Out Door Ed. Adventures

By: Arif Ahmad

May 2, 201

On Monday afternoon of May 14, 2011, we had arrived at Snake River Adventure Center camp in Wisconsin at about 11.30 am. Upon arrival we went to the big field and started playing games. We played a game that was like line soccer but you could use your hands. We had to get a ball pass the goal, which was made of fellow students. The next game we played was like tag but everyone was it. If we tagged someone they had to sit down until the person that tagged them were tagged. Then we played another game, which was called blob. It was like tag game but when you get tagged you had to join the blob and stay connected. After we played the games it was time for lunch.

May 2, 2011,12 PM, Lunchtime

After the games it was time to eat lunch. We went to a big house and sat at a table. Each table could seat eight people including a teacher. I sat with, Michael, Louis, Ryan, Antonio, Greg, George, and the teacher that sat with us was Mrs.Mazur. We could not have soda for lunch but were allowed to have one only for dinner. The lunch was a buffet style where we have several choices of what we wanted to eat. The choices were grilled cheese, soups, baked beans, bread, salads, and chips. I took two pieces of grilled cheese, baked beans, tomato soup and salad. For my drink I had hot chocolate. It was so good.  It was like I was living in heaven. After I was done with my plate we were allowed to go for seconds. I took the same things and more hot chocolate. After we were done with lunch we started teamwork activities.

May 2, 2011, 12-5 PM, Teamwork Activities

A couple minutes after lunch we started our team building activities. We got together with our activities group and we were given an instructor that worked at the camp.  In my activities group in consisted of Louis, Brandon, Michelle, Paul, Lauren, Emily, George, Anna, James, Allen, YeJi, and me. The first activity was  introducing our selves. The instructor would say his name and then pass the stuff animal to some one. We kept doing the same thing. Overall we used three stuff animals. It took us a while doing this because we were not paying attention or cooperating.

The next teamwork activity of my group was something to do with a jump rope. We had to find a way to get each person across when the rope was swung across. Then we had to make a pyramid starting with one person standing up going threw the rope. We had to figure out a way for all of us to go through the rope in a pyramid because we did not have enough people to make a full pyramid.

After that activity we went into the woods. My group’s first challenge was to go through a web without touching the lines. This activity took so long because we were not listening to each other’s ideas and it was hard. We have to stay connected. Finally, we   found a way to army crawled under the web. It was not as easy as it looked. To stay connected we were holding to the person’s shoes or foot that was in front of us. Then after we had finished that activity we had another new activity. Each of us had stand on a log and had to try and get on a big board or chair made out of wood. We were not able to jump there. In order for us to get there we had to swing on a wheel but it was in the middle of the boards and us. We were not allowed to go on the ground. For us to get to the wheel we tied a shoe to a sweatshirt and tried to pull the wheel to us and then we made it.  I was the first person to get to the boards. Then I had to help other people to get onto the boards. Only four people were able to be on one board. So we had to work as a team to get to the next board. We failed to finish this activity because we had moved on to the next activity.

For this activity all of us have to get on a long big board and balance it without talking. We had chosen a conductor to tell us where to move but only one person was allowed to move at a time. When we balanced the board we had to finish a verse from ‘row your boat’. It took a while for us to complete this task. Once we completed this activity, we went to the big field and we were given fruit snacks. Soon after that we have to write in our journals for a couple of minutes.  When we finished writing we started the relays.

May 2, 2011, 5-5:30 pm, relay races

After the teamwork activities, all the activity groups assembled together to start a relay race. Each team was competing against each other. We were supposed to have two people link together, back to back and in between us was a balloon. We have to make sure to get to other side quickly with out popping the balloon. Our team won the first placing. It took a while for us to finish because there were a lot of people. Then we were allowed to rest a little bit. While we were resting we have to write more in our journals about our afternoon activities and we were supposed to be very descriptive. Then after that it was time for dinner.

