Alpha Group Day 19 Final Day

So today, since this is the last day for the Monticle Alpha team, we decided to do something special for this blog! I don’t know if you noticed, but we have two people writing the general blog, and it’s time we introduced ourselves.

Alastair: The first two weeks of blogs were written by me.

Jennifer: And the last three… four-ish days were written by me with lots of help from Alastair.

Alastair: Anyways, the last few days have been a blast, and the students and leaders alike learned a lot about leadership skills, problem solving skills and planning.

Jennifer: And all while challenging themselves, working together, and having fun.

Alastair: Let’s start back at day one then, we headed to Montreal early in the morning and after a sad goodbye to some of our Hong Kong students, we started the loooong drive to Montreal.

Jennifer: I’d only arrived the day previous, but I was welcomed like an old friend. We were off to a great start.

Alastair: We stopped at a Costco for a short shopping trip and lunch break, then we continued in our journey to Montreal, and the home of Billy’s good friend Charlie.

Jennifer: We worked together to delegate jobs and commence clean-up of the house before we began to work on making our dinner.

Alastair: And what a great dinner that was! Pasta and stir fry, interesting combination, but great! Jennifer watched over that team, but it was Crystal, one of our students, that was the mastermind behind this one.

Jennifer: But…it took us quite a while to get dinner done, and we were rescued by Raymond. It served as a great learning experience for us, as we began cooking earlier and made advance preparations whenever possible for our subsequent meals.

Alastair: Well it was a learning experience for the rest of the students as well, as we practiced our teamwork, and our leaders practiced leadership. The students turned in early that day, because day two was the science centre trip.

Jennifer: And what an interesting trip that was. The exhibits were fascinating and we were equally fascinated. We battled it out with Mindball, using only our brain waves and focus to score goals against each other.

Alastair: We all know who won ;) Anywho, after the Science centre trip, we spent some time at Old Montreal, immersing ourselves in the culture and history of one of the oldest and best preserved places in Canada.

Jennifer: That would be me that won. xP The architecture was amazing, people friendly (although most spoke in rapid-fire French), and food was beyond awesome! We headed back to the house to have our dinner of chicken that we’d had the foresight to marinate that very morning. As of such, it tasted great! And we went to sleep early in the belief that we’d be hiking the next day.

Alastair: Riiiight she would have won, obviously. Anyways, yeah, we woke up to the sound of rolling thunder and blasts of lightning, as Jennifer described in her blog that day. We decided to go to the Botanical Gardens and the Biodome instead. We also went to the Montreal tower, which was an experience we’ll never forget.

Jennifer: Oh I definitely won’t be forgetting that anytime soon. I spent my time there avoiding Calvin and Jacky who were determined to have me look straight down the glass floors at the streets below although I’m terrified of heights. : \  The botanical gardens were a sure sight to behold though.

Alastair: Agreed, the view was magnificent, and the botanical gardens were an experience we will not forget. Actually, I think none of us will forget this program at all! We headed back to Charlie’s house, and had a great dinner of pasta, chicken wings and drumsticks.

Jennifer: Who could forget all of the things we did, the people we met, and the things that we achieved? And so, here we come to today.

Alastair: The mood was… subdued… today as we headed back to HQ, as we had one final lecture, the students enjoyed what little time they had together.

Jennifer: Yes, definitely subdued. They had already started saying their goodbyes the night previous. The ride was long and interrupted only by lunch and our visit to the Royal Military College (RMC). It was a restricted area!

Alastair: And when have restricted areas ever stopped us J? We learned of the application process, and the benefits and privileges that the students who do make it in receive. I think I might try applying….

Jennifer: Good luck then! Billy did say that only about 120 of 7000 applicants annually are accepted. Very prestigious. ^__^ We also visited the museum at the RMC. The Colts and katanas there were beautifully crafted, but according to Calvin, the katanas weren’t of very high quality. But what does he know?

