"You make a living by what you get. You make a life by what you give."
Birthday Surprise!
The third day of our GCP trip, 29 May, turned out to be extra special as it coincided with Hrithik's birthday. We could not let the day go by without a celebration, so we secretly planned a surprise party for him.
With everyone in on the plan, we cleverly found a way to get Hrithik to step out of the function room while we quickly get the room and cake ready. The anticipation built up as we all gathered quietly, ready to surprise him.
When Hrithik finally walked back into the room, his face was a picture of pure shock, but he eventually broke into a smile when the surprise sank in. The surprise was a success, and the room filled with laughter and cheers as we sang ‘Happy Birthday’ together. It was a light-hearted moment that brought everyone even closer, reminding us of the strong bonds we were forming on this trip.
Celebrating Hrithik's birthday in such a memorable way added a personal touch to our GCP experience, making it a day we will all remember fondly.
Our birthday boy!
Hrithik's Reflection
The GCP Cambodia trip was an extremely meaningful and engaging experience.
Before the trip itself we had to do planning for the activities we would be conducted as part of our service there, and we had to learn how to organise activities for a lot of students. During the actual primary school service, we faced an incredibly challenging language barrier with the students, making it difficult to conduct our activities, but we were able to find a way to effectively communicate when there were no translators to help us. In the 2 days we spent at Prolit Primary School, we managed to forge strong bonds with the students there despite the language barrier which to me was a heart warming experience that showed me that the power of friendship and bonds can overcome many obstacles. It was really fun getting to play with the primary school students and it is a memory that I'll never forget.
Another thing that was great about the Cambodia trip was that we were able to spend time with our schoolmates which strengthened the bonds between us. Since everyone was from different classes this was an opportunity to make new friends. And spending the entire 4 days side by side with our friends overseas is not something you experience every day. Getting to see all the heritage of Cambodia along with our friends was cool and I was able to learn a lot about what Cambodia faced in the past.
Through the GCP Cambodia trip, I learned to appreciate the value of life by being grateful for how uneventful my life is and by understanding how important the people like my friends and family are to me. Overall this trip was extremely enjoyable and it had many learning points. I am deeply grateful for receiving the opportunity to experience something like this.