An Experience I Would Never Forget!!

Seems like ages since i wrote something in here!!haha..just wanna say a little something bout NS..well as some people might put it urs truly was one of the so called 'lucky ones' 2 be picked 2 berkhidmat untuk negara..a person like urs truly who would be half asleep in school when being taught bout da history of Malaysia or looking all blur when being asked bout Malaysia,it was really hard 2 get da slogan into the brain.."Well,there goes my 3 month break",said 2 myself..the first obstacle course was to drag da luggages up a hill 2 get 2 ur dorm in the hot sun!!!The camp surroundings was in fact what i really did not expect it 2 be..it turned out that da campsite was actually an abandoned resort(da brand new resort was just beside da camp...)so we had chalets which was really cool..4 dorms were build on the hill 2 make it look like an NS camp..oh wow!!!there was a lake filled with fishes n there was a sitting area near the pond..It was really a serene looking scenary..
There was also a mini market n a burger stand(that meant burgers at night 4 supper instead of the old boring canteen food!!!whoohoo!!!)..All in all it was a superb scenary..i spent da next one n a half months at Kem Gardenia,Kubang Pasu being mould n shaped into a 'wirawati'(thats what girls r called there..guys will be our fellow wiras)..From completing stuff i would never dreamt of doing in my entire life!!!For example,water confidence...picture this...being strapped tight into lifejackets which get extremely tight when u enter da water(imagine how uncomfortable it was when it starts tugging at da most important part of the body if one was thinking of reproducing in the future...)n entering the fish,crab n other unthinkable organisms infested lake with ur clothes on!!!not 2 4get ur socks n shoes!!!n da best part was the shoes had 2 be dried n washed with our very own bare hands...plus da stuff u wear inside ur clothes..as disgusting as it might sound,it was fun as i was performing tis task with all my good friends...
Next was da obstacle course..trainers made it all look so easy allowing us 2 think ah!!piece of cake!!well,it definitely 100% proved us wrong.out of da 8 obstacles i managed 2 complete 4 obstacles successfully without screaming or asking 4 assistance..the worst obstacle was da 6 foot high 'tembok'..we had 2 walk up it via a very narrow path till we reach da top of the tembok from there we had 2 crossover 2 another tembok 4 3 times..imagine doing it wearing full loreng(which was really heavy plus da belt n da military boots..i mean i fell a couple of times wearing tis boots while walking on straight roads n now walking across a tembok tat is 6 feet from da ground..i dont think so...) i struggled successfully through it thanks 2 my kind hearted trainer..Upon finishing da task me n my friend Celine also a penangnite like myself were da last ppl 2 complete da task n had da dirtiest uniform among our fellow mates..(due 2 da clumsiness n getting wet while performing da task..)that was an experience i'll definitely remember..
Marching is considered a tradition n something a wira n wirawati needs 2 know at camp..We were dragged out in da sun 4 2 hours learning da military way of marching..we trudged n dragged our boots across da marching field...by da end of it we were soaked in sweat,had natural n unwanted tans all over our body n partly deaf ears 4 those who stood right in front of da trainers..Now the events that everyone look 4ward 2...weekends...1)we get our handphones back..2)no activities..3)partay time at da dorms n chalets...4)we buddhist were transported out of camp 2 pray at da temple..after our praying ceremony,we would all walk 2 da nearest situated supermarket 2 shop 4 groceries before having dinner at da restaurants selling food we have missed so much from home...da people always thought we were factory workers due 2 da blue long-sleeved uniforms n long pants...A lady once came up 2 me n asked me,"Which factory do u work 4?"..In fits of laughter i answered'"i wrok 4 National service",then burst out laughing with my friends..she gave me the curious look n asked,"National service got factory meh??",we couldnt stop laughing till we reached camp...
Another thing was da uniforms..it was like school again..everybody wearing da same thing..n da unsurprising thing 2 me was that da combat uniforms n boots r hand-me-downs..(imagine wearing someone else's uniform who unfortunately had been kept in da store 4 half a year ewwww!!!or even worse..da last person 2 wear it did not sent it 4 dry cleaning....n da boots well we were told tat noone has EVER EVER washed them....yucks!!!!!well,due 2 my 'unusual' size i managed 2 get new uniforms n boots...one thing bout being 'unusual',u'll get everything made ONLY 4 u...hahahah....
Da second torturing thing bout camp was tat we had 2 wake up super early!!!(n i really mean super early!!!)..We sleep at 12 am n wake up at 5 am...("5 hours of sleep!!!Where got enough..teenagers need at least 8 hours of sleep la",my friend complained during our company meeting...she was cheered on by all da used-to-sleeping-till-noon ppl including urs truly!!!N guess what??urs truly was always late 4 morning assemblys(except one time when i was 'given da honour' 2 raise da state flag...could not sleep da whole night..as well..3 ppl r in charge of different flags..malaysia flag,kedah flag n NS flag..da flags had 2 be raised in order..Malaysia flag will be raised first followed by da other 2 flags..any little mistake eg:flag did not reach da top after da music ended or not in order...had 2 run 3 rounds round da field in front of everyone..imagine da humiliation!!!2 them satu salah semua kena...hahah...luckily,we managed 2 do everything correctly..except 4 one part where i practically step up da pace of da flag raising as i was da slowest..da trainer did not notice...whew!!!)as a result of not wasting time in da morning changing from my pjs into da PT uniform..i wore my uniform 2 sleep every night...i was since called 'sleeping beauty in uniform' by all my dormates...
