Hi all, Boon Wee here. I am here to share my experience on OBS at Pulau Ubin which I went for on 13-17 June 2011. The main objectives of this camp were to nurture us to improve our leadership qualities, as well as having the initiative to take charge of the sessions over the 5 days camp. It also allows us to experience outdoor learning through outdoor real life experiences. It is also a camp that allows one to realize their full potential and identifying our own strengths and weaknesses. The obstacles are mentally and physically challenging. Overcoming the obstacles helps build up our confidence.
On the 1st day, different schools gathered at the reception centre at Punggol jetty to form different watches (Another term for groups). Even though there were many unfamiliar faces, but as time passes by, I have come to know them better and noticed how capable they are as they displayed leadership throughout the whole sessions.
When we arrived at Pulau Ubin, we had invaluable hands-on experiences through activities such as belaying and trust fall that bonds the team together. As the name implies, trust fall is falling with trust and confidence by trusting your friends that they will catch u safely when u fall. At the end of the day, all of us started out as strangers, ended as friends. It was cold ice at first, now it is a cup of warm water. We are, one cup, one group, one team.
At the start of 2nd day, Morning Circle is carried out. It is a session where the people in the group shares opinions on the previous day activities and strength and weaknesses of the group. I felt that this is a very good session to understand and know the thoughts of individuals and I liked it very much. Right after Morning Circle was high rope elements and now, we got to use what we learned in day 1: belaying, and apply it.
When it was my turn to climb, my goal was to reach half of the wall as I was not confident after seeing how my friends had struggled. However, when I got past my expectation, I had a boost of adrenaline and tried my very best and finally climbed to the top. That moment I realized how vital it was to have confidence in myself. Later in the day was kayaking where the instructors taught us skills and capsize drills. The lesson was clear and the instructors even gave *live* demonstrations.
On the 3rd day, the land expedition came. This activities allows us to understand ourselves better, the attitudes that we will displayed when we encounter difficulties. Some people might become eggs, carrots or tea leaves. In a hot water, eggs became hard just to protect themselves. Carrots became soft and crumble. The tea leaves transforms and makes it tastes better. The land expedition is like a hot water; some people may give up easily like the carrot, or thinks only about themselves like an egg, or adapt to the harsh environment and sacrifice themselves for others just like tea leaves.
The expedition started out with me as the navigator, leading the watch to the checkpoint through the jungle and my group mates were very helpful. When I stumble upon a forked road, they went forward and gave me suggestions. Eventually, we successfully reached the checkpoint as a whole. At the last few checkpoints, there was a road-block, where we had to complete a challenge with our group in order to know the next location.
When we reached the campsite, we were overjoyed as we survived the expedition. I myself was glad that no one became the carrot or egg. We reached the destination as a whole group. This is when I realized, achieving something as a team are more meaningful than achieving something alone.
Day 4 was the sea expedition where everyone was looking forward to as compared to the land expedition. This is the day where we apply what we have learnt during the kayaking lesson. This is a rare opportunity as we kayak from the open sea and into the mangroves. There was a part where we had to carry our kayaks on shore and carry it to the other side of the river and launch again. The slope was muddy and at first no one was willing to help. However, at the 2nd part, everyone, started carrying the kayaks regardless of the mud. Some were even sitting on the mud, stretching out their hands, pulling their friends up shore as it was slippery.
After coming out of the mangrove, we had to kayak almost half a round Pulau Ubin to reach our campsite. All of us were tired, our hands seemed that they would break any moment. When we were halfway there, most of us wanted to stop kayaking and stay there. However, one voice, one person’s voice, boosted everyone’s spirit indefinitely. All of us begun to paddle as one whole fleet and reached our destination swiftly.
When we arrived back at our OBS camp, everyone’s efforts has made all of us arrive back way ahead of time. That’s why we had time for bonuses such as: jetty jump. It was exciting as walking to the edge of a plank and jump into the sea is a rare opportunity. Even though everyone is tired, all of us had lots of fun.
Finally, it is day 5, time to go back to main land, Singapore. In the blink of an eye, it was the last day of spending our precious time with one another. This means that we have to go back to where we belong. When Morning Circle was carried out, some of them started crying, during the five days camp, every single one of us have build friendship with one another. The sight of it is heart-aching.
After this camp, I understood the objectives of OBS. It is not just Outward Bound Singapore. It also means, Others Before Self. Teamwork is all it takes to complete a task, no matter how difficult it is. No one can ever whistle a whole symphony, it takes the whole orchestra to do it.
Boon Wee
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