Our team agreed that we would all bath and rest before meeting at 6.00 pm to discuss the sketch. Then, we went back to our dorms.
We were given a “Free and Easy” period to do anything we want. Some of us went swimming, but most of us spent that time hunting for clothes for our costumes and discussing about the sketch. I was supposed to be the Incredible Hulk. Since I did not have any green shirt, I borrowed one from Yuet Chern and wore my blue Bermudas together with a jacket over it. To tell the truth, I looked like an ordinary schoolgirl on her way to tuition, but it had to do. At 6.00 pm, our group met at the hall to discuss our sketch. The characters given to us included Zorro, Michael Jackson, a pontianak, Chinese Ghost, toyol, a motorbike, a doctor, a medicine seller, Doraemon, Mahatma Gandhi, Osama bin Laden, Batman, Tarzan, Michael Schumacher and of course, me, the Incredible Hulk. After discussing, we managed to get a storyline. The story would start with Doraemon, the narrator, watching television. Doraemon would then explain the story to the audience. One day, Zorro (Shirlene) and his girlfriend, the pontianak of Durian Tunggal (Adlyss) were having a romantic evening out in the woods on a motorbike (Nury). Suddenly, the Incredible Hulk (me), who was secretly in love with the pontianak, burst in and started going mad when he saw Zorro and the pontianak being all lovey-dovey. He turns into the Incredible Hulk and starts attacking Zorro. Unfortunately, just as he is about to stab Zorro, the pontianak jumps in and takes the blow for Zorro. The Hulk gets horrified by what he has done and while he is still in denial, Batman (Rui Rong) and Tarzan (Sofia), the two policemen, come in and arrest the Hulk. Meanwhile, the pontianak is dying because of lack of blood. She needs blood to survive and in order to save her, Zorro gives her his blood. The pontianak sucks Zorro’s blood greedily, only to realize that after sucking him dry, Zorro might die. So the pontianak whips out a handphone and calls the doctor. The doctor (Raihana) arrives with the medicine seller (Faizatul) who is actually an Eastern doctor. Both argue over what medicine to give Zorro and in the end, they just mix everything they have and give it to Zorro. Suddenly, Zorro turns into toyol (Sukanya) who starts jumping around playing with everything he sees, including Doraemon’s pocket. Then, a Chinese Ghost (Sue Wei) comes hopping by and taps toyol on the head. Toyol falls in love with the Chinese Ghost and they decide to get married. While hopping their way to the altar, Michael Schumacher (Aqilah) races in and bangs into everyone, including the priest, Mahatma Gandhi (Riyana), the ringbearer, Osama bin Laden (Thaya) and the special guest, Michael Jackson (Ilham). Michael Jackson loses his plastic nose and goes around looking for it. Luckily for him, Doraemon has a spare one in its pocket. After putting on his new nose, Michael Jackson rises and goes “Thriller!!!” Everyone else rises and start dancing the Thriller dance, signifying the end of the sketch.
What wild imaginations we have.
We did not have time to practice for long because we had dinner at 7.00 pm. After dinner, the competition started, and each group presented their creative ideas. SA Elephants also had a twisted love story. Li San was married to Liyana Kim, who was Jackie Chan and was pregnant with someone’s baby. At the same time, Li San was seeing Sam, who was Elvis Presley and together they plot to kill Liyana Kim so that they can be together. Unfortunately, they kill Liyana Kim’s grandfather instead, and Liyana Kim brings the couple to court. At the court, there is a dispute over who is the father of Li San’s baby. After going through DNA testing, they find out that the father is actually a monkey and just then, Li San goes into labour. In the end, she gives birth to Superman. And that was how Superman was born.
SA Meow was a dark comedy. It tells of how a beggar (Salina/Saliza?) begs Fareena for money. Fareena, being a big shot of some kind, turns her away and the beggar plots revenge. She goes to a witch (Shasha) and the witch turns someone into the Hulk (Dhiviya) to attack Fareena. And the moral of the story? Be nice to people – especially beggars! - for you never know when that beggar turns out to be a twisted psycho hell-bend on seeking revenge…
SA Planet Shakers also had a love story of some sort. Lalitha and Su Jan (Paris Hilton) were fighting over a guy and Nahjan, the baby gets caught in between. What’s memorable was Yuet Chern as Charlie Chaplin. She suited the character very well indeed, together with height and her costume.
SA Kukuwana had to be the most hilarious of the lot. Not one second did I ever think that someone would actually dare to wear black underwear on the outside or put on conical-shaped paper boobs. They won hands down for being outrageous and daring. The storyline was simple enough. Girl (Manjuli) needs to write essay, asks Puan Chua (Angie) for help and Miss Thana (Priyanka) comes in and suggests that she writes about a TV3 event. News reporter (Arittira) interviews a few celebrities at the event, including two cultural dancers (Dhevia and Shahira), Mike Tyson (Debra), The Rock (Sook Leng) and Madonna (Pavithra). Mike Tyson and the Rock wrestle each other and n the end, Mike Tyson does his famous ear-biting stunt. Madonna, on the other hand, tragically finds out that her father is actually Darth Vader (Sara) even though she denies it, using the fact that she has no last name as evidence. They were really funny, and each person portrayed their character well. It came as no surprise when they won the activity. Our group came in second. The points for this activity was tripled, since it was supposed to be the last activity. We all went back to our dorms feeling tired but happy.