May 2, 2011, 5:30, Dinnertime, and relaxing time

Once we finished our afternoon activities, it was time for dinner. I was really hungry. For dinner it was buffet again. This time there were angel hair, meatballs, soup, salad, corn and green beans, salad, breadsticks, and cookies for dinner. I took angel hair and tomato sauce, soup, salad, breadsticks, and cookies. At dinner you were allowed to take soda. I still wanted the hot chocolate but I also wanted coke, so I took both. The place where we went to eat dinner was also a bit noisy and loud. I would always here laughter and people having fun. The food was so good; it was like living in heaven again. When they said that we could go for seconds again, I went to get more. After we were done with dinner, we went back to our dorms to relax. We played games, wrote in our journal and rested. Most of the games we played were card games, like BS, War, and goldfish. I also played with my Rubik’s cube since I brought one. After an hour of resting, and playing games it was time for more relay races.

May 2, 7:00 pm, relay races inside the gym?

After our resting time in our dorm, all of us have to go to the big gym, in the campus. We got into our activities groups like before, and got in line. Our first race was a relay race. We had to rundown to the end and run around the chair and run back. Then you had to touch the next person so that they could do the same thing. Since we had less people then needed, one of us had to run two times. I did not know what the other races would be like so I did not run twice. Since Brandon and myself were the fastest in the group, we went to the back of the line. In the bagging we were losing, but we slowly caught up. When it was my turn to run, we were losing badly. So I ran so hard, that my quads started hurting. Fortunately, my team did not lose, we got 4^th place.

In the next race, you have to hold a plate with a plastic eyeball and try to run, back and forth with out the eyeball dropping. If the eyeball dropped you had to pick it up and put back on your plate. Then you had to go back where you dropped it, and start walking or running again. The first person to go was James. He was not really good at it. It took him a while to finish, but our other team helped out and we almost caught up.  It did not matter if the first person messed up. We win or lose as a team. We ended up getting 4^th place again. For the next relay race we have to hold a round sheet of something between or legs. There we have to jump or walk slowly with the sheet between our legs back and forth. This time Brandon went first since he had the best hops, and he also went two times. However, our whole team was not that good, so we ended up with 4^th place again. After that relay race there were two more relay races.

For the next relay race, I had decided to go first. We have to hold a big ring and we have to start at the finish line. There we have to run back to the line, and the first person on the line had to hold the ring to and run back to the finish line. The person that was in the line before did the same thing as the person who did before. When it was my second time running I forgot we had to run back so my team ended getting third place. At least it was better then 4^th place.

For the last relay race, we have to do various things. First, you have to crab walk to a certain place, then you have to lie down and put our legs and hands in the air and make fish noises. Then you have to run to the hula-hoop. You have to pick it up, turn around, and put it back down. Then you have to run down to the chair and pick up the jump rope. You have to jump rope three times, then run down back to the line and touch the next person in line to do same thing you just did. For this relay race, we did pretty good. We ended up getting third place in this race too. After the relay races, they announced who had won. After that all of us received treats. It was 9.00 at night, and you could choose to go to the night hike or to stay in your dorm. Since I did not know what the night hike was, I decided to stay in my dorm.

May 2, 9-10:15 pm, Dorm Time

After the tiring relay races, my friends and I went back to our dorm. We rested for a couple minutes, and then started playing games. My dorm was located on the bottom floor. Some people went downstairs to or dorm and started playing card games. Some people like me, went upstairs to see what they were up to. They were doing the same thing we were doing; playing card games, resting, laughing, and writing in journals. We did that for an hour and then it was time to go back to our dorms. The teachers turned of the lights, and at 10:15 and we have to be quiet. So we whispered to each other for a couple minutes. We talked about the day, and all the fun we were having. We also talked about the writings on the bunks. Then slowly we fell asleep. That was how our first day of out door education!

