Mount KK Mountain Climb and Community Service (3 hours Service + 8 hours Action) (Term 3)

From the 10th to the 14th of April, my friends and I went on an out-of-country trip to climb a mountain and also to help out a local neighborhood.

We started out journey the next day in the mid-afternoon and our mountain group of 14 students and 2 teachers continued along at a steady pace. It took all afternoon to reach the rest-house where we would stay overnight to rest before the dawn climb.

A mountain never seemed like a possible task for me to accomplish. I have a fear of heights and getting up anything steeper or higher than a hill with slippery surface scares me to death. Even though my endurance and fitness levels are very good, I have a problem with the joints in my hips that cause them to hurt after a physical activity. I thought that this would hinder my progress and maybe even stop me from continuing on and finishing the climb to the summit. However, we all woke up at 2 o'clock in the morning for the dawn climb and trekked on in the darkness taking occasional breaks to catch our breath.

At about 5am, Sam (my best mate) and I reached the summit after pulling ahead of the main group. The summit was 5 degrees and we were all rugged up in the dark eating chocolate to keep our body warmth up. Only when the sun came up, did it become clear how far we had climbed, how high up we were, and the beauty of the landscape around us, 8 and a half kilometers above sea level. To me, this had to be one of my most amazing personal accomplishments so far and I got to enjoy this experience with my friends, helping to further the value of our friendship.

The next day, after meeting up with the rest of our year, we traveled a few kilometers from where we were staying to meet the children of a local community school, where we would then help to construct various things for their schoolyard and classrooms. I worked on doing wiring for the fence before moving inside to help clean one of the rooms. After that, we all spent some time interacting with the children, playing games and helping them colour among other things. Not too long after, we left to pack up our gear and get ready for the short flight home.

From this unique trip, I learned a few different things that helped to boost my self-confidence, friendships and interaction skills. Overall, I am thoroughly pleased with how the trip went and look forward in the future to accomplishing other activities that I didn't think that I could ever achieve before.