Next was da food..well 6 meals a day is MORE than enough 4 us..but at times well..wat can i say...it's edible but u know..at tat time after going through da kerahan tenaga(i m exaggerating a lil la...=P)watever they gave us we just practically clean up da whole plate!!!one thing good bout it..it makes u think of da times u used 2 be very picky at home with food n making u miss home cooked food...i swore tat when i get back i m going 2 eat every single thing my grandma puts on da table..well i managed 2 keep da promise 4 2 weeks b4 going back 2 da i-dont-know-how-2-it self again...=P
We also had lessons every single day..("torture time' according 2 all my friends)..We were all divided into different classes..We had 3 topics 2 cover;2 topics in Character building n Kenegaraan including Khidmat Komuniti where we were allowed 2 get out of military camp 2 help others..i regretted not being able 2 do tat as it was one of da things i have been looking 4ward 2 completing b4 i left camp...we had 2 attend these classes till da end of NS..one day we had 2 endure bout 4 hours of it!!!half n hour break in between...At first,i agreed it was boring as everyone was like aliens 2 each other but later into da programme it was fun as we had gotten 2 know each other better...(some got soo close till they decided 2 take it 2 da next step..bercouple-couple..heheh..)Then 4 da non-bumiputeras we attended religious classed on thursdays n sundays..(thursdays class was taught in mandarin..i soon realised tat i wasnt da only chinese girl who has no clue wat mandarin was...i had 2 other 'banana friends'..da 3 of us named our lil group banana gang which meant mandarin illiterate ppl(well only 2 us..)hahah...so we spent our time there talking,passing notes,cracking jokes or just dozing off into dreamland...
Wat i really missed the most about camp were my friends..in just a month n a half(i had 2 leave early cause of unforseen circumstances..)they really beought out the best in me...they were always there for me whenever i needed help..we did everything 2gether all in all we see each other every single day at camp!!!from 5 am to midnight...we spend our weekends hanging out 2gether too whether it was at da lake or at our respective dorms n chalets..we also did all da activities 2gether from kembara halangan 2 even just normal PT lessons!!!we called ourselves da NS sisterhood!!there were 15 of us..our ketua skuad ms celine khor would wat we call sooi lang tau before we move out in a group..it was really a blast tat i was given da time 2 spend with them n am looking 4ward 2 more time...gals i love ya guys loads!!!!
Lastly my company,company Delta...We were known 4 our mischief n also da underdogs of camp but still i m proud n glad tat i was chosen 2 be in tis unique company of girsl..our head trainer cikgu mat was a bery nice chap..he would crack up jokes(most of them i have no clue of due 2 his heavy kedah accent..)n he tried his very best 2 help us with our problems..a wirawati's salute 2 ya,sir!!!n also we had 2 female trainers...(cikgu su n cikgu ina aka mak langau...y we called her mak langau u may wonder..well when we start talking or whispering 2 her is melangau-langau n u can hear her scolding..."ha!!!langau lagi!!!"..)they may be strict when it comes 2 discipline(trust me u would think twice before messing with them when it came 2 training n clealiness..one time just cause of a half full rubbish bin all da wirawatis were punished..da punishment:drag our beds n luggages out of our chalets n dorms 4 an 'exibition' n by sundown our beds had 2 be inside n da next morning before 8am our beds had 2 be out...instead of 5am,we all woke up at 4 am with our zombie faces n drag our stuff out 2 da open...grumbling n cursings could be heard from everyone..some were so sleepy tat they slept outside!!!some enjoyed star gazing...it was an unusual experience...=P)...(Another time while dragging out beds into our dorms...in da process we chatted giggled n laughed loudly...mak langau heard us n all da 4 dorms were punished turun 20..there was a girl who did it in her sarung!!think she was in da shower...poor thing..we couldnt help but giggle while watching her squatting up n down at da same time holding on 2 her sarung....hahaha..) but they r very approcable people...if u go 2 them with a problem they would not hesitate 2 help...they were also very nice with us...you could see us hanging around with them or eating or cracking up jokes yet they dont mind..they were like our big sisters instead of trainers 2 us....then from Company Delta we were divided into platoons 10,11 n 12...i was in platoon 12...i had a blast being part of it as most of da noise makers n jokers were form my platoon...now n then we would get punish(ketuk ketampi)4 making noise or giggling...tats da naughty n yet fun Company Delta!!
Think tats bout all i have 2 say bout camp...sorry if it was long winded but i really enjoyed NS overal...thanks 2 everyone who attended Kem Gardenia,Kubang Pasu 4 making it one of my best experience!!!Love ya guys!!!!
Celine-Ruru-Loh Loh-Chen Chen-Soo Ching-Phei Sze-Polly-Ting Ting-Pei Ling-Pey Ean-Cheng Fah-Wen-Ying-Vivi-Ai Ying[My NS sisterhood!!!]
Banana Gang(Moo-Min,Bu-Hui,Fili)..Bananas 4ever!!!!
Siong aka Panda(my good friend.thanks 4 always taking da time 2 keep in touch with me till now...)
Wirawati Wong from Kem Gardenia,Kubang Pasu,Kedah...=P