Pre-Camp 2: The Countdown to Phong Thanh BEGINS!

How's everyone doing after Precamp 2 ended yesterday? It was definitely our most tiring outing together yet, with 2 days and 1 night of non-stop activities and briefings at the SADeaf Mountbatten facility! I myself am still recuperating from the crazy amount of running and walking and dancing we had to do.

But enough about how tiring it was, I hope everyone had a good time on Saturday and Sunday! Precamp 2 began on Saturday at 10am, with all COR members and HI volunteers assembling at the hall, to prepare to be split into our respective groups. We received a video message from our superhero friends instructing us to embark on our mission! 

The mission video prepared by our fellow heroes in another world (Shhhhh don't tell anyone that actually, it was CGL Felicia who made that)

Before the commencement of any mission, we had to of course find our buddies, who will work together like partners-in-crime (not crime but saving the world) in our trip to Vietnam. In order for the COR members and HI volunteers to find their partners, the CGLs hid all the blindfolded COR members around the compound, and gave instructions to the HIs to find their COR buddy-to-be. This was definitely a great start to camp as all of us were excited and filled with anticipation as to who our buddy and groupmates would be!

One of the blindfolded COR members deep in thought about who his buddy is.

Celissa found her buddy! Wonder who is under that blindfold....

A photo of all of us before the big reveal.

As soon as our buddies were found, we then proceeded with the first few missions of the camp, which included the classic 3-legged balloon-bursting game to break the ice. Even though the string ties around our ankles felt like a knife cutting through our skin, we all still had fun bursting out opponents' balloons and Wolverine eventually emerged victorious. 

CGL Ming Sheng giving out the instructions for the balloon game.

Captain America vs Wolverine in the Balloon Battle! Wolverine emerged victorious.

After lunch at the Old Airport Road Hawker Centre, we had an amazing race-esque food-hunt, which included stopovers at hidden cafes around Mountbatten such as the famous Tian Kee which served up a variety of cheesecakes. Their rainbow and gula melaka cheesecakes are to die for! The race included mini-missions which we had to complete, such as this skit which Spiderman filmed! 

COR'15 Spiderman group short acting!
Posted by Camp OutReach on Monday, June 1, 2015

Hulk feeling excited about the cheesecakes they purchased!

Spiderman after their Bing Su feast!

However, the main mission that day was to create a photo essay as a group, with the meaningful theme of "Taking ____________ for Granted" set by our Programmers. Things such as cleaners, everyday comforts, food and toilets were things thought to be taken for granted everyday, and we had a heated discussion about these topics. This served as a very important reflection lesson for all of us, as we had to think back and reflect on why and how these items impact us and why they are always taken for granted, and what corrective behaviour we should take to appreciate them more. I certainly will try my best to reduce my food wastage from now on, and thank the cleaners for keeping Singapore a "cleaned city"!

The mushrooms were a popular ingredient

Satisfied diners Rukhsana, Dave and Wei Ling!

Li Sha enjoying her soup and noodles while Wan Ling is too engrossed in her bowl.

After which, all the campers were treated to a sumptuous steamboat dinner, in which everyone snatched for the popular cheese tofu and noodles! Everyone definitely ate well, and were fully recharged and energised for the next activity....

DANCE PRACTICE! As you all know, we are to conduct a cultural exchange with the kids in Phong Thanh Village and each group is tasked with a particular race's cultural dance to showcase. Captain America danced eurasian, Hulk danced Indian, Spiderman danced Chinese and Wolverine danced malay! The respective PNP members, who planned their groups' dance led the 3 hour practice session, which ended with sweaty campers. It was definitely hilarious to see some of the campers shaking their booty to the catchy music, with some excited members even digressing and dancing to some Kpop beats! Judging from the determination and enthusiasm everyone put into the practice, the dances are bound to be really entertaining. I can't wait to see their actual performances in Vietnam!

With such an exhausting itinerary on day 1, it is no surprise that on Day 2, many of us could not wake up at the stipulated 8am for breakfast! But before we could even rip our milo packets open, it was reported that some campers were missing!!! WHAT?! Of course, it was merely a simulation of what may happen in Vietnam, should one of our groupmates stray too far from the group, and what we should do when it happens. All of us had to search high and low for our missing friends before we could eat breakfast, because we must "Leave No Man Behind".

All the campers feeling relieved that their groupmates had been found, and settled down to breakfast.

The next activity was a telematch, which kicked off with a game which requires teamwork -- transporting a can of water as a group, without letting the can fall. Sounds easy doesn't it? But the rubber band used to hold the can proved tricky for many of us and the can fell multiple times. The water was then used in skipping rope, where one person has to jump rope with a cup of water above his/her head without spilling too much of it! The remaining water was then used in a illusion, where the can has to be tilted at a 45 degree angle. We then had to transport chairs ON CHAIRS? HAHA 

Transporting a can of water as a team

Poor Ellias getting drenched by water as he tried to jump-rope.

The cool magic trick of standing the cans at 45 degrees! Woah

A human caterpillar made harder by standing on chairs.

Merry-go-round!

 We had a Captain's Ball match afterwards, but this time, instead of using weird balls such as banana peels of ping pong balls like in our first outing, we had to be tied to our buddy and work as a pair. The match ended with loud screams, especially from Cadance, and wacky dance moves by Wei Ling and Yining!

As if the telematch and captain's ball match weren't tiring enough, the CGLs had planned for us a Running Man style game, where 3 groups had to hunt for alphabets scattered around the compound tied to their buddies, while Spider-man, who won the Captain's Ball game, acted as "Predators" preventing us from finding the clues. They eliminated each pair by pulling out a string that acts as each pair's "life". This game definitely was one of the most exhilarating of the camp as adrenaline pumped when we tried to escape our predator or avoided being seen by them! In the end, the 3 hunting groups won out as all 14 alphabets spelling C-A-M-P O-U-T-R-E-A-C-H 1-5 were found.

Yining pulling Wei Ling away from the Predators.

Eelin and Celissa hoping not to be found as they hid behind the buildings

Shareen and Aishah desperately hunting for clues while watching their sides and backs.

Once all of us has cooled down from these games, the Programmers conducted a dry-run of the lessons we are going to conduct to the children in Vietnam. We were briefed on how to conduct the English and Science lessons, and familiarised ourselves with the materials and tools such that we can carry out the lesson plans smoothly once we are there.

The last activity of the camp was to select actors for our cultural skit! We had people acting as children, a policeman, as well as members of the 4 different races being chosen for the skit. Unfortunately, due to time constraints, we were unable to have a full rehearsal of our performance and will only do so in Vietnam!

Of course, before breaking camp officially, a mandatory photo session is required, and a goodie bag proudly sponsored by SADeaf was given out.

This is how the Hulk-Smash is done!

Look out for that sticky web from Spiderman!

Don't mess with the super soldiers, Captain America.

Kai Leun doing his best impression of Wolverine, but unfortunately fell quite short.

MANDATORY GROUP PHOTO

To end off this post, I would like to give a big Thank You to the CGLs who planned and executed the camp, Programmers for briefing us on our Vietnam itinerary and to-dos, Logs for preparing all our necessities, PnP for being the photographers as well as all our campers for bringing their enthusiasm into the camp!

Stay safe, stay healthy and stay positive.Till then, it's officially 12 MORE DAYS TO VIETNAM!

See you guys at the airport!

Cheers,
Shareen