i dreaded going to Redang when they told me i've to sleep in a tent. this is, after all, a survival camp for the LCDS members, and unfortunately, as its teacher, i had to go.
The students were already grinning when they saw me at the jetty "can you survive, teacher?". they know how i'm like. frankly, i didnt know myself whether i could survive or not.
we didnt stay at redang. we stayed at the marine park at the smaller island called pulau pinang. i know this sounds like a cliche, but the water is really crystal clear aquamarine, and we could see corals n colourful fishes swimming and being fed by snorkellers.
as this was a survival camp, the students had to set up tents. the camp commandant was another teacher frm another school, and he instructed the students how to set up tents (while we the teachers stood by hehehe). we didnt do much on the first day, but that night, it rained cats and dogs. some tents were leaking so the poor students couldnt sleep. and because they're deprived of their beds, they were forced to become nocturnals and were singing the whole night. i didnt have much sleep either, listening to them.
the next day, we had snorkelling. i have phobia of drowning so after a few mins of trying and nearly drowning, splurting and swallowing the salty water, i gave up. my enthusiastic students were having a fun time and swam all the way to the marine park. they spent more than an hour there. after lunch we had a boat ride, going to the other islands. the commandant already told them they could snorkel at one of the islands. so they did.... twice at different islands. and then we stopped at pasir panjang...they still went snorkelling and i went to shop...after a day of not spending money. we returned to the marine park at nearly 7...n still, after 3 times of snorkelling, some of them asked if they could snorkel... we saw some baby sharks swimming some 2-3 metres away fr the shore... i remember the perikanan person telling us that the sharks will come down in the evening. we had bbq that night, the students had to grill the chicken themselves. then they performed some sketches, some were really funny.it didnt rain that night, and because everyone was so exhausted, it was a peaceful night.
the next day they had jungle trekking but i didnt go (remembering the gunung lambak expedition). after dismantling the tents and lunch, we cleared the campsite and had a prize giving ceremony. the students presented me with pink towels, calling me their "beloved cute miss nora who survived this survival camp". ah well... then we boarded the ferry. some didnt want to leave. i felt the same way too. but i miss my home.
all in all, it was a good trip. it's nice change, especially for me. spending time with the motley bunch of students is great.
No comments:
Post a Comment