[ Monday, June 20, 2005 ]
Waited for a few hours in the rain at Masjid Negara before boarding our buses to Tg. Rhu, Sepang.. There were KMB students everywhere.. Definitely felt like being an outsider already.. When we arrived, the sun was unbearably hot.. And that was when I discovered that there was absolutely no DiGi reception there.. Gulp.. We were ushered into different dorms, consisting of 8 double-decker beds and only four small, rotating ceiling fans.. The toilets were relatively grime-free but all sorts of insects were everywhere.. The BTN programme immediately kicked off with the formation of different LDK groups and I was put in Group 7.. During the elections for the post of penghulu and penghulunita, it was apparently KYUEM vs. others, with 2 of our SC members bagging those top spots :P
[ Tuesday, June 21, 2005 ]
It felt like an eternity since we stepped off the bus onto this forsaken land.. Z, our penghulu, was being ordered around mercilessly, unwittingly drawing sympathy from the students.. After the morning's regimental marching, we endured back to back lectures totalling 8 hours.. R, FI and I ended up playing a game - who sleeps last is the winner.. And I won! Huhuhu.. But looking back, sleeping's probably the best thing I should've done during those boring lectures :P
[ Wednesday, June 22, 2005 ]
When I took a shower this morning, some insect that was brown in colour and really small - the size of a pin head - bit me on the right calf.. Left a small itch that went on throughout the day.. Then there was a physical endurance test where we were subjected to a 2km run under 20 minutes.. Pretty easy, you might say, but I chickened out anyway.. Heh.. Let's just say that any form of exercise just isn't my cup of tea :P LDK group work began today and my group was introduced to our facilitator, Mr. I.. He works as a bomoh who practices colour vibration therapy.. He has this surreal power to read people's 'true colours' and thus their respective personalities.. It was really cool.. In some ways, having him decipher each of our group members made us get to know each other more deeply..
[ Thursday, June 23, 2005 ]
Another endurance test.. This time, we had to carry someone on our backs across 25 metres.. Again, I backed out.. This time, it was because of the swelling on my calf from yesterday's insect bite.. Today's the last day of LDK, so Mr. I gave personalized readings to almost everybody in the group.. I found out what my strengths and weaknesses are, based on my colour, green.. He even listed out specific body organs that are more susceptible to diseases, again according to our respective colours.. To tell you the truth, he must be the first outsider to correctly identify my biggest ailment.. I know some people don't really believe in all these readings, but when he took an informed guess at my illness, I knew he wasn't a fake.. Before Isyak, I asked a question to Ustaz S about accepting polygamy, much to the amusement of the crowd :P
[ Friday, June 24, 2005 ]
BTN exam day.. We tembak almost all the questions before attending the closing ceremony.. Then it was time to say goodbye to our MARA and PNB friends.. Those lucky buggers.. They were going back home while we Petronas scholars had to endure another 7 days at Tg Rhu.. Sigh.. Felt a bit empty inside.. But there was no time to wallow.. Immediately after the closing of BTN was our Petronas orientation.. The changes were apparent.. The schedule was far more relaxed, our food was served buffet-style and the free seating in the dining hall meant that we could form our own different 'college tables' :P We were introduced to the trainers from Permata and then divided into 8 large groups.. Z was reappointed as the penghulu, much to his chagrin.. Overall, I could sense bad vibes coming from the students, particularly those from KMB.. You see, a slew of UK-bound IB students were suddenly told a few weeks back that they were going to Australia or New Zealand instead, and they were flying off from July 10! There were lots of problems with their passports, visas and such.. To say that the overall atmosphere was volatile is an understatement.. And it didn't help that Petronas withheld the list of universities approved for its A-Level students, citing that "the list is still with the bosses." :/
[ Saturday, June 25, 2005 ]
Today marked the beginning of the program conducted by Fitrah Perkasa Sdn. Bhd., Perkasa Diri.. The course content was focused more on spiritual guidance.. We were divided into yet another set of different groups, and to kick things off, we had to draw logos and create our team mottos.. That was when I really felt like an outcast.. Most of my groupmates were KMB people, so the 'others' - i.e. KYUEM and KTJ people - wandered around, pretending to look busy :P To stave off boredom, the whole camp was hit with a craze for card games.. From the dorms to the sidewalks, people were playing UNO and 'chor tai tee' from morning to midnight.. Apparently, there were also problems with coupling.. One of the guards caught a couple sitting at a wakaf at 4am, so everyone, including me, got a good warning later that night :P
[ Sunday, June 26, 2005 ]
A startling change to many, right after Subuh prayers everyone was summoned to the main hall to continue the previous lecture.. It caught a lot of people by surprise, especially those who were still sleeping and didn't go to the surau :P We did some taichi in the morning before I proceeded to sleep through another lecture, despite having a speaker whose speed of speech can rival an auctioneer :P After lunch, we were given the whole afternoon off (yay!).. Then in between Maghrib and Isyak, my friends and I were shocked by the news that a group of our friends were being detained and sent off to meet the camp director for playing cards at a wakaf.. Apparently card games are a no-no at BTN.. Yes, folks, go figure :P Honestly, I was thinking of joining them before I changed my mind.. Praise Allah, the Almighty..
