Report On Paya Indah Wetlands Trip/ Aunty Janet’s Graduation Day

It was a Friday school night when all the GKC' s excitedly gathered at Uncle Sabri' s house to leave for Paya Indah Wetlands. Most of us, including me, have never been there before and from what our friends who went there explained, we were all psyched at going to see nature for ourselves. We brought along our luggage bags and insect repellent too! We were all set to go on the wild side and take a closer look at nature as well as attending our graduation day of Aunty Janet' s long-termed workshop. It had finally come to an end and the graduation day got us thinking what was in for us that weekend. 

            We left the house and as soon as we got there all our heads were turned by the " cute" little chalets as well as the peaceful surroundings around us. When we got down the van, all of us rubbed our sleepy eyes and started " ooh" and " ahhing" at every sight we saw, even at the common grasshopper that we saw on a leaf. We soon went to a bar and had a welcoming drink by the managers of the wetlands. Later on in the night, we had a session with dear Aunty Janet and later had a Friday night movie!! A few of us stayed up till 2 am watching " Bend It Like Beckham" despite the mosquito bites at the area. We really had a great night, laughing and eating supper. 

           The next morning, even though we slept at 2 we still had to wake up at 7 am in the morning to go bird watching, seeing the crocs and of course the adorable hippos. We grabbed our bikes and quickly paddled off to our meeting point. We went around the wetlands and so many kinds of birds (although they were VERY hard to spot), like the heron and the swamp hen. We also learned a lot from the park ranger who showed us the different kinds of plants in a wetland. There were four hippos in the hippo lake and we enjoyed watching them laze around and just having a good feeding time! We had fun too watching the crocs swallow, chew, tear and rip their dead chickens that were being fed to them! Later on. We had a great breakfast as all our tummies were hungry from all the cycling and later we went back to our chalets for a quick rest before Aunty Janet' s session. 

           This time around, we had our meeting at a very nice and comfortable area in Paya Indah. Again, we grabbed our bikes and traveled to the destination. It was great to be close with nature at the same time enjoying the company of your friends. The area was very quiet and peaceful therefore easy to have a wonderful session with everyone. Soon enough the whole session was over and now all we had to do was wait for the BIG hour, when we graduate. As soon as all of us got back to the chalets, we immediately went to change and " dress-up" according to our achievements and had a wonderful time helping everyone ' dress-up' . 

           The hour had come for us to graduate. We excitedly gathered around Aunty Janet' s chalet and held a candle each, we had no idea what was going to happen that night. Our parents had earlier on arrived, and were going to attend our night. We had a last 5- minute session with Aunty Janet's and snapped some shots before going to the hall. It was very dark and silent that night and despite the hordes of mosquitoes around me as well as the happy and bubbling feeling of excitement, I still managed to keep " cool" and stayed calm.  

        When we entered the hall, all of us could not help but feeling proud and happy. Everyone was smiling form ear to ear, it was a really beautiful night and when we saw how wonderfully the hall has been decorated by our parents, we could no longer hide our sequels of laughter and joy as we stared and stared at what our parents came up with! 

        That night was a very meaningful night, none of us graduated with dried eyes! Our families were all there and were very proud of each one of us. We had a wonderful dinner and stayed up pretty late chitchatting and sharing jokes that we came across during the sessions. Of course we did not forget to take lots and lots of pictures. Our certificates were the very BEST and it was very special and handmade!

          The next day, many of us went home late, we got to enjoy ourselves fully! I went paddle boating as well as going for batik painting. One thing I learnt for sure, batik painting might seem simple but it took me a REALLY long time to finish and it was messy and not really that nice (did not turn out the way I wanted it to be!). We enjoyed ourselves fully and came home only in the evening.

           This whole trip would never had happened if it wasn' t for Uncle Sabri and Auntie Wati. So thank you VERY much! But of course, my dear dear Aunty Janet and Uncle Sonny, the wonderful duo, life for me has been a great joy since you both came around& know that I appreciate everything you did! And, most importantly my buddies and my friends, with out all of you I would not be where I am today, thanks a million!! Sending all of you my wishes of love, peace and joy&  

Report by:
Jennifer Guan             

14 years old