Wadi Shawka

By Amar Grade 4

The morning of our residential, most children were quietly nervous, as it was, for many of us, our first residential trip away from our families. Anxious about the epic hike that we were told was ahead under the blazing desert sun (not quite, but you know what I mean); and some, who were not so comfortable with the thought of living in a tent with none of the usual luxuries they were used to in the comfort of their mansions and no helpers to clean up after them. Rumours were swirling round that we would have to go to the bathroom in the middle of the desert. Clearly, this wasn’t the case and actually, the trip was a roaring success, where we made some of our best memories that we will surely hold tightly for the rest of our lives.

Some of the highlights from our trip included arriving at the camp and being asked to put up our very own tents. Fortunately, we didn’t have to stay in them, cheering when we were assigned our tent groups and darting straight to them with our friends. Another hilarious highpoint was during our 5km hike through the vast Wadi where some of my peers stepped into rancid camel droppings. I guess they were too busy taking in incredible flora and fauna and the numerous animals we saw along the journey.

Evenings around the camp, staying up late in our tents and sharing breakfast times all together were so much fun! Gleeful faces each morning and the excitement around sharing stories of what experience we had all just had filled the camp with constant laughter.

But the snorkelling trip around Snoppy Island for me, was the only thing I feared the entire three days. Not because I was scared to jump off the boat, as I have done it many times before; nor because I’m scared of swimming, because I’m an avid swimmer; but because I have recently developed a fear of black prickly Sea Urchins. Regrettably, my fear rubbed off onto some of my friends, right when I started to freak out – it wasn’t pretty. As a result, some proceeded to sit out the jump with me. Oops! Most people think I eventually jumped in and faced my fear (I didn’t - don’t tell!)

What an unbelievable excursion we’ve had that will leave a special memory in the young hearts of every single child and teacher. This has been a huge privilege to the NLCS Dubai students and we are ever thankful to the staff for making this residential so pleasurable.