Outward Bound Singapore (OBS)

 A few days ago, before logging on to my online classes, I switched on the video call function as instructed. Then I stared at the video cam that was turned on and glanced upon the symbolic neon pink OBS shirt that I was wearing that day. It was reminiscent of my Outward Bound Singapore (OBS) journey. Well, most teenagers in Singapore who have went through this OBS journey at the age of 15 will be able to share an array of experiences with you. I can bet that you will be bewildered by the range of experiences that you will hear as that was how I felt a two years ago when I was preparing for the same course. To get a preview of the journey that I would be embarking on, I chose to ask my seniors and friends about how their OBS journey was like. To my awe, I was left even more perplexed and surprisingly excited to experience the journey which I had heard extreme views about. Some commented that it was very exhausting and that they were glad to have finally finished the course and never would have to be compelled to go through that entire journey again. However, on the bright side, I also had heard from some others that they had the time of their lives and wished that there were more of such opportunities. 

The myriad of flaura and fauna in every garden spanning across Singapore never failed to amaze me. Once a fishing village, now a garden city. This sea change not only in the appearance of this small nation but also in the lifestyle of every citizen here is indeed mind boggling. After the merger when Singapore's future was shrouded with uncertainty, our founding father, Mr Lee Kuan Yew toiled away for years to carve out a better future for us and this is one of the underlying reasons for our success. Although we are a well known trading port in Asia, our nation is not as highly industrialised and surprisingly, elements of nature are well preserved. From the 'plant a tree' initiative that dates long back, we have now thrived to become a garden city.

Just the other day, I was strolling through the garden in my vicinity in search of some eye catching scenery and tranquility. As I sat amidst the swathes of lush greenery, a collection of memories jolted across my mind. The natural landscape was reminiscent of the heart warming journey I went through a few months ago. Outward Bound Singapore is the leader in outdoor education here. MOE-OBS challenge is a journey that every 15 year old in Singapore must go through. It is a journey through which students learn more about their inner self and physical strengths. A week without handphones might be a horror to many teenagers given this day and age but this is one of the few conditions of the journey. To some others, being separated from their friends in school and being coerced to socialise with unfamiliar individuals might be even more terrifying. However, this is another condition of the journey as well. In this OBS journey, students are separated from their phones and are grouped with around 3 other students from their cohort and another 6-7 others from different schools. Deprived of many luxuries such as a bed to sleep on and potato chips to snack on, students would have to go through many challenges with their new groups for an entire week, in locations far away from the metropolis. Is it a boon or a bane? Well, that depends on the student and the team...

As October came around the corner, nearly everyone was buzzing about OBS as our exams were all over and OBS was the only thing next in line for us. The two other schools that we were paired with for the course were Deyi secondary and Queenstown secondary. (Nearly all schools in Singapore will be grouped into threes and they will take part in OBS at different times of the year.) With a week more to prepare for the OBS journey, many of us made a beeline to decathlon to get all the items we needed off the checklist. Track pants, Sunblock, Sleeping bag, wet shoes were all robbed off the shelves in Decathlon shops across Singapore mainly because of OBS. After the weekend, we arrived at our schools with gigantic bags stuffed with our essentials for the next one week.We all had a vast array of emotions that run the gamut. Some of us were exhilarated to experience the OBS journey that was often the talk of the town, at least in our school. Some of us were scared because the entire journey was shrouded with many uncertainties(such as the personalities of the group members, the instructors, the site allocated etc). Some of the other students were just indifferent as they treated the journey like the other camps we had in school and simply took it in their stride.

We boarded the bus to the starting site where we would meet the students from the other two schools and would disperse to our various campsites. Upon reaching the site, I realised that I was just about to embark on the de facto OBS journey. It was no longer a dream or a wish but it was real. I was actually about to spend a week without the comforts at home and without meeting my family and friends. All the other students from other schools arrived en masse. As I glanced through the sea of eyes, I realised that every individual was different through and through. They represented how they were brought up, their values and their personality. Excitement kicked in as we all moved into our groups. In my group, there were 11 of us, all from different walks of life which was clearly evident by our attire, our camping bags and the way we communicated with one another. Fortunately, the two other students who were in my group from my school, were my acquaintances. We had socialised occasionally at school and they were really genial. Well, the other 8 people were from different schools and we all hoped to work amicably with one another. Next, we were assigned to our instructor. The inkling of hope that we could sail through the week without feeling regret became wilder as the instructor was extremely affable.

