Sunday, October 8, 2017

Unplugged

1:00 a.m. Here I am, blogging.

24 hours ago, I was rushing to finish off my assignment. (For those who don’t know, I am currently studying part time to obtain a teaching diploma.)

96 hours ago, I was at a campsite by the beach, building gadgets with my teammates using bamboo, wood, and raffia string.

On 1st to 4th of October, 49 of us went to Teluk Gorek, Mersing, Johor for a Scout camp. I was thankful for the opportunity to get away from school and go back to nature.

Spending 4 days 3 nights by the seaside was an amazing experience. It was truly the time where I could slow down, focus on a task at a time, and let loose of my thoughts. Every night, I would fall asleep to the sound of the sea waves, and wake up to this therapeutic view.


During the camp we were asked to make gadgets such as chair, table, storage unit, shoes rack, and fork and spoon using materials available. We tied the sticks together with raffia string using knots that we have learned. I would like to take this chance to thank each and everyone in Garuda team for your dedicated hard work.


My biggest happiness during the camp was waking up to new gadgets built by other teammates. The first night when we hit our sleeping bags, our compound was empty; when we woke up in the morning, there was a real size storage stand standing outside our tents. 


The second night when I woke up for sentry duty, I found a table sitting at our kitchen area, sturdy and ready to be used.


Those moments were magical. It was like Christmas came early in October this year. Everyday was a surprise because I did not know what gadgets we would wake up to.

Of course, those gadgets did not just pop up from thin air. Some of us had selflessly sacrificed their sleep time to make those gadgets. Which made them even better gifts for a person like me whom love language is act of service! [:p] Oh, sweet sweet Christmas! May God bless abundantly each and everyone who had contributed, in big or small ways, to the production of those gadgets! [;D]

I enjoyed the camp.

Before I went, I was afraid that I might break down again like how I did during BTN in 2013, because BTN reminded me a great deal about my high school camping mates, and that time I wished I had attended the camp with my high school buddies rather than my college mates (hopefully no offense taken for any college friends reading this……opps……)

Besides, I was afraid that I might feel out of place like how I felt when I went to the map and compass camp in 2016. During that camp, I was yearning to hold on to someone when I was hiking through those difficult trails. Yet when I looked around, I found no support.

2017. I went to the camp with a bunch of people that I enjoy hanging out with, both during fun and challenging times. I searched for no one and I thought of no one. It was liberating. 

For the first time in a long while, I was at the present moment.

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