Alastair: And what would life be if a silly little statistic stops me? The museum was interesting, to be sure, and I saw a gun, which was a set of brass knuckles, and also a knife, all at the same time. In any case, we got back to HQ, and finished some last administrative work.

Jennifer: And here we are now, back at HQ. We’ve said our goodbyes to the Alpha group. Jonathan and Quince will be staying with us, and we have been joined by Edwin Lo! The leaderships will be working on our skills tomorrow before the Bravop group arrives. So stay with us!

Alastair: Good night and good bye, we’ll be uploading for Bravo group as well!

Jennifer

We woke at 7:30 in the morning today. We had a breakfast of instant noodles with some of the leftover chicken from yesterday. We did a thorough clean-up of the house, and then hit the road as soon as we could. We headed to the Royal Military College (RMC). It was a long drive, and we soon had to stop for a ham sandwich lunch before continuing on our way.

The RMC is built in an almost archaic style, with beautiful pale grey stones and a robust, but elegant air. It was a restricted area, so we were only able to get in because of Billy’s status in the military. The museum was filled with artifacts predating the War of 1812, as well as more modern items. There were cannons used in our nation’s defense on the battlements, and muskets and Colt pistols, as well as Japanese katanas, all displayed in the museum. Billy also told us some very interesting facts about the RMC. He said that of the approximate 7000 applications every year, only about 120 are chosen for their academics, their physical fitness, as well as their leadership skills. My brother Jason wants to study there in the future. I have full faith in him and that he will achieve that goal. Keep going, man!

After our visit, we made our way back to HQ. This is the Alpha group’s last day, and I will greatly miss the six that are “graduating” today. I will miss Kendra’s spunk, Howard’s kind nature, Alexandra’s whirlwind energy, Crystal’s positive outlook, James’s willingness to help with no complaint, and Christina’s sweet disposition.

I still feel as if I’m floundering as a leader, but this Alpha group has given me a little more confidence in my actions. They have showed me that I am improving, but still have a long way to go.

Jonathan

Today we packed up our stuff and loaded it up into the sprinter for our departure from Montreal. After that, we made a stop to the RMC in Kingston. The place was very big. Billy told us different things about the university. Later then, we started toward going back to HQ. Along the way, we made stops at the onRoute service centre for lunch. Finally, we arrived at HQ around 6:40 pm. The ride was very long and tireding.

p.s. This is my last blog post.

Jason Wong

We woke up at 7:30 a.m. and started to pack up to go back to HQ. After packing we did a final clean up of the house since we’re leaving the house. I was cleaning the upstairs washroom, stairs, and floor. We had to load up the car before having breakfast. For breakfast ve had instant noodle, and leftover chicken legs. The noodle tasted plain but the chicken leg still tasted good. After breakfast we left the house and started to go to back to HQ. We went to see the RMC (Royal Military College). We seen the museum, the lake view and the parade square at RMC. After going to RMC we continue going back to HQ.

Quince

This is my sad day and also my happy day. Today is the day we ate instant noodles for breakfast. Then we get off and go back to HQ. After the four days three nights camp in Montreal, we mostly I forget what I done. I think I did sleeping Edwin ho is there eaready. He is shorter than me and thinner than me. This is how the day is going. Bye.

Christina

Today is the last day for me. I am very sad and will miss some people from this camp. I had alot of fun during this camp and experience. I discovered lot’s of learning skills and new things normaly people in military does but harder. I would love to come to the winter program next year. I hope my mom will take me hear again and great wishes to all leaderships, friends, staff, and instructors.

Alexandra

Today is my last day I’m so sad. I will miss everyone and have a good summer. So today, our breakfast was good. We had instant noodle’s. In the future I’m going to get them and eat them. Then we had the 6 hrs drive. It seemed fast then when we went there. Before that, we also went to the Royal Military College. It was also cool. The school is scary though.

