Summer camp - recap

Thanks to the invitation to assist in advertising for the summer camp of Wave Vietnam, I got the information about the camp and signed up for it. This is the first summer camp I've ever participated in, and I have to say it is spectacular.

The first day began with a brief outline for us, campers, to get an idea of what to expect in the camp. At night, we had bonding activities, which were set out as a place for us to socialise. We shared about our hobbies, and we played games. It was so hilarious and I had such a good laugh.

On day 2, we had the chance to meet a psychologist and discuss stress and depression among teenagers, or to say, Gen Z. The discussion was heated, but I found it rather boring and off-topic. He was supposed to give us insight into stress and the remedy for it, but he went on and on about the false remedy we turned to when we were stressed, without suggesting any useful ideas. The questions he put forward were quite controversial and opinionated. The day would have been a lot better if the speaker had discussed the way to solve stress and shared his experience in dealing with stress, rather than making it a lecture. At night, we had "Ringing the golden bell" game. The content was very good, but the format of the game was quite inappropriate: we played on Padlet, and it was extremely hard to post answers on it. I strongly recommend that if we ever want to play games that require simultaneous answering, we can use Kahoot or Quizizz - these websites offer a great way to monitor the progress of players and provide a more enjoyable experience.

On day 3, this could be said to be the best day ever in the past 3 days, we had to chance to meet a delegate from the UN and she skillfully addressed the 17 goals of sustainable development. She did not make her presentation a lecture but a small sharing, quite enjoyable and informative. Then, we met Ms Tram from Herbs & Spices, who successfully delivered the concern of Food Waste and put forward ways to reduce it. At night, we had bonding activities again, but it was not so enjoyable as the first night, since we used this time to discuss our performance for the contest that was going to happen.

Day 4 began with a virtual field trip. I had never been on a field trip before, so it would be so easy to guess my anticipation for it. The field trip went on as smoothly as possible. We were taken to Dat's butter factory and saw how peanut butter was made. It would have been muc nicer if this were an offline one. But considering the pandemic, I could not ask for more. After the trip, we were given a case study on some of the ways to extend the profit line of Dat's butter. The topic was quite hard, actually, so everyone put all their efforts into researching it.

Day 5 was the pitching day, which means we had to present our findings. Our team was not the best, disappointedly, but we were the best of ourselves that day. Then came the night activities. This was not the time to anticipate, since it would be the last time we could be together. Everything went by so quickly, we were not even able to catch our happiness, but now we had to let it fly away. The camp ended with a ceremony. Every tribe had their tokens. Our tribe got "The Mute Tribe" award, as whenever we stayed together, no one turned on their microphone. Although the camp has reached its end, nothing seemed to have ended. We laughed together, we cried together, we shared our deepest wishes, and we were like a family. "It's not 5 days in your life, it's a life in 5 days" - someone said. There is no time to say goodbye, let us not call it that. After you have travelled through the jungle, what will you feel? Feared? Blessed? Mature? I felt all. This camp has not only shaped my personality but also shaped me into who I am today. It is a pity that memories fade with time. But we have the right to hope, don't we? Let us all hope that these memories will stand the test of time, and live on. When we grow older, our memories do not disappear, they become parts of ourselves. So don't cry, travellers, traversing through this world, you will be more experienced, and you will learn to accept life as it is. So, be brave, be vulnerable, and be the one you want to be. Be The One: Summer Camp - Wave Vietnam.

The end of a cycle marks a new beginning ~

July 2021, Vietnam.