Year 10 Residential Trip - Caldera
Hello again readers,
Last week I had the great privilege to go camping on a famous site in Indonesia called "Caldera (CULL-THERE-AH)" for a camping trip for our "Year 10 Residential". Every year, our school hosts an event for every year group as part of the curriculum to give the students a "hands-on" experience and to give the students an opportunity to learn about the world around them. It involves a three day- two night experience in a foreign area, where there will be nothing but outdoor activities to entertain you.
Because of my current age of 15, I am now undergoing the International Awards course to obtain my bronze award. This award, if I am not wrong, is exclusive to all students undergoing the International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) or GCSE curriculum and those unfamiliar on it will have to do a little research on the internet for it, for I do not wish to digress any further than I already have done. However, because the curriculum requires a three day- two night camping experience, the school has allocated the required experience into our Residential time slot. Therefore, instead of undergoing our usual Residential experience, we went to Caldera for camping purposes to complete our last task to get our International Award Bronze Certificate.
Because the concept of Camping is more common in the West and is almost non-existent in Asia, I never had the chance to go camping in my 15 years of existence on this Earth. I didn't know what to expect, but from what I have learned from the media and from cheap sitcoms, the concept of camping does not sound very attractive in my personal opinion, with creepy crawlies and random animals scavenging in the camping area every night, as seen from these TV shows. However, I soon realised that this was probably not how camping was supposed to be done or the concept of camping would have vanished long ago. I was therefore keen and exciting to participate in such an event.
The camp including making our own food from a Trangia (a mini-stove), erecting tents and a twelve kilometer hike the vanishing rubber plantation over two days (of which I still have to complete my report on). Having the admiration for natural landforms passed on genetically by my father, I enjoyed the hike very much as it entailed walking up a mountain, of which had a breath-taking view from the peak. The hike itself was very taxing on the body due to the weight of the rucksacks we were required to carry and the humid and hot air that was commonly found in Indonesia. However, it will certainly be a moment that I will never forget.
Because of the falling demand for rubber over the past few decades, many countries have stopped production for the good. However, because of Indonesia's cheap labour, it will still be economically viable for the country to continue producing the good. However, because the price continues to fall, at one point, the country will have to abandon the plantation. It was for this reason that the students never failed to take pictures of the scenery every five minutes as they knew that in a few years to come such plantations will no longer exist on this Earth.
The whole experience was a fun one and one that will no doubt be a memory that I will hold onto dearly. However, I would be lying if I said that I was not happy to be home. As it commonly goes, "There's no place like home."
Last week I had the great privilege to go camping on a famous site in Indonesia called "Caldera (CULL-THERE-AH)" for a camping trip for our "Year 10 Residential". Every year, our school hosts an event for every year group as part of the curriculum to give the students a "hands-on" experience and to give the students an opportunity to learn about the world around them. It involves a three day- two night experience in a foreign area, where there will be nothing but outdoor activities to entertain you.
Because of my current age of 15, I am now undergoing the International Awards course to obtain my bronze award. This award, if I am not wrong, is exclusive to all students undergoing the International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) or GCSE curriculum and those unfamiliar on it will have to do a little research on the internet for it, for I do not wish to digress any further than I already have done. However, because the curriculum requires a three day- two night camping experience, the school has allocated the required experience into our Residential time slot. Therefore, instead of undergoing our usual Residential experience, we went to Caldera for camping purposes to complete our last task to get our International Award Bronze Certificate.
Because the concept of Camping is more common in the West and is almost non-existent in Asia, I never had the chance to go camping in my 15 years of existence on this Earth. I didn't know what to expect, but from what I have learned from the media and from cheap sitcoms, the concept of camping does not sound very attractive in my personal opinion, with creepy crawlies and random animals scavenging in the camping area every night, as seen from these TV shows. However, I soon realised that this was probably not how camping was supposed to be done or the concept of camping would have vanished long ago. I was therefore keen and exciting to participate in such an event.
Because of the falling demand for rubber over the past few decades, many countries have stopped production for the good. However, because of Indonesia's cheap labour, it will still be economically viable for the country to continue producing the good. However, because the price continues to fall, at one point, the country will have to abandon the plantation. It was for this reason that the students never failed to take pictures of the scenery every five minutes as they knew that in a few years to come such plantations will no longer exist on this Earth.
The whole experience was a fun one and one that will no doubt be a memory that I will hold onto dearly. However, I would be lying if I said that I was not happy to be home. As it commonly goes, "There's no place like home."
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