NCS week 1 (Day 13)

NCS week 1 was such an incredible experience! If you get the chance to do NCS, definitely do it because it's already been such an amazing experience. I've completed my first week of the course and I thought I'd briefly sum up the week.

Day 1:

The first day was a little nerve wrecking. We met at an arena and met all the people who were going to be in our wave and individual groups. When we all first met, it was kind of awkward because everyone was shy and kind of anxious to talk. We bonded really quickly though and of course we're obviously the best team too.

We waited at the arena until the coaches came and played some games that would get everyone to talk to each other.

We went to Scotland for our first week and it was a 5 hour coach trip. That gave us time to talk to more people and make friends before we even got there. We got stuck in the mud at one point and some of us girls were scared that we were going to have to walk the rest of the way with our cases.

Once we got to the accommodation we were told who we would be staying with for the week. The girls I was with were all really nice and sweet. We bonded pretty much instantly. Even during our first night we were having deep conversations and revealing secrets.

Day 2:

The second day was our official day. We had to wake up really early in the morning and make our own lunches. The first activity we did was team building. It rained a lot but it was a lot of fun. We had to build a rocket as a team and launch it outside. My team's rocket didn't get so far but we participated and that is all that counts right? We had to use fake money to buy our resources and do push ups for extra when we ran out of cash. I ended up doing like 20 push ups just for 10cm of cellotape.

In the afternoon we went gorge walking. Gorge WALKING. There was 0 walking involved! I thought it was going to be like a hike or something through water but it turned out we were jumping off cliffs! I was petrified! I was 100% sure that I didn't want to do it but some how I did. I never in my life thought I would jump off a cliff into a river. The water was FREEZING cold and the wet suit didn't really keep me warm at all. I still get flashbacks when I think about the cold. It was the worst. I was really proud of myself for jumping, even though I didn't do the highest cliff. We crossed the border separating England from Scotland. It was kind of cool. On the first day of activities I had already faced a fear. My team were really supportive and we all cheered each other on.

Getting changed afterwards was kind of awkward though. The girls had to get changed in a field full of cows. One cow watched us the whole time and the farmer walked through the field whilst we were still undressed. It's a moment that can never be forgotten.

Day 3: 

The third day was a day full of accomplishments. We did more team building activities. We did the low ropes course which was so much fun. It was hilarious watching everyone fall in mud and slip around on wet tires. For one of the activities we had to get across a pond with one rope. I had to go first and almost let go half way through. I made it to the end but I had rope burn for a while. It was a lot of fun to do though.

In the morning we did mountain biking. I learnt that i'm not the best at riding a bike. I managed to stay on for the most part but I did fall a few times.

In the afternoon we did rock climbing and abseiling. I got to the top when rock climbing, twice although the second round was a lot harder. I only thought i'd make it half way so I was so proud of myself when I got to the very top. I was extremely nervous to abseil at first. I'm not the biggest fan of heights so I have to admit I was pretty scared. My team were really encouraging and watching the rest of my team go before me made me more determined to do it. I'm so glad I did it because I know I would have regretted it otherwise.

Day 4: 

On the fourth day we went on a 5 hour hike. We walked a totally of 16K and it was a lot of fun! It was tiring but I enjoyed it. I like walking so it wasn't really a big deal to be out for 5 hours. We took some pictures on the hike as a team and bonded lots too. We all know lots more about each other now. It was really interesting finding out how different each other's schools are. We learnt facts about Scotland and plants that grew there. We got to see two really cute dogs on the way and sheep too. I've never seen so much poo in my life!

There were a lot of laughs on the walk. Especially when people fell several times in the mud and down the hills.

This is just a brief summary of each day at NCS. I really enjoyed the first week and I can't wait for week 2! I will try to be more detailed about week 2 and hopefully I'll include pictures too!

Thanks for reading.