How I Would Plan My Ideal Camp (Camp TIC TAC)

If you're the outdoorsy kind of person, get out.

 

After publishing my previous post that I totally forgot to publish I thought yeah, let me just publish this post too instead of scheduling it for May since I haven't had anything planned for February because it was exam season so I'll take this as a blog post for February and April. I kind of want to keep to a schedule of at least 1 blog posts a month but it probably won't work out if time doesn't allow it. I also need ideas or people to make me mad before it sparks that inner joy in me to write a long blog posts.

But my ramble aside, let the actual blog begin.

Don't say I didn't warn you because I'm about to describe a camp experience completely opposite of what every camp in this generation is like. And I haven't done a long blog posts in awhile because I've been generally pleased with life so there's no need to get angry for no reason. But I'm sure just by saying that I'll jinx it and there will be a bunch of blog posts coming soon. Which is great for me, because I get to polish my English. Perfect-o!

So this blog post will be about the camps we have in schools, not those outdoor camps or anything like that. It'll be about what my "ideal camp" would be like. So before I even got started on my planning I needed to find out what is the definition of camp. So I looked up dictionary.com like any person in this generation would and it basically described about camps being as "shelters". So what do I think of when the word "shelter" comes into mind? I think of my home. Yes, home is where I feel I'm safe and comfortable. And I'm the kind of person who literally sits at home doing nothing, spending time on the computer wasting my life away. But that's my kind of life and that is so different from what school camps are like. Now let me explain.

School camps are really active... well in my school anyway. Camps in school generally have a theme to you know, hype up everyone! Get everyone interested if they see a familiar word like "district" they think of hunger games or something, it was a good movie by the way (books are not my cup of tea). But then there are also other camps with names like... I don't know, asteroids? No idea what's that about but I never bothered because that's none of my business. But camps are active because every camp splits people into groups and that I can understand. Having a few people managing a large crowd can be hard hence the need for groups. But each group tries to be unique and is given a title to apparently bond together. They bond through cheers, games, exercise, horror movies, night walks, physical torture training need I say more? Okay I didn't really experience the last item I put there but I remember walking a whole lot just to play games that those seniors had planned really hard in camps that I had attended before. And you know what, kudos to them for their effort but unfortunately I'm not a physical type of person. 

If you haven't got it yet, I've identified the problems I have with school camps. Its basically too physical for someone unfit like me. I want a camp that is indoors, something that is quiet but yet fulfills what camps are about: and that is, bonding people together.

So here's my brilliant idea, its called, The Indoor Camp. Heck I even thought of a name for it as I was writing this. It'll be called  Every camp that is planned seems to involve the outdoors somehow but no yuck I hate outdoors. You sweat, get sticky, there are flies, you get dirty like ugh that is so not my thing. So why not have an indoor camp to replace outdoor camps? They accomplish the same goal in the end and that is to introduce new friends into your lives and the closen the bonds between people.

Enough talking, here's what my indoor camp would be like. I'll follow the same format of any camp these days and that is to make it a 3 Days 2 Night camp or 3D2N. Overnight camps aren't my thing but who wants to go back to school like, three separate times? Not me. The camp will involve staying at the beautiful loft (chalet-like) at my school which is mostly air conditioned (or probably not in the afternoon oh dear) that's what I heard. But assuming it is air conditioned like 24/7 (I wish) the camp will mainly be positioned in those lofts. Each loft can roughly hold around 6 people so groups will be in 6. What the camp hopes to achieve is that through board games, or any games that can happen in the loft it will closen the bond between the people there. I've planned out a rough schedule too for what will happen. Now all camps that I know of have this problem of having their debriefing at like 2am in the middle of the night, leaving everyone will little to no sleep. That sucks, so we're gonna make things simple to ensure the comfort of the attendees of the camp as well as the helpers.

So here's the schedule. You can feel the fun already.

