Here's the OBS entry.I finally scanned all the photos.If the journal entry sounds so politically correct it's because it's my English CA and I'm so lazy to re-write what happened so I'm just cutting and pasting.I edited some parts though.

22nd January
I was darn excited to be going to OBS.I couldnt sleep the night before because I was just to darn excited.Sure I was a little scared.Finally,the day I've been waiting for. We took the boats to Camp 2, where we were seated according to our groups in the hall. Each group had 16 people and was called a watch. My watch was Columbus and our instructors were Nadiah and Daniel. We started off with introductions and yadda yadda yadda. Once that was done, we began our first activity of the day, playing trust games. The aim of the games was to build a sense of trust among each other. Learning to trust each other was important because we would be staying together for the next few days and would have to rely on each other alot. Our next activity allowed us to prove this newfound sense of trust. Our instructors taught us belaying skills. We each had to climb a pole while our watch mate belayed us. We had to have trust in our watch mate because our lives were literally in their hands, one slip and we would fall and get hurt.Kim was belaying Joyce and she did not have a clue as to what she was supposed to do.Joyce was all prepared to die and kept screaming at Kim.Hilarious.Once that was done,we went to go pitch our tents. Nadiah gave us a demonstration and we followed.We then cooked our dinner. Dinner was just rice, sausages and baked beans.Not much but when you're hungry,you just couldnt care less. After eating and clearing and washing up, we had a group talk with Nadiah and Daniel. We discussed our expectations of OBS and what we hoped to achieve at the end of five days and wrote it all down.Nat drew our signature picture.Columbus on a ship saying " I see India!" Then there was that dang fire drill.It's so funny.They still do that all the way in Pulau Ubin.I mean what are the chance that there'll be a fire while we're there?Besides,Ubin is surrounded by water.Just jump in lah!

23rd January
The second day got off to a bad start. We were one hour late in meeting Nadiah and Daniel to start our activities. They were really pissed and we felt bad.Nadiah wouldnt even talk to us.They were so disappointed.We were late because we had had to repack our things into another backpack for our stay at another campsite and it took so long to do so.When we were finally ready,we learnt that we would be kayaking to another camp,Camp 1. Nadiah taught us to use a paddle as well as the different ways to paddle. We carried our kayaks down to the beach where Nadiah showed us how to capsize.(We capsized near the shore,not out in the open sea)We each took turns capsizing. I was so scared but after I had done it, I found it was pretty fun. She also taught us to carry out a rescue in the sea when someone capsizes. We then kayaked out to sea where we were supposed to practise our capsize and rescue but not all of did it,only Nart, Denise and Nat actually,because we were short of time.So we kayaked to Camp 1, where we would be staying for the night. We reached just in the nick of time because it had started to drizzle and it was very cold. Once we had all beached up, we rested and had lunch. We then met Nadiah and Daniel to find out our next activity. We were to belay our watch mates again, on the Inverse Tower which was ten times the height of the pole we climbed the day before. Another difference was that this time, we would be climbing in pairs.I climbed with Abi.We didnt get to reach the top,unlike Hannah who won't stop bragging about it,because we didnt have time but I'm sure we would have if we did have the time.Then we pitched our tents again at this secluded area.It was pretty scary.It was quite dark by the time we finished and we were famished. Nadiah brought us to the dining hall to eat.The food was disgusting! After eating, we then met Nadiah and Daniel in the multipurpose hall where we reflected on the day’s activities and found out our activity for the next day : trekking. I knew I was in for it.

24th January
Afifah's birthday! Day three started out better than day two. We were punctual and our instructors were happy. After breakfast, Nadiah and Daniel told us that we were to build a raft. We took out ropes, barrels and poles. With a time frame of one and a half hours, we set work on our raft. We first planned the design and then broke out into groups to build the different parts of the raft. One and a half hours later, our raft was completed. Nadiah checked it and said the ropes were loose, making the poles and barrels move. Thus we could not test it out in the water. We were so disappointed to have to dismantle our raft without testing it as we had worked hard on it.After doing so,we then proceeded to have lunch after which Daniel taught us to pack our bag packs properly so that the weight would be evened out and it would be easier to carry during the trek. Even so,the bag was so bloody heavy. Before starting our trek, the navigators, Shoo and Abi, mapped out the route we would be taking, passing by the required checkpoints. After arming ourselves with sun block and mosquito repellent, we set off at 2.15pm. Along the way, we had to collect specimens such as rubber seeds and rubber shells. The weather was not too hot so it was pretty okay.We passed by this reservoir and Daniel pointed out a monitor lizard and a tortoise entering it.No wonder the water at Ubin tasted disgusting!I was carrying a bag at first then during a break,switched with Tricia,who was carrying the two tent bags.I thought the tent bags were easier to carry but boy was I wrong.After a while, my shoulders started aching. I thought I was going to die. The straps didnt have any padding,unlike the bagpack,and they were cutting into my skin.I was wearing a lifevest to minimise this but the damn lifevest was useless.I was all ready to give up. During break, I couldnt not stand it any longer.I just sat down and cried because the pain and exhaustion were overwhelming. But there was only like, a short trek left to Jelutong Beach and we reached there at around six. We rested awhile, replenishing ourselves with water and massaging each other’s shoulders. Then we pitched our tents and had dinner.We had brought a lot of food for the trip and so we had a lot to eat. As we had reached the campsite way ahead of the other watches, we had a lot of time to eat. Thus, we feasted happily and sang a birthday song to Afifah.By that time,the other watches,our buddy watches,Cook,Da Gama and Cousteau were there and they all joined in the singing.The toilets were very far so we could not bathe and we had to rinse our cooking utensils in the sea. Later on in the night at 9.30pm, being the sea expedition leader of my watch, I had to attend a briefing with the instructors regarding the next day’s sea expedition, which was to kayak around Pulau Ubin to get back to Camp 2, together with the leaders of the other watches.The 4 watches,Columbus,Cook,Da Gama and Cousteau were called Mobile B. We were to go on the sea expedition together. We were briefed on what we had to do as leaders. We also had to do night duty as the beach we were camping at was a public beach. We did the night duty in shifts.Syam and I took the first shift with Sal and Kelly.We sat on the grass and talked and it was really nice.I didnt mind doing the night shift for the whole night but I was pooped.

