My life is mostly filled with days of studying, relaxing, and the occasional physical activity, normally in the form of basketball. I do not have much variety in terms of my fitness, so as a part of my CAS fulfillment, I embarked on a trip to Mount Abu, Rajasthan, where I was able to exert myself physically and learn new skills. This trip lasted for a duration of 4 days, and at this location, many other students and I were guided through a number of trekking activities, as well as rock climbing, rappelling, and caving. Each of these activities presented a new physical experience and challenged my body and mind in different ways that I did not expect. I was not very skilled in these areas prior to this trip, so I was able to gain new skills and develop these areas of weakness for me to become a more balanced individual. This experience also presented me with an opportunity to get to know the students and teachers around me better, not only developing old connections, but also constructing new relationships with people that I did not know before. The schedule was filled with numerous activities, but also a decent amount of downtime where this interaction could take place. Team games helped to facilitate these connections, and I learned a number of valuable lessons on this trip.

The main focus of this experience was activity, as physical exertion through different exercises was the purpose of going on this trip. Throughout my time at Mt. Abu, I engaged in a number of exercises in the form of trekking, rock climbing, rappelling, and caving. Treks ranged from a distance of 2 km to 12 km, with varying degrees of difficulty – some were simple walks along a smooth path, while others included steep inclinations on rough terrain. These treks even included climbing rocks at high altitudes, adding a fear factor and making it essential to not slip. The constant quick pace of the guides made sure that I had to push myself to keep up with the group, and the sparse breaks led to further fatigue. Climbing also presented a challenge as we had to heft ourselves up a sheer rock wall, trying not to use the safety rope put in place for us. Since the wall was so vertical and smooth it was difficult not to slip, forcing me to scramble to propel myself upwards, an action that consumed a lot of energy for me. Rappelling was one of the easier tasks, although it did require some focus as I engaged in a controlled descent after the initial climb. Finally, the caving contributed to my fitness as it made me lift myself up steep paths, lower myself through small openings, and even hold myself in the air for certain durations of time between two rock walls. The latter was the most exhausting, as I had to shift myself sideways through a crevice in a dark path without being able to see or use the floor. Overall, these exercises left me breathless multiple times, and the relentless timing of these activities over the course of just a few days had me sore by the end of the trip.

In terms of the learning outcomes, I followed LOs 1 and 2 through this experience. The first one was catered to because I identified my weakness of fitness activity diversity and developed this area of growth by taking on a new activity to satisfy my lack of variety in this area of my life. As I mentioned before, I haven’t trekked or climbed like this before, and it tested my body in new ways. This not only gave me a hiatus from normal life but also gave me an opportunity to experience a unique form of exercise and develop a stronger all-around fitness. LO 2 was also completed in a similar manner as this was a challenge for my body. I used muscles which I was not accustomed to using and this led to me being tired, especially when I had to trek or climb quickly or for long periods of time. This also made me develop new skills because the guides taught us the proper technique to traverse certain difficult caves or terrain in a professional manner. For example, we had to use our backs and feet to slide through and drop down a crevasse instead of trying to crawl through, as I normally might have done. 

I really enjoyed this experience, because it made me a more balanced person both in terms of my physical and relational skills. I learned how to trek, climb, rappel, and cave, each of which were new experiences for me, and I feel that this much-needed break from regular life gave me a more appreciative perspective towards nature. The beautiful views, whether of a rising dawn, layered mountains, or vast horizon always kept me looking forward to the next activity.