UGC 2007 - Two Dimensions of A Camp Part1

I have just finished my annual Scouts n Guides Camp 2007
How was it?
Here are some reviews of it

“THE GLASS IS HALF EMPTY – U MUST HAVE SPILLED IT” Point of View

The moment I stepped my feet onto the soggy school field, I realised that I had made a mistake. A big one. I have had bad feelings since the night before the camp. I should have listened to my head and heart; to turn off my alarm when it rang early in the morning, and to continue sleeping.

But it was too late. There is no turning point. I could do nothing but to drag my backpack and a fairprice plastic bag filled with watermelon, chicken, and MILO (some our outdoor cooking stuffs) to the canteen and dumped them there. I was ready for the opening ceremony. (I was not shocked later on when the Guides flag stuck to the flagpole and eventually dropped to the ground; the whole camp was cursed). And oh, have I told you that in the camp, I was only an assistant patrol leader and that my patrol leader was a Sec 3 Girl Guide. Receiving commands from a sec3 is already bad enough. The fact that the sec3 is a girl makes it unbearable.

The first activity that we had was tent pitching as the Scouts were going to sleep on the field. And thank you Guides for pointing out, “Ooh, the tent is so small. Are you all really going to sleep in it?” We have eyes and we can see that we had six men tent which was going to be filled with… six guys and… their huge backpacks. So Guides, just enjoy your spacious classroom you were going to sleep in and keep quiet.

The meals provided were ok for construction workers and the portion was just nice for a five years old kid. Most of the time, it took me less than five minutes to scoop the whole box into my mouth. For breakfast and supper, we had special drink which the camp staff called MILO; but I really think that ‘brown water’ is a more proper name, or even ‘colourless solution with brown ppt’.

The games and activity planned were just stupid and pointless. Wait, maybe they did actually serve a purpose; to show that Scouts and Guides are not supposed to work together. One will work when the other party nags. One always keeps on trying whereas the other keeps on complaining.

Outdoor cooking was expected to be fun; as it is during our Scouts’ training. However, in the camp, my temper was really tested with lines like:
“Ok Scouts, start sawing the firewood”
“Hmm, I think Scouts are better in using parang to split the wood, right?”
“Eeh, can you start the fire? I am quite scared”
“Ew, Scouts, the fire is dying, do something to it”
(Holding a chicken we were going to roast) “Iih, the head is still there you know. How am I supposed to marinate? I don’t know”. When I said that it was easy and she just need to use soya sauce and salt on the skin, I got “If really that easy, so you do it lor” (she put it back in and walked away)
Couldn’t she see that I am holding a saw on my hand and a parang being used by my Scout member was just within my arm length???
Even Mother Nature seemed unable to hold her feelings anymore. She vomited its load of water for around 15 minutes and our poor chicken could finally rest in peace…in the dust bin.

Wash up period was another nuisance. We were allowed to use only one venue, so the queue was very long, but what we got was really not worth it. How did they expect us to take a bath in a rest room where you cannot even flush properly?

Sleeping time was the most expected activity. Scouts actually had to sleep in their tents, but due to heavy rain, some tents toppled and around 20 scouts had to move to an empty classroom. As a leader, I had the authority to join them in the class instead of my damp and fish smelling (yes, sweat drenched t-shirts and a-day-old socks plus rainwater combined together in a zipped up tent will give you fish odour; a dead one…) tent filled with even smellier people. So after light out time, I lay down on a table, closed my eyes, and traveled to dreamland. I totally had no idea of what is expecting me the next morning.
It turned out to be my own scout members. They circled around my table, looked at me, and complained that they could not sleep. Reason? They dreamed that I snored.
Ok, maybe I did really snore. But it couldn’t be that loud. Maybe people sleeping a few centimetres beside me will be disturbed, but not all of them. The claim that I can be clearly heard from the whole class was totally illogical. I refused to accept that. Yet, I was given another classroom just for myself to sleep in the next night.

The rest two days were about the same. I almost shed tears of joy when they finally announced that the camp was over.

To end this, I shall give

Top Quote of the Camp
“Huh, why Scouts must tie the knots so tight one, so troublesome…”
(A Girl Guide when we were unpacking…. our 4.5 metres high flag pole)