Tuesday 30 August 2016

A Solitary Walk (feat. God)

By Kevin Kim
Spiritual Disciplines is a senior Bible class centered on spiritual formation that is unique to each student’s spirit. Because seniors tend to be busy, this Bible class provides an environment to cultivate one’s spiritual formation using a variety of methods listed by Mrs. Allen.
On the 15th of August, Mrs. Allen announced her lesson plans for the class, but her plans caught many seniors by surprise and gave them weird looks on their faces, as they questioned the purpose of the activity: being silent for an entire block.
“To be honest, it was a first time for me to put that much time into spending it with God in silence. I was excited that I had a chance to deepen my relationship with Him,” David Unruh (12) commented about his first impression of the activity presented by Mrs. Allen.
Silence was necessary for this activity because it prevented students from getting distracted from things, such as games, TV shows, social media, etc. For that entire week, seniors met with Mrs. Allen on Lower Campus and were given the choice to either walk around in silence or sit somewhere else and contemplate in silence.
After Mrs. Allen finished a short prayer to God, the class set off to their own ways. Out in the distance, Sam Huang (12) sat by the cluster of jagged rocks, facing towards the horizon of the endless sea while waves clashed against the rocks below him. Some students rummaged through the sand, looking for a shell that appeared unique with delicate patterns, while others walked barefooted on the sand, listening to the waves swishing back and forth.
“During the entire block, I felt very relaxed to take some time out of my busy day and be quiet by settling down, [while] trying to have a nice silent conversation with God,” remarked Jonathan Lafferty (12) when asked about how he felt about the silence activity.
After the three days of silence for the entire B-Block Bible class, Mrs. Allen got the entire class into a discussion and had the students reflect about any change that took place as a result of staying silent and thinking by oneself in nature.
“Throughout the three days of the silent activity, I was able to appreciate nature and God’s creations more by taking photographs; I began to notice the little things I usually don’t notice,” also stated Jerome Ramirez (12).
Spiritual Disciplines is an interesting class where students will be given many unique ways, other than just reading through the Bible, to learn about God. As this Bible class emphasizes on students trying to find a form or character for the human spirit, it certainly has many different approaches to seeking after God; however, only one of the different methods to form a strong bond with God has been uncovered. Who knows what’s more to come other than staying silent? 

The Iron Cage - ISKL 2016

Emmett Balzer

            The sun just peeked out between the twin pillars of the Cove, illuminating and warming the mass of bodies collected upon Upper Field. Two great shadows rolled across the crowd as buses grinded their way up the hill, filling our lungs with thick exhaust. The crowds filed neatly into the two iron cages like ants in an anthill, more than eighty people would have to share forty square meters for six drooling hours; nobody was excited to spend their Friday on a bus.
            Upon reaching the door, I saw the driver fiddling with some switches on his control panel. Sure enough the hot, damp air followed us all the way into the very back of the bus. We could not find the faintest whisper in the vents above; the air-conditioner must have broken. Keito Watanabe (12) described the feeling as follows: "We were stuck with the worst bus out of the two. The bus did not have air-con for at least ten minutes, and, even after it did turn on, we were sweating like crazy. It was like we were in a sauna."
            Sleeping was out of the question as beads of sweat trickled down our necks. Josiah Brake (12) said, “All of the guys wanted to take their shirts off; if only our bus didn’t have any girls on it…”  The chairs beneath us quickly became our personal towels, dampening with every touch and turn. When the vents finally sputtered to life, they didn’t blow the torrent we had hoped for; instead they wafted gently like someone who wants to cool the soup on their spoon while not spilling it. Gasping at the vents like a fish out of water was not uncommon for the remainder of our soaked ride.
           These horrible conditions, however, could hardly derail the spirit of the weekend. Trying not to focus on the heat, groups gathered together around decks of cards and iPad games; laughter erupted constantly from different circles throughout the bus. Despite the distinct groups of friends, many unique students were brought together for six hours of unity during the bus trip and the event to come— facing off against ISKL in soccer and volleyball. Even the worst bus experience could not crush the anticipation and allegiance of eighty loyal Eagles.

