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Solace of the Shadows
Saturday, July 09, 2005
Just returned from a 5 day NTU Biz Orientation Camp and i have to straight out admit that it was absolutely the best camp i've ever attended. I don't think i could possibly even begin to describe just how well it went and how this camp has single-handedly CRUSHED all my previous expectations and perceptions of how NTU is.
Prior to the camp i had the whole impression (like almost any other person) than NTU was going to be some cheena-fied boring dull institution i'd have to endure for the next 3 years. That impression has been completely replaced with a clean sheet and is starting to head in the right direction before school has even begun. The camp was organized and planned incredibly and each day's program was packed literally from start to end. I probably slept roughly a total of 8 hrs over the last five days. And we never slept at NTU itself. Despite all the hokkien cheers and mandarin speaking nobody was left out or outcasted. The seniors were always on hand to help and use their own money to buy whatever was needed to ensure that the camp went smoothly. Some of the activities were so well conceieved it was simply amazing how they managed to come up with such a concept and subsequently put the entire thing together and physically make it happen. No friggin lack of creativity there whatsoever. The funny thing was that on the first day of pre-camp as we sat around in a circle doing all the ice-breaker stuff i went home on that day seriously contemplating quitting the camp and getting my money back.
But i figured heck if i can endure and survive the next five days then its going to be a strong indication if i'm gonna be able to last the next 3 years. And most of all i wanted to prove myself wrong and somehow make them accept me for who i am. Turns out i had naught to worry about in the end because there was simply no need to. The culture there is amazing. I think it's unlike the other unis in a sense that they have their own thing going and they don't give a damn what anyone else thinks because it's working well for them and that's the way they like it. They don't need to prove it to anyone else as long as they're happy. They don't need to sell their ads or market themselves incessantly because there's no need to. And that's exactly the kind of thing which impressed me. All the stereotypes (at least the ones about NTU Business & Accountancy) are simply that, stereotypes, baseless and insubstantiated.
I never thought i'd find myself saying this but damned, i'm actually looking forward to NTU starting. Hope i can get the pictures soon and upload them.
One other thing, i never stopped thinking about you throughout the camp Fatin and i wish i could've gone ahead to call you. I'm sorry i didn't.
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