Easter Camp...short but sweet

Just to summarise a whole lot of stuff that I did during Easter camp since my previous post was pretty long-ish. I DEFINITELY had lodsa fun. It was worth it, every single bit. The place, food, people and just the whole experience of it. Indescribable. Although, originally, I was meant to be in a car with mainly newbies, I somehow got to sit in the "cool" (a. k. a Jess's car) together with some "cool" people like Jan, Jas and Peng (whom I forgot to mention in the previous post, happens to be a James as well, another J). We had the IPOD with lotsa varieties of cool music and skittles (both courtesy of Jess) and just an awesome and cautious driver which was made even better with another day of fine weather. The journey wasn't as long as I'd thought it would be.

First day
We arrived in Fielding at around 4ish, we got to meet the Plamy Ocfer's (so happy that I was finally able to meet Rei, my long lost col mate). We started off with the Powhiri (Maori welcome into the Marae (Maori gathering/meeting house) after we had all finally settled down, followed by the whole ceremony of it (speeches, Waiata's, hongi (touching of the nose and exchanging breath). Then we had some games organised by Esther and Anna where we were divided into out groups (mine was a 2 guys, 6 girls group). We had to make up a name for our group, a jingle and a handshake. After, we had dinner (our group had to wash dishes) and then the first session began. Val (TSCF staff) shared about Maori culture which was interesting even though I had already heard similar stuff before. We also sang quite a few Waiata's (Songs). Like the National anthem and quite a few of the Maori waiata's. Then it was supper and chilling time (some played games, jammed with the guitar, Easter reflection- bible study). I practically chilled where a group of us (me, Fran, Anna, Shan, Joel and Paul) decided to go for a walk outside camp, around the nearby farms. It was cool, as I finally got to see the stars clearly and Jol's explanation of astronomy (Orion's belt and scorpion) helped a lot. The first day was pretty laid back (not really what I had in mind which was sweet).

Second day
More games, food and fun. Got to know my group a lil better. Last night's sleep wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, considering we all had to sleep in one big room (the Marae) which was good in some way (communal) and it kept us all warm except for some snoring/sleep talking here and there. I was proud of my group, considering we had only met the day before; we worked really well in the game rally, giving thought to everyone. The second task that we had to do as a group in the kitchen was to cook lunch - Curry (by Vic and Vinai). I especially like the workshop about religion, Karen gave a really explicit talk which was made clearer through the video about the five major religions in the world (Christianity, Muslim, Judaism, Buddhism and Hinduism). It was a real eye opener for me, even though I thought that I'd knew most of the basic stuff about these major religions. There were some similarities, yet, there were also great differences which contradicts the truth greatly. I was fortunate to be in a group (James - Taiwan, James - UK, Ruthie and Emi) that had a variety of perspectives and beliefs on it. I really enjoy listening and also contributing to the group. In a way, it has not only tested my knowledge of what I knew but it has also added more to what I already knew. We got the opportunity to use our skills of playing captain ball where my group won. Dinner was wonderful, we had the hangi (Maori way of cooking everything by burying it underground - fresh and healthy bcoz it has less oil and MSGes). Tonight was a lil special with some worship incorporated into it which awoken me as I was pretty sleepy and drowsy during the talk and discussions which explains why I barely remember what it was apart from being late because of time estimation and confusion. Chilling time was great, spent it with Fran and Kennie (ocfer) where we basically jammed with the guitar, with a bit of melody and harmony. I also got to teach Lilis (ocfer) some Indon songs, some of which she knew like "Hari ini" while the others played games like mahjong, tai di and cranium (which I must say was the loudest table of all). As much as I wanted to stay up as late as possible, since it was the last night, my eyes gave in to me at 12am.

Third day
My group was in charge of making brekkie, I got up at 7.30. Preparing brekkie was pretty easy as there wasn't much cooking involved. We only had to set up the breakfast things on the table and make sure that everything was there. It was done by 8. I had a real full on brekkie, guess food always taste better outside than at home. Easter Sunday reflection was nice. Short and sweet, yet meaningful. Then we had the "auction" where we got to use the points we earned, which rewarded some of the groups nastily - permanent ink on faces, shaving of hair and legs but also beneficially - food, food, food, movie tickets and free entertainment. Then we had a simple but yummy lunch which was made by some wonderful people. After, it was time to pack up and clean the place. Being Asians (and some none Asians), we JUST love to take pictures, I mean lots of them with nearly everyone's cameras and sometimes just at the same old spot. Then it was time to goodbye. It was actually quite hard to say goodbye, time went by so quickly that I barely grasped what I'd been through. It was indeed short but sweet, like we just had enough to satisfy like the saying goes "too many cooks, ruins the recipe".