3rd day at camp

22/1/05

6.00am : warm up exercise & team race started. Suprisingly running 5km with team is not as tiring as running 2.5km alone. Perhaps we had more support & we brisk walk more than jog ..hehe

8.00am : breakfast - with lots of bread & hotdogs

9.00am : jungle trekking which is 20 minutes drive from our site. this trekking is a bit more difficult as more steep, more slippery and have many small streams. According to the facilitator, there are orang asli so we had to be careful. We were to look for 'petai' (yup those petai with strong odour) we were told that orang asli here depend on petai and other jungle resources as their source of income. we had 'AWAS' team which comprises guys to help other participants cross difficult path.
At 1 point of time, all the ladies were in front as the AWAS team let all ladies go through first.
2 ladies in front screamed, apparently they bump into an orang asli who was holding a 'lembing' like weapon. The orang asli looked angrily at us & instructed all of us to squat down. We had 2 malay guide who basically did nothing but stand most far behind the team. All of us were quiet.
the orang asli asked something that sounds like "kenapa kamu orang datang tempat aku?"
when no one dare to answer, the orang asli started pointing at people for answer.
one of the man answer "kami buat aktiviti tuan" (in my heart, I was thinking whether orang asli understand what is aktiviti).
orang asli said "apa? TIPU!! apa kamu nak? " and pointed at another target, this time a female
"kita buat kegiatan teamwork tuan" (again in my heart, does orang asli understand what is teamwork).
orang asli shouted "TIPU!! kamu masuk tempat ku, nak ambil ku punya pokok, petai, bukan?"
our team leader answered "tuan, kami hanya nak tengok, nak belajar, tak usik, tak ambil"
orang asli "TIPU!! dulu kamu masuk, kamu ambil, kamu kotor tempat, kamu penyakit, bini abang kijang mati. sekarang abang kijang nak satu perempuan tinggal sini"
no one dared to move. but we were wondering how come the facilitators nor the guides were all standing behind the group & not helping us. could this be a play, part of the programme.
the orang asli suddenly pointed at a lady (who usually had the most complaints). the lady was frightened. We were too cause we couldn't determine whether the orang asli were real or fake.
lucky orang asli asked for the 'cincin permata' that's on her finger. She gave it with relief.
orang asli said "kamu ambil ini petai, pergi. jangan masuk lagi" and watched us while we cross their path. We were told not to look them in the eyes (which I had done several times while trying to determine whether they are real or fake)

12.15pm : realised I had fed a fat leech without me realising until I take off the socks. No feel at all only the sight of it very 'geli'.

12.30pm : clean ourselves & have lunch. We were informed have charity car wash later in the afternoon.

1.30pm : convention hall. the facilitator made a confession. the orang asli were fake. showed us how did we reacted during then. The lady got her 'cincin permata' back. we were laughing endlessly as we couldn't imagine ourselves telling orang asli words like "aktiviti, teamwork"

2.30pm : everyone was dressed aptly for the car wash. all prepared to get wet. only then we know car wash is where we are the 'cars' and will be washed. we were put to 2 rows facing each other. Each person will have to go zig zag through each team mate in the 2 rows.
people in the row are supposed to tell the 'moving car' this
" I sincerely like you because ....... "

really like a car wash as water (tears) kept flowing ... males & females alike
It was a great experience as we spoke sincerely from the bottom of our heart. our hearts are touched.
never before had I heard so much about myself from others... what they see in me, what have I done that impact others, what advise & encouragement they have for me.
never before I look so deep into a person and tell them what I see in them
never before I hugged & be hugged by so many people.
honestly, it feel so comforting & warm to be in someone's embrace.
... people with a bit more 'fat' are nicer to hug =P
... it's strange that when there's difference in height, people prefer to lift the shorter partner rather than bend down to hug =P (how I know? because I'm short loh)

It's for once that we put aside our differences & appreciate each other.
They were tears & lots of tissues. Everyone basically let down their defences & let the flow takes it course. We were not pressured by time. We say what we feel.
after the whole exercise completed, the someone actually said this
" men who dare to cry in public are actually much stronger than men who doesn't"
true? I'll leave that to you.