Hellooooo Humanss!! I'm back as promised to unravel the rest of NCS and let you know if it was worth going! So let's go!!
Day 3:
Today was less of a workout day and more on the chill side in terms of physical activity. As soon as we got up (after combatting the cold that we were now closely acquainted to) we went to a room with a TV to discuss what a healthy lifestyle looked like.
The first half of the day focused on activities surrounding the concept of health both physical and mental.
And then, it happened. A new game was introduced. Where basically you would be given an object and a person (to give the object you picked out to).
If they took it from you, they were out - I'm telling you know, this seems very harmless but it caused a little hiccup in my friendship with someone. Now that I look back on it, it really wasn't a big deal, but in the moment, with no one but only my friends to rely on, it felt painful, it ached to know that my friendship with that person had met a rocky patch. A disagreement we had never had in 10+ years of knowing each other. It felt like my only support system available to me, suddenly came crashing down. I felt broken and miserable ( and I knew that they did too).
Now that I look back at it - I was being a drama queen..but hey, I couldn't control how I felt, it was probably hormones! XD
Lunch was..well I don't really remember exactly...but everyday for lunch and dinner was basically an alternative of chips and chicken - for example sauted potatoes with chicken fillet, or diced potato and herbs with popcorn chicken etc...But don't get me wrong, the food was actually quite good, and the salad bar was impeccable, in fact I was worried about the food and basically packed my whole kitchen but the food was the least troublesome ironically..
Anyway, after lunch, we focused on activities based around the government and then took part in quite a few heated debates with very passionate people arguing their point (of course, the side I picked mostly won - even though there were technically no winners).
During dinner, I basically inhaled my food (which by the way, I had never done before, because if anyone knows me, I am a VERY slow eater) and we sprinted to the tents to get our stuff and take a shower - it was heaven!
Me and Krish even had time to wonder down toward the lake and chill there for a bit, talking about life whilst eating pringles and just being present in the moment whilst the sun had just started to go down.
And then Die-anna and Krithika came over to tell us there were a bunch of frogs on the pebbles we were sitting on. THE WAY WE BECAME FROGS AND JUMPED UP! The fact that they were so minuscule that we didn't even see them! We ended up having to leave anyway because a lady told us off for being by the lake, but it didn't matter, we didn't want to bother the frogs any longer (apart from Die-anna who seemed to adore them...).
Before free time, we had another game to play, which consisted of 100 puzzles, memory and physical activities we needed to complete before the time was up and the winning teams would get points. This was our chance to get some points as team 1 because our team..well...let's just say didn't do as well in the physical aspect of activities...We did get points in the morning though!
But...we lost...(let's just say the odds were against us and move on).
It was an overwhelming, emotion-packed day, but I was thankful still, for being able to embrace each and every moment, with my friends.
Day 4:
Today was also pretty chill.
One core memory was actually of our group (basically all the girls in our group) choosing to play heads up over basketball and screaming our heads off whilst doing some sort of a cross between acrobats and acting to play the game. This was the game. I loved every second of it, it felt like we were all closer; this established our profound friendship as a group of friends and a team.
What came next though, was absolutely exhausting (mentally). It was about finance. And I know, listening to lectures about mortgages and banking must definitely peak one's interest, which it did in the beginning, but this kept going on and on for about 4 hours...it would be an understatement to say it was draining.
I mean I ended up with a page full of random doodles!
But then, we played a game, another core memory, which really brought our team together, both the team leaders and the full team. We played mafia.
That was the highlight of our day, the way we screamed, laughed hysterically (OK the way I laughed hysterically when I found out who it was and threw Krish off because I ended up laughing in her ear) and the whole experience was just extraordinary.
We also had a silent disco, but for some reason I wasn't feeling it, it was definitely some people's vibe, and usually songs and dancing was my vibe too, but I just didn't feel like it and neither did Krish, so we went back to chill at the tents. We had a nice heart to heart as I ate my pot noodles and as Krish edited the videos we took on day 1 for the competition (if you have no clue what this is about, go read part 1 now!).
A calm and peaceful way to end our day...
Day 5:
Today we knew we didn't have much more time with each other, we were due to leave at 12pm, which barely gave us any time at all, we packed the night before but we had to move our luggage and announce the winners of the photo & video competition and the winners to the NCS programme as a whole.
This was the day, we thought mafia yesterday was good, but today was the peak of the game, as I looked around the room exhilaration and fun enveloped the room whilst a tinge of sadness that we were leaving prevailed.
Today was also the day I got betrayed by Krithika who voted me out because she thought I was the mafia, and guess who she voted me out with? That's right, the MAFIA! And no she wasn't mafia, but she'd rather trust our team leader than her friend of 5 years - yes Krithika I am calling you out (but don't worry I still purple you!).
Oh and when I finally had the chance to be mafia, I got randomly accused out of nowhere thanks to a teammate who's amazing at this game - her sixth sense knew it was me!
Getting ready to leave was another emotion I had never felt before. I was excited to finally go home to comfort and the warmth of my home, but the harsh truth of never meeting these people that I felt so connected to, most likely never again, left a strange void in my stomach.
And about the competition, after 2nd place was announced as someone else, I basically abandoned all hope of winning...when, 1st place was announced: it was team 1.
WAIT, THAT WAS US! WE WON! After losing a huge game, and combatting cheaters and all sorts of obstacles, we ended up winning!!!
The videos Krish stayed up so late to edit definitely took us to the podium (and to first place), adrenaline rushed through us all as we were astonished but also felt a surge of pride - our team had done it! It was then, that I felt even more torn, I really didn't want to leave our well put team, but life goes on...
As for the little hiccup with my friend that seemed tremendous at the time, we ended up talking about it the next day and reconciling, which was odd, because I literally thought it was the end of the world and that we would never talk again.
But I realised that our friendship was way too meaningful to be over or disrupted by an insignificant hiccup. I also realised that I did in fact bicker or feel frustrated towards my other friends at some point and I'm sure they were annoyed at me for one reason or another during the trip. But with moments we disagreed with, it was the fact that we were able to talk about it, and approach our disputes in such a mature (mostly mature) manner that it felt like our friendship had upgraded to family. We now had a deeper understanding and connection with each other.
I realised that if I wanted to remain friends, hanging out and having a laugh with each other was all I needed, but to truly become family, I'm glad we argued, I'm glad I had a shoulder to cry on, I'm glad I had people to vent to, I'm glad I had moments that were authentic, and I'm glad I had gone with people who I could have heart to heart conversations with.
Thank you so much to every single person, for making this trip worthwhile and an unforgettable event in my life and thank you so much to NCS for organising such a wonderful experience!
So overall, I would definitely recommend going on a trip with NCS, especially with your friends, because I know that you will most likely make new friends with memories that last you a lifetime, as well as bonds that grow stronger - unbreakable.
-Ravitreni Signing Off
Comments