May 3, Brand New Day

At 5.00 am, most of the people in my dorm started to wake up. Mostly because of people snoring, and people talking. I woke up because of the talking. It was really early in the morning. It was three hours till breakfast. We tried to get some rest, but we could not. So we talked to each other quietly. We talked to each other for about an hour. As soon as it was 6.00 am, I decided to take a shower. Then after the shower, we turned the lights back on in dorm. Then we started walking around and started playing card games. and playing BS again. To play this game, each person was given the same number of cards. They would start out with ace. If the person put down a card, and another person thinks he is lying, they would. If the person was right about the person who was lying, he had to take all the cards in the pile. After ace it was 2’s, 3’s, 4’s, 5’s, 6’s, 7’s, 8’s, 9’s, 10’s, jacks, queens, kings, then back to the ace. I won the game and watched the rest of the people paid, fought for second place. When it was around 7:50 am, we left our dorm to go outside to the dining place. We played carpet ball, which was really fun, and hanged out outside. When everyone heard the bell, it was time for breakfast.

May 3, Breakfast time

At breakfast today, there was not much things going on. It was the same as the previous meals. Again it was buffet style and they served fruits, and gave hot chocolate. The breakfast served were eggs, waffles, small potato stuff, bacon and fruits. I took the eggs, waffles the potato stuff, and an orange. I also took hot chocolate again. The hot chocolate was good as always, and the waffles were not that bad either. After breakfast it was time to start my first class.

May 3, Survival

My first class of the day was survival. There we learnt how to survive, in the woods, and in a deserted area. We also learnt how to make a fire. We got bark and sticks, to help make the fire bigger. After that we started an activity. We made a shelter in the woods, using all the sticks and wood. We got into groups of fours. In my group there were Brandon, Louis, George, and I. We chose to make our shelter next to a big tree, and a big stump. Our shelter was going to be like a tent and a small house. George, Brandon, and me were carrying big logs to start making the roof. Louis got small sticks and other sticks to make the walls. He also got small stumps to help cover the wall. The entrance was only going to be on one side and a wall on the other side. The opening to get to inside was small. We have to do that so we could make the shelter stable, and covered so the rain or a thunderstorm would not break it. After we were done, we had to present our shelter, and look at the other people’s shelter. After survival was over, it was time for new games.

May 3, New Games

After the class survival, I had to go to my next class. My next class was new games. There we played games that we have not played before. The first game we played, we have to use Frisbees. There were two teams. One offensive team and one defensive team. The offensive team had to pass the Frisbees five times with out dropping or missing the Frisbees. If the person dropped the Frisbees on the offensive team, they we would have to start over until they get five complete pass. The defensive team would have to try to steal the Frisbees or at least block the Frisbees from the offensive team getting it. The defensive team just needed to steal the Frisbees 3 times. If they do, they win the point. Then the teams would switch. The offensive team would be the defensive team, and the defensive team would be the offensive team. We would keep doing that, until a team got a certain amount of pints. Then that team would have won.

The next game was like football. You would use a regular round ball, and try to throw the ball down to the goal or the touch down place. But you could not move when you got the ball. If you did not get the ball you would try to run around to get open so that they would pass you the ball. This was game more fun then the other game we just played. This game required more effort and exercising. We played this game for the remainder of the class. After this class was over it was time for my activities group to go to out next class.

May 3, Archery and Journal writing

After the class of new games, it was time for some archery. This I think was the best class out of all the classes I did so far. In the beginning of the class, the instructor had explained about archery. He explained about the bows, the arrows, how to use the bows, and the correct stance. He also told us how you would know if you were at lefty or righty at archery. When it was my turn to do archery, I was excited. I got ready. I got in the right position. I aimed, and shot the arrow. I noticed that I was aiming with my left eye, and using my right hand to shot the arrow. I noticed that I was a lefty in archery. When I switched to a lefty bow, I noticed that I shot the arrow a lot better. It had more accuracy and power. After we did archery, we had gone back to our dorms. We started to write in our journal about the activities in the morning. I was done in like 10 minutes and so did the other people in my dorm. After we were done, we rested for a couple minutes and got ready for lunch.

