A New Way of Scouting

When i was in grade two, i had my first try at camping and scouting. It was the best scouting I have ever experienced. Since it was the first, it was awful at first, that for the first time, my lola was not with me in our sleep, but i was with classmates and other campers trying to figure out life on our own, with the aid of our scout masters and our instincts.

Scouting today is very different. There was this camping/scouting event at a school near our house, a few months back and we had a chance to see the campers and their activities inside. We had to compare today's camping activities from what we have experienced.

1. Before: I remember having to wake up early because of the blasting siren, and all has to stretch and wash and prepare for the day's activities.

Now: There's the scoutmaster shouting and waking up the campers, and there's the yaya (househelp) nudging the campers to move their butts and prepare. Ugh.

2. Before: I remember having to look for firewood to use for cooking.

Now: The yaya comes to the rescue of the campers, and they brought portable LPG tanks in aid of campers' cooking.

3. Before: We had to look for malunggay leaves, camote leaves, raw papaya fruit so that we can have them added to what the scoutmasters brought: sardines.

Now: The campers brought with them their househelps to cook for them, others just called Jollibee and had their orders delivered. Toinks!


4. Before: We had to learn to sew, we had to learn to cook, and we had to start fire. We had to climb a steep hill to get firewood.


Now
: They have face painting lessons, and they have wall-climbing activities... They have their led flashlights.


5. Before: I remember when one of my co-campers got a tummyache, we had to squeeze all we know about first aid, and we had to get leaves too.

Now: A doctor is just a text away.

6. Before: We were told to always wash our hands, so we have to manually pump water from out of a well, in order to clean ourselves and wash our hands.

Now: There's always this alcogel or something... teehee...

Scouting is a good activity. Scouting and camping has been a major fun activity when i was in my elementary years, and even in high school. I would love to say I'm proud being a Girl Scout, but i find today's scouting/camping activities so hi-tech, and so uninteresting because of the aid of househelps and their LPG tanks, and other sorts of easier access to life. It could have been more interesting if our campers started with the basics, and have them try the experience of climbing hills for firewood. I don't know why camping today is, i'd hate to say...lousy.

Generation gap, maybe? But then again, let me think, do i still want my kids experiencing Scouting/Camping? And maybe, the basics will just have to be learned from home.

Comments

escape said…
"The campers brought with them their househelps to cook for them">>> what??? tell them to call it outing instead of camping. hehehe...
Rico said…
Nakakatwa naman yung scouting ngayon, parang bakasyon lang. Scouting pa ba tawag dun? Eh di ba kaya nga may ganyan eh para turuan yung kids ng survival? So bale ang natutunan ng kids, mamamatay sila kapag walang yaya.hehe
sunny said…
ahahahaha! reminds me of my camping trip up...ahahaa! yep, it's really different now sayang di n nila naexperience un mga trip up noon! and i strongly disagree with the yaya sa camping! kawawang mga bata, they missed the most exciting part of camping, ung maghagilap!
Samara Fae said…
Yayas and doting mothers should just be banned in camping. too bad for the children, yes, they miss the fun of being independent and as well as, work as a team with fellow campers! (>_<)

But then, I remember, my father pitched our tent for us in grade 5. Di pa uso yung commercial camping tent dati. But after that, we're on our own. (O_o)
kg said…
alala ko rin nung kami ang nag-cacamping. walang eche bureche! down to dirt talaga!

well, generation gap talaga. imagine bringing your yaya along with you! hello! kaya ka nga nagcamping to get down to the basics diba!
Anonymous said…
what the?!? so much for 'the great outdoors' and survival tactics and going back to basics. boyscout ako since grade 2, naging scribe pako by the time i was grade 6 (CMT na sa high school so di na pwedeng senior scout. boo!)... i just hope the national jamboree will be better.

face painting and LPG?! WTF?! (halata bang asar ako? hahaha)
Jinky! said…
ha ha nice post, sheng!

We might as well include the paparazzi moms. .
Lantaw said…
dito nga may buffet dinner pa katabi ng tents :D
mordsith said…
sa camping namin inside the school grounds (dun na lang ako pinayagan), nabigyan ako ng "timba award." mahilig kasi ang mag-igib. at dahil sa nag-iisang babaeng apo, nagalit ata ang lola ko. ehehehehe.
RedLan said…
Maganda pa rin yung basic scouting and camping kahit hindi ako nakajoin noon. Over protective kasi ang nanay ko. Hay.
Haha. I wouldn't hear the end of it from my mom if I had a yaya at camping. I think the old-fashioned way was much more fun. :)
jeanny said…
hahaha oo nga noh. Dami na nga changes. I feel so old lolz.

Anyway, masaya pa rin ang being back to basic pero syempre we can never tell kung ano na naeexperience ng mga youth ngayon, what fun to us might be not equally fun to them, generation gap nga! :)
caryn said…
homaygath. ang sosyal na ng camping ngayon! wahahaha! i was never a girl scout, but i tagged along when my friends camped in baguio. wahahaha! ;-)
Anonymous said…
Wow, tha campers had a pretty convenient time and I guess that prevented them from truly learning. I have never gone camping my whole life but I was green with envy when my classmates back in grade school happily shared their experience of cooking rice using bamboo, or cooking an egg on bond paper. I'd like my fututre children to experience real camping, so I guess I better start learning those stuff myself.
Kayni said…
I can't believe they're bringing household help. What's the point of camping? Camping is supposed to teach independence, responsibility, and resourcefulness. This is no way called scouting or camping; at least in my vocabulary.
Garando said…
Wow, generation gap indeed. At least we know that the children are safe and well taken care of. Not sure nga lang what they'll learn from the camping anymore if they're all pampered like that. :D
Rosilie said…
I remembered those girl scout days of mine.hahaha

These ladies sure had great time. GS Camping is always a good way to teach values and character.
princess_dyanie said…
may yaya na pala ngayon sa camping? nung kami dati kami lang talaga :P
Bette said…
thanks for posting this sheng. i never thought na ganito na pala ngayon ang camping. totally different than before! makes me wonder, ano na kaya ang purpose ng scouting ngayon?
Leamsi said…
really? allowed ang yaya? what will the campers learn by themselves? you're right about scouting today being lousy. i was a girl scout too from elementary to high school and i still remember cooking or frying an egg in a brown paper, and also making barbecue egg! haay, those days were really memorable. thanks for posting about this. =)
Heart of Rachel said…
Sadly I only had a short stint as a girl scout. Thanks for sharing your experiences and how things have changed through the years.

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