Camp Reminisc

I just came back from camp a few hours ago, after a time of very much needed pleasure from the toils of the second semester, it was very welcome and the people there made it all the more enjoyable. Cheers to you all.

At first, I thought that it would just be another camp that I would go as the normal person that people perceive me as - introvert, seriously and basically not-very-fun. However, there was much for me to ponder and also allow my cognition to be put to practice. This please me intensely and I can admirably and honestly say that this is one of the best camps that I've ever been to.

In the first day, it turned out to be another one of those "Malaysian attitude" things. It is always a must for organisers to allow some "lee-way" time for the participants to arrive for departure. This time, we were told to gather by 8 in the morning, though the participant departure time was actually 9 am. As an outsider, one would have seen a group of people standing at the main block shuttle bus area for at least an hour. Wouldn't it be some sort of offense to the local culture if the bystanders were to know the real reasons behind the long wait? Or has it already become the sub-culture or nature of the inhabitants in the country? Yet we wish to become a developed nation.

The prominence of much relaxation and fun in camps has brought about the feeling that the PSG Empowerment Camp would be just that. However, many participants were also blinded to the fact that it would be an "Empowerment Camp" by the emotional elements used by the organisers to persuade people to participate. The PSG Empowerment Camp slowly evolved to become the PSG Camp. Though, the lecturer managed to change the atmosphere of the camp into a much more fun yet serious learning environment. This was largely aided by the use of the SLE (Structured Learning Environment).

However, the most fascinating part of the camp would be the exploration into the realm of practicising the many teachings of "facilitation". "Facilitation" was the main theme of the camp and it was one that brought much enthusiasm to me. It was one of the matters that I have always sought out to improve myself on. There were many important highlights in the camp, in which I finally had to participate in a group to actually realise a SLE. That was the real challenge, for it not only put into play many psychological skills but also many communication skills that I had learned from MC 123 (Persuasion in The Media) during the last semester.

One of the most important parts of facilitation would be communication. Communication was something that I had learned in depth while attending lessons of MC 123. Basically, it was attending to the audience needs. We needed to actually know the mood of the audience and also go to their level of understanding while going through explainations. Secondly, we also had to draw out points from them, instead of using the sopophoric ways of a lecture, which would bring worse ends to our already fatigued minds (especially on the third day). Both these two factors required EQ, which we learned deeply in psychology. Thus, both skills that I had learned during the last semester were implemented when conducting the SLE. It was a very mentally arousing task.

Another special part of this camp would be my sharings with a few individuals of the camp. I found perhaps I was not showing enough of my more childish side. I rarely ever show this side of me except with close friends. It still is quite baffling to me when the Johari's window was used on me to understand my own mental processes. The sharing was much appreciated and I wish to extend my gratitude to everyone in the camp, because it was not one individual but all who were there that created the atmosphere suitable for sharing. Such novel actions require only equally novel recognition. Give yourselves a pat on the back guys.

Though, perhaps one of the most interesting parts for me was the debate. This debate was about the topic of "Groups are good for humans". This was a very disambigous topic and it allowed much deep thought and sightings on both sides as to what a group really was, and how it could spread its influence. This spurred much excitement within me and it is this type of hype that I always manage to convict my best resources to.

In the end, a great thanks to each and everyone in the camp. It wouldn't have been the same without all of you there.