Just before our winter break, the school organized a trip to Mount Abu for 4-5 days. The trip was exceptionally well as I got great trekking experience, for which I had to brace myself. The weather was tremendously cold, although we had our woolen cloths. We did exciting mountaineering activities like rock climbing, rappelling, firefox, cave walking/crawling, and hiking. We lived in completely remote are covered by all-natural surroundings and we tried different local food. We also got to know about different types of vegetation, trees, plants, living conditions of local people at Mount Abu, and the history of the Aravali range, on which Mount Abu is located. Overall, it was educational and adventurous.
Learning outcomes I have achieved from this CAS experience:
LO-1- Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth.
I have been to a couple of trekking adventures before, hence my mind was already prepared for such weather conditions, where other students faced certain problems like waking up early, feeling extremely cold, and lack of stamina. The only thing I lagged was walking at a high speed. This trekking experience made a step to help me develop my speed while trekking. I focused on the pattern of the route and coordinated it with the pace of my walking, which helped me walk at a good pace without any breaks.
LO-2- Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process.
Before 2 weeks from this trip, I had an accident which resulted in my leg getting swollen. It was not completely healed, however, I wanted to take up the challenge and give it a try. Walking with such a swollen leg was pain and difficult too, however I enthusiastic enough participate in all the activities like Gilli danda and etc, and completed the entire trek, I was really proud of myself that I did all of it with the injury.
It was even a great challenge for us to stay in tents and use the Indian toilet, it took me time to adjust but overall it was a great experience.
LO-4- Show commitment to and perseverance in CAS experiences.
Trekking and all the activities were very challenging and restless. Doing such actives in such weather conditions was difficult, additional I even had an injury in my foot. I didn’t give up at any time and tried to adjust to everything together like sleep, food, and fun. I showed perseverance in walking continuously throughout the entire trek and didn’t give up.
LO-5- Demonstrate the skills and recognize the benefits of working collaboratively.
This trip made me taught the true definition of teamwork and how to work collaboratively with others can make the task simpler, it was mandatory to guide the person who was behind you as if something unusual appears/happens we can deliver the message to our mates, and also caving was to be done exactly as the guider says, so we were all dependent on each other’s communication. As once we do it you need to help the person next to us with the same instructions. Adding on we even played special games to improve our communication skills, patience, discipline, and make bonds with your friends.
LO-6- Demonstrate engagement with issues of global significance.
The global issue which I came across was environmental degradation, as we were living in mother nature land we also had to make sure that we do not litter and minimize the usage of plastic. We located an area filled with glass bottles and garbage near to our campsite, which made me feel extremely disconsolate, however through that location, I released that mother nature should be treated as a human hence I made sure that I don’t litter anywhere while trekking as it could lead to beauty loss of mother nature and it may harm the animals living nearby. We even visited 2 dams which were extremely old but still functioned extremely well and also it was extremely beautiful too structure, hence I felt that we should maintain our culture so after coming to Surat I donated 1000 Rupees to Aravali local funds.
LO-7- Recognize and consider the ethics of choices and actions
During this trip, there were certain rules which were made for us, which was mandatory to follow for instance not bringing the mobile phones or any electronic gadget except an mp3 player and junk food with us on the trip. Our luggage was being checked, but still bringing such items or not was our choice and were our ethics. Rules are made for us so that we could be healthy and fit, and enjoy our trip by having fun with mother nature and with our mates rather than wasting time on gadgets. Initially, I felt that teachers have put on too many restrictions and we were not given any freedom but then later on our teacher explained everything and we started enjoying it. I had soon realized that if gadgets were allowed then we might not have to spend so much time with each other and appreciate mother nature as well. This has also helped me build great memories.
The final takeaway of this CAS experience was that I found that I love mother nature, which helps me spend time with myself and the beautiful environment. I even learned how to adapt to different weather conditions and communicate efficiently with every one, take into consideration all the people involved in trekking preferences along with my own. No matter what challenge is, you should never give up and stay humble.
   
  
  