Once again, Attap House had a little sharing session. There were quite a lot of ‘outsiders’ at our dorm that night. We never thought that our dorm would be used as THE place to hang out, so it was pretty cool that there were people coming in to join us. Unfortunately, even though I wanted to join in, my tiredness got the best of me and I fell asleep relatively early compared to the others.
Day 3 – 3rd April 2005
Last day of camp. I had been dreading this day since camp started. I had so much fun. And I did not want it to end here. But I had to wake up anyway. Our whole dorm woke up late to day. Luckily, there morning exercise was canceled because we worked hard on the night before. We only woke up when Thaya and someone else – I cannot remember… I was still half-asleep! – came into our dorm and woke us all up. That was around 7.30 a.m., I think. And breakfast was to start at 8.00 a.m. Everyone was in a rush to get ready. In the end, we decided to come back again after breakfast in order to get ready properly. The others must have stayed up till really late last night.
The activities for the day started with a team discussion. We discussed the activities done the day before and shared it with the others. Aqilah was chosen to represent our group. If I am not mistaken, after the group discussion, we played “Hijacked 911”, a really interesting activity. We were given a situation. A plane has crashed in the middle of nowhere. Our job was to get water to the survivors. But since it was in the wilds, the only things we had was a mineral bottle and a pail. So we had to collect water from the river – the swimming pool – and fill up the pail, which was situated a distance away from the pool. Here’s the catch – the bottle had no cap or bottom. It was just a mineral bottle which had been cut so only the middle part was left. And we could only form one line to pass the bottle around. We only found out about the catch after we had already discussed our strategy and were outside, waiting to start the activity. So, we had to change our strategy fast. First, we tried using our hands as covers n turning it this way and that way as we passed it along the line. But it was rather difficult because our hands had to be closing the bottle properly. To much pressure, the water will come out. Too little pressure, same thing happens. And it took some time for each person to get used to it, so progress was really slow. Then our neighbouring group, SA Planet Shakers, started a new way. They folded the bottom of the bottle in one straight line so that the water would not leak. Then, they passed the bottle down the line. After a few hints from Mr. Gopi, we started trying out their method, and it was much, much, easier than the previous one. Soon, every other group used that method as well to get water to the pail. In the end, it was a race to see which group was the fastest to fill up the pail to a certain level.
When that was done, there was still another part to the activity. We had to get each and everyone of our team members and the pail of water over and “electric fence”. We could only cross on top of it, and once we touched the raffia string which was acting as the fence, we would get electrocuted, and everyone else who was already on the other side would get electrocuted as well. We carried the light people over first, followed by the pail and everyone else. Thaya and I, being the tallest ones there, were the last to cross the fence since all we had to do was jump over the thing. Poor Sue Wei fell down on her bottom while being carried to the other side. Luckily, there were not any serious injuries. I cannot remember who won that activity. winning did not seem so important anymore, but rather, the lessons and memories gained from them.
Due to popular demand, we had the Team Karaoke Competition which was supposed to be on the last night, only that it was replaced with the team sketch. Each group picked a number, which would be the number to our songs. We had to send two representatives to go out and sing, while the other group members had to support the singees. They could either sing-along, dance, or just about do anything they want. When our group picked our number, Mr Zafri gave out a short laugh. We were all wondering what that meant…. But we just had to wait and see.
SA Planet Shakers started with their song “La Bamba”. Quite a lot of people have heard it before, but no one really knows how to sing it. But as Mr. Zafri said, it was not a matter of how well you sing, but how your team supports you. As long as the singers read the words on the karaoke video clip, we would pass, but winning depended on the rest of the group members. SA Elephants had “Like A Virgin” while SA Meow had to sing “Uptown Girl”. They were really lucky, for who has not heard Uptown Girl before? Everyone else was singing along with them. Then it was SA Maroon Monsters’ turn. We had a short discussion on what to do and agreed on dancing around the whole hall, separating into two lines on either two sides of the hall. I have no idea what the title of our song was, but it was a Malay song, the only Malay song sung on that day. Now we knew why Mr. Zafri chortled when we told him the number we wanted. But luckily, Sofia, who was representing our group, knew the song. Riyana, the other singer, just caught it on. It was really funny. We were all joget-ing around the hall and we seriously had fun during the little performance. I guess our group had a chance of watching and learning from the mistakes of the previous groups. And the other groups had a disadvantage of not really knowing what to do. The last group, SA Kukuwana had “Pretty Woman”. Sook Leng impersonated a “pretty woman” and walked down the middle and Seira gave her a rose and “proposed” to her. We were all really laughing over that one.
