Tuesday 27 February 2018

Eagles Still Soar in Our Hearts

Felix Tobias

The Dalat men’s and women’s basketball teams traveled to Taiwan and Chiang Mai, respectively, for the ASCS tournaments, which were held during the week of February 19th.

The men’s team faced tough competition the first two days and lost all their matches. They went against the top four teams and came close against Faith and Morrison, but was blown out by Grace and St Paul. The other two games lost came as a surprise. Though expected to win these games, Dalat fell short in both games. Against YISS, they were down by 15 and during the 4th quarter; they were able to bring the game to overtime in a thrilling fashion. Despite their late rally, they fell short in overtime due to fatigue. The last game of the group stages was against ICS. The team lost Jeremy Worton (11), as he was diagnosed with a severe ankle sprain in the dying seconds of the game, with the team only being down by 5.

After the losses, the team could never find the right footing in the competition. For a few minutes in different games, there was a blink of brilliance, but for most of it, there was just chaos. Despite all of these circumstances, one of their players, Linus Lim (11), said, “We still had fun, even though we took loses. We grew as a team, and in a sense, we won. We won because we have grown as a team.”

Another player, Tommy Han (12), said, “I have learned so much during this trip—not just about basketball, but the impact it has on people, especially how we can use our bodies that God made to glorify Him. It’s neat to see how God is using us as an example for His greatness.”

This latter quote clearly shows that basketball is important but not the most important thing. The most important thing is the people around you who fight by your side. For the Dalat basketball team, these teammates were God’s gift. 

Tuesday 20 February 2018

Chinese New Year

Zachary Kok

It is the fourth day of the week, yet it is the weekend. On the 15th of February, the students at Dalat International School got to celebrate a joyous four-day weekend because of a global event taking place: Chinese New Year.

Chinese New Year is the first day of the year of the Lunar Calendar, a system that was first used by the Chinese in ancient China. Each New Year, there is a zodiac animal which represents the year, and, according to Chinese beliefs, the animals could affect how your year will progress. There are 12 zodiac animals, and this is the year of the dog.

Chinese New Year is a very festive season. It is the time when relatives from far come back for a family reunion and pay respect to the elders in the family, hence the reason for all the traffic on the road.

During this long weekend, the Chinese students at Dalat will be in high spirits for one main reason: red packets. It is a custom for married couples to give red packets containing money to the younger generation of family and friends. The red packets symbolize wealth that is passed down from one generation to another, and the money inside is intended for the students to spend wisely.

Chinese New Year is a very auspicious event in the Chinese calendar, but it is only for the Chinese. What do the other students from Dalat do during this long weekend?

 “I am jealous,” says Simon Jeong (12), a Korean student Dalat. “I see all my other friends get rich while I’m here at home doing homework.”

Yet, one does not need a special event to spend time with family. It is still a four-day weekend for them to enjoy with their friends and family. 

Vibrant Chinese Culture

Yi Lin Law                                                                

Chinese New Year is a huge celebration within the Chinese community, and affects those within the Dalat community as well. Around this time of the year, the festivities within the Chinese culture attract those from other cultures to celebrate and respect traditions that have been around for centuries.

With prosperity, health, good luck, and happiness in mind, people decorate their houses and wear red to symbolize good fortune and joy. This year, the first day of Chinese New Year started on the 16th of February, a day in which families in Penang invited lion dancers to perform at their houses to enhance their parties. Many believe that these traditional dances bring good luck and drive away any evil spirits. There are 15 days of Chinese New Year in total, though the first 3 days are the most important and celebrated with the most effort.

Jia Qi Tan (12) said, “It was great spending time with family and meeting relatives I hadn’t seen since the last Chinese New Year.”

Chinese New Year allows relatives, distant family members, and friends to gather and share events that have happened throughout the year. The first dish to start a meal is yu sheng, which is a prosperity toss composed of raw fish (usually salmon) and crunchy crackers, mixed with various vegetables and condