#starbrats

I was attending another camp before this workshop and I felt a bit "camp-lag" and was unwell too. I didn't know what to expect so I was a li'l surprised when the kids there started to form a circle (sort of) and introducing each other, WITHOUT BEING ASKED TO. I thought to myself: These kids (yeah, I'm considered old) are definitely different, and that it's gonna be 4 amazing days well spent.

And I was not disappointed. The assignments were challenging, the interviews were nerve-wracking, the deadlines were depressing because we can't keep up with it, but the people I've met are a fantastic bunch. And whatever I've experienced cannot be fully described by mere words and wouldn't trade it for the world. 

We got the lowdown on journalism by Ian Yee (editor of R.AGE), Sharmila "Sharm" Nair (star2 journalist), Samuel Ong (the Star photographer) and Jason Tioh (BRATs 2000 participant). Thanks to them, I ( and I think all of us there) can never look at the media the same way again. It was definitely an eye-opener for me. 

I am teamed with 12 other amazing people in Team R.U.Z. (credits to our leader Jay), stylized as "R.U. Zombies". Yeah, that's what the "Z" stands for. Our first assignment was Foh San Restaurant and we did not do our best, but we made up for it in our second one, which is Kuala Sepetang Charcoal Factory. I can still smell the mangrove smoke on me. Me and Grace did the stand ups and voice overs for the 1st and 2nd assignments respectively. We cannot bear to look or see ourselves in the final video. I think we did pretty great, considering that it's our first time and both of us had sore throats. As the saying goes, "we do not enter as geniuses and we may not leave as geniuses".

Although I am on Team R.U.Z. and my loyalty still lies there, I thoroughly enjoy the company of the members of Team Not Lembab. I really got to know them when we had dinner in Lou Wong Restaurant and we exchanged playful banters over chicken and bean sprouts. They made some new terms that I found myself using it, my favorite being "vincepired". 

My roomies are the best. Yi Ling (we call her by her surname, Chew) gave me her medicine for me to get well better. Leia was cool with having the extra bed while me and Chew sprawled ourselves on the big bed. On our last day, we slept right through our alarms and Leia was the only one who heard it. Yet she waited for us to wake up to complain about it. Best of all, they said not a word about my annoying sniffles and cough. I love them so so so much!!!

Besides prepping for our final work, we had in-between breaks which I think could be more structured as they tend to be kinda sudden. Nevertheless, we had fun singing and dancing ridiculously, especially to the song with the extremely catchy hook "Huat ah Huat ah Huat ah, Huat aaaaahhhhhhhhh!!!". Another highlight would be the Jolex couple, where these guys, Jonathan our senior and Alex from Team Not Lembab, would waltz for our entertainment. Not willingly of course but still...

In this workshop, we have forged one-of-a-kind friendships. Although we come from different parts of the country, we still manage to stand as one. I really hope that we can still go on future assignments with each other and attend future BRATs workshops as seniors together. I also wish that our relationships will go beyond the assignments and become close friends. Such potential examples are Sara and Rachel from my team, the "Dynamic Duo" from Team Strypes Ginger and Nicole. I'm pretty sure there are more than these two.

And above all, I hope that I can still remember everyone's faces and names so that we would not end up as strangers when we cross paths later.

So much to say, so little time...........

#TEAMNOTLEMBAB was a group which started out awkward, but somehow we turned into the most rambunctious ones around! That's because we roll like that ~ #swaggy

But in all seriousness, this has been a lifetime opportunity for ALL of us. Also, to make things a little more interesting because we're #TEAMNOTLEMBAB, here's a post from each member of the group! CAN WE PLEASE HAVE A ROUND OF APPLAUSE?

