Sojourn '03 - ICSS freshers' orientation camp
Just came back from Sojourn 2003. The camp actually ends tomorrow morn but due to some events I came back early, and so did quite a few others.Took place (erm, or rather, it is still taking place) on Sentosa, mostly on Palawan Beach (why not just make it Padawan? lol). Stayed in the Sentosa Holiday Chalets. Actually, I'm not so sure. It's a very informal lodging, and I can't see the office anywhere although there was a sign pointing to it. Most freshers and a few second-year seniors went... my estimate is around 40 or 50 odd people, but don't trust me on that; numbers were never my strong point. :P
It was fun, though sometimes, some activities were boring, but all with the motive of ice-breaking and familiarising ourselves with one another, and I think they worked well in that aspect. The usual group-based round robin-type crazy wet and dirty games... water bombs, orange juice bombs, egg bombs... toothpaste-smearing on the face, 'pick the fruits up from this place to that without using your hands', 'go through a tunnel of water and eat up the hanging apple on the other end in pairs', hunting things in a plate of flour, beach games, three-legged soccer, spiders' web, wargames, and some other stuff. We all stunk like rotten eggs and mint toothpaste the whole day, and I had salt crystalising on my skin.
My group was the Halflings (we went into groups named after races in the LOTR-era ie. Highelves, Humans, Orcs, Dwarves etc.)... and our flag bore a horseshoe and a clover, fashioned into a coat of arms kind of thing.
Lots of sitting in a circle and chatting... about the College, about London, about ourselves, the degree courses, the politics behind the different faculties, about work... about studies... and concluded that this is why people call Imperial students, geeks. Camp, and discussions of work dominate our conversations. Hahaa... I suppose this is one reason why we're here - to know how it is like over there. Met lots of people (duh), interesting people... and I am always asked, "Why Ecology??" or "Why not stay in Sydney?" I always have a steady answer for the first but although I do answer the second too, I am never too sure about that one. I have grown to love Sydney, the life there, and the friends I made there... but anyway, that's beside the point. I've been there and I shall keep the experience with me... as well as my friends...
To digress a little more, I must mention the cockatoos and parakeets and the koels on Sentosa, and especially those always hanging out around Palawan Beach. They... are an annoyance. Not in the least bit due to their presence, but because of the absence of my SCOPE. If only I had brought my full gear with me... such wonderful pictures of them I could take. Them, koels, and kingfishers. It's always the case - the burden of being a nature photographer, the "Arghh... why didn't I bring my scope along with me?" feeling. The birds are such a distraction. Sometimes I can't help myself but answer back whenever I hear them calling - squawking or ko-el-ing... but most of the times I have to refrain myself from doing so lest the people around me think I'm nuts or something. It's such a torture... 'Answering back' seems to have become a habit of mine; mimicking the call of the birds (sometimes unsuccessfully, sounding like I have a sore-throat coupled with a horrible distorted whistle from the throat, if that makes any sense).
There were quite a number of beetles (species undetermined) in and around the chalet blocks... on the front steps, in the kitchen, simply on the floor, and on the trees. I had the pleasure of playing with three of them, and at 4cm they are among the bigger beetles I've handled. I keep forgetting that beetles do have wings, and 'have wings can fly', so when one just takes off one of a sudden and go buzzing into my face, I automatically take a little jump backwards and shield my face, for they look too much like bees in that manner.
Right... getting back to the camp. Besides the activities mentioned earlier, there was also this thing called the Haunted House, which took place at night, of course. Now this isn't just a name in itself, since it is, we believe, a real haunted house. Or so the seniors say, with all sincererity - if that is possible. It's a huge mansion, two or so storeys, and dozens of rooms. They said that when they went to check it out during the daytime, it was even scarier, since it was then when you could see the things you wouldn't be able to at night... like the fans in some rooms that rotate even when there's no wind, whereas in some other rooms the fans are totally still. Then there's this great lock of hair in this sink which has been there for goodness knows how long (when we went on the walk, in isolated pairs, we saw it, and at first we thought it was fake). A toy baby in wrapped in a towel (was it? couldn't see clearly in the dark) was also found in one of the corners of the rooms. The floor was full of dried leaves, and in some places, broken glass and pieces of brick. We could smell bats dung and could hear them screeching and flying in some rooms when we walked past them. Some of the rooms had never been stepped into, they said.
Some of us found this haunted house walk quite funny, while the rest were totally freaked out. I didn't feel anything at first, just a little anxious at what kind of surprises the seniors would spring upon us... and trying to prepare for it before 'it' came. The house didn't particularly scare me, not the haunted bit, but the old bit, as it was real old... and looked as if it could fall apart any moment. We found out that it was actually put out of bounds to the public, and we 'hacked' into it. The seniors were real good at what they did, and so were their costumes, expressions, and layout of the walk - though one or two did grin a little, and made us giggle. There were periodic screams of fright and yells coming from somewhere in the house, which did add to the ghoulish atmostphere. Otherwise, it was fun and had a few 'shocking' scares. We pitied the seniors who had to stay there all night.
We slept at around 3am, after playing some games in the room with around twenty-something people sitting in a circle... games like hmm... don't know what most of their names are but you know, the usual coordination games, guessing games... and this not-so-quiet game called The Polar Bear Game, which was quite a hit.
The next day saw us playing beach games - 'Milky Way', 'Poison Ball' and others... and it showered in the late morning and we were forced to seek shelter. We took this time to discuss this skit we had to perform at night during the campfire. My group was given the theme: Legally Blonde. (Our plot something along the lines of: Elle Woods comes to Sojourn, and she's disappointed as her dog wasn't allowed to go with her. She then tries to bass this bill - and asks the people - the audience - to give a vote the 'Polar Bear [Game] Way' that gives her dog the rights to go to camp. They do so, the dog joins the camp, and when it's given a few water bombs, happily targets -whoever is chosen as the victim-.) When it slowed to a drizzle, we went out again... and the damp and hardened sand hurt our feet at first. After a while of ball games, we went back to the chalets for lunch, and it was then when I and some others packed up and left... amidst shouts of "See you in London!".
Hmm... did I leave out anything else? If I did, I'll add them tomorrow... mind's blank now.
I think I'm too tired to help out with the Int'l Coastal Clean-up at Changi tomorrow. Gotta tell them. Tired... in the sense of sleepy-tired, panda-eyes tired... no-sleep tired...
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