Mr. Gopi and Mr. Zafri decided to have an extended section to the Team Karaoke activity. This time, we all had to dance together in our respective groups. Marks would be awarded for teamwork, in other words, how well we communicated with each other, how well we co-operated and so on. Me being a dance-lover, I really enjoyed the activity. It was nice that we could all just get together and dance, disregarding whether senior or junior. Hey, barriers have to be broken down in order to win activities like these. But like I said, my love for dancing might have something to do with that. The song played was “Mickey” and we were all just having fun, dancing. Since it was a team thing, we had to do the same moves to show unity. First, we danced facing the other groups, but in the end, we just danced in a circle, occasionally walking in that same circle and doing some sort of boogie or something. Since we were dancing in a circle, we could not really see what the other groups were doing, but I am pretty sure they were enjoying it as much as we were. In the end, Mr. Zafri said that we were so good he decided to make it a separate competition from the Team Karaoke one. So the points both this competition and the karaoke competition were tripled twice, in other words, times 6.
We watched a video clip called “Who Moved My Cheese”. It was basically ideas borrowed from the book, “Who Moved My Cheese” and shortened to accommodate what little time we had left. I have never read the book before, so what I saw was new to me. But it was really useful and direct. A simple story of how people move on to achieve new goals while some others just hang around and mope about it. It was not anything new, really, just that it was presented in a really interesting way, which made it even more memorable.
After all the activities were done, we were told to get into our groups again and discuss what we had learned during the pass three days and how we can apply it in the Prefectorial Board. This discussion, though short, was a real eye-opener for me. During the discussion, it was mostly the Form 5 seniors who were giving their opinion, doing the discussing and such. That might be partly because some of us might have been to afraid to speak up, but from the way they spoke, and what they spoke, it showed just how much dedication they have for the Prefectorial Board. I mean, they could say off-hand what kind of problems we have been facing, their opinions on those problems and such. I had to think before I spoke because honestly, I had never thought of those stuff before. Subconsciously, I knew all these things, but I never consciously considered, thought, or discussed about these issues concerning the Prefectorial Board. I always knew that the Form 5s were a real dedicated lot, but I never knew the extend of their dedication. I realized how “not outstanding” we were in comparison to them. And it made me worried. Worried of how we would fare when it comes to our time to take over the board, like in the “Blindman” activity. Worried of whether we would be as dedicated, if not more, than the seniors. Worried of whether we would be able to continue a legacy started years ago, for the Prefectorial Board of Sri Aman is a legacy, of all the pass seniors who have worked hard to bring it up and continuously improve it. Worried of whether we would be able to live up to the board’s name, do our very best, and strive to achieve unbelievable status. But when the bridge comes, we shall cross it, and hopefully, we shall cross it together, with every single prefect in the board on tow.
We ended with four songs – “Bring It All Back”, “Alive”, “Sama-Sama”, and last but not least, our very own prefect song. That, in my opinion, was the most beautiful part of the camp. Everyone was in such high spirits, such passion, such joy. We were all singing the song at the top of our voices, screaming like we have never screamed before. Normally, whenever we sing the song in school or installation, it would always be a little hard to hit that very last note, the highest pitch one. But that day, we all sang it, and with such volume too! I think everyone else realized the difference. Of how we sang during camp and how we sing during installation. And we are supposed to be more excited during our installation.
Overall, I cannot say how much I enjoyed and loved the camp. I could go on and on, but I would never be able to describe how I really feel. I might have conveyed the wrong message here due to lack of space – I am not kidding, I can write more – but bear in mind that this is all written by a girl who just wants to tell everyone what a wonderful and eye-opening experience it was for her. For me, the best part was mixing with the seniors and juniors, especially in our dorm. To a certain extend, we still kept to each other’s respective forms during certain activities, but we did mix, and I could ask for nothing more. At least we managed to get to know our Form 5 seniors better, before they graduate from Sri Aman and physically leave the Prefectorial Board. I say physically because time and time again, through Christine and so many other people, it has been proven that we prefects never really leave the board – it would always be inside our hearts, with the fondest of all memories kept inside.
It made me appreciate my life as a prefect more, and it motivated me do really, really, do my best. I also learned loads of useful things that can help us achieve excellence in life. In my opinion, the real objective of the camp was for us to bond and work together as a team. Almost all the activities required team work, and we all had fun while doing those activities. The campsite facilities might not have been as good as Eagle Ranch last year, but in terms of experience and memories and lessons learned, this camp was far better. Honestly, I cannot really remember what we learned in camp last year. That may or may not have something to do with the fact that I did not have to write a report for that, but I think that I would always remember this camp forever.
The only down side to the camp? Well, that it was just too short! It ended right when we were starting to feel comfortable and settled down in the campsite. 3 days 2 nights is too soon. I wished that this camp went on to 7 or 8 days, but that is quite impossible. But then again, one thing I learned from camp, nothing is impossible. But it was really too short for my liking. It did not seem like it was a camp, but more like some day seminar or something, only much more fun. There was no “camp feeling”. But we all had fun. And that is what that counts.
Lim Wei Zhen
3 Amanah
I LURVED PREFECT CAMP!!!!!!!!! I LURVE ALL DA PREFECTS!!!!!!!! I LURVE U ALL!!!!!!!!!!
hehehe...... overflow of hormonal release........ =P
 -ZHEN-'05
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