Monday 21 September 2015

The Thrills and Highlights of the Sneaky Seniors

Christina Kim

Everyone stood in line with excitement as they climbed the ladders to the enormously high diving deck. Each person would soon have to face the moment of his or her fall.
Last week on 14 September, the senior class travelled a long journey on Monday night to the beautiful resort of Telunas Beach, located an hour and a half away by boat from Batam, Indonesia. As the class clambered onto the dock of the resort after a lengthy boat ride, they noticed the high deck.
 “The first time I saw the deck, it was so scary and it was so much taller than I thought it would be,” said Brenda Ng (12).
One day after lunch, a guide named Johnny went over the rules of diving, because he wanted to prevent as many injuries as possible. The diving deck was about ten feet tall, and not one person wanted to miss the dive for it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
“I wasn’t scared at all before the jump but during the jump, I was scared for a short time. Overall it was fun,” said Tae Woong Won (12).
Another one of the main highlights of the trip was the hike to Air Hitam, which was a waterfall. Air Hitam means ‘black water’ in Bahasa. Johnny explained to the class the night before that Air Hitam was a tiny waterfall with black waters because of the minerals and roots.
“You can think of it as tea water,” said Johnny. That day, the class hiked about 10 km there and back, but, to the hikers’ relief, it was not that exhausting because there were barely any hills.
The day was hot, so as soon as everyone arrived and finished their lunches, they started to head into the cool water. Johnny demonstrated each jump from two rocks, and soon everyone was jumping and splashing in the water.
“Even though it was a long, hot, and tiring hike, it was so much worth it because the water was cold and refreshing,” said Calvin Thompson (12). 
As everyone was getting ready to leave the waterfall, Johnny whispered something into Mr. Steinkamp’s ear. Johnny, another guide named Agung, and Mr. Steinkamp started climbing up the rocks to the top of the waterfall. As Mr. Steinkamp got ready for his big jump, everyone got excited.
Some people yelled, “DBS! Don’t be stupid!” as a joke (“DBS” was an acronym chosen by Mr. Steinkamp to remind everyone not to be stupid for safety reasons during the trip).
Finally, Mr. Steinkamp dived into the water with a loud “splash!” and everyone started cheering and applauding for their brave sponsor. Along with Director Steinkamp followed Agung and Johnny.
The thrills and craziness of the trip made it even more memorable and fun.


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