Time to continue to reflect, again.
[Part I, Continued]
Actually, I was hoping no one will call me. They claimed the camps would be fun, didn’t mention how would it be fun. No details regarding the camp was given. Perhaps some information regarding the camp was given on the brochure, though I lost it, definitely it wouldn’t contain anything like what activities will on during the camp. Whats so secretive about the camp? I knew it was going to be fun, but was it their kind of fun. Many camp games came into my mind, mostly retarded and stupid ones, though.
The only camp my secondary school ever organized for people like me, was perhaps the secondary 1 orientation camp. It is a camp designed to make campers feel homesick. Other than playing classics games like telematch and attending lesson-like lecturing session, the next thing you would remember most is the moment you are going home. I think not many people attended many camps in secondary school, but this ‘compulsory’ camp they definitely went.
The camps that I mostly attended was the National Cadet Corp (NCC) camps, organized either by the School Unit or the NCC Headquarter. Well, let me take a while to illustrate my days back then.
My first camp was a field camp in an army base, perhaps the first time I ever slept in a military soil. When I say soil, i really mean it. Just that a rain-sheet separates us from the soil, while another one shield us from sunlight and rain. That was also the first time I touch a real rifle. Not only touch, we have to dissemble it into pieces of scrap metals and assemble them back, including oiling. The funniest thing is when the overly-ambitious cadet officers try to drill us, the then dumb-newbie ’soldier’, around. The food are edible, just don’t expect things like half-cooked lady’s finger, semi-dried cabbage and plain sotong, which were considered luxury.
My unit’s second camp was in school, organized by our own senior. I didn’t remember anything much, perhaps because the ‘programs’ during the camp were just like those of our weekly training routine. Drill, eat, sing and sleep. Surprisingly, I remember we only has to cheer once before eating, as one. The most important camp in my NCC life was the specialist course camp. More than just a specialist rank earning camp, because you wouldn’t be considered as completed the 4 years of training without passing out from that course. Its the weirdest camp in my life in NCC, because we go home everyday. Thanks to SARS. I remember the North-East Line (NEL) was just launched around that time. I have been traveling back and forth the camp and my home for 4 consecutive days in those new and weird-smelling trains. The day when we passed out was the most exciting one, although it was raining all day, we know that after that day, we have completed what we have trained for 3 years. That was perhaps the most exciting break-camp to me.
After that, almost all camps that were planned later were by us (Other than 1 which happens to be a revision-training camp), finally we are free from being run by people. We run people. That last about 1 full year, before we heard ourselves being called ‘old birds’.
Actually, despite not being a fun-oriented camp, I like these camps. This is mainly because to join a Uniformed Group CCA like this, I expect to have times we there are need to do things that are not fun. I know what I was joining, and what turns out in that CCA did not vary much, that is what makes me happy with my life back then. I do heard of people generalizing secondary school camps together with Uniformed Group camps, which they shouldn’t. Normally, people who make such generalization never attended any other camps than those orientation camps.
Then, we are year 1s all over again. It feel weird to be hit back to square 1 after so much in secondary school. Another push factor on not joining any camps. I have decided not join join the Union camp. What about the ‘School of ICT’ camp? Was it an orientation camp like what we have went back during secondary 1? They claimed otherwise, should I believe them? Even if I don’t wish to attend, is it compulsory? My post O-level holidays continues to shorten when I slowly begin to forget about these camps.
One evening, I received a phone call… [To be Continued>>]
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