Our school, UWCSEA, prides itself on its diverse and well-rounded curriculum. One of the essential parts to the school’s curriculum is their Outdoor Education programme, which hurls students outside their comfort zone. As students, each year, it is compulsory to go on a trip to places outside of Singapore with our peers, and is truly a time where we have to move away from the busy metropolis of Singapore to the jungle and other natural places in the Southeast Asian region. These trips stem from the night at the zoo in Grade 2 to a two-week trip to Chiang Mai in Grade 8. In Grade 9, we are given more freedom with the choice of where we want to go.
Personally, as someone who very much relies on their creature comforts, I am always quite hesitant to go on one of these trips. To be honest, when COVID-19 cancelled so many trips this year, several of my friends expressed their disappointment at not being able to go on their trips, but I was disappointed that I did get to go on mine.
Being someone who thinks about everything more than they probably should, it became normal for me to run through all the bad things that could happen on the trip. What if I lose my raincoat? What if the showers are dirty? What if the food isn’t very nice for vegetarians? What if the sleeping situation is rough? What if I don’t pack my stuff for the day well and I forget something? All these thoughts raced through my mind, especially before I went on the Chiang Mai trip. In the wilderness, you have to forget to be clean and about your creature comforts, and not be afraid to get a bit dirty.
The Chiang Mai trip was definitely the most daunting experience, but it was also ultimately the one that changed my perspective of the programme. The expedition was such a scary prospect that the day before I was near tears, and begging my parents not to make me go. Eventually, of course, I went, because I had no choice. But my concerns around how I would manage my belongings, deal with the showers, and make it through the Adventure part of the trip were prominent. I knew we would have to really rough it out, but what scared me the most was the fact that on the second day, we’d have to pack a bag full of clothes and other supplies for 3 days, and I fretted about forgetting something and being stuck between a rock and a hard place. I’m typically an organised person, but the mere possibility frightened me.
As I said before, I’m also someone who is very attached to staying in their comfort zone. I find it difficult to enjoy new experiences because I dislike any change from the structure of my routine. To disrupt it with a trip in the middle was disorienting, and difficult.
Of course, I got through it. Everyone does. And before the trip, I knew I would, but my irrational fear didn’t see that. After the experience, however, it dawned on me that education isn’t just about memorising the positive test result for starch, or understanding what a soliloquy is. While these are still important, real education is learning more about yourself and how much you’re really capable of. Cliche but still valid, especially as I came out of the experience having had quite a bit of fun. Especially with the cooking, which our group was very good at.
That’s why, going into my Grade 9 trip to Borneo, an island in Malaysia, I was much less anxious about the different things that could go wrong there. I enjoyed the experience, learning new things and spending time with newfound friends. I even stayed strong during a minor hiccup in which my sunscreen leaked in my bag, ruining my raincoat and bag of toiletries (okay, maybe I freaked out a bit, but I got through it after taking a few deep breaths).
Overall, the Outdoor Education programme, while not my favourite part of the school’s curriculum, is a vital part of the education system. It has been met with mixed emotions, but regardless, it is something that has drawn me out of my comfort zone and made me learn just a bit more about myself.
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