Project Week: After the trip

Project week was an exercise in patience as much it was a test in independence. The week was plagued with somewhat boring activities, internal conflicts and a general sense of being non-memorable. Despite this, some of the activities were somewhat enjoyable. For me, hiking and rafting were the most fun as it allowed for individual strengths to come into play, not just being as strong as our weakest member.

The first few days were actually very interesting and filled with enjoyable and memorable moments. I believe this is as these were the days we were given free rein and allowed to do what interested us instead of what was planned for us. For example the first day (my favourite) after arriving at the hotel and resting for an hour or so we decided to go exploring and found a wide array of interesting and unique locations. We walked for half an hour or so through an old quarry to find an incredible lake surrounded by mountains. Afterwards, we travelled to some different tourist attractions such as a street label concubine street and a street who’s walls were engulfed completely in murals.

After this, however, things began to go downhill. The second day was fine but after a 6 am start and an hour bus ride tensions were high and morale was low. We arrived at a compound that was littered with what can be described as garden sheds, this is where we stayed for the remainder of the trip. After arriving at 7 am we got 1 hour of downtime before starting another hour long bus venture which prefaced a 4-hour trek. This was, once again, pretty alright. I like hiking a lot and the route was great, despite insane humidity and temperature, it was very enjoyable. I feel it allowed me to demonstrate my fitness and capabilities in walking moderate distances without much trouble. We were allowed to pull away from the main group (me and one other) so we could go at our own pace. As the route was very clear and the chances of getting lost were slim, we ended up finishing half an hour before the others.

Afterwards, we went rock climbing, which was ok. The course was fun, however being a tall guy in a country not used to tall people resulted in my head passing the wire that was meant to keep me from falling. This meant that whenever I’d go to move I would get clotheslined by a steel wire.

The third day marked the inevitable demise of the group. Today was the water sports day, something I personally hate. I can’t handle water sports, no matter what it is, I get sick, hot and uncomfortable. The first activity was waterfall abseiling. This for me is the absolute epitome of something I don’t want to do. I have no problem with heights, however, getting battered by a waterfall whilst descending a 10 m cliff face all while being blinded by rouge sand particles, attributed itself to my waking nightmare. Despite my reservations, I attempted it, albeit once, and made it down with little issues. This shows my perseverance and willingness to try new things, although prompted by peer pressure, I ended up trying and succeeding in the activity.

 

 

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