Alastair

Last day for the Monticle Me3 Alpha team today, and all of the students looked sad as they realized that it was their last day here. They’re having one final lesson with Kenny right now, and enjoying their time together before they leave later tonight. Anyways, that’s not the point of this blog, however. Over the last few days, I realized that no matter how good I am at mediating two or three people, doing so for a group of 10 to 11 is still beyond my skills. I realized that there’s only so much one person can do, and that I have to seek help for problems that are beyond my control. We have a short downtime before the next group starts, I can only hope that the leaders can use this down time to shape up and get it together before the next group starts.

Jacky

Today is the last day for the alpha group, so that means all that is left is graduation. Today was a boring day full of driving. The only large movement we had was breakfast, so I don’t have much to say. All I know or think I know was that I did alright leading a small group of children. I hope the next group will be more challenging and give me more experience in leading. In my point of view the fun and games are over and the real challenge is coming.

Calvin

With the ending of one program I feel a relief that I have no fault in a while. Once again Monticle has successfully organized and executed another program. This first group has tested me on every level as a leader. The reason is because this is the youngest group of students that I have every dealt with. It has taught me skills that I could not have acquired if I was in charge of an older group. On example is how to deal with arguments between kids. For a person who has never has never had kids, or have much experience with them, it is difficult to ease the situation without losing the respect of the students. I hope that if any students came back next year that they will remember their experiences with Monticle. I hope that they learned something that will benefit their lives forever. I wish all the graduating students a good farewell.

Jason wang

Today we left Montreal and came back to Monticle HQ. Along the way we went to RMC (the Royal Military College) there I learned that out of the over 7000 applicants to the school only 100 or so actually make it into the school and when in the RMC if your leadership fails you’re kicked out of the school which means I have even more challenge when applying to RMC. Since today is the final day of Alpha rotation I will recap what I have learned. I learned that you should follow through the plans you made, your background and culture will effect your life, you must know how to follow before you lead and that you should earn respect.

Ryan

Waking up at 7:00 today I was able to shower and brush my teeth in time. At 7:30 waking them up was a pain because they went to sleep at a late time so they were complaining when we made them wake up. Since we were finished everything already most of the students were waiting for breakfast. After breakfast we had to clean up the eating area so the junior leaderships helped to speed things up. We then drove to the RMC (royal military college) at the college we saw the discipline and leadership that everyone needs to work hard for a great future.

Edwin

Today is the last day for Alpha group, and it is graduation day for them. Throughout this short leadership course, I make a lot of mistakes. I will change and correct myself through this mistake a be a better leader. Happy gradation for the alpha group J This 3 day I gone through problem and problem. The next challenge is very challenging swim in the middle of the lake side of the lake for 6.5 km I will spend at lest 8 hour on water. I will pass this challenge but I am still scare about ot. O will be find.

Kendra

Today is my last day at Monticle. L BOOO!! I wanna stay longer!! Well, today in the morning we did a final clean up and packed up everything. We had instant noodles with chicken for breakfast. Then, we drove for 3 hrs and 30 mins and had lunch. After, we went to the RMC (royal Military College). We learned about the school’s routine and uniform. Then, we went back to HQ. that’s the end of the last day. Today was so sad!! BYE, MONTICLE! Hopefully I’ll come back next year.

Crystal

Today is my last day. For the people who read my blog yesterday, sorry, I lied. This is my last blog. So, as I said, today is officially my last day at Monticle. As I said yesterday, I thank all instructors and leaderships who have helped me and I’ll miss Monticle.

Howard

Today, I will be leaving Monticle. This means that this is my last blog, And…. I really have nothing to say. Today, we didn’t really do much and I’m bad at dramatizing small events. So I’ll just keep this blog short. Just now, I was given my student report. What was written in it is very true, I hope that I can; try and fix any bad comment or criticism given to me.

James

Today is a sad day, everyone was quiet in the van on our trip back to Markham. This is my last day, and my last blog so I don’t have much to say.