Retreat to Mok Fa – September 2-4, 2011

On Friday we left for a reservoir at 8am for our swim test! We got there around 8:30am and changed into our suits and rash guards. We were to swim 500 meters in the reservoir and then tread water for 15 minutes. It was actually really fun…it felt so nice to swim again. Almost everyone passed. After the test, we had lunch right on the shore. They brought us a big fish, fried chicken, papaya salad, and dancing shrimp. Dancing shrimp are literally dancing shrimp. They are live shrimp that flop all around (seasoned and spicy!). I was definitely set on leaving those aside but, of course, the challenge got to me and I couldn’t say no. So, eventually Zane and I grabbed a bit of sticky rice and a shrimp and we ate it. It wasn’t so bad AND I didn’t get sick from it. Double plus.

After the swim test and lunch we headed to Mok Fa, where we would be staying for the next two nights. We got there an hour later and it was beautiful! We stayed in really nice cabins where we all had mattresses, blankets, and pillows and really nice facilities. The point of the trip was to learn about health, safety, and GROUP BONDING…all of which were accomplished. The first day was chill. It stormed so I didn’t go to the waterfall but many did. The rest of us played games in the rain and later played bananagrams and card games. That night, Ajan Mark came and talked to us about leadership and the skills we would need. We found out that on our field courses, we all get changes to become leaders and make major decisions that could have major consequences. This didn’t freak me out at all…just one more thing!!! Hah.

After our leadership session, it was time for some group bonding games! We had a huge bonfire and played a crazy game. They put out a rope and everyone was to find a partner. The goal of the game was to get a waterbottle as far away as possible. The rules were that both partners had to be touching. One partner had to have part of their body on one side of the rope and One one arm or leg could be on the ground on the otherside. Needless to say, we definitely bonded. People came up with crazy ways to get the waterbottle as far as possible.  Monica and I are both small (compared to most other groups) so we didn’t do so well. But, I think we did better than most people our size would!!

The next day we leisurely woke up around 7:30am…LATE!  We had breakfast and then had another session to learn about basic first aid and health. This freaked us all out a bit but I guess that was the point. We then had a scenario activity. We were told that we would be put into groups of 8 and sent to certain areas around the park. One person would be injured with a knee and clavicle injury. All we had was a backpacking  backpack filled with ropes, a tarp, and a sleeping pad. That was all the information we had. We would all be in a group with one WFR (Wilderness First Responder) because four out of the 31 of us are WFRs. They met separately and we all took off. Our route was a windy one through the mountain. All of a sudden, Grace (our WFR) fell, “injured.” I have to say, her acting is top notch because we all freaked out for a second. We then made a sling for her shoulder out of an extra shirt and rope and a knee brace out of a sleeping bad and rope. We then made a backboard using the backpack frame and the tarp. We had to move her onto the backboard and carry her all the way back. This is no easy feat. We had already hiked about 10 minutes in and not only did we have to hike back holding her…we also had to cross a river (and we weren’t allowed to use the bridge). Everyone took this completely seriously. We really acted like this was the real deal. There were parts of the trail that were so narrow that only a couple of us could hold her at a time and everyone was getting exhausted. We were all literally DRIPPING with sweat. Eventually, an hour and a half later we made it back…exhausted. I truly hope no one gets injured on our field courses…

After our little scenario, we had lunch and all headed to the waterfall! It was AMAZING! The fall was so strong and the water felt amazing. Unfortunately, in Thailand, we aren’t allowed to swim in just bathing suits so we had to wear clothes over. I will not be getting tan here until MAYBE the oceans course…haha. But regardless it was probably the coolest thing I have seen since being here! We then hiked around the area for a while and headed back for dinner. After dinner we had more bonding games. We played ‘birdie on a perch’, which is my new favorite game. Everyone danced around the bonfire to Pi Toto’s guitar and when the guitar stopped, someone yelled “birdie on a perch” and everyone has to partner up and someone has to jump into someone elses arms…the last to partner up or any couple that falls is out. There were many awkward/funny and even completely seamless moments. We played a few other games and then a few of us CC girls had some pillow talk and cliffbars before hitting the hay. It was a good night.

Today is Sunday! This morning we went on a GREAT hike. It was hot but the environment was really beautiful and amazing. There were tons of palm leaves and crazy trees. Literally “crazy”…one tree was called the “crazy tree” but in Thai. The hike ended about an hour and a half later at the waterfall! Our group was early so we played in the falls for 20 minutes before heading back for lunch and packing up. Everyone was definitely a little sad to head back. I could of stayed for much longer! It was a great time and we even learned a few useful things! I don’t even think I need to take the course to be a WFR anymore (ha kidding…).

I’m now back home and getting ready to go to sleep! Class tomorrow and I have a quiz written in Thai! Guess I should get studying. I planned to do homework on the retreat but that didn’t exactly happen.

Ohhh…also my camera froze in the waterfall and died so I don’t have many pictures L But luckily…Uncle Eric is sending me another one soon! And my camera is working again but the pictures are still not up to par. I’ll post what I have. BYE