Frustration of a Flat Tire

Hannah Buhr

Eager to miss school, the Dalat varsity soccer and volleyball teams took a bus ride to Kuala Lumpur to face off against the varsity and junior varsity teams from the International School of Kuala Lumpur, but not without disaster.
This trip, an annual occurrence, is usually treated as an escape from school to have an amazing learning experience on the court or pitch. Students don’t expect there to be bus trouble or major hiccups in the careful plans; each year, the coaches work hard to ensure that this tournament is a great learning experience for the athletes. Despite the thorough planning of the coaches this year, the bus ride to Kuala Lumpur didn’t exactly go as planned due to something far beyond their control.
On Friday, August 26, the two buses left the Dalat parking lot and all the students settled for the long ride. Soon after, the bus holding the soccer guys and volleyball girls got off the bridge and stopped, but not for a bathroom stop. Instead, the bus driver got off the bus and began fixing it. Everyone on the bus was quite confused, not sure why they were stopping. Some people took advantage of the situation and got off the bus to get snacks that were stowed in their bags beneath the bus. Bena Mauger (12) even said that “some people thought they were lost.” This unexplainable stop was greeted with confusion and a slight irritation.
The soccer girls and volleyball guys in the other bus spent some time not knowing their other classmates’ fate. The students, however, quickly realized that something was wrong when the giant, sluggish lorries were overtaking their bus. They wondered if their bus was about to break down, but the student-athletes on the bus eventually discovered the truth when they asked their coach when lunch was.
It was soon revealed by the bus drivers on both buses that the bus carrying the volleyball girls and soccer guys had gotten a flat tire. The bus driver had stopped at a predetermined spot to fix the tire, and the other bus driver was supposed to drive slowly down the highway to allow the other bus to catch up.
On both buses, at first, the feeling was of general annoyance, as it was clear that this was going to delay lunch. The students, however, became more and more angry as they got more and more hungry, desperately pilfering their bags for any snacks that they had packed.
The miles passed excruciatingly slowly in both buses. Finally, at about one o'clock, the soccer girls and volleyball boys saw that they were finally pulling into the rest stop. Later, the other bus pulled into the rest stop, and the students who were earlier forced to stop eagerly piled off the bus to get sustenance to fill their growling stomachs. And as the students saw each other after a long eventful morning on the bus, they smiled, filled with hope for their games and, most of all, grateful that they had made it. 

Wednesday 24 August 2016

Dalat from the Eyes of the New Kid

Justina Cryder
On the first day of this month, I walked through Dalat’s gate, not knowing what to expect but somehow still expecting the worst. And it's not that being the new kid is new to me; Dalat is the third high school I've been to in the past three years. Still, I didn't have the best attitude about flying across the world to come to a new school in a country that I'd never visited before.

Shortly after my arrival, however, the friendly faces and voices of Dalat proved to me that I had the completely wrong attitude. While sitting in the front office and waiting with my luggage, a woman busted open the door with a grin on her face. "Justina?!" she exclaimed. I nodded my head. "Hi, it's so nice to meet you! I'm Aunt Mary," she told me. "Can I hug you?" I nodded again and she opened her arms to me.

She led me to my dorm building where I was greeted with new faces and was told many names that I knew would be difficult to remember. Eventually, I went to get my schedule made, where again each administrator was kind and welcoming. The next day I came back for orientation, and I was welcomed by waving students and teachers who all seemed to know who I was.

In my first two days at Dalat, I already felt like I was family. I was struck by how willing everyone was to help me feel at home. During orientation, kids introduced themselves to me, and I realized how easy it is to make friends at a place with such genuinely kind people. After the first day of school, I was excited about my classes for the first time in years. My teachers seemed excited to teach, which made me excited to learn. Dalat made it more than easy to be the new student.

These first couple of weeks have been an amazing experience for me so far, and I can't wait to find out what the rest of the semester holds.

Tuesday 23 August 2016

Junior Class Store: Shaking to Your Heart!

By Aster Hng

Dalat has many traditions that run back to the good 'ol days. From personal experience, one of our best traditions is the Junior Class Store, which is open every school day before school starts and from X-block onwards. Every year, the junior class is handed the keys to the store, and this store becomes the class baby and ATM. But each junior class is free to put their own spin on the Junior Class Store as bold entrepreneurs.

This year's juniors, the Class of 2018, have revolutionized the Junior Class Store, to put it simply. They caught the rest of the school off guard when they leaped into this school year head on, determined to make their new ideas work. If you still don't know what I'm talking about, then let me clarify: the Junior Class Store doesn't sell the iconic Bubble Tea and Oreo Smoothie anymore. But, not to worry, they have something a little more classic—they now sell milkshakes!

Ranging from the standard vanilla milkshake to something fancier, like mint chocolate chip milkshakes, they have a whole variety, making it so there is definitely something for everyone. When asked what the best flavor was, Mr. Chinn, along with Victoria Galang (11), said that "Strawberries & Cream is really good, especially cause it has real strawberries inside"; the strawberries are blended with strawberry ice cream, which gives the milkshake a healthier but yummier element.

And if you just don't feel like having a milkshake, then you can always head over to the candy counter. With a whole gallery of new snacks and candy, I'm sure you'll find at least one thing that will make your heart skip a beat and your tummy let out a sigh of happiness. They have snacks like mini packets of Goldfish and the all-time favorites—Snicker's, Mars, and Twix. You do have to constantly check their candy counter for new items as they will be bringing out new candy over the course of the year.

Along with that is the latest addition to the store, a school accessories’ corner. You can get a backpack, Dalat sweaters, caps, and much more. It's a good way to show school pride and support the junior class at the same time.

Last, but not least, I have the honor of also introducing to you their latest product. Starting Friday, August 26th, the Junior Class Store will now be selling root beer and Coke floats, along with their existing milkshakes! So don't miss out; head over to the Junior Class Store and support the juniors as they start off the school year.