Day 1
Time: 9.15AM
We started for Coniston from Birmingham with beautiful sunshine and high spirits (no I did not mean the alcohol high!). Half way through, the weather changed into gloomy cloudy skies and we all wished fervently for good weather.
There were twenty four of us from different nationalities and varied backgrounds, all in a coach munching away snacks and talking about matters ranging from Japanese food, Indian punctuality, philosophy and state of the world.
Ayu and I were sitting towards the front of the bus with Yosuke and Godly in the seats behind us. Courtesy our position in the bus we had the good fortune to taste some yummy Japanese food prepared by Yosuke’s wife and over hear tidbits of conversation between them about Japan versus India. (They did complain to which we countered that we cannot shut our ears!)
Cynthia, Yuko and Katori were sleeping half the while and giggling away the other half.
As we were closing in on the destination, the landscape changed into the most beautiful places I have ever seen. There was water ever where, streams, brooks and rivers, no wonder it was called Lake District. Sheep grazed lazily on the slopes of green mountains and on meadows, there was a sense of old world charm, transporting us back in time. After looping around some narrow, winding, beautiful village roads we reached our destination – The University of Birmingham Priestly centre.
We arrived.
It was told to us that lunch would be served to us and I was already hungry enough to eat a baby elephant all by myself. We stopped at the gate of the center where we were told that we had to walk for a good twenty minutes to reach the inside of the center where we would be staying. And then we were instructed to transfer bags of the previous group from our school into the coach so that they can leave to Birmingham. And then we had to transfer all our bags to the trailer.
The walk was beautiful on a kaccha road barely enough to pass a land rover, with sheep and cows grazing along the side, not forgetting the droppings on the road that we carefully managed to meander across.
As we neared the centre there awaited us a beautiful river view, mountains on the other side with trees in different shades of green. I can almost bet that there would be very few places on earth that can be more beautiful, scenic and serene.
It was heavenly.
I was ready for lunch, but then as soon as we reached the center we were called to a meeting where they spoke about the rules and regulations of the center for a good fifteen minutes.Lecturing before lunch time never did any good for me.
We were divided into groups and were assigned tasks. And the first task was to serve food the rest of the group. I prayed fervently that I should not be in that group, because of obvious reasons. My prayers were answered or so I thought till I found out later that our group had to clean toilets in the evening. I began to get a sense that this was no joy ride. The calm surroundings did not necessarily translate into the pace of our life while we were here, as I found out very soon. After lunch the activities began- the ice breaking sessions.
Mine was a five member team with : Ruslan- The head banker, Mansoor –The banker economist, Neil- The globetrotting accountant, Julio- The exporter and I. The first activity was called divisional link where there were two platforms far apart separated by mud and slush. The task was to cross from one platform to the other without falling into the mud with the help of three planks. Although it seemed impossible in the beginning, Neil came up with a strategy which seemed to work in the beginning. All of us crossed over to the other side, and Neil was the last person to cross and when he did the planks gave in and he fell into mud. If that was the end of the story I would not have complained,and even when he pulled me along into the mud on his way falling and ruined my sketchers I still forgave him.But when he explained that it was team spirit that prompted him, and that he thought he was not going to go alone and it was a team, I began to get a sense of what team work looked like in this team and I decided to have my revenge by telling everyone I saw about this fiasco and it still continues with my blog. Yes I can be wicked when I want to!
The entire team was blindfolded and we had to walk up a hilly terrain to reach the destination for the next activity. The only thing I remember was being dragged the slope and nearly missing to hit the car parked on the way.
The day ended at the local pub with Steve, our MBA director ferrying us in his car. There were conversations about the kinds of beer in the UK and the folks next to me were discussing how to say ‘I love you’ in languages like Indonesian, Japanese, Vietnamese, German, Hindi, Malayalam and I have lost count of the rest. Not exactly my favorite topics for discussion, but there is no better topic that can be easily understood by all nationalities.
Time: 9.00 PM
I longed to get back to the warm cosy room. Naomi, Claire and Miss B offered to walk with us, back to the center. It was half hours walk and pitch dark. The sky was cloudy and the cold wind was getting to my nerves and we walked and we walked, seemingly for ages. By the time we approached the center, the skies cleared and stars shone on, it was beautiful in a different kind of way. That is English weather in this part of the country. At around 10.30 PM when I was reading my book comfortably wrapped in the duvet, Julio barges in to let me know that we have to clean the toilets. Well I would let you think what passed my mind at that precise moment.
