Spinning: The Dandy Warhols - Bohemian Like You

If you'd been paying attention, you would've found me complaning endlessly about the camp I was supposed to attend a few days back - Friday the 8th of April, to be precise. The verdict? It was an average camp. It wasn't as good as the best camp I'd been to (Sec 3 Level Camp, surprisingly, and supposedly OBS which I never went to, and don't want to elaborate on the reasons why.) nor was it as bad as the worst camp I'd been to (and I'm not going to mention which. It's a horror just trying to recall what happened then) -- yet this camp was strangely beneficial in a way - it kind of opened my eyes to the kinds of people who existed in TJC, and yah, it did teach me leadership stuff which is really up to me to apply.

First of all - the people part. Having been from a uniformed group, I knew beforehand that camps are really the best way to uncover one's true colours. You may not know it, but what you think of a person may not be who he really is. I've been through a number of Uniformed Group camps - enough to open up my eyes to the good, the bad, and the ugly sides of someone's character. And it really does help me a lot. Example: help me avoid getting manipulated. Heh. Anyway, back to the topic - the SLC basically just showed me the true sides of certain potential leaders in TJ - I'm not going to mention names here as usual, but yeah, I could really tell that some people had that domineering trait in them. It's a good thing if you want to be a leader, but if it's too much, i'm telling you, it's going to piss people off. And piss people off it did, especially a certain guy in the group. Tensions rose yet nothing happened thanks to the peace loving peeps I had in the group... haha. But anyway, it really turned me off. Seriously. That domineering side - like as if people weren't as good as him. But because I don't know him as a close friend, and because he can be okay if he ain't domineering, I shan't say anything more. He does, after all, has his own good points which I saw throughout the camp.

I had this viewpoint prior to attending the camp : if everyone were to be leaders, where are the followers coming from? It took me quite awhile to realize that to be a good leader, you gotta be a good follower. That's where empathy comes in - to understand how your followers feel. But that aside, yeah. Now down to the nitty gritty - The SLC basically divided us into 7 groups, and i was in the 3rd, together with 2 friends I already knew in DHS. We came up with a corny name - Trigo (three-go, get it?) and came up with equally corny cheers which I tell you, made me wanna laugh whenever I cheered. Let me give you an idea of how corny they were - one of them was actually a real Trigonometry identity rule. Goodness. And I thought only those people from the 'higher-up' JCs could come up with them... We had a number of leaders in our group who outshone me - and that was expected 'cos they were part of the O2 committee. Someone in our group quipped during the reflections that everyone is a leader in his own right - I agree with that statement - you don't have to be NOISY to be a leader, you can be a silent leader as well. I never really had that authentic chance to lead during the camp, but it was understandable cos it was a camp filled with leaders, after all. You can't have 120 leaders running around the place, else you would have 120 groups, wouldn't you?

Anyway, the camp organisers this time was pretty efficient and good - by that I mean approachable and friendly, and not the sort who would scream at us for any screw-up (read: Sec 2 Level Camp at Sentosa) I seriously detested some of the Sec 2 Level Camp instructors, though not my own group's but still being a total asshole during briefings - speaking to us as if we owed them a living. In contrast- SLC instructors were a hardworking, wacky bunch, having to sleep at disgusting hours because of us, (i'm so flattered, man.) and being really nice the next morning despite that, unlike in Sec 2 when those morons had that look-i-take-care-of-you-so-you-better-shut-up-and-listen kind of behaviour. My instructor was Anne - 23 years old who'd just graduated from the U. Sometimes I just wish I could sign as an instructor in adventure camp organizations... it's so... enviable- pursuing things that you like instead of hankering after money though you know you hate what you do. I don't know if I'd do that - I might just do it *shrug*.

The campgrounds were rather 'urbanized', mainly cos it was situated in Sentosa. We could actually see a stretch of road leading to Harbourfront on the Main Island. Compared to Sarimbun campsite which was way better (I went there in Sec 3), the campgrounds paled in comparison. Nonethless it was 'okay lah.' Could survive in it anyhow, so no one complained. The only thing that really pissed me off was the toilet - by toilet standards, it doesn't even achieve 1 star. Dammit- it's gross. It's got no toilet paper, has 4 cubicles (which doubles up as shower cubicles) and basically it's just GROSS. But anyhow, somehow, we survived that disgusting toilet, and yeah.... (mainly cos I was smart enuff to run to the toilet when it was wash up time. It's stupid to wait around cos you'll never get to bathe that way). Haha. We slept in dorms one day, and in tents on another. As for the dorms, basically, they were okay- but a tad bit too cold. The tents were ok as well, but they could've been a little more airy.

There were activities - 4 in total to be exact. IMO, it's not really enough to make a camp that memorable. We had 8 activities in Sec 3 Level Camp at Sarimbun, which made it VERY memorable. Nonetheless, the camp activities were cleverly planned, which saved the day I guess. As usual, any camp will drain you out regardless of how many activities you had, so yah, basically, I just K.O.ed upon reaching home.

When we left, I had this fleeting moment of confusion and reluctance. Every time I left a camp organised by outsiders, we would leave behind people who we grew to be fond of, and also of course, we kind of leave that 'grouping' behind. Whenever we see our ex groupmates in school, the most we'd do is to say hi and smile. But that's about it. The bonding we'd had in the camp would be broken and forgotten. And the instructors - those who had been mentoring us all along would probably be forgotten (not by me because I blog about camps) or forget us. It's just a pity.
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