The Indoor Camp, The Awesome Camp

(Code Name: TIC TAC)

Day 1

6pm: The camp starts and everyone will be located at the convention center's lecture halls. It can hold a large number of people so no overcrowding or anything like that. Seats will also be allocated numbers so that the group of six people can sit together and get to know each other. Perfect start eh? The helpers of the camp will give a briefing about the goal of the camp and everyone will of course fall asleep but it is mandatory to at least let people know about what they expect from the camp and what activities will be in it. Also, why did I choose 6pm? Well, it would have been evening and the weather would have cooled of by now. People will mostly be going home from school, so the other direction of the bus service would be quite empty making it easier to get to school. Also, its evening and the weather would have cooled down already, perfect! 

7pm: After the briefing, camp helpers will bring their groups into their own loft. Dinner would have been delivered to the loft doors and they can collect their food and start to eat at the dining area. They can also explore the loft and what's inside. While having their dinner, they can also start to introduce themselves to each other such as their names and what school their from etc. Also for dinner, they will be having Chinese food because what better way to bond each other but to experience different culture's food, that is, assuming there are different racial groups in each loft. After which starts the first activity. 

8pm: The camp helper will set up the games that can be played in the loft. May I suggest a game like Twister which tests your flexibility? Basically three of the people in the loft will take turns to play and it helps warm the people in the loft up and know that hey, competitive games can be fun. Now I've got no idea how Twister works but screw that, it looks fun!

9pm: By now they would have known each others athletic abilities and the next game would be a little less tiring and it'll be musical chairs. Basically for the first 20 minutes, each person will write down their favorite song and each round of musical chairs will last for roughly 5 minutes giving time for each person's song to play completely. This allows each other to know their musical tastes and at the same time get familiar with new songs they have never heard before. And who knows, if two people choose the same song, they would totally be the perfect couple. ;)

10pm: After two hours of tiring but mostly fun indoor air conditioned games, there will be a debrief by the camp helper and everyone can do their own activities. Mostly by now everyone would take turns showering and the camp helper would have done the same by returning to his loft and taking a shower before discussing about today with his/her friends and going to bed. What have I accomplished in this camp? Its indoors, it bonds people and they get to sleep before midnight. Excellent? Yes.

Day 2

10am: The camp helpers would wake up at around 9am which I think is truly acceptable to get ready for the camp again. They will also get the breakfast delivery and bring it up to their respective camp group's loft. By 10am, breakfast would have been delivered. The camp helper will wake up anyone still sleeping and they will brush their teeth, use the bathroom and do whatever they need to before sitting together and eating together. Leave no man behind! Now I would want breakfast to be McDonald because who doesn't love fast food. Waking up to a Sausage Egg McMuffin would be so good especially when you don't have to walk out and get it yourself. Drinks should be a warm cup of Milo because Milo is love. But also its nutritious and gives them just enough energy to continue the camp.

11:00am: After breakfast, they will get to do some brain teasers on a sheet of paper. There are tons on the Internet so go figure. Its good to work the brains early in the morning. It also tests teamwork with each other and encourages discussion since the group is small.

11:30am: Camp helpers will get the camp attendees to do some warm ups but nothing intensive. Just stretching of legs, necks and a little bit of running on the spot maybe just 30 seconds. The camp helpers will then discuss about yesterday's activities and get feedback on whether the games were fun and engaging. This helps to improve the camp experience of the next batch of people.

12:00pm: Camp helpers would go down and collect the packet lunch to be delivered to the camp attendees and everyone will again eat together in the kitchen area. This time, they will try out Malay food as part of the multi-cultural food experience to better know each other.

1:00pm: From this time onward, there will be a mixture of board games for the people in the loft to try out. Camp helpers are also encouraged to join in the game as they need to bond with the campers too. Card games are also acceptable but games will have to allow at least 3 players at a go to evenly split everyone. Maybe try Monopoly, Uno or something like that.

3:00pm: Movie time! Curtains in the loft will be closed and lights will be switched off because everyone will be watching a movie. If allowed, the mattress from the bedrooms can be pulled out into the living room and a portable projector will be set up on a white wall to screen the movie. Movies should be something like a animation like the popular Minions. Nobody likes horror movies so those should be banned. Everyone will lie down on the mattress and make themselves comfortable. Popcorn can also be bought beforehand and distributed evenly to everyone if everyone agrees on it. And if this doesn't work out because of the budget for portable projectors, we can always move everyone back to the convention center for a movie screening and move everyone back to the loft (which is kind of tiring)... but then again if it was at the convention center, they can queue and collect their popcorn so a system can be implemented for it.

