By Heidi Kwan, Brent Hensley, Amar Bhardwaj, and Rachel Chiu
March 10, 2015
Day 5:
Today we learned a new game during our morning stretches and
marathon, a game that revealed the inner aggressions and survival instincts of
some of our group. The game involved three lines of people with a tail tucked
in to the pants of the last person. The lines got shorter and shorter as the
tails were stolen until only two remained. They fought and it was glorious.
When we got back to camp, the group split into three teams:
Yoda’s Bitties, Unpeeled Bananas, and the runt of the litter, Ali’s Angels. The
teams had an hour to build “boats” out of cardboard, tarp, and the glue of the
heavens: duct tape. Each team came up
with a unique design that reflected the team dynamic and personality.
The boats were set aside for later and the teams embarked on
a series of five leadership building challenges. It was a grueling race to the finish
as the teams untied knots, built ramps, climbed under and over ropes, boiled
eggs on open fire, and plugged up holes in a water pipe. These challenges tested
each team to the limit and many members had to step up and take leadership
positions.
In the end, Yoda’s Bitties came out victorious, breezing
through the challenges with Rachel’s serendipitous success in untying the knot,
Amar’s sheer fire master genius in boiling the egg, and the culmination of the
entire team’s efforts in the water pipe challenge. Team Yoda left the
challenges feeling uplifted by their incredible teamwork and determination that
led to their eventual victory. They learned the value of leadership and how
much a harmonious team can truly accomplish.
After lunch, the group piled into jeeps to travel upriver to
the rapids. After a safety briefing, the teams climbed into their rafts and
began their journey down the river. At the first rapids, one member managed to
fall out. To everyone’s surprise, it wasn’t Melodie. (Editor’s Note: Everyone
is safe and uninjured from the experience). Under the instruction of the
guides, the teams tackled rapid after rapid. It was an exhilarating experience
for all. As the rapids died down, the real excitement began as the boats waged
war with one another. People were kidnapped from rafts, paddles were thrown,
ships were boarded by other teams, and people were left flailing in the water.(Editor’s
Note: The 3 boats/teams did all of this to each other). Needless to say, it was
a lot of fun.
The teams arrived back at camp only to return to the water
once more with their cardboard boats. Heidi of the Unpeeled Bananas took the
lead upon departure while the other two struggled with buoyancy. Although the
race was hotly contested, the Unpeeled Bananas finished first, Team Yoda
second, and Ali’s Angels last.
The group then gathered around the campfire to enjoy their
last night at the Borderlands base camp and engaged in a very meaningful
discussion about leadership styles. The ultimate consensus was that leadership
is dependent entirely on the situation and that a leader should be adaptable
and employ a dynamic leading style. The mood around the campfire was
significantly different from the first campfire discussion as the group was
significantly more engaged and comfortable with each other. We had truly become
a family.
No comments:
Post a Comment