Day 2
The next day promised to be full of fun and activity, with an obstacle race on ropes high and low for which we climbed, crawled and swung from trees. My mom would have had a shock if she saw the monkey like activities that we engaged in.
The best part of the afternoon was spent in canoeing on the river Coniston. We were equipped with wet suits, helmets, rain coats and life jackets. Three of us paddling in one canoe, Ruslan and Julio in the other. It was fun filled; Mansoor was at the back steering, Neil in the middle and me in front of the canoe paddling away happily. There was a little turbulence in our canoe when we reached the middle of the river in between and I almost thought that Neil fell off the canoe or we would sink soon.I dared not look behind me, a little later I figured that it was Neil who was trying to stretch his legs. As time went by fear dissipated and all of us enjoyed, at least I did.
There were six poles and four barrels and some ropes were provided. Building a raft was next on the list. We built a raft to successfully wade it through the shallow waters near the shore. I ignore comments that said that our raft looked like a speed boat with Mansoor, Neil and me almost sinking behind, and the front of the raft slightly on an upward tilt.
We had dinner duty in the evening where we had to set the tables, clean plates and mop the floor. The evening ended with a juicy gossip session in the girl’s room of which details will not be disclosed.
Day 3
Wednesday was the toughest day in terms of the weather conditions and the activities. Our group was given maps and packed lunch and sent out to locate points on the map. It was a day long activity.We had to take the lake first and then do the rest of the orienteering by land, all by ourselves.
A cold windy cloudy rainy day – 5 people two canoes- paddling against the wind- trying to locate specs and spots on the shoreline.
It is coldand raining, our hands numb, and we paddle and paddle but we don’t move an inch and if we move, we move backwards. Not a particularly glamorous position to be in, the weather was against us and the movement on the water was getting to me, I just hoped that I would not fall sick.
Put five people with totally different outlooks in one room and you can imagine the outcome, now with the level of physical challenges and natural adversities that we were in as a group, some tough lessons ought to be learnt here!
In the midst of chaos of deciding which direction to paddle and what is the best technique to engage in, I try to soak in as much nature as I possibly can. It reminded me of the recent book which had a mention of Vikings from Norway sailing to different places. I am told that there are Norwegian settlements and influences in this part of the country. As I muse around the landscape, thinking how nature is so untouched and pure, help arrives to finally tow us away to our safe point to eat our packed sandwiches; I was neither hungry nor thirsty, just horribly tired.
The ordeal does not end there. The next part of our journey by land was bitter sweet.
Weather was the villain again.
The best part was when we walked over the most beautiful country roads winding up and down, sheep lazily greeting us along and some even taking a fancy to us and following us. There was water flowing in streams alongside the roads, clear and refreshing. I was almost famished, but the promise of good tea kept me prodding on the uphill path way.
Never had a cup of hot tea been such a motivator.
On top of the hill hot coffee and tea awaited us in a land rover in the drizzling rain. I had my cuppa in peace. Two groups merged at this point and we relaxed, not knowing the kind of terrain that awaited us in the next lap! The map directed us to a path away amidst the mountains and went seemingly into nowhere. While I managed not to fall on the slippery rocks and slushy mud, I was amazed at the beauty surrounding me. Sometimes it was mountains at a stretch and sometimes it was a river view with a beautiful shoreline, otherwise it was flat with tall green trees covered in fog on the riverside or small streams with stepping stones. The air was fresh, birds chirped amidst the backdrop of trickling water.
It was surreal.
We returned back refreshed and tired, well that is a contradiction, but that is how life is sometimes ain’t it?
Contradictions co-existing?
The evening called for a bit of partying where we decided to set up a fire in the centre and enjoy the day indoors.
Nick was in to check on us and he sure set the fire flaming.
The evening was full of fun complete with games and table top dancing. No I dint dance on the table!
Day 4
Breakfast duty – Team C
After setting tables and cleaning up the kitchen I went biking to the village. Some people chose Kayaking but then after the tryst with water the previous day , I did not want to risk it again Biking was a beautiful experience so beautiful that I almost fainted next to the sheep farm. I recovered soon and peddled my way back to the center. The last couple of hours was spent in cleaning up and rearing to go back to Birmingham.
One last look at the place where I did so many things that I have never done before and then we go onward on our journey.
As someone asked me about what I thought about the experience I had told him‘ I am glad I did this, I enjoyed it, but I don’t know if I want to do all of this again’.
But coming to think of it once more, I know that there is only one reason in the whole world for which I would be motivated to do it all over again.
