Skip to content

Category: Outdoor Education

Physical activities in the wilderness. Definitely a once in a blue moon thing

Project Week 1

Published by liew48863@gapps.uwcsea.edu.sg on December 21, 2019

LO6 – Demonstrate engagement with issues of global significance
LO7 – Recognise and consider the ethics of your choices and actions

 

All of us were excited when Project Week was finally formally introduced to us. However, needless to say, as it was the week before the October break, we let it slipped our mind. Fast forward to the 4th week after the holiday, after 3 weeks with not a single word about Project Week, which we were all of the sudden, without any realization, plunged into the fast-paced schedule of Project Week planning.

I was initially planning on going diving with friends while working together with a GC called Gili Eco Trust. However, due to my lack of interest in diving, the fact that I have never dived as well as the high cost of learning how to dive, I decided to leave the group in search of something else.

I approached my friends Izzy and Riya, who plans to go to where Izzy’s GC is, Chumkriel Language School, to teach them circus as well as to bike around Cambodia. Since I have had past experiences with the GC, I decided that it would be a good idea for me to join their group.

However, after I had joined their group and we submitted our proposal, the plans to teach the students there circus tricks had to be reconsidered, when Vasu, the key role to this idea, was pulled to join a group who is going to Blue Dragon as a following up of a recent collaboration between the school’s circus club and the GC. In return, we had 2 other members, Colin and Eric, joined us due to their interest in cycling.

An E-mail informing us of the addition of two new members

The reshuffling of roles as well the size of the group of 7 meant that I have changed roles from being the minutes’ taker to sharing the role of a first aider and action leader with Colin. I really needed time to get used to not taking over the current minutes’ taker’s role as I am just so used to doing it whether it is because I am the secretary of 0WES or that I always end up in that role during group projects. It is hilarious though whenever Riya or Izzy caught me taking minutes instead of Eric.

I also felt that despite the short time period of working together, I have learned quite a lot on how to manage my thinking and attitude. I tend to be the type of person who is a perfectionist, someone that likes to get things done early in order to provide a foundation to further build on if there is time to spare. So imagine my anxiety when I see that some of my peers weren’t using the time allocated for project week appropriately. I have a strong fear of being last minute. Along with the awareness of the tight schedule we had, I was extremely anxious. However, after talking to my mentor as well as friends I managed to understand and learn a lot about myself as well as how to interact.

I have learned that when working, although I may not personally like them, I have to at least set aside our differences in working and work with professionalism. Similarly, different people have different methods which suit them. If there are differences, then we should at least trust them that they will complete the task because after all, we all have a common goal that we want to work towards.

In addition, I really feel very fortunate to have Ms Yacou as our supervisor. Not only was she very objective, but she also got us on track again, as we lay out what we have done and what we still needed to do.

Asking Ms Yacou to be our project week supervisor

Although this has been a little too bumpy of a start to my liking, I think that this is a very good experience and I am looking forward to how we move onwards.

 

L03, L05, L06, L07

Mongolia – The culture of Mongolia

Published by liew48863@gapps.uwcsea.edu.sg on September 17, 2018
Where are we? —— Photo credited to Kim Bum Jun, a fellow Dover groupmate, taken somewhere in between June 24th to July 2nd 2018

 

Question: How do nomadic farmers maintain a lifestyle in Mongolia?
An isolated farm – the smallest settlement category – I thought it wouldn’t exist, with the world developing and land becoming scarce, but there we were, hiking and kayaking through them, in a place we call ‘in the middle of nowhere’. This was Mongolia.
WELL, technically speaking it’s the nomad side of Mongolia.
With a drive of 2-4 hours’ distance (from our ending point), and a pointed out fact that if we had a heat stroke, we would have to wait for 4 hours to receive help (that is if we even manage to get a helicopter), it is hard to imagine how the nomadic farmers manage to survive. Electricity, water, food, where do you get them?! Here are some findings that may surprise you (well, at least I was)
Electricity was something unexpected for me to see when we first arrived in the countryside of Mongolia. I had thought that we would be seeing a fireplace in the middle for lighting and all. Who knew we were using electricity through the solar panels! At first, it was a shock as my image Mongolia’s wilderness life was cracking. But after spending a few days in the country, I managed to understand why they had turned to that energy solution: The daylight hours of Mongolia is really long. During the time I was there, the sun rose at 5:30 am and set at 9:30 pm, meaning that the sun was out for 16 hours! For me, whose sense of time was thrown off, it’s a shock, but for them, who relies on solar energy to generate electricity, it is probably a great thing as they are able to power their lighting and refrigerator etc.
During the trip, something I noticed about the choice of site of the ger (a portable, round tent covered with skins or felt used by nomads in Central Asia) is normally along the river. It should be something known as common sense to me but I can’t help the feeling of realization dawning on me every time I think about it. By living near a river, nomads are able to use it for agricultural and domestic purposes like washing or drinking with easy access. As the river is an important water source for the nomads, the handling of soap and business was requested to be at least a 100m away from the water body to prevent contamination.
Although living near a river does bring benefits, it is also important to remember that rivers are dynamic, especially at the lower course where the river is meandering (curving). But I guess that’s why the nomads of Mongolia live in a ger, after all, they are collapsible. (Ain’t gonna say that it’s easy to build after watching the Mongolian kids taking the ger our group spent an hour building within minutes)
On our arrival day in Mongolia, I didn’t really think that I would not be witness any arable farming as I drank a soup filled with carrots and onions. That was why when I was hiking and kayaking, I could only raise my brows when all I see are animals pasturing as in Mongolia. It couldn’t be that 30.4% of Mongolia’s total employment is only on pastoral farming? But then again, I was only exploring a small part of the country and that we were warned that Mongolian food would mostly consist of meat.
I remember asking one of the Mongolian guides about how the farmers know which livestock was theirs with so many sheep and cows on the same field. It was a total surprise for me when he told me that the flock had belonged to only one family, and to back it up, he told me that before his family had moved to Ulaanbaatar (the capital of Mongolia), they were raising around 175 sheep.
Protein, protein, protein! Where’s the vitamins and fiber in their diet?!
Well, guess what, when getting their vegetables, they use a motorised vehicle like a motorbike or a car to buy them. They travel a long distance to the urban areas to buy them and return back to their house to pickle them so that they would last long (except onions as they last to about a month or two)
Although Mongolia is a country labelled as an LEDC, the country is still doing well, ranking 92 out of the 189 countries in the HDI. Yes, I might not have witnessed a lot with my 12 day trip to Mongolia as a tourist, but from what I have seen, it’s an amazing country and the nomads are doing well.
Thanks.
*Please note that all facts listed may not be accurate as they are based on observations and thoughts.
Skip to toolbar