Class 10 - Campus Aquaterra, Atali Ganga, Rishikesh- Devprayag Road (Uttrakhand)
12TH- 15TH March 2018
Contradictory to an awfully tiring wake, several students of class 10 entered the school gates with high hopes for our future camping experience. Subsequently, we boarded the buses along with our peers and headed towards the New Delhi Railway Station. The set timing for the trip was inconvenient due to our unneeded long wait for the train and consequent boarding. In a rushed manner, us seventy-three students made an attempt to get the best seats on the train. Upon reaching the Haridwar Railway Station, we boarded separate buses and were on our way to the camp site.
Our enthusiasm was met with everything but disappointment, as the camp instructors were full of comfort and the food they served lifted the weight of tire off our shoulders. We headed for a short trek after lunch which set the tone for the rest of the camp. However, this was nothing compared to the nine-hour-long hike we barely survived through the next day. Being scrawny and inexperienced students, we couldn't keep up with the teachers throughout most of the hike. Our hearts filled with relief as we entered our tents in the evening and fell face-first on comfortable beds. It certainly wasn't an activity the lot of us could handle.
We started the next day with a comical power-up, followed by a delicious breakfast and a quick briefing on that day's activities. Several instructors ran each divided team through required training and details as per which activities we were assigned to that morning. As we left the camp site and continued our experience, we conquered obstacles we never even thought we would come in contact with back home. The high ropes course tackled several phobias of height, whereas the water activities helped us engage in beautiful experiences we usually wouldn't see on the daily. The team building activities lived up to its name as it helped build strong relationships of trust among initial strangers. Each activity was enjoyed to the fullest with few regrets, and we packed our bags with droopy faces as we had to leave the site the next day.
I'd like to note that the camp instructors and teachers who accompanied us on the trip were insanely helpful and provided us with a comfortable experience at Rishikesh. As a student, I feel like I wouldn't have survived through most of the courses without their support. They made the experience light-hearted and took care of us throughout. They brought humour among hardships and initiated smiles among despondency. Their motivation and company kept several students grounded throughout the trip. For this, we applaud them. Literally.
Leaving the camp site was slightly painful for most of us. With heads full of orphic experiences and hearts full of sadness, we made our way out of the camp site and boarded different buses to the Haridwar Railway Station. Our group sang in a crass yet zealous harmony for most of the bus ride. Upon reaching the railway station, we had a shorter wait for our train as compared to the one we had initially. The ride back home was full of suspense and countdowns until we reached our school gates.
There was a round of thought-sharing before we left the site which taught all of us a little more about who we were interacting which for those four days and what they were passionate about. We all made memories that are bound to last lifelong.
Simran Shina Kumar - 10B