sentry duty at 4.30am! (i think)

we checked that the boat wasn't floating away, walked one round around the place, changed into our wet clothes, did our business, unpitched our tents and got our things ready for sea ex.

and woke the others up!

got all the food and things ready and brought all our things and the kayaks down to shore. (:

we were all ready by 6.30am!

but the sun still hadn't risen so we had to wait a little while.

our route to camp 1 was a cross-island route where we had to go through the mud swamps and get out to the sea before noon so that we wouldn't be stuck in the mud. that's why we had to leave so early!

started off when the sun rose. since sab was one of the sea ex leaders, our kayak had to help make sure everybody was not too far out and sea but near the coastline.

by now i'm sure sab and diane and i all have phobias of branches. xD

we kept banging into them and once i stupidly capsized because i banged into a branch- and nobody else in the kayak capsized, hahaha.

and cross-island sea expedition means you have to carry those heavy heavy heavy kayaks across small little muddy lanes to another side of the river.

we were SO happy to get out of that annoying swamp thing with branches and mud and everything. :D

to the sea!

hahaha sab and i were high!

sab: come on mone you must use your gym muscles! let's go!

me: and you must use your tennis muscles and diane must use her GB muscles!

and i also don't know what's so funny but we all started laughing and being high! (:

i think we were just too happy to be out at sea!

reached camp 1 after around 7 hours of kayaking!

we were really happy to be back on land. (:

and mrs hoo, who came visiting, was there to welcome us! :D

we washed and cleaned the kayaks + paddles + ponchos (which we didn't even use!) for an hour and a half and then went to take our first proper shower in 2 DAYS.

it felt good. (:

then we pitched our tents up on this hill before dark and then went back to our block.

special dinner!- being our last night at OBS, awww.

we got fresh veggies (after not eating veggies for i-don't-know-how-many-days) and onions and EGGS!

sab, jodi, diane and all our other domestic goddesses came into play! (:

i felt pretty useless haha.

but the dinner was lovely!

after dinner + cleaning up + returning of all the equipment + packing up, we spent our last night together (i thought) very meaningfully.

we went upstairs to the little gallery overlooking the block, taking with us 5 sets of mess tins, and sat in a circle.

then using the 10 mess tins we formed 'WS' which is the initials for washington. (:

and then uncle alex passed everybody a tea light.

we were asked, if we could bring back a snapshot of our time at OBS, what would it be?

and what was the most important lesson we'd learnt?

and huifei who was sitting on my left side volunteered to start. so uncle alex lighted her candle, and she shared, and then passed the flame on to the next person. then she put her candle into one of the 'WS' boxes.

so cool right.

everybody shared, and some people cried but i think those were happy tears because just sitting there, i myself was soaking up the bond of our whole watch. (:

even uncle alex teared (but only i saw cos he was sitting on my right) but he hid it very well so nobody saw.

i was the last candle and the last to share.

i think OBS was a really good experience; i went there dreading it and came back loving it. (:

i thought it was amazing how everybody grew so much and bonded so well together!

i can't really remember what i've shared but i know the main idea of all the things i've learnt is about myself and people. how you handle a situation is not really how well you handle the factors of what's going on, but how you handle the people.

it's the people who will cause you problems, but it's the people who make you happy. (:

and we're all bound to care about ourselves first, because that's our instinct. but the thing is that we must all learn to step out of our comfort zone and reach a hand out to those who are struggling or those who may not be able to catch up.

yew weng once told me, "the strength of a team is as strong as its weakest member". and i think i can see that's very true.

our last night in a tent. (:

our last morning unpitching tents. (:

our last morning PT.

our last day.

uncle alex popped corn for us and we just sat around and enjoyed each other's company.

then cleaned up the block and brought our bags to the multi-purpose hall.

we prepared our group item, ate lunch and just talked as a watch.

group item!

we sang the song "peng you" (which shao wei has been trying very very hard to learn since i-don't-know-when :D), did our group cheer and sang a birthday song for uncle alex! (:

then after the whole group item, we gathered again to say goodbye to uncle alex our lion.

we re-sang "peng you" and almost everybody cried (including uncle alex again!) except for me and diane and huifei-the-ever-stone-face.

then we left.

goodbye pulau ubin.

somehow even though i was sad to leave, i was also happy to go home.

back at the punggol jetty, while waiting for our security check, everybody was crying and laughing and talking.

bused back to school with ms tsang. (:

then taxi-ed home with huifei and alisa being high all the way.

huifei says i remind her of a squirrel and alisa says i remind her of a gazelle. xD

HAHAHA.

the end. (: