Bad time at Skull Camp

it had to be one of my greatest misfortune have attended an orientation camp held by the company for newbies. i literally had to drag myself all the way out to the distant hills and spend 26 miserable hours in a dirty old farmhouse.

okay, that was quite exaggerating but if u'd seen the 3 pix i put up, well, it's quite correct ain't it? but to give it some credit, i did have some amazing experiences all in all.

Day 1

we had arrived at 3 on friday afternoon at the campsite. it was surrounded by ugly hills and a muddy river. there was a small courtyard, a large communal area, several rooms with single beds joined together, separate pair of bathroom for men and women, kitchen and a little watermelon garden. there were chickens and an albino rabbit was locked up in a cage, its long body sprawled across and its head lying on its side looking like it was just waiting for death. i instantly knew it wasn't going to be easy.

the program started with several ice-breaking games and we got into our teams. the highlight was a jiaozi contest where each team were given ingredients to make jiaozi. the chinese were impressive. all of them knew how to make jiaozi from just a head of wombok and some flour. it had started to rain heavily and there had been a power failure and no water supply so no one washed their hands. i tried to help out as much as i could, fetching water and ensuring the candle didn't fall and set the table on fire. i did end up making 1 very nice dumpling (in my opinion). my team won. the jiaozi were disgusting. nathan, my american mentor at work had diarrhea.

that night we had a bbq feast. the food was horrible but the entertainment was fun. everyone smoked and god it was the first time i felt nauseous from inhaling all that smoke. because of the rain, many activities had to be cancelled so some of us took an early shower and by 11 pm, had retired for the night. it was hard to sleep. none of us cd sleep because not only did the sheets stink, it was dusty as well. plus i was trying hard to avoid skin contact with the girl next to me as she didnt shower because the WC was too dirty for her liking.

Day 2
we got up at 6 in the morning. it was drizzling lightly and a nice mist settled upon the courtyard. many of us didnt sleep. i slept enough, albeit badly. breakfast was some preserved vegetables and tofu with mantou. i took a corn mantou and skipped the rest of it. it was the worst breakfast i'd ever had and i regretted not bringing some biscuits and bread.

the training began at 8.30 am and went on till 1.30pm where we (finally) broke for lunch. sitting on an old stool in the stifling classroom cramped with 40 others (with the occassional smokers) was a torture. i secretly read a bit and kept looking at the time. lunch was just as bad. i shall not mention. but everyone ate with relish, even i stuffed myself with hot steamed rice, stewed chicken and carrots. then a girl asked me if i liked the food and i said i was really hungry and she said the food was crap but everyone was too famished to complain.

after lunch, we endured another 2 hours of presentation and finally at 3.30pm, was finally told to pack up. and that was obviously the grand moment. quickly, we grabbed our belongings, filed into the courtyard, took a final group photo and made our way to the bus. just before we left, we were given an assignment that had to be handed up by Tuesday and everyone was bitter about it.

i reached home at half past four to find joa and mika in the mid of a massive house clean-up. after a long hot shower, i sat on the couch and looked at my TV set and cd not believe i was back into civilisation again. i told joa all about the hardship i suffered at the camp and he laughed so hard. but only when i showed him pictures of the food, did he show some signs of sympathy. he's so bad.

anyway, we had a great weekend. planned out. in the evening, we set out for a relaxing dinner at houhai and desserts at nlgx. on sunday, we decided to skip church and watch city harvest online. that was a good choice because there had been a father's day drama play. had lunch at middle 8th, met tilly for a chat, did some chores, went to the gym, and then headed to wudaokou for tonkatsu dinner. we ended the night at this fab cafe that served amazing brownie where i also bought a teacup.

unforgettable moments:

1. i took my first shower with a female colleague. yes, full naked and sharing the same shower head. but dun think funny, we only showered, nothing else. and and the good thing is, i'm comfortable with that if i'd ever need to resort to such desperate attempts to take a decent shower again. i also changed before 5 other gals who were sharing my dorm. it's weird. i've nv even done this even when we'd to change for PE lessons in pri and sec sch.
2. i said "I LOVE YOU" to my big boss and he fished out an Agnes B ring, got on one knee and put the ring on my middle finger. Okay, it was a sabotage game but it was fun and he was every female colleague's fantasy. although i didnt show it but i felt proud and secretly gushed about it. he's really quite cute!
3. i got to experience a Chinese farmlife. it's all shit. but the best of all is, i pulled thru. all 26 hours.