Summer is coming soon, and for those countries with four seasons, summer is the season for camps. In Malaysia, where it is eternally summer, camps obviously run year round. Most kids have been to at least one camping trip, either organised by family or by their schools.
Being the superstitious lot that we are, whenever there is a camp in a remote jungle or beach area, we will always get the "rules to respect" talk on the first day. Nature is to be respected, and we are not "alone" in wherever we are. Everyone is warned not to be disrespectful, such as making too much noise, making rude or distasteful comments or jokes, dressing inappropriately or doing inappropriate *ehem* things.
Another thing that they also did is to give a "password" to all campers. This is usually a simple word or phrase, easy to remember, such as Coca-cola. The point of the password is to identify whoever we were speaking to as a real human camper and not some....other entity. We were advised that whenever speaking to someone after dark, we should first verify that they are humans by asking them the password. If they got it wrong, well...start running. Or screaming. Or both.
I remember thinking at the time, that if they were announcing it out loud to all the campers, surely all the other "beings" around us could hear too, but oh well, it was almost like a camp tradition. It was not questioned.
One time, I was in such a camp, with such a rule, situated on a beach. It was a school event, and I was there with loads of other students. After all the evening activities had ended, it was time to sleep. As girls are wont to do, we were having a short gossip session before bed, giggling and whispering in our camps. One of the girls felt the need to go to the toilet, and being a scaredy cat, she insisted one of us go with her. So the pair of them left, and we continue our gossiping.
Around 15 minutes later, one of the girls came back alone, and asked if the other had came back before her. We said she hadn't, and then started to worry. Four of us, including the first girl, then went off to look for her. We saw her coming back from the direction of the toilet, and breathed a sigh of relief. As a joke, one of the girls said, " We thought you might have been kidnapped by spirits!" We all laughed, and another one said, "Guess we better check! What's the password?"
"Gula-gula."
We all stopped laughing.
We ran.
The missing girl was later found back at the camp, sleeping. She didn't remember how or when she came back from the toilet. No one mentioned the incident to her, and we never spoke about it ever again.
So, kids, whenever you go to a camp, remember to respect nature and follow the rules given. And don't ever forget the password.
*Note: Gula-gula means candy in Malay. The actual password for that camp was Coca-cola, in case you were wondering.*
Being the superstitious lot that we are, whenever there is a camp in a remote jungle or beach area, we will always get the "rules to respect" talk on the first day. Nature is to be respected, and we are not "alone" in wherever we are. Everyone is warned not to be disrespectful, such as making too much noise, making rude or distasteful comments or jokes, dressing inappropriately or doing inappropriate *ehem* things.
Another thing that they also did is to give a "password" to all campers. This is usually a simple word or phrase, easy to remember, such as Coca-cola. The point of the password is to identify whoever we were speaking to as a real human camper and not some....other entity. We were advised that whenever speaking to someone after dark, we should first verify that they are humans by asking them the password. If they got it wrong, well...start running. Or screaming. Or both.
I remember thinking at the time, that if they were announcing it out loud to all the campers, surely all the other "beings" around us could hear too, but oh well, it was almost like a camp tradition. It was not questioned.
One time, I was in such a camp, with such a rule, situated on a beach. It was a school event, and I was there with loads of other students. After all the evening activities had ended, it was time to sleep. As girls are wont to do, we were having a short gossip session before bed, giggling and whispering in our camps. One of the girls felt the need to go to the toilet, and being a scaredy cat, she insisted one of us go with her. So the pair of them left, and we continue our gossiping.
Around 15 minutes later, one of the girls came back alone, and asked if the other had came back before her. We said she hadn't, and then started to worry. Four of us, including the first girl, then went off to look for her. We saw her coming back from the direction of the toilet, and breathed a sigh of relief. As a joke, one of the girls said, " We thought you might have been kidnapped by spirits!" We all laughed, and another one said, "Guess we better check! What's the password?"
"Gula-gula."
We all stopped laughing.
We ran.
The missing girl was later found back at the camp, sleeping. She didn't remember how or when she came back from the toilet. No one mentioned the incident to her, and we never spoke about it ever again.
So, kids, whenever you go to a camp, remember to respect nature and follow the rules given. And don't ever forget the password.
*Note: Gula-gula means candy in Malay. The actual password for that camp was Coca-cola, in case you were wondering.*
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