May 3, Lunchtime

After our hard work at our classes, it was time to eat. For lunch today, we had pizza!!!! The pizza was pretty good there. They served three types of pizza for lunch. Semi-circle pizzas, small circle pizzas, and the regular triangle pizzas were the choices. You could choose to have either cheese or pepperoni on your pizza. I choose cheese. There were also other options that you could choose from the buffet. You could choose other foods to like, soup, bread, salad and of course I had salad. I took more hot chocolate and ate my lunch. The lunch was okay. After lunch was over, it was time for more classes in the afternoon.

May 3, Nature

The first class after lunch, was nature for my activities group. This class was also actually pretty fun. The first thing we had to do was to hold something but we have to close our eyes. We have to remember what the object was by using our 5 senses besides sight. Then a person collected the objects. We then open our eyes, and look for the object that we just held. The next thing we have to do were with candy and other things. We have to tape out thumbs down so we would not be able to use it. We then tried to tie our shoe. It was really difficult so I was not able to tie my shoe. The next part was to try to catch candy. The instructor would throw candy up in the air, and we would try to catch the candy. If the candy dropped on the ground, we could still get it. All the candy we had got, we were able to keep them. Since they were edible, we were allowed to eat them.

After that the activity, we were able to untie our thumbs. The next activity we did, was a partner activity. We have a partner and one of us have to be blindfolded. My partner was Louis. He was the on that was blind folded. Next we have to safely guide him to a tree. Then I had to take back to where we started. Then the person can take off their blindfolds and look for the tree that the person guided them to. I made the trail hard, so Louis would take a while to remember where the tree was. After that the person who was not blindfolded, had to be blindfolded. Then after that activity we went on a hunt. We were given the first clue then we have to find the second clue to lead us to the next clue. Brandon had found most of the clues. The last clue was the hardest. Most of the clues were in the woods. After we finished the clue hunt, we were all given airheads. After this class, it was time for entomology.

May 3, Entomology

For the next class of the afternoon, my activity was entomology. In the class we learnt mostly about bugs. We also have activities. The first activity was like a blind activity. Each of us had a picture of a bug taped to our backs. Then we had to go around asking people about their bug. Once everyone had figured out his/her bug, we have to sit back down. Then we learnt about each person’s bugs and about dragonflies. On a table, there were different kind of bugs and we learnt about them. From my opinion, I thought that the bugs were actually pretty cool. We learnt about how the instructor got them and we talked about what we know about bugs. Then she taught us more about the bugs. Our last bug activity in the class was to make a bug out of candy. We made them out of twizlers, spots, and other candies. After we were done, and we showed the other students what we made and then we were allowed to eat the candies. By then we were ready for our last activity of the day.

May 3, Orienteering

My last group activity in class of the day was orienteering. There we learnt how to work a compass and various other things about it. We would turn the degrees of the compass, and look north of where the degree would be. Then we were given a penny or a dime. We would put it down. Our instructor would tell us where to step and what direction to go. In the end, we end up where we put down the coin. After that, it had started to drizzle a little bit. Then we learnt a little more about the compass. Soon after we went in another hunt. We were given a chart. We have to turn the compass to a certain amount of degrees, and we walked a certain steps at the right direction. If we did it right, we would land next to a tree with a letter on it. Then you would have to write down the letter on the chart. Then next it would tell how many degrees to turn the compass, and how many steps to take again. We would again arrive at a letter on a tree. We would do this until we found the last letter on the chart. So we would go back to our instructor, and put the compass back, and wait till he checks the chart. On we finished we have time to rest a little a bit. Then the last class of the day came to an end.

May 3, JAC (Gym)

After our last class, we were supposed to have relay races outside but it was rained. As a result we went to the gym instead. There we played weird games. We played games that we have never played before. We were just waiting till it was time for dinner. One of the games we played was an alien game. They put hula-hoops around the gym. Each hula-hoop was a planet. If did not get onto a planet on time, you would have died. And then you would have been out of the game. When the game was over, it was time for dinner. Dinner menu was the same dinner as the usual.