[ Monday, June 27, 2005 ]
We walked along the beach this morning.. Today's my brother's birthday.. Couldn't help feeling sad from time to time.. He was going off to UiTM Penang on July 3 and my program only ended on July 1.. Whenever I looked at N - whom I think resembles my brother a bit - my eyes would start to well up with tears :'( Today, Perkasa Diri ended with a will writing session.. Thank God R brought enough tissues, because I used up a whole pack by the time the session ended.. Afterwards, there was an intro to Permata's Be Real program.. Frankly, after the successful 3-day Perkasa Diri program, Permata's laid back approach on spiritual matters somehow dampened the overall effect of the previous program.. I had a really enlightening discussion with Z later that night and he opened my eyes in a way nobody has ever done before..
[ Tuesday, June 28, 2005 ]
Our Be Real group was facilitated by a very lively Pn N.. We used large yellow cards to express our characteristics, just like during the module we Petronas scholars did 2 years ago.. This time around, my darling collegemate wrote that I was 'charismatic'.. Awww.. *blush*.. I had my fair share of fun too.. I wrote "Jejaka Idaman Malaya" on one guy's card and "Hensem" on another.. And they all thought that their friends were pulling a prank on them.. Muahahaha :P We were then assigned into buddy groups.. During the Most Memorable Moment session, we had to choose 4 of the best presenters and in the end, all 4 came from KYUEM, woohhhooo! :)
[ Wednesday, June 29, 2005 ]
2nd day of Be Real.. We had to make a kite using mahjong and crepe paper.. There was this one guy in our group whom we didn't like at all and his idea almost ruined our kite.. And he still had the gall to act like a know-it-all! We made him fly the kite and it flew reasonable high and I suppose everyone in my 1A group sort of expected us to be in the top 3, but nonetheless we lost.. Our sister group 1B got 2nd place, so that probably explains why we weren't as vocal in expressing our disappointment :P At night, all groups were getting ready for Friday's closing ceremony, where each pair of groups will be doing one presentation.. Groups 1 and 2 decided to do a weepy drama.. I helped with the props a little bit.. I worked with D on one of the props, the study table.. My headscarf was used as a tablecloth and we used a few stalks of flowers from the dining hall :P To me, D's the epitome of Perempuan Melayu Terakhir.. She's very beautiful, soft-spoken and demure.. Too bad she looks like she's taken :P
[ Thursday, June 30, 2005 ]
I was awaken by the sound of a shrill whistle being blown repeatedly.. I looked around our dorm and saw everybody sleeping like a baby.. In the pit of my stomach, I knew there was something wrong and indeed there was.. Somebody came into our dorm to call us up for morning exercise! Everybody bolted from their beds and flooded the bathrooms.. Apparently Petronas asked the BTN camp people to conduct our morning and afternoon exercise sessions but never bothered to inform us students about them! Imagine the scolding we got the moment we arrived at the assembly area :P Afterwards, there was a Sharing Session with current Petronas students studying overseas.. We learned a lot about what to do, what not to do, etc.. Plus, there was this one guy who was talking in his thick Irish accent which could make any girl melt.. sigh.. IMHO, Learning to Learn by Mr. G was more of a circus act rather than an empowering module.. People were laughing throughout the session, but I doubt anything he taught stuck to our brains.. At night, we had our final rehearsal.. It was funny because due to the small size of the hall, almost all students sat on the stairs to give way for the parents :P
[ Friday, July 1, 2005 ]
Last day.. Freedom was less than 24 hours away.. The day started off with a heated dialogue with Petronas's ESU division.. It took 3 students to ask the same question - Will the A-Level students be diverted to Australia and New Zealand? - and the ESU skillfully managed to beat around the bush, without even answering the question properly.. We all came to the consensus that since they didn't say 'Yes' or 'No', that means the answer most probably would be 'Yes' :P They kept going on and on about Australia and New Zealand being the 'same' and even better than the UK.. I can understand why Petronas is doing this.. The cost of sending 1 student to the UK is equivalent to sending 3 students to Australia.. But still, lots of questions remained unanswered.. Why didn't they implement such drastic changes on our juniors instead? What will happen when we get our results? Lots of people felt shortchanged.. Policies were changed so rapidly that in the end, the students are the ones who get deeply affected.. I know that it is in their hands to determine where we go, I know that they've spent almost RM100,000 on each of us already, but the way they're going about this is authoritarian to say the least.. F who's got a Cambridge offer to do Computer Science was told to change his course.. What the..?? Throughout the closing, parents were asked to 'cooperate' and were even shown a promotional video on New Zealand.. Sigh.. I guess our fate is sealed then.. At 6pm, I left KBN Tg Rhu, Sepang with 1001 bittersweet memories..
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NHA at 10:20 AM ::
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