Thurga : Brats is insanely Awesome!!!! Would miss you guys to the max especially #TEAMNOTLEMBAB Love ya losers!!! Ok lets not puke now.... Jane : BRATs is awesome...... Now excuse me a minute while I go and finish laughing at that joke half-an-hour ago. *insane laughing in the background* Sun-xin: Didn't expect everything that I have encountered in this camp but I'm grateful to have this opportunity to meet all these unique people ^^ *signing off*

Aina: Brats means class. Class means coffee duty. Yay for Sharm and her coffee demands! We all love giving her coffee though because she gets hyper later! Right guys? That's how #TEAMNOTLEMBAB gets the best Insta videos. Shande: Brats is a great experience, got to make new friends and learn many new things. As Sharm says "once a Brat, forever a Brat". Rachel: BRATs was something I've always wanted to join since I was 14. This program has been nothing but fun, educational, unexpected, and inspiring. With complete sincerity I thank BRATs for painting my 4 days 3 nights with such unique colours. Eternally grateful. Thank you. Alex : BRATs is legend-wait-for-it-dary !!! Them memories will forever be embedded in my mind...along with the stench of roasting coffee (Assignment 1 T.T) Vincent : BRATs has been an interesting foray into the world of journalism for me. I'm very excited to see more of the industry as a whole and what it can teach me.. #vincepiration Samuel :  BRATs is a BLAST but really tiring. Totally worth it. #TeamNotLembab

Louisa: At BRATs, we unleash our inner diva. Oh wait, we are ALREADY divas inside out. Psssh. Here's to all the party moments we had while working! Let's not forget all the #Vincepirational moments. (; Merissa: BRATs was a great experience, tiring, but great. 

Susheena : Alright, my post is going to be super long, what with me being long-winded of course. So, I've always wanted to be a BRAT. I remember reading the newspaper as a kid and being so jealous that envy was oozing out of my pores. But, to finally be here now, I realize how hard the work is. I see my team mates running around, working hard and playing hard at the same time and it makes me realize that no matter how many mistakes we make, (going with the flow here)

we solve our problems with a smile. I view #TEAMNOTLEMBAB as a fun, dysfunctional family and being the group leader, I mean it when I say that I couldn't be any more proud of them.

YES, REALLY!

All in all, we're hoping to be the team of BRATs that people love and can relate too. We're the 'cool bunch', or so we call ourselves at least.

BRATs Penang went better than I expected - it was so fun! But I really have no idea what to write, because there are too many things to write about.

So the first day I guess I was sort of antisocial because it's really hard to warm up to people. Laura and Rae Jean were my first friends there though; they're very approachable. Everyone was making such a big unnecessary fuss over Kevin's earrings.

Then there were... ASSIGNMENTS!!! These were actually 'okay lah', but then there were the deadlines. (P.S.: Thanks for extending so many deadlines, Ian!) We went to Armenian Street and Chowrasta, which was amazeballs because the last time I went to a real wet market was like 6 years ago.

The journalists and seniors were like super-awesome-cool and they helped review our stories. Only now do I realize journalism is far different from writing *sighs*.

I'm in team Char Kuay Teow and we totally kick ass. Thank God we managed to pull through with the assignments.

TODAY'S THE LAST DAY. It's really sad to say goodbye to everyone, but at least we have Facebook, Twitter and whatever. THANK YOU TECHNOLOGY!

So thanks guys, for such a great experience. Ily!!

Ok, so apparently the RAGE issue from the The Star newspaper is coming outtomoro with a 5 page feature of #bratskbr !! cant wait! 

So before anything comes out, i want to say a few words about us sexy BRATs ;D especially my group PAK BELAH! cos the last day ended too fast and we couldntregroup. So, i just wanted to say a big big thank you to my dearest pak belahs:

Jojo aka park ranger, vishnu, maa'ai and jen lyy, for staying up to deal with thedamn laggy laptop and the movie maker. u guys managed to help us pull through with a job well done from the facis!! *applause*

and joanne chua (who was in front of me when we were buying taxi coupons to the hotel) for her sexy sultry voice-over in the video!

wen (sry dont know how to spell ;D), jennifer, vivianne and ashley for mugging around the laptop trying to put together something that looks like a decent article worthy of The Star xD

our oh so fabulous kelate translators fadhilah, maryam, cing ling and afiqah who totally helped us get something understandable about the pasar ;D

PAK BELAH was one hell of a fun group and even when we were stressed, we managed a laugh here and there. lol, correction *especially when we were stressed* ;D

anyway, i gained alot from the camp, from photography, videography, writing articles that were sooo different from the usual. Oh and thanks to whoever that brought up the "writer's block" issue cos i thought i was the only one and was starting to doubt my writing skills. i mean like, everyone else was halfway into their articles (some already done) and i was stuck at 

IT WAS A DARK MARCH NIGHT 

-___-

oh but with the help of pak belahs, we managed no? :D

anyway, AAAHHHHHHH!!! I REALLY MISS BRATs!!

seriously, personally i think what makes a camp really good is not just the activities, but the company u have and BRATSKBR, YOU GUYS ROCK! i mean seriously, how the facis managed to bring together some of the craziest, liveliest kids from all over malaysia is absolutely mindboggling!! i've never been in a group of 40+ people who are just that!

