Hello? Anybody still around?

It's been a long time since anyone ever posted here. Ages. I doubt if anyone still bothers to view this blog. (Comment anything to this entry if you still read...just to see how many still do. Haha...)

OAC has been so busy lately, what with June Camp, Punishment Day, Handover Day, our own trainings to organize, Kayaking Exposure, JTS and lotsa other things to settle. Plus, we are after all, students so we still have studies to cope with (Adri doesnt count). I can imagine why nobody comes here anymore...

But I don't think that we should just let this blog slip away into oblivion and exist as something that we started in our few months as trainees. In fact, this blog should chart our journey as we transform from newbies to trainee instructors to full-fledged instructors next year. We should post more often as this would show the hardships that we've been through, the tough trainings we've completed, the discussions we've had and the jokes we've come up with about each other (ahem ahem).

Use this blog to communicate with your teammates what you don't get the time to say during trainings. Use it for posting comments about the team, recent trainings, future events or how the water bottle you drank from yesterday tasted like longan. Use it for telling Deborah that her hair looks weird, for telling Adri how ugly he is, for telling Jia Wei how blur he is and for telling Jia Wei how blur he is (repetition is not a typo =)).

Hope that we'll use this blog more often now... So moving on, JTS coming up soon. So are we confirm going opposite the school for Dinner? I think the seniors would like the carrot cake there. And what about the activity ah? We can borrow Twister from Sze Sian and play that outside the dance studio... yea, that sounds good =) For gifts, we can give them some of the water bottles and backpacks as mementos of OAC; we have too many of them anyway.

PS: I sure hope the seniors read this blog...

Ethopia tour info

Thank you very much for your interest and confidence you have shown on us and we will live up to your maximum expectation. Ethiopia is endowed with natural beauty, culture, history and people. Once if you are in Ethiopia, there is a magical feeling soon you feel yourself that you are one of among the Ethiopians. This is due to the friendliness of the people, the simplicity of life and the depth of history. It is also our pleasure to arrange you the requested service according to your time and interest.

Day of arrival in Ethiopia you will be met at Bole International Airport by ENTTO staff and transported to your hotel.

Day 1:

Transfer to the airport to fly to Gondar afternoon will be spend at leisure exploring the 17th century castles and churches that make Gondar famous. The night will be spent at the Goha Hotel on a hill with commanding views over this medieval city.

Day 2: GEECH CAMP

Starting early in the morning from Gondar you will be driven through the mountainous country. You stop for an early lunch in the market town of Debark. Then head off to Sankaber where you will pick up the mules and then start the trek. Leaving the camp you descend into the Michotis Valley and climb the other side where on your left you will see the Jin Bahir River plummeting into the Geech Abyss. A couple of kilometers later you descend to cross the Jin Bahir and after a steep climb to the other side you reach Geech camp where you will stay overnight.(Approx. 5 hour trek, including breaks.)

Day 3:CHENEK CAMP

With an early start the mules will be packed and depart for Chenek whilst you will head with daypacks to the escarpment edge at Saha and Imetgogo(3,926m) for staggering views over the lowlands characterized by its rocky spires. Clinging to the escarpment edge you then trek via undulating terrain towards your camp at Chenek. On the way you will see many examples of the impressive Giant Lobelia and stand a good chance of seeing some Gelada baboons. At the end of todays trek you descend to the road that leads to camp with it inspiring sunset view of the lowlands. O/N Chenek camp.(Approx. 8-9 hour trek.)

Day 4: AMIBIKWA CAMP

The mules will head directly to camp and you have the choice of walking with them or of trekking to the summit of the Simien's second highest peak, Bwahit (4,430m). After refreshments at the summit you will descend steeply towards the village of Chiro Leba where you will have lunch around the local school. Afterwards you continue the descent to the Mesheha River valley (2850m) and up the other side to Ambikwa camp at 3,200m. (Approx. 8-9 hour trek including breaks).

Day 5:THE SUMMIT OF RAS DASHEN

This is the most challenging day of the trek up to the summit of Ras Dashen. You will trek up to the head of the valley and the village of Mizma where you will get your first view of your imposing goal. To reach it you wil contour round a number of steep gullies ascending all the time until you find yourself on a rocky plateau which is dominated by the tree peaks the middle one being the tallest. It is then a relatively easy scramble to the top of one of Africa's highest mountains. After refreshments at the top you will descend by the same route to Ambikwa camp. (Approx. 10-12 hour trek including breaks).

