Day 5 / 8th January

Leadership, this is actually a really sensitive word for me. I had had some leadership experiences, but there were always unpleasant times as a leader that I found hard to accept. As a leader in my CCA, Interact Club, in JC, I found it really hard to satisfy all the members in my care. It was difficult to include everyone in the activities and the formation of cliques was inevitable too. I tried my hardest by planning activities, hoping that the members would bond as a group. Yet, the members were still really detached from one another. As a person who reflects and worries a lot, I felt that I was inadequate as a leader. Despite trying, there were no results and I was pretty harsh on myself at that point of time. Thankfully, our heart to serve allowed us to remain connected as a group as we headed down weekly to the primary school to tutor the children. However, deep inside, I have blamed myself countless of times for not being a good leader or role model to my peers. I didn’t know what to do at all.  I thought to myself that maybe I should have just remained as a member, would it be better for me to be a follower instead? Up till now, even though it was a valuable experience, I still end up wondering what I had done wrong and what I could have done right to prevent such a thing from happening. Does leadership come naturally or is it something to master?

And what was happening today?

“Leadership: Amazing Race”, that was the activity listed in the itinerary for today morning. I couldn’t say I was excited to attend the race but, I was curious to how the leadership group incorporated leadership skills, something that I feel I’m lacking in, into the short 4 hour race.

However, what was I actually doing?

Sleeping.

Because of the stomach flu and vomiting experience the previous day, I decided that it would be best to sleep in to regain some energy for the rest of the activities for the day. I didn’t want to skip anymore activities as I wanted to make the most out of our last day in Chiang Mai. I honestly did not expect much of the Amazing Race, however, I was surprised when my group members came back and had so much to share about it with me. I regretted not taking care of my health enough to be able to share this experience with them as it seems like they really learnt and enjoyed the race tremendously. I heard about the prep talk given by Prof Zachary, in which he mentioned that we were no longer children and that we had to take on responsibilities for our own actions. Imagining myself to be part of that experience, I knew that I would have felt completely distressed by the situation yet at the same time, it would have been a perfect opportunity for me to step out of my comfort zone.

Phuong, my roommate shared with me the outline of the Amazing Race. The groups were given hints, and had to travel from one destination to the next to complete certain tasks, all taking into account that they could only take the red taxi once. Phuong shared with me that there was excellent teamwork displayed during the race, where each member was given the opportunity to lead. Everyone had the chance to voice out their own opinions, some led with the navigation, others contributed in solving the hints or completing the tasks. It was comforting to hear how my group members worked it all out and managed to come first among the four groups and having completed most of the tasks at the same time. I really wished for myself to be part of the race after hearing how everyone managed to become more comfortable with one another and bond through the race. It was disappointing that my health held me back from having such an exciting and unforgettable event that I did not even have the chance to experience for myself.

After the amazing race and lunch, I joined my sub-group for a visit to Huay Kaew Waterfall, which was a tourist attraction. The trip partially fulfilled one of my personal goals which was to have the time to do more touristy activities like this.

The waterfall turned out different from expected but it was not entirely disappointing. I expected the waterfall to be similar to the Ulaan Tsutgalan waterfall, magneficient and breath taking, with strong currents pounding the rocks below. However, what we saw was an unexpectedly small waterfall but yet still fascinating.

What we saw:                                    VS.    What i expected:

     

The Huay Kaew Waterfall was completely natural and we had to actually climb up slippery and uneven rocks to attempt to reach closer to the top of the waterfall. Despite still recovering from my illness, I was determined to climb together with my friends as I did not want to miss out on such an opportunity. We managed to reach close enough to the top to snap beautiful group and individual photos. Phuong and I took the chance to also soak our feet in the refreshingly cool water from the waterfall. The serenity of the surroundings and atmosphere made me feel like this could be part of a fairy tale. Even though I felt like it was a near-death experience climbing the rocks, the rest of the time spent there was relaxing and fun. It was definitely worth the climb.

At night, instead of going for the Cabaret show, I went for some last minute shopping and massage with my friends, one of the best ways to spend our last night in Chiang Mai. Our group decided to meet up to prepare the gift for Mohn and we ended up playing games of resistance until 5 to 6AM in the morning. This marks the end of the official last day in Chiang Mai, I am relieved that it ended off on a good note.