Extraordinary Camp!!

扎根，成长。

That's the theme of the Malaysia Chinese Secondary Schools Leadership Camp 2008 I've went to during Monday ( 9/11 ) till Wednesday ( 12/11 ). The fact is that's truly one of the best camps I've been to! I gain memorable feelings and experiences there that's totally unforgettable. I departed from KT on Monday morning by airplane. The teacher in charge there took us there by car.

The campsite

It was so boring when I got there..there was no one except students from Johor. I waited and took a stroll around the college..and it was until about 2pm students from other states reach and register. I was the only one from Terengganu and I felt lonely there..( especially in my room ). Soon I met some guys from Kedah and chat with them about our schools prefect system.

The opening ceremony started at 7.30pm at night in the lecture hall. There were all 225 students participating in this camp. We're divided into 14 groups in total.

The second day is quite benefitial for me although we're required to listen to 4 speeches on that day! All the speeches are great as they gave me more confidence and motivated me to become a better person. Everyone shared their experiences in life together and many of us cried..it was a rare and touching scene that time.

The third day was great! Let me share it with everyone..
In the morning we built sandcastles which I've never done it before in my life. Btw the sandcastles are not those kiddy sandcastles you think....

Our group's sandcastle

Another angel

Luckily I didn't forget myself ^^

This exciting activity made me learn about the importance of teamwork and discipline. Everyone worked hard to get the sandcastle done. We've spent about 3 hours to get this sandcastle built!

In the afternoon we visited 3 interesting places in Penang - Khoo Kongsi Temple, War Museum & state market. I liked the War Museum though as it is one of the British and Japanese campsites during war in our country. You can still see writings on the wall and bloodstains of people who died that time in the houses(TRUE). However I didn't manage to take pictures which I regretted after coming back.

I can say that that night was the most wonderful night of all! Each group will be presenting a drama/song/play on stage for everyone. All of them are great although everyone had little time to prepare. Each presentation showed moral values in it. A leader requires loads of values and leadership abilities to be succesful. After the presentations, the fun begins!

The scene in the lecture hall

Everyone stood up and sing, dance, cheer.....some of them even rushed onto stage and believe me, I had never seen this type of scene in any other camps. You can feel the joy and fun after 2 days of ''suffering''( Not enough sleep, tight activity schedule which was tiring ). I remembered that we sang these songs..

1. 只因为你
2. 改变自己
3. 稻香
4. 浪花一朵朵
5. 洗刷刷
6. 约定
7. 童话
8. 甜蜜蜜
9. 朋友
10. Superstar
11. 北极星的眼泪
12. 月亮代表我的心
13. 依然是朋友
14. 老鼠爱大米
15. ABC
16. Twinkel Twinkle Little Star
17. .....

There are still many of them which I've forgotten. All I can remember are the ones above. It's getting more exciting when the teachers join us too. Everyone in the hall had a wonderful time. We sang until 2am in the morning if I had not forgotten..after that we had a sharing time. Many shared their feelings and thoughts about this camp. I shared mine too! Went to bed at around 3am in the morning and required to wake up at 6.30am in the morning for breakfast..it was tiring man....

The last day see us listening to our final speech in this camp, and then we had a photography session in school uniforms. After the closing ceremony and our last meal there, farewell! i can see hugs and faces with tears around me as I was leaving the college...to be honest I wished I can have at least 1 more day here. i had this when you start knowing more friends and getting well with them, you've gotta go feeling and that is sad...

Let me summarize what I've learned in this camp:

- Everyone had a genius in them, and it's up to them to awake it.
- 华人为华社!
- 能感恩多少, 就能享受多少
- 不要享受别人的牺牲, 为别人牺牲
- 塑造自己迈向成功
- Qualities to be a leader
- 扎根, 成长


Great camp, great experience. Looking forward to similar ones!