PPMS 2006/07 - And the week that was

Nice group photo taken on the 2nd day of camp. Unfortunately I have to resize it for uploading purposes.

But don't worry. Here's a close-up so you can see me:

(I'm the one with the brown hair.)

Imagine:

- Waking up every morning at 5 for marching practice;

- Eating 6 meals per day;

- Giving praise to Allah before every meal;

- Having wonderful teammates of every known personality: Zah the strong, Nor the pretty, Effa the affably cute, Wei Sin the helpful, Shasha the super-super cute, Dini the dependable (I miss them already), Abang Jo the funny and silently powerful, Fadzly the spoilt-brat cum patronizer, Keng who likes to sing, and Wai Lun who steals my ideas LOUDLY;

- Having leeches suck on you and gradually grow fat. They itch a little;

- Abseiling for the first time! (What is abseiling?);

- Being encouraged to speak up and be heard. Extremely motivated to be leaders;

- Speaking on a very controversial topic to a varied audience;

- Having no-nonsense, retired army generals to train you;

- No handphones, internet or newspapers for 6 days and 5 nights;

- Finding your way in the jungle at night, without a torch;

- Spending the night running around in the jungle, with no sleep;

- Sleeping in a double-decked bunker marked with "Hak Kerajaan" on its linens ("Property of the Government");

- Sleeping after 12 -- on the days we get to;

- Mandi sungai (bathing in the river) and doing crazy pyramid formations;

- Singing Wawasan 2020, Menara Ilmu and Lagu PPMS at the top of your lungs;

- Surviving with my basic Mandarin and perfected slang-ish Malay;

- Donning silly roles in plays -- I was the "abang" who went to the toilet and had his rope cut, causing him to drift down the river;

- Being one of 212 students from the Main, Engineering and Medical Campus to don that cool vest.

"Fun" doesn't even begin to describe the past week. I have emerged stronger physically and mentally. What a great camp!