I MISS EVERYTHING!! from the lame WAUUUU jokes (50sen!) :D to..

"LETS PLAY A GAME"

"YAY POWER NAP!"

to the little "back of the bus" moments (u guys realize that its always that same group of people hogging the back seats and making a lotta noise?) xDD but haha it was fun anyway.

lol ok wait, i had alot of things to say just now but i just got back from dinner and i forgot everything -.-

anyway, tomoro some of us will be getting SPM results and i wish u all all the best and good luck! and for watever it is u get, please know that SPM isnt the end of the world. I've been there myself, waiting for results, and trust me its such an anticlimax u will forget soon after. Doing well in SPM doesnt make u and doing badly doesnt necessarily break u. What matters is the thing that comes next, Pre-U.

ok anyway, somehow this feels like my last total BRATs post and im feelin da nostalgia. dont want it to end :(

Well last but definitely not least, i would like to say a MOJO MOJO THANK YOU TO THE FACILITATORS IVY, IAN, NASAR, JASON AND THE STAR for this absolutely priceless and wonderful experience.

Much thanks to our cool seniors joanne, greg and pak belah's *ahemhemm* awesome senior ROXANNE aka PAU LING, whom i'd like to personally thank for a very good and comfortable night's sleep ON THE FLOOR on the last night. thank u very much ;DDD 

Overall, i would describe the camp as 

MOST STRESSFUL

MOST EDUCATIONAL

YET

THE MOST FUN FILLED

CAMP I'VE EVER BEEN TO

ok this is technically MY FIRST BLOG POST!!! :D hahaha

i've actually always wanted to blog but the urge to blog kinda fades after that. u know when u see something and have so many witty things to say about it and wanna share but then when u get back, u forget wat u want to say? yes thats what usually happens to me.

but few days ago, after posting something on BRATs tumblr i decided, oh wth lets just make a blog. 

so what if no one reads it??? at least i wouldnt go around thinking "damn should've shared that" ;)

Anyway,  thought i should dedicate my first post to my blogging inspiration, BRATs Kota Bharu 2011!!

I'll be honest, when i was heading there, i thought the camp wouldnt be much fun because

1. i didnt know anyone there (this was based on my previous camp, where i didnt know anyone first but eventually had a lot of fun cos i went crazy with a friend i went with and we were contagious ;D)

2. i wasnt feeling well and was just recovering from a bad fever the day before

but cheez, I WAS WRONG!! once i got there everyone was like

"HEY IM ____ YOU ARE??"

"COME ON LETS MAKE A CIRCLE"

"OPEN THE CIRCLE"

"YAY MORE PEOPLE!"

...and i think during lunch someone started talking about FISHBALLS? xD

hahaha i swear, when u put 40+ of some the craziest, most outspoken, carefree people all over malaysia, ITS HARD TO MAINTAIN A FEVER! :DDD

After lunch we had a little session on videography and photography with all the little technical stuff. and honestly, i thought i liked photography but after adding the technical things, i found it less of a joy and more of a pain xD no offense.

anyway after dinner we got to watch WAYANG KULIT!! it was the first for many of us, and we all got pretty hyper on the bus and my group decided to name ourselves PAK BELAH aka empat beleh i.e 14 in KELATE since we had 14 members. when we got there the owner PAK DAIN explained wayang kulit to us. he was really friendly and patient with our enthusiastic questionings as first time journalists xD

anyway, the wayang kulit started and the colourful puppets came on screen, the puppeteer was singing and doing the dialogues, puppets were running around and all. it was really interesting and my eyes were glued to the screen. but no I DIDNT UNDERSTAND A THING.  x) then we went back and slept :D