The ghost of Camp Cameron won't let me rest in peace (been having epic dreams past coupla nights) till I've dedicated a post to it.
FamilyFamily is a very central element at Camp Cam. Mine was the TENders family of Chalet 10. Our fortes were cleaning (we often fought to do household duties, even when it wasn't our turn), eating (camp kitchen notice had it that we were +3 portions), and singing (be it choir,
dikir barat, the Elmo song, or commando marching).
Family photo @ Boh Plantations.
(Above photo taken from official photography) 
Our home.
Me at the TENery, twin doors that open out to a steep drop, and an awesome view of the mountains.
Girls' shower list.
Sessions We were taken on a quick journey of the Bible, made to confront our relationships with God, self, others (the most intense sessions), and the world, and taught Bible study methods in the vein of what I do in literary studies.
I'd like to say more, but I'm bound to save some surprises for juniors attending camp in future.
Instead I shall post my personal response to Psalm 90, the following lines were written to accompany a pastel crayon drawing:
God of Moses,
God of Today.
Life is short,
Our very breath
blows away
into a swirl of dust,
Disappears.
Not one sin
escapes Thy omnipresence,
Unnoticed.
Teach me O Lord
to live my dad-to-day
pleasing and dedicated
to You.
[22 May 2009]
DevotionMorning devotion had a special name, as we were introduced to a method new to many of us. Again, I remain tight-lipped on this one, though I shall venture to mention how God sent mist to descend upon the mountains at an hour inconsistent with every other morning, in order to coincide with our once-in-a-camp experience.
GamesFor the first time in my life, I actually enjoyed captain ball (variation of netball, popular in local Christian circles). Previously whenever I found myself forced to play, I would just run around the field for show, wishing it would end quickly, or I could be substituted out. This time, I actually
played, even scored a shot early in the round I was in. And when the final whistle blew, I actually wished I could play more.
In relay ping pong, the combination order of Daniel-Yen Yen-Su-Jian worked so well, I can claim that in the two games we played, my family's service never died in my hands.
I must also mention the famous confrontations I had with Li Ern on the captain ball field. When both of us stepped up to face each other (from opponent families) at the referee's starting throw, we
screamed at each other. And I mean SCREAM. We screamed again when we met at the post-game handshake line-up. No hard feelings, just a UM final year thing. *wink*
FoodUp in the cool Cameron's weather, my appetite was very, very good, especially during the first half of camp. I was constantly given extra rice, and picking up leftovers. The first lunch outing I had half a lamb chop rice, half an
assam laksa, a chicken burger with cheese (minus two bites), half a strawberry pancake, and half a peach pancake (all halves and minus bites cuz of sharing/trying). And earlier that morning I had had two and a half bowls of porridge. My bedmate christened me Miss Big Eater.
Our hoard.
The second outing, the chalet chef (Su-Jian, who dreams of opening a restaurant one day) and I stocked up on extra food supplies: frankfurters, luncheon meat, flour, milk, cheddar cheese, jelly mix, chocolates, and marshmallows (that we'd originally intended for supper milo, but when we found out about the barbecue...). Our 'grandfather' (camp staff) commented of outing that we ate like they never fed us, and stocked our shelves as though they'd never feed us again!
Su-Jian re-cooking vegetables he thought lacking in taste.
MongoliaOur family was proud to have 'Uncle' Shagai, from Mongolia. From him, I learned to write my name in Mongolian. Thus it was no surprise which country/culture we were assigned for pseudo-cultural night.
Preparations.
(Above photo courtesy of Joshua Entol)We came up with an interactive diorama depicting
Tsagaan Sar, the Mongolian New Year in the first month of Spring. Guests would be invited to participate in the Mongolian custom of greeting the father and mother of the house, as well as 'tobacco' exchanging, and sample Mongolian milk tea, a concoction of tea, milk, and salt, cooked by Uncle Shagai himself.
Group 1 (take turns to host and to visit other chalets).
(Above photo courtesy of Joshua Entol)It still amazes me how we managed to transform the chalet into the inside of a Mongolian yurt, covering as many traces of modern living as possible, even covering the entrance to the kitTEN (chalet kitchenette), and wrapping garbage bags around the flourescent lighting to dim the place.
ReflectionReflections were eight-hour affairs of camp-wide silence and, of course, personal reflection.
Pictured below is the top left corner of my camp journal, accompanied by the pair of earrings I happened to be wearing each time. Hehe.
Week 1.
Week 2.
Week 3.
ConnectionsWhat's a local camp without the inevitable discoveries of mutual friends and connections? Apart from Su-Jian who is a childhood friend of Soo Tian from the same hometown, and Adrian's brother Abel (in my family), Zachary's brother Justin (in Li Ern's family), and Bryant's sister Adeliyn (in Shoba's family), I was connected to every single girl in my room! Huey Lin's senior at the UPM CF is my Form 6 classmate Cheun Yen, and her cousin Ke Sin is my hostel junior. Audrey's uncle is my father's colleague. She also knows Simon, from the same matriculation college as herself, who is now a UM medical student. Huey Lin knows Timothy from school, who is also doing medicine at UM. Huey Lin and Audrey sleep on either side of me at camp, while this Timothy and Simon are now best friends and roommates in uni (correct me if I'm wrong, Tim)! The other two girls in the room are Swee Mang, who knows Tee Ming from USMKK CF, and Melissa, who knows some of the PKVians from school. Sharon from the other girls' room knows a PKVian, Emily Tang, from MBS, KL. *sweat*
Melting into pretty purple dahlias.
Every so often in the thick of camp routine, I craved alone time to pause and process.Ironically, getting back in touch with reality involved living in my head.
Photo albums here, here, and here.
Comments (1)
Teeming is from USMKK, not UKMKKK.
So far Malaysia has no Ku Klux Klan chapter.