home sweet home. i'm back from OBS, aching all over. so far, i've counted about 30 sandfly bites. it really hurts. i'm so tanned, compared to mich. who told me that OBS was fun? it was definitely NOT fun. the activities were all so strenuous. plus the time given was all too short. so far, i only bathed 3 or 4 times, brushed my teeth 3 times. that's so gross. feeling sticky everyday.

the activities started on the very 1st day. we were briefed about the campsite we will be in and chose the different in-charge. after which, we went to kayak. we learnt how to capsize near the shore and away from shore. oh man. the kayaks were real heavy. the sea water is just so oily, with dead fishes floating at the surface. yucks. at night, we pitched out tents in the forest. it was so dark that we couldn't find our way out after pitching the tents. it was our 1st time pitching tents so it wasn't that well done. the night was so quiet that i can hear the people in the other tent talk.

the 2nd day, we woke up at 6am to unpitch the tents. wow. my body's aching from the hard ground and i'm only half awake. breakfast awaits us. 4 loaves of bread for 16 people. that's a little too much. we don't even have time to brush our teeth. we rock climbed, played "a blade of grass" and trust fall. we were supposed to set out for a hike around 4pm but it started raining so we had our dinner at camp 2. yippee! as night falls, the rain stopped so we had to set out. the forest was so dark. we trekked on the muddy paths and finally reached out campsite. needless to say, we had to pitch our tents again. this time, it was worse. the ground was full of rocks. after pitching our tents, mich and i accompanied jerrold to the "toilet". it as so scary. imagine it. peeing in the bushes where there's no light. mich and i were so scared that we needed to pee too. we couldn't find the 2nd lightstick in the girls' "toilet" so we went to the guys' one instead.

the 3rd day was so tiring. my team, magellan watch, had to check the toilets so we had to pick up soiled tissues and plastic bags. eww. this time, we started on the 40km hike with our heavy backpacks. it's a wonder i can still stand up straight. we went onto the twisted paths and finally, we reached camp 1. the feeling was great. finally! toilets and CANTEENS! we got to drink syrup drinks and eat cooked food. we carried out the activities in the multi-purpose hall. i tried both activities. the snake and ladder, plus the wobbly rock wall. can u believe it? i actually managed to complate the rock wall. what a sense of achievement. yeah! the food was simply delicious. it's like heaven. a real proper meal. next, we pitched out tents on soft ground. what a fantastic night after a long hike (despite the fact that there were bugs).

the 4th day was the worst. we kayaked around the whole of pulau ubin, which is like 22km. don't forget that there's current and weather factors to pull us back. to make things worse, i left my lunch in my backpack, which is being shipped by the instructors. all i've eaten is half a piece of bread. it was real tiring. i was so frustrated by the fact that my canoe was moving so slowly. i even switched canoes 5 times. once, instructor Lum even pulled my canoe along with his boat so that we can catch up. finally, after 8hrs of pedalling, we reached camp 2. i'm was so relieved. we slept at the grounds by the high elements. the tents were very well pitched.

by the 5th day, everyone was exhausted. it was time to leave pulau ubin. we completed some surveys, bought some souvenirs then left in boats.

thinking back, though the course was torturous, it tested my patience and it motivates me to move on. my instructor was strict but it was for our own good. under his supervision, we learnt many skills and had a great time. seriously, i kind of miss Magellan.