RSP trip 2009

Our class went for the RSP trip to selangor last year during the June holidays. It took an 8 hour bus ride to get there. It was a good thing I had brought my nintendo DS, or I would have been bored to death. The bus driver thought we were bored and screened a Thai horror movie. I have no idea why he screened such a movie. I refused to watch. Caleb(my classmate and friend) hid under his seat. However some of the more daring people watched and I heard many of them, for some reason, could not sleep that night.

Upon arrival at the village, we were served lunch. We were introduced to the local custom of eating with our right hand. We found it unusual at first, but soon got use to it. It was very hard to eat rice that way.

After lunch we were introduced to our foster families. . Gabriel and Marcus shared the same foster family as I did. Our foster father did not have a car. But he had a couple of motorcycles. Riding on one past an endless ‘sea’ of rice plants, with the wind blowing against my face, was an exhilarating and memorable experience.

We had some difficulty communicating with them due to our weak grasp of the language, we endeavored to communicate with them using our limited vocabulary and at times when our words did not suffice we made do with sign language. Initially communicating with them felt awkward but after some time we felt much more comfortable in their presence. We managed to take some photos with them as well.(sadly I have no pictures with me now)

The next few days were a flurry of activities such as fishing, kite making, firefly-watching, and we went to a night market where i saw a group of boys my age riding motorcycles! Can you believe that?

Anyway, the end of our stay drew near. Early the next day, we woke up and had our last meal with the family. During the meal, they showed us photos of other tourists who had stayed with them previously. We tried our best to communicate to them that we were immensely grateful and thankful for their kind hospitality, and were saddened by the prospect of leaving. We packed our bags and were about to leave our room when our foster father knocked on the door. He gave us each a pen and I was touched by this simple yet meaningful gesture. We gave them some gifts in exchange and thanked them wholeheartedly once again. We rode on their motorcycles to the village hall and bade them farewell. As I watched them leave, my heart felt heavy. I watched as they rode away and became mere specks in the distance. I doubted if our paths would ever cross again.

Although I enjoyed myself thoroughly in this trip, I also became more aware of the world around me. Aside from learning and seeing new things and experiencing the culture and lifestyle there, this trip has taught me many things. I got to experience living in a kampong, something not many people of my generation have experienced. This trip has been a real eye-opener for me. I realized how fortunate I was, living in Singapore, with easily accessible, modern amenities. The villagers, though they have less modern amenities and do lack several luxuries that we take for granted, live no less happier lives than most of us do in Singapore. This came as a surprise to me. Though they may have less in terms of material possessions, they are not lacking in happiness. Indeed, they seemed to be much happier than some people in today’s society. I enjoyed and envied their simple and relaxed lifestyle, compared to the hectic lifestyles that most Singaporeans have. Thus, this trip has taught me something-material possessions do not equate to happiness, but rather happiness can be found in having a lifestyle you enjoy with the ones you love. Overall, this trip was a wonderful experience for me, and not only have I enjoyed myself; I have gained experience, seen new things, learnt new lessons, bonded with my friends, learnt to appreciate and respect others more and I have been given fresh new perspectives of and in life- These lessons, experiences and perspectives will be applied in my daily life. The RSP trip was a wonderful and memorable time for me and it marked a significant milestone in my life.