OBS..

The 10 days in OBS is finally over. I must say that it was a really great experience having spent 10 days with friends. A rare experience by any standards.
The whole of the lower 6 form of KTJ were divided into 5 groups of 15. They called the groups watches; mine was called Mulu. In my group, we had 10 guys and 5 girls. (guys= Me, Karim, Kenneth, Sufian, Johan, Ryan, Afiq, Kresna, Gaston and Melvin, Girls= Fay Ying, Siti Hawa, Faezah, Syazwanie and Syazleen) Each watch had an instructor. Mulu was lucky to get Helen, a 19 year old gap student as our instructor. ( we didn't know she was 19 till she revelaed it on the last day) We started the first few days slowly, having do the rope course, introduction to kayaking, and many group activities.
I would think that the most fun and exciting part of OBS was the final expedition. We were to hike across the island of Pangkor and then kayak all the way back to Lumut. It was a 4 day expedition. Unfortunately, we got lost in the jungle on the first day itself. It was partially my fault as I was the navigator, but I take comfort in knowing that another group was lost with us. =) We spent the first night in the middle of the jungle, all the 30 of us. It was getting late so we had to pitch up our tents and start the fire to cook. However, we decided to improvise and make a canopy instead of pitching up tents to save space. Honestly speaking, I thought that the night in the middle of the jungle was completely refreshing. It brought back many memories of my RMC days and the camping expeditions we had.
The next day, we navigated our way out of the jungle to the beach. From there, we hiked up one last summit and down. We reached the campsite just before sundown. Our campsite was almost heaven. The beach was long and clean, there was a stream flowing out to the sea. Even the sea water was clear. We rested there for the next day before we kayaked back to Lumut.
The kayaking expedition was great. I was elected sea captain and I take great pride in being the only person that capsized throughout the journey. Despite the capsize, the whole team did well and we managed to reach lumut only after 6 hours of kayaking. (somehow whenever I'm incharge, things seem to go wrong =S)
The next day, we had our solo camp. On my part, it was the most wonderful experience in the whole course. We spent 2 days and a night in the jungle by ourselves without having to worry about anything at all. It was relaxing.
After the solo camp, we had a few activities and we had a barbeque on the last night.

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Insights? Many. First of all, my group was filled with many strong individuals. I was expecting that we'd make a really strong team. I was wrong. Somehow, we weren't able to fully utilize the strengths of the many individuals to make the ideal group. During the final expedition, though fun and exciting, it was frustrating. Somehow, not everyone was giving their best to the team. Some people were selfish and decided to put themselves ahead of others. It was interesting to see the other side of people that I never knew before.
I also began to understand and know other people better as well. I had a particular watchmate that was a real team player. He's always there to help, always sacrificing for others and was really dependable. If it wasn't for him, I would have lost my sanity. I look at him and I find strength even when I'm tired. It makes me realize that sometimes, sacrifices must be made at the expense of ourselves for the better of others. Afiq, you deserve a special mention ( at least in my blog).
I had a long chat with a close friend of mine during the last night. We discused many things that happened throughout the whole course. That session of chatting was one of great importance. I realised that often I set too high expectations for anything. Whenever things are not up to my expectations, I get really annoyed. As for me, I must learn to compensate with others. I must understand that noone is alike; evenmore none like me. Learning is a tough process, but its nescesarry. Let me end with a witty quote by Doris Lessing.

"That what learning is. You suddenly understand something you understood your whole life, but in a new way. "