Day 6:CHENEK

You retrace your steps to Chenek where you will spend your last night under canvas. Time to reset and reflect on your on your achievement. (Approx. 8-9 hourtrek).

Day 7:

Drive back either to Gondar or Debark The transport will arrive early to take you back to Debark or Gondar and a well earned hot shower and relaxing afternoon which can be spend sightseeing or shopping in the local market or just sleeping!

Day 8:

Transfer to the airport to fly back to Addis where you will be picked up and taken to your hotel.

A half day city tour is provided either on day of arrival or departure.

A farewell dinner will be provided at the Crown Hotel where you can taste traditional Ethiopian food and drind as well as seeing traditional dancing

Price for the above tour : $560 per person

The price includes:

- Hotel accomadations for 2 nights in Addis Ababa

- Hotel Accomadations on H/B basis in Gondar

- All excursions to sites of interest with entry fees as per itinerary
- Camping fees
- Scout fee in the national parks
- Professional cook
- Portage at each place
- Professional English speaking escort guide all through

15% Government Tax

The price does not include:

- Domestic airfare

- Personal expense like Laundry, alcoholic drinks, tips, airport tax and international airfare.

We are happy to make changes to your itinerary as needed to fit your particular needs. Please feel free to contact us with any questions you may have. We look forward to hearing from you and providing you with an unforgettable tour in Ethiopia.

Sincerely,

Kebede Belema

Operation Manager

ENTTO

Our address is:

Addis Ababa ETHIOPIA
Hilton Hotel Office # 337

IN ETHIOPIA:

Tel 251-11-552 66 22
Cell Phone 251-91 120 70 95
Fax/Tel 251 11 552 66 23

In AMERICA

Cell phone

202-460-1007

Tel Fax

571-312-4077

E-mail entto2000@yahoo.com

NO BIG DEAL

OAC growing pains.

We need to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each team member, and allocate roles accordingly. We must capitalise on our good points! OACians, we will become more efficient and we will be worthy of being instructors (or instructors-in-training, or whatever hahaha)! Getting through this tough time is NO BIG DEAL.

Also wanna apologise if I've been blowing my cool in recent trainings. I just want the team to make it so badly. Sorry for all the shouting. I don't mean any personal offense.

And the NYAA stuff. Are we going to do something about it soon? We have to do it quickly. Are we taking Dex's idea of roller blading? I'm all for it if everyone else is. Please air your ideas everyone (esp choong kee kee and jacqueline and zhi quan. Always never say anything during discussion one.)

Jia You everyone. Titans is just round the corner, but as a team we will survive, and thrive even.

Update v1.1

Have not posted anything here for a long time.

Just wanted to comment on our team dynamics. I think we are united and stuff but sometimes we can get on each others' nerves. Just wanted to say that THAT'S OK! Without the tough times we'll never grow. But of course, we all know that we are still a family no matter what.

I would rather a team that grows than a team that stays on a smooth course and never really bonds. Let us all grow together!

Oh, and welcome Jia Wei, Joshua, Raghu and Jacqueline!!! Training must be damn tough for you guys, but don't worry because you guys will all improve quite rapidly as long as you stick to pushing yourself. Trick to surviving OAC: JDI (Just Do It), and always cheer and keep the team morale up.

Training for Titans is tough, but losing it all in Titans is tougher. (Like that smoking ad LOL)

March XP

This is where we went for March XP from google earth

In the mood for a run?

In OAC, we just LOVE running so much that when we discover that Google Maps has a new feature allowing people to customize their maps, the first thing we do is to create maps for our two Titans running routes...

And here's the result...
Click here for a more detailed picture of the Individual Run route.

Click here for a more detailed picture of the Group Run route.

Now that you know the route better, go and run whenever you have the time. (And torture those already hurting calves and ankles even more... Don't you just love running with backpacks?)

Hi

Hello everyone!!!

To All Interested Year Ones...

OAC would be having yet another interesting and fun training on Friday, 22nd March - that is tomorrow. For those interested in finding out more about what our trainings are like, do come on down to have a look and join in the fun.
Meet at TJ Sports Complex (outside the dance studio), 3.00 pm. Be in PE attire.

We'll be having fun tomorrow =)



Eugene: eh send me the password ASAP. Thanks...

Im bored and random : )

Well since no one has posted anything recently... I'll just be random and talk about random things!
1. Im bored again and it's after training... So im dam sore...
2.I need to collect kayaking money!!! PAY UP!!! NOW!!!
3.I like tomatoes on my bread : )

Thank you for your time : )

Interested in OAC?

