Claudia: My amazing Guiding experiences.

I was very lucky to be able to attend two international camps. The first one I attended was held at Foxlease Campsite in the UK last year, and the second one in Yorkshire Dales this year.  I was  given the chance to gain lots of experiences such as hiking in the wilderness, starting a fire using natural sunlight and a magnifying glass, sailing, caving, fencing and many other activities that I never tried before.

During the camp FLAME in 2012, we were lucky to able to go to London during the season of the Olympic Games. There were many souvenirs sold to commemorate the event and the buzz of the crowd and the sight of banners and sports fans got me excited! On the day of the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympic Games, all the Guides and Guiders who took part in the camp were invited to watch the outdoor screening of the Opening Ceremony. It was a cold night outdoors, but it was worth watching as the atmosphere was so lively! On one of the days, we were brought to an amusement park and it was the best indeed! We were able to spend about half a day there. My Captain, Mrs Teo (KCGG) braved most of the rides that could make your heart skip a beat! Kudos to Mrs Teo!

This year, I went for GIGGLES in Yorkshire Dales. The new company I went with, and activities in the camp made this experience very different from my first international camp. Most of the activities I took part in were sports. I sailed for the first time in my life and although I got hit hard on the head by the boom many times, the experience was so enjoyable! I also tried my hand at fencing, and discovered that this sport isn’t as hard as it seemed (though my slow reaction did make me lose to an opponent, haha!). We also visited White Scar Caves and explored one of England’s longest caves. The cave was cold and deep. For protection, we were required to wear helmets in the case cave fragments fell off the ceiling. The experience was enriching as I learnt a lot, such as facts about the contents of the cave rocks and minerals. The activity that impacted me the most was the 15km hike in the plains of Yorkshire Dales. There were only three KC Guides and about 10 English Guiders. We hiked for three hours in the plains and got to see sheep, goats and cows! Hiking was really tiring, especially since we got lost in the middle of the hill, and the oncoming darkness made us really panicky. We all thought we were never going to be able to return to the campsite. Fortunately, one of the Guiders saw a route that managed to get us back to the campsite, though it was relatively dangerous. That trip taught me that there’s always a light at the end of the tunnel and we should never give up easily as we will never know how close we are to our goals.

I feel very fortunate to be able to attend not one, but two international camps! Both of these experiences have allowed me to get to know Guides around the world, and have taught me to look at things from a different perspective.