worth the while

Last weekend was totally awesome. I was invited to join the Legal Awareness & Leadership for Lawyers by the Bar Council Legal Aid Center KL, which was held in Fraser's Pine Resort, Fraser's Hill. It was a 3d2n program and it was a really good one. Went by bus from the KL Bar on Friday morning. The journey took about 2 ½ hours and when we reached the resort, we were introduced to the facilitators, had an ice-breaking session, were divided into groups of four and were given the keys to our rooms. After which, we had lunch and settled in. The seminar started at 2pm. We had talks and a debate session, of which I was one of the debaters. I must say my partner and I did quite well as we won the debate. There was supposed to be a Nature Walk but lo and behold, it rained cats and dogs so we almost canceled the walk and did some indoor activities. But thankfully, the rain stopped soon enough so we persuaded the facilitators to have the Nature Walk. We were glad that we did. It was a 1km trail but that 1km trail is enough for me to get a bloodsucker i.e. pacat to stick on me! argghh!! Note to self: dah tau nak masuk hutan, jangan la gatal pakai 3/4 pants. padan muka sendiri. Boohoo. As soon as we got out of the trail, I noticed a lil’ something on my left sock. The guys then asked me to see if it's a pacat or some dirt. I touched it with a stick and it stuck so they said, "it's it" to which I screamed jumped and wriggled my legs until they told me to calm down. I didn't know I could be such a drama queen but when it comes to creepy crawlies, bugs and insects, I’ll be the biggest drama queen ever. Anyway the guys were so kind and lovely that they held my hand and one of them removed my shoe and sock. They tried to burn the pacat but it's stuck on the sock. Thankfully the pacat hasn't penetrated through the sock yet. I don't know what they did or how they do it but soon the pacat was removed. Phew. Then they told me to check my other foot, just to be safe. One guy was so sweet and kind enough that he actually took off my other shoe and sock and even checked between my toes! Isn’t that sweet or what? *awww* that almost melt my heart instantly. *blush* After all the drama, we head back to our hotel. The walk back was longer than the trail itself but since the air was cool and fresh, it was indeed a nice walk. At night, we had another session of talks. I kinda had trouble sleeping on the first night. The moment I closed my eyes, I start to imagine things, and by things I mean scary and nonsensical things. I was afraid to open my eyes for fear that I might see something. And that’s when some part of your body started to itch terribly. I didn’t even dare move a muscle so I just wished that the itch would go away. You see, the place itself is a quiet, sort of a tempat jin bertendang which adds to the creepiness. Or perhaps I’m just being a drama queen yet again? Anyway I finally managed to get some sleep.

On the second day, my roommates and I came down at 8.55 am. The seminar was supposed to start at 9 so we had to skip the nasi lemak breakfast. Instead we had a quick cuppa and a slice of bread. Again, padan muka sendiri. The second day was just as interesting. Surprisingly, I hardly feel sleepy during the talks. My team was in charge of the Cultural Night to be held later at night so we were busy brain-storming to come up with ideas etc. And since we were put in charge, we made the rules. *evil laugh* We assigned each team a task, namely singing, drama and dancing (what else?). We even compelled the facilitators to perform but we gave them a freedom to choose their performance so they came up with a Boria. We decorated and arranged the seminar room in such a way that it resembles a mini auditorium. We even decorated the ‘stage’ with colorful papers and the facilitators and participants gave us two thumbs up. Apparently they were so proud and impressed with us for organizing the Cultural Night. *grin* I was the emcee for the night together with my teammate, Darwina, thus no pic of us emceeing. = ( The night ended successfully, everyone was happy, we were ecstatic. Later at night, the guys had a ‘party’ in their room so we joined in. We talked, played cards and basically we just chilled and get to know each other better. (^_^)

On the third day, after breakfast we had another round of talk, evaluation session and soon it was time to leave. Funny how time flies so fast when you’re having fun. So we packed our bags, had lunch and left Fraser’s Hill at 2pm.

Overall, it was a really good and memorable weekend. I was glad that I joined the trip. The facilitators were a sporting bunch; the participants were the coolest and fun people ever thus making it all the more enjoyable. The talks were an eye opener and very informative. Among the topics covered were Globalization, Democracy, Feminism, Leadership and Interpersonal Skills, Listening and Communication Skills and not to mention the fun and innovative games and activities.

So there. It’s picture time! I’m still waiting for my friends to send me some more pictures and once I get it from them. I shall upload it here (when and if I have the time). In the meantime, enjoy~