DAY 1
As the school semester came to an end, it meant that we were only this much closer to our actual trip to Cambodia. 1.5 months to be exact. Serving in an entirely brand new environment sounds like no easy feat but thankfully we had the 3-day long training camp to get us ready. From a dry run of the various activities planned to lessons on the necessary cultural know-how's, the camp was meant to serve as a reminder of what's to come. Day 1 began at the HomeTeamNS Adventure Centre Bukit Batok at around 8pm on the 31st of May and we kicked it off with our handicrafts activity!
With a little effort and patience, we managed to create beautiful friendship bracelets and dream catchers out of colourful strings and metal hoops thanks to the guidance of the BizMag team. A little practice definitely went a long way! We're pretty much crafts experts now (:P) and we already can't wait to impart our knowledge with the kids during the actual trip! It was then time for facilitation led by the Top 4's. We played a little game followed by a group activity that essentially got us more familiar with Cambodia's culture. We were also taught about an important lesson on the circumstances of the less fortunate there. This simple yet necessary point served as a reminder as to why we were all doing this in the first place - to lend a helping hand especially as privileged individuals.
After a fulfilling night, it was finally time to catch some Z's and get ready for Day 2.
DAY 2
Rise and shine! We began our day by fueling up with a simple breakfast of toast and cereal. It was then time to begin our first activity simulation - Funzania. We got our hands dirty in the first activity where we mixed shredded newspaper with water to create a mixture which was then placed on cling wrap evenly and dried to create paper! While they were drying under the scorching sun, we got crafty once again with our very own clay paper and also make-shift kites. A paper, a single string and a stapler bullet? Who knew!
Once that was done, it was time for the Introduction to Chinese team to get back to the basics through designing numbers with ice cream sticks and games that encouraged us to compete and match the names of animals to its pictures to make the learning process fun! Just like the name "FUNzania" suggests, it was a blast indeed but all that work was making our tummies grumble. It was time to get cookin'!
COOKING TEAM
BAKING TEAM
The cooking team whipped up a scrumptious array of dishes including kung pao chicken, bak kut teh, stir fried green beans and scrambled eggs. On the other side of things, the baking team was tasked to whip up a gooey, chocolatey brownie and milk tea with chewy boba pearls made from scratch! These activities allowed us to see if there were improvements and changes we could make for the actual round in Cambodia. There were definitely some struggles but thankfully we came together to evidently enjoy the fruits of our labour during dinner to remind us of how good we had done too! Good job, team (-:
Once dinner was done, it was time to clean up but we weren't done just yet. Facilitation round 2! We didn't know what to expect as were instructed by the Top 4's on the second level to come over in pairs. As we went through the doors, we were greeted by the "Cambodian local and his wife". It didn't take much time for us to realise that we needed to put what we've learnt to the test. We adhered to everything we knew about their culture such as greeting them the right way and respecting them through the way we dress and interact with them. It was a different facilitation session to say the least but it definitely left a lasting impression on every single one of us. As the night was coming to an end, we had a recap of the entire day followed by a clean up of the place but what's an OVE gathering without a movie right? We ended off day 2 with a good scare from the ever-popular Annabel! What a night.
DAY 3
Day 3 consisted of breakfast, a debrief of the entire camp and another thorough cleanup. All in all, the lessons learnt during the camp were proof that they fulfilled their initial purposes - to get us ready for the 2 weeks in Cambodia. It's all thanks to the hard work of the respective ICs and without them, this wouldn't have been a resounding success. It's not too long before the actual day comes and though we have a couple of things to refine and prepare for, we're excited to see what's to come. Thank you for your hard work everyone! Let's do this.