May 3, JAC after dinner

After dinner was over, we went back to the gym. There we played all sorts of games. We played on our own. The first thing, I played was volleyball. We got into a circle and played volleyball. I was setting so high and that some of my friends were not able to respond to the ball. I played volleyball for a while. Then my friends and I played basketball for a little bit. We also found a soccer ball and started passing the ball around. After that I went back to play basketball and started playing a game. It was pretty fun. Eventually, it was time for the campfire.

May 3, Camp fire

After an hour of sports activities, it was time to go to the campfire. We were all tired, and could not wait for the smores and chocolate and other stuff. It felt like we have  been here for a long time. I was be sad to leave this camp. We went to the campfire place. There the teachers told us what to do. Then after that we started talking about how fun, awesome this place was fun, and how we will miss it. When it was our turn to get smores and chocolate, we went to the fire roasted it. When we were allowed to seconds, we decided not to have seconds and just to sit down and talk. We had fun, but it was kind of chilly. After an hour at the campfire, it was time to go back to our dorm.

May 3, Dorm & Packing Time

After the campfire, we head towards to our dorms but was instructed the to go upstairs because the teachers wanted to tell us something. There they had explained that we have to start packing, all of our things because we have to put our belongings in Mr. Cook’s truck before we go to breakfast. So we started packing all our belongings. I packed my journal, book, Rubik’s cube, water bottle, pencils, all my clothes (besides the ones I am going to wear tomorrow), all the lotion, soup, and camera. After we where all done packing, we have time to talk and play card games. About an hour or so afterwards, it was time to go to sleep. This was the end of the second day of outdoor education.

May 4, Wake up time

Today we woke up early because of one person. We were all sleeping nicely when Kory started snoring so loudly, that everyone in the room woke up. Everyone was still tired, and we did not want to wake up, but the snoring was too loud. So everyone woke up. When everyone woke up, I was waiting until it was six so I could shower.  Until then some of us and me started talking softly, so we would not wake the teachers. When it 6.00 am, I too a shower. After I showered, I went to pack the rest of my things. My sleeping bag broke because George broke it, so I put it in my backpack. After that, I was ready to go. I packed my extra shoe and everything else that needed to be packed. I put all my stuff down, and talked with other people that were done packing. Once I was done, I started wondering around, and making sure I finished packing everything. When it was like 7.45 am we went outside to put our things in the truck. Then we played Carpet ball. When the bell rang, it was time for breakfast. Breakfast was the usual and I had hot chocolate. After we have breakfast it was time for the high ropes challenge.

May 4, High ropes, rock climbing, & zip lining

After we were done with breakfast it was time for the high rope challenge. It looked really cool but I decided not to do it because I wanted to do rock climb. So I watched others people did it. They balanced on a wood pole, jumped from tire to tire, swung, climbed and other things. While I was watching people do the high ropes I talked with my friends. Each group would be called to do the rock climbing and the zip line. When my activities group was finally called, I could not wait. We would have to climb a wall. When we reached to the top, we waited till it was our turn to zip line. Climbing the wall was not that scary, instead it was fun. When I reached the top, I could not wait to zip line. That  was an exciting experience.. I went down, and I zipped line so fast. It was like I was on a roller coaster. It was so much fun. When I was finished, I was allowed to go back to the high ropes. I decided to do one more. For this high rope course, I had to partner up with some one. I partnered with Arch. We climbed a huge ladder that had a huge pace between each one. We where laughing the whole time we where doing it. After we where done it was time for lunch. For lunch we had tacos. Then after lunch it was time to go. As I got onto the bus, I knew that I would always remember these two and half exciting days. I have learnt so much especially working in groups and how to be a team player. I am so grateful for this wonderful excursion!