5:00pm: Everyone will talk about the movie and give their discussions on it. There could also be pieces of paper given out to each one asking for the favorite part of the movie. But most importantly, nothing educational must be in it! Definitely no open-ended questions like "did you think what Character A did was right? Why?" because that just disinterests people and everyone wants to enjoy a movie, not have it destroyed by questions they are forced to answer.

6:00pm: Shower time and break for the camp helpers. During this time they are free to play with their phones, update their family members etc.

7:00pm: Dinner would be delivered to their door again by camp helpers and this time they will try out Indian food. They will make their discussions on it and maybe the camp helpers will test out every one's knowledge of the food by asking for the name of the dishes.

8:00pm: Everyone will get together in a circle and colorful paper will be given out to everyone, including the camp helper. Everyone will write down their strengths, weaknesses and interests and share it around with everyone. This is not to embarrass each other but to again, closen the bond between each other, including the camp helper. They will then turn the paper around and write encouraging words for each other when they leave the camp.

9:00pm: There will be quick discussion on today's activities and what can be improved about it. After which if the discussion ends early its free time for them.

10:00pm:  Debrief and free time. Everyone gets ample sleep.


Day 3

9:00am: Literally the only day they wake up a little bit earlier but I need this extra time for the activities today. Breakfast would be delivered with the same concept as yesterday.

10:00am: Light warming up exercises for the activity planned ahead.

10:20am: Camp helper will set up a mini golf field in the loft and everyone will be encouraged to learn how to play golf, in the loft. Get it? Hah... But I mean come on, indoor golf sounds so cool! They could also try and do other activities and games that are not too tiresome.

11:20am: Camp helpers will then bring the people in the loft to the next loft to get to know the other 6 people from another loft after a game of golf. They will share their names, school they are from and what games they have played. At this point, everyone will mostly be uncomfortable with each other even the camp helpers if they do not know each other. But it will work out once they assign instructions and start a person introducing themselves. They will also talk about their interest and favorite food to help make things less serious and more fun.

12:00pm: Camp helpers bring their group back to their own loft after a quick sharing session on the purpose of this activity. And the purpose is to know more people from other schools hopefully and to know that even though you love the people in your group, its important to know other people too.

12:10pm: Lunch delivered and this time, it will be western cuisine. Everyone will play a fun game of guessing what food it is before opening the packet up because it is after all, their last meal together as a camp group.

12:50pm: Camp helper gets everyone to have a quick shower, pack up their stuff and clean up the loft before the final debrief.

1:40pm: Camp helper does a proper debrief, reminding everyone to be encouraging to each other and about the paper where they wrote each others encouraging words on. Camp helpers also get feedback verbally and not through a written survey and send off the campers. Before that, they can share with each other their social media accounts to make sure everyone keeps in touch and also take a group selfie together or selfies with each other.


2:00pm: (Or perhaps later) Everyone leaves the loft and gets home before the peak hour from other schools hit and the buses get super crowded. 

Done. Camp TIC TAC is done. That wasn't so hard wasn't it? No need to stress each other for cheers or any intensive activities. No need for sleeping late or hard work (well mostly no hard work). A relaxing and enjoyable camp while fulfilling the purpose of bonding each other together. A camp experience that is like no other because it is an indoor camp. A camp built for the people who hate outdoors or just for the people who want to bond in the most relaxing and unique way possible. 

Take whatever you read in this blog post with a pinch of salt and have some fun with life yeah? My ideal camp clearly won't be ideal for a lot of people but hey, we're all unique. I'll still have to attend camps in my life and they will stay the same but I just hope someday, someone will introduce a camp that is different from the usual ones I go to, giving me a different taste of  "fun". And man, was this blog post a fun one to write! I love it when things go my way. (I'm not even sorry)