Welson Chu, a volunteer with Yishun Centre, shares his experience with us at the Island Adventure @ Pulau Ubin with the official launch of the pictograms of the Culture and Education Programme for the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games.
It was basically my second time going to Pulau Ubin and my first time going to OBS. Therefore, one can expect the feelings of anxiety and trepidation when we eventually descended on the island. We then took a ferry to OBS and before long, we were despatched to our respective groups. I was separated into Group 1. The first activity is the paddling activity. As I have done rowing before, this was not much a challenge for me but nonetheless, it was a pretty exhilarating experience just to row with your new found friends. It has definitely bonded us together as we enjoyed the sun and the sea. Next activity is the inverse tower. Basically one has to scale a so called 'tower' which is essentially, a very high platform filled with tyres and hooks for us to make our way to the top. Frankly speaking, I was intimidated by the height of this activity. As I have never done any form of rock-climbing before, this was pretty much the experience that I was after. I fastened myself to the belayers and anchor and slowly but surely, tried to make my way using the hooks on the wall. I slipped a few times but still managed to reach the top. I find this activity very enjoyable as one has to look out consistently for a way to get to the top. I feel that it not conquers your fear of height, but also trains your mind to be alert at all times. One lesson I particularly learned about this activity is that the climber has to trust the belayer and the anchor to do their job well in bringing the climber back down to the ground safely. I myself was apprehensive and nervous as I find myself unable to let go and let the belayer bring me down. The feeling of free-fall without any support was probably apparent for me even if I knew that I was taken good care of by the belayer underneath at the ground. I feel that this activity would definitely bring challenges and feelings of satisfaction to the athletes at n ext year's YOG as they are the ones who are going to do all these activities. For me, I walked away with the knowledge that I actually could climbed so high. As the saying goes, to find new oceans, you must have the courage to lose sight of the shore. Thankfully for me, I did just that.
No comments:
Post a Comment