FTB Run 3 2007 !!!

the freshman team building camp


day 1 :
we had this really cool briefin before we left for the camp. we first met our group members and our facilitator ( commonly called faci ) - we were 3 indians, 1 malay, 7-8 locals, and 2 chinese.we set out for the "camp site". the drive was pretty short coz well, it IS singapore- max travel time from any given point to another is 1 hour!!!! =)

so we arrived at the place. it was sorta like a resort we would have back home. we all assembled at the canteen area... which was just like an enclosed thing with 4 short walls. we had some ice-breaker games- really lame ones- running and catching types. then we set out to another part of the camp site and were told that we had to set up our tents. that was really cool- the whole process is really easy and quick. and the tents were pretty spacious- red and black in color... reallly cool!! i wanna probably buy one. we were given sleeping bags ( black ) which we got to keep. =) the whole ftb camp was organised in such a way that we were given tasks in which we had to plan ( brainstorming, decision making and simulation ) and then execute.


there were totally about 60 individual groups with 15 ppl each approx. all these groups were then clubbed into 5 sections- spartans,retro groovers,pirates,cavemen,cyborgs. the aim of this was inter group and inter section competition. which was a pretty cool concept i thought.

lunch was chicken rice - which is a local speciality. its pretty decent. just boiled rice, chicken pieces and veggies. its a little low on masala but whatever =)

the first task was making the tallest foot tower. so u just have to put ur feet one above the other. we reached a ht of 2.55 m and the record was 2.8.

then in the afternoon we had what i thought would have been the coolest task of the camp. RAFTING!!
we were given the necessary supplies( poles and ropes and barrels) and were told to build the raft from scratch. we had instructors who could have guided us, but my group seemed to know what they were doing so we didnt ask anyone. most of the groups had men who had served national service so they knew how to tie knots like the fisherman knot and all - which helps make the raft stable and strong. so anyway, after a lot of sweating and insect killing ( it was reallly horrid ) we completed the task and were really enthusiastic to take it out to sea. so we carried the stupid heavy raft out to the sea. and the barrels were fallin off on the way only. hehehehe,
first we were taken out to sea and were asked to lift our feet off and put our hands above our heads to check if the life jackets were the right size and all. then we all got onto the raft. and i had to sit on top of one of the barrels which unfortunately was the loosest one. with GREAAT effort i jumped onto the raft and 5 seconds later i was up in the air and then landed right in the water with a big lump of salt in my mouth. it was sooo gross. :P as a result, we took all that effort and got wet and salty and muddy for no reason :)

after that we were alloowed to go shower and change and freshen up before the next task. as u would have already calculated, there were about 900 people at the camp out of which there were 400 girls. the total number of shower cubicles were 30!!! some of them were out of the way so no one usd to really use them. so basically we had about 20 shower cubicles for allll the girls. one thing u shud know about chinese girls- the 'secret' behind their awesome hair is the fact that they wash it everyday -sometimes twice. as a result their hair falls like leaves from a tree in autumn. every 12 hours the bathrooms would get clogged and get flooded. it was reallly disgusting!! and u have no choice but to shower in those puddles coz ur feeling so dirty and desperately want to shower. i am now officially addicted to shower =) now i know, all of you will be smiling and nodding your heads approvin of the change in my attitude :)

the first night, we had some "fun" games. they were some total timepass things which i dont think are worht going into in detail. lights out happend at midnight so we all crashed after that long and tiring day


day 2:
breakfast was at 7 am. there was some thing called fried noodles which looked like hakka noodles dripping in soya sauce but tasted really dry. it was disgusting! then our first activity was tunnelling. they had like an obstacle course kinda thing in the tunnel. but it was really small and u had to crawl through most parts. and it was really dark. when the entrance door opened i freaked out and couldnt breathe ( i think im claustrophobic also now!!! ) so i didnt do the activity. but no regrets!!!
my team members started acting weird today. they made me feel really out of place. everytime id try and pitch in for suggestions theyd look at me and look back and continue discussing their own stuff. it was quite rude i thought!! so then i got really homesick and sad and cried!!! there was this one female pamela aka pam - she was reallly irritating. and i cant stand her at all!! im sure shes the one who poisoned everyone else against me. unfortunately, shes in my school.

then we just wasted the whole day trying to think of a group cheer and section cheer. for that night was CAMPFIRE NIGHT!!
that was a pretty cool event. it was really hot though!! one of the percussion groups from one of the CCA clubs at SMU - "Samba Masala"" - they were reallllly cool!! i wanna watch some of their performances. they re really good. great beats and good rhythm and all.
at the end we had some "dancing" but it was mambo night so the music was really sad and i didnt enjoy it at all. hahahah. they had some confetti showers so we had to sweep up and clean it up at midnight. it was so irritating!!!


day 3:
finally, the last day arrived!!
we had like a mini amazing race where we had sme really cool tasks to complete. the first one was like something u would have in takeshi's castle. u have so slide across this thing from one end to the other and collect a puzzle piece and slide back. its all soapy and the seniors throw water balloons at u and spray u with water guns. it was soooo funny!!!
the other events were really good too. quite challenging. after we finished the race, we just whiled away time and then finally came home. i ran home and showered and washed my hair. ahh! so clean!! then i literally RAN home to mummmy. i was so excited to be home!!!!

so that was my freshman team building camp! overall - an average event. but hats off to the seniors- it was so well organised and they had so many tasks and stuff- didnt feel bored or jobless for even a minute during the 3 days. however, im still experiencing body ache from all the activity.. hahah, im officially ms rusty bones now =)