To all interested people,
OAC has a training session this Wednesday, and you are welcomed to try out our PDP. Be in PE attire outside the Dance Studio at 3.15p.m. Bring swimming gear as well as extra clothes to facilitate our activities. We look forward to seeing you there!
OAC Baik!

Usage of the "Comment" Function

Yo people!
I have noticed that no one has left any comments yet... F.Y.I: You can leave comments if you have things to say regarding a post. You do not have to make a new post! lol. Anyway, if you do have a reflection to share in response to my earlier post, you may submit them in the comments section.
OAC Baik!

TJC OAC! Join NOW!!!

Do you like the outdoors?
Do you enjoy running? Stairs? Heavy bags?
How about instant noodles, canned food and energy bars?
Well none of that beats the companionship you can gain by joining TJC OAC!
So join now!





(haha, im bored... Eugene dun kill me)

Conquered Stong and Ayam!

hi everyone! Bryan here:) Just wanted all of you to know this expedition was really enjoyable, and that it meant a lot to me as it was the probably the last time i will get to spend time with the whole OAC family:( The expedition did a lot to boost my physical and mental strength, although the latter may still be in its developing stage as i could not resist all the food during the hike up;P I think we should also all congratulate ourselves, as we conquered Ayam within the time limit, and Ben said "well done" for the first time!! yeah.. See what OAC can accomplish when we set our minds to it;) Keep up the good work everyone, OAC rocks!!

Sharing Experiences... Yours and Mine

Yo people!
In case you're wondering who's default_user, it's me, Eugene.
I was just wondering if it'll be too taxing on everyone to write a short summary on our experiences.. Not a compulsory thing, but it'll be good if everyone does it. We can then post our experiences up here.
The write up doesn't need to be about the whole trip. Just a short reflection on your most memorable moments will do. For example, I want to write something on the waterfall and the view from base camp in the morning.
So, OACians, are you game? (really, the writing doesn't have to be long) If so, sign in with your e-mails and start posting!
OAC Baik!

Collating Pictures

Hey guys (and gals)! Varun here. I was just invited by Eugene to join this blog so this is my first post here...

Anyway, regarding collating the pictures, as Eugene posted, we could post them all online as a Picasa Album. All you have to do is download Picasa, store all the March XP pictures in one folder and then upload that particular album online.
It's quite easy to do but if you think it's too complicated, I don't mind collating all the pictures manually too. Just bring along your camera's memory card on Monday morning and I'd copy them over to my laptop and then later upload through my Picasa. For those who aren't in TJ anymore (yepp, we sure will miss you guys...), I do hope you can upload your pictures online too. Thanks =)

And for the promotion thing, I think we can get the seniors to help because they may have posters and boards with pictures of their previous expeditions. We can put up the boards at our booth and hopefully get more members.

Calling for Photographs

Guys (and gals),
I appeal to all of you to collate all photos so that I can post it up on our website. If possible, download Picasa2 from google and make one finalised album for our website then pass it to me. The current album is just a tentative one. If anyone has ideas to share about the construction of the album (I'm facing a few problems..), please help! I hope we can get the whole site up and running by Monday so that we can promote our PDP to the school.
One more thing, I will require help for the promotion efforts. I don't think a website is sufficient. It would be good if we can either make an announcement or put up a booth outside the SC room.
OAC Baik!

Welcome

Welcome to TJ's very own OAC website!
On this site, pictures of our expeditions and trainings will be posted. This site will also act as a log for OACians, allowing them to publish discussions and ideas to do with OAC.
Announcements can be made here too.
Enjoy.

About Us

As the name suggests, Outdoor Activities Club (OAC) is all about enjoying the outdoors. The members get to experience a spread of activities ranging from sea sports to mountain climbing. Some of the specific activities we do include kayaking, trekking, orienteering and campcraft.

As members of the PDP, you won’t just get to experience the various activities, but also have the chance to go for various expeditions over the course of two years. Being able to conquer mountains gives one a certain feeling and a sense of accomplishment that cannot be achieved in any other way.

OAC also prides itself in organizing various events for the members of the general college population to take part in. Namely, the annual OAC Duathlon and Temasek Titans are our flagship events.

Members of OAC are expected to not just challenge their physical limits, but also their mental boundaries. Teamwork and resilience are the core emphasis of the PDP and we hope to cultivate students who are determined to pursue their goals and work efficiently as a team.

If you have a desire to achieve great heights, a passion for the outdoors, a will to work as a team and live to define your own limits, you’re the one we need to join OAC.

So why wait and sign up for OAC today!