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My Day Out at Burrs Activity Centre by Riffat Hanif

Today at Burrs Activity Centre we had arranged a few activities to take part in, as part of our course with the rest of my class from the ADAB Centre. This was to challenge ourselves to do something out of our comfort zone, activities which we normally would not do or had never done before (activities planned were problem solving, low rope climbing and kayaking).

Honestly speaking, I woke up this morning in two minds as to go to the Burrs Activity centre or not, my deciding factor was going to be ultimately the weather, as they were all outdoor activities, if the weather was any good I was going, if not I wasn’t planning on going anywhere. I had a glance out of my bedroom window and the sun was out! “Yes I thought I was definitely going”. The sunshine always drags me out of bed. A little nervous and excited I wasn’t sure what to expect today at Burrs, or whether or not I was even going to enjoy myself there.

I got ready and went to my sister to get a lift from her as she was coming along and was taking her car there. She drove to ADAB Centre where we met one of the girls and we followed her to the Activity Centre. Although in Bury, believe it or not I had never been there before today, and I’ve lived in Bury all my life... anyway when we finally got there, I met the rest of the group. It was nice to see them all looking excited and nervous ready for whatever adventure was in store because I knew we had never done any activities like this before.

We all wrapped up nice and warm as the sun wasn’t shining anymore ? nevertheless I was there and wasn’t going back out now. We started the day with an introduction from a member of staff of the centre who was our guide and help for the day, her name was Jo, our first activity was problem solving, we split up into 2 teams, out of four challenges our team won two challenges! It was nice to see how people who barely know each other could bond and get along and works as a team to solve problems, I enjoy this activity a lot especially getting through the tangled maze, it was hilarious to see how each of us tried to get to the other side of the maze without touching the ropes...

Rope climbing was also fun, I saw the high ropes and took a look at the low ropes, I was definitely glad we picked the low ropes and not the other way round (the high ropes were very HIGH!! Maybe next time...

Kayaking was our final activity of the day, I know we were all dreading kayaking, well most of us were. I personally have a fear of deep water, but with a safety vest I felt reassured (although I must admit, the water we were in wasn’t that deep). I found this activity was also a lot of fun. I tried hard to avoid getting wet, this was in a way preventing me from having fun, but I gave up in the end trying not getting wet and just enjoyed myself.

The day ended with one of the girls falling into the pond/lake, am just glad that wasn’t me, my heart did go out for the poor girl she was drenched.

Today I realised I have it in me to do things I would never dream of doing. I believe we should all take some time out of our busy lives to take part in activities like today. I believe this is important to express ones adventurous side, it can also be used as an opportunity to bond with friends and family something which nowadays is hard to achieve especially in a female Asian community.
Above everything it was nice to laugh, it reminded me of my childhood. It was nice to see everyone happy and enjoying their day out. I hope to do something like this again.

See another learners diary (pdf)

Extracts from others feedback

• I am glad that I decided to go to the multi activity centre as I would never have done this on my own and I would have missed an opportunity to explore something different. This project has made me more confident about trying new things which I might have thought previously were outside my limitations.
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• The first activity was problem solving which I wasn’t excited about as I thought it would be boring. This activity really surprised me and I loved the team aspect of this. It gave me the opportunity to let loose my competitive streak which came out in full force. The first activity which we worked together really well in our team won.
  
• I was unsure of doing an activity that was outdoors but it turned out to be one of the best things I have done in my life. I am still smiling when I think of what I have done today. I get all excited when I talk about it and my daughter said “mummy I think you have had a nice day today” I have! I am glad we did an activity that I would never have done before. I have gained so much joy and confidence.
  
• I think that my main barrier to this activity was cultural and once I decided to overcome that I was more comfortable with my decision. I felt that with the team spirit that my group had displayed that I would be able to attempt kayaking with their support.