We went through the admin matters and the code of conduct which we should adhere to. Though easy going, our instructor did demand discipline and neatness.After which we played many games to break the ice amongst us and get to know each other better. I still clearly remember that one game where we had to tangle our hands up and try to get out of it one by one without breaking our grip on our friends hands. It was one of the most long lasting ice breakers and the most fun too... Then to ease us into the adventures which we would be taking part in, we had a mini flying fox journey from a small hill to the ground. We geared up for it and zipped through the air one by one. I can still remember how we laughed at each other at how funny we looked with the gear and helping each other out and consoling those who feared heights in the team. I was also inspired by how our instructor was such a daring and bold young lady in her mid 20s. Going through this every week, especially without the luxuries that other commoners would have, is a nightmare to some but our instructor seemed to love every bit of it.
Day 1 rolled by pretty quickly and the real venture began. A total of 3 trail walkers and 8 hiking bags were given to every team. We had to repack our items into the identical hiking bags given to us for the expedition for the next 3 days and 2 nights. Some of those in the team who had back issues chose to take the trail walkers and placed their items in the hiking bags of their partners. After packing everything, we pitched the tents to have a good nights sleep. (Since there were many first timers like me, we picked up a new skill- pitching a tent!. Well, I would say that the tents made us more united honestly because when a group of people are put under one tent, more conversations, laughter and fears are shared with one another. Each group is given three tents and although it did seem shocking that the 6 of us girls must share one tent, there were no regrets as those times really strengthened our bond.)

The next day, we managed to wake up and get ready on time without any alarm clocks(which was really an achievement for me since I depended on alarm clocks to wake me up but luckily another team member was used to waking up early at around 4.30, so he woke us up so that we could be prepared for the day). To kick start the day with more enthusiasm, we had physical training in the morning. The training sets were really authentic and symbolic to OBS. With the sun dance to the ninja game, we interacted with one another and had a whale of time while our muscles were being stretched and worked out. After which, we started the tough journey. We had an adventure camp where each group would be separated further to 3 mini groups and we were given an adventure booklet where we would have to write down the answers to the questions in the booklet. The answers could be found on signboards and information kiosks. Frankly, I felt that it was to ensure that we were vigilant during our trek and communicate with one another so as to alleviate the pain experienced during the trip. Well, it was more than what I had expected as I truly enjoyed the scenic locations which we travelled to, sites which I had surprisingly never seen before in this tiny red dot. They were very lush and green, sites which are rare to be found in cities where land is scarce, like Singapore.

We embarked on an expedition the following day, to Pasir Ris beach and clocked nearly 10km. Personally, I never expected myself to be able to carry our luggage (which consisted of food and clothing needed for the following three days) and walk such long distances. It was definitely an exhausting trip and a few of my teammates started to feel frustrated. Motivating one another and getting through the challenging times together was tough but it really managed to inculcate certain significant values such as perseverance and compassion. 

The next day was more challenging as we embarked on the land expedition to Changi Beach and  we rafted back to Punggol. Honestly the rafting activity stretched me to my limits the most because the current of the water was against the direction we were moving towards and also it was very difficult to remain high spirited throughout the entire journey. It was an incredibly long journey and the strong current made prospects bleak for reaching the destination in time for dinner.  We gave up at times as we were left hopeless in the waters. There were times where we just stopped rowing and gave in to our aching arms. However, we had to pick ourselves up and boost the morale of the team so that we did not lag behind. It really ensured that we were strong willed and pushed our limits so that we could reach our destination. We really wore ourselves to a shadow trying to push through the entire journey but it is indeed the most memorable and the most meaningful activity. I recall this moment whenever I feel taxed and this never fails to serve as a motivation to push me even further.

All in all, this entire OBS journey was definitely worthwhile and momentous. 

With a smile that slowly inched its way onto my face as these memories flooded through my mind, I attended the biology lecture online.