One of the reason why I always insist that the University provide me with the budget for me to take my students out was not so much for the sea, sun and beach but it is more for the camaraderie. It is easy to talk about teamwork and teambuilding in a classroom but to bring it out in and put it to work in a more relaxed environment would hatch a different result.

Many of the students when they first arrive at the site, are quite reserved and timid but they are totally transformed after the retreat. They treat their friends with more respect and dignity and there is a sense of pride in belonging to a community. That is the spirit that I wish to inculcate in them. In the classroom I can only teach them some technical aspect and some short cuts, but the human bridge has to be forged by themselves.

Food

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There is always this thing about Malaysians and their food. We are inseparable and we always find time to indulge ourselves with plenty of food. Of course the kids are hungry as well after a day long of performance which I will take you to it after bragging about the food.

There are just so much of spread that it is no longer possible to do anything but to laugh and dine after a tough day...so here was what we did.

We had a night of masquerade and role play. Each student does not know the role that they will be playing and it is randomly assigned to them. They have to use their creativity to bring out the character that they are asked to portray. Some of them did it pretty well. Of course the play acting has its purpose, it is to put the artists behind the pen into the shoes of the characters that they wish to carry...the pen is quite light but to bring the soul into the subject takes a bit more than just dancing of the pen on a piece of paper.

There is also the karaoke session whereby the students are asked to present the songs in the character that they are dressed. It takes a bit of creativity and the best show is given a special gift which is a loud applause by the lecturer, aka @sireh.

A good crowd is always good to spur more antics from the performers. This is one appreciative bunch. Everyone despite learning didn't feel like they are confined to a classroom setting. Sometimes the creative mind cannot be caged and one is most creative when they are relaxed and feels less inhibited.

If I can piece a few advice together as a lecturer and as a creative content provider here would be some gems which I had learnt from my experience:-

1. Learning has no borders or settings, it comes in all forms and in all occasion.
2. Effective learning is the willingness to discard bad habits and bad perceptions.
3. The best talents are not the most successful, the most successful are the people who can deal with other people.
4. Creativity is not god given, it is a culture of cultivating a process of thought that is free and ambitious.
5. Be humble, people are more ready to impart knowledge to a humble student than an arrogant prick.

I hope that those few words will be able to sum up the many lessons that I have learnt in my life. I wish them all the best and I hope I had done the best I can to guide them to a better future.

Enjoy the video. Wonderfully compiled by my student himself Mr. Azurin Nasir. Cheers!
ADIOS!

credit to @zomagic