25th January
MY BIRTHDAY! However it started off gloomy because it was raining heavily and it was very cold.Our tents were wet and flooded and we couldnt go out cause we'd get even wetter so we had to wait in the tent for further instructions from the instructors. They told us to pack all our bags to be put in the boat they would use. After we had loaded our bags onto the boat, we practiced our capsize and rescue again because not everyone got to do it the first time round.After a final briefing by the instructors, we finally set out for our expedition at 10. The rain had already stopped and we started off in high spirits. We all loved kayaking and were very excited and enthusiastic. There were 4 watches in the sea expedition and each watch had two leaders. A kayak seats two people so the leaders occupied four kayaks. We were to position ourselves in a diamond formation with each kayak at one corner. The rest of the kayaks would then be in the middle. The task of the leaders was to keep the rest in the middle of the diamond and not let them drift away. I kayaked with Syam, the other leader in my watch. We were to take up the starboard side, which is the right side, the furthest out at sea. We were so afraid we would screw up and we'd drift away but we both encouraged each other. Halfway through the journey, it started to rain. The water got very choppy and it was very chilly. I began to get scared. It became harder to paddle our kayak and Syam and I were getting frustrated at each other because we kept drifting away,like really far away,being on the starboard side. The instructors then told us to beach up and wait out the rain. While waiting, we had lunch and huddled together to keep warm.It was so funny.Imagine 14 people in yellow ponchos huddling together and then Nat did her evil laughter.It was so funny. After the rain stopped, we continued kayaking. This time, I tried to be more positive. However, I started to get tired. My arms were aching and I felt they would drop off any moment. Furthermore, it had started to rain again and we could not beach up again because we had to move fast as the tide was changing. It was very cold, making me shiver and my teeth chatter. I thought that it was the worst birthday of my life.I seriously thought I was going to die,again.Syam and I kept drifting away alot and we were so frustrated and exasperated. I was on the verge of tears. Then we had a toilet and food break.Toilet,being the sea.Shoo and I had to relieve ourselves so we held our kayaks together and took turns.That was so fun.We waited for the kayaks right at the back to catch up and ate while doing so.I was feeling so cold.Daniel told us that Camp 2 wasnt far,just 45 minutes more of kayaking.We were all pretty happy and gave the last 45 minutes our all.Once the camp was in sight,we started screaming and yelling and laughing.We were just immensely relieved. We beached up, washed our kayaks and kept them. We then stood in a circle and the instructors congratulated us on completing the expedition and everyone thanked the expedition leaders. They then sang a birthday song for Afifah and I.It was so cute and really nice.That totally made my day.After that, we pitched our tents and showered. We then had dinner which was prepared by the instructors. We were really amused and touched at their gesture. We ate heartily,the food was pretty good.I mean it's no lasagne or pizza but chicken curry,sausages,anchovies and baked beans were pretty okay.

26th January
The last day was sad. We were all reluctant to leave. After unpitching our tents, we cleaned up the campsite and accounted for all our watch’s belongings. We had lost 7 water bottles and had to pay for them. After that, we had one final group activity where we reflected on our five days at OBS. I realized that I had learnt a lot. I learnt to trust my watch mates and work together as a team. This made us grow close to each other and bond. I also learnt that we should never give up, no matter how difficult the task may be. If you push yourself, you would be amazed at the things you can achieve. Before OBS, I never would have thought that I could kayak around Pulau Ubin or trek 7.5 km. I was glad that I had pushed myself instead of giving up. We had all discovered how strong we really are. As Daniel would say, “What doesn’t kill you just makes you stronger “. We were sad that OBS was over. We took photos and received our certificates of completion and bought souvenirs. We all agree that OBS was definitely an enriching experience and it made us discover things we never knew about ourselves. It made me stronger physically and mentally. The five days I spent at OBS would forever be etched in my heart. If I could do it all over again, I definitely would, no questions asked.








After kayaking from Camp 2 to Camp 1.



Our beloved raft.



Inverse Tower.I'm in purple,higher up than Abi.



Birthday girls!Afifah and I.







Sleeping partners!Abi,me and Syam.









Columbus rocks! (with Nadiah)



(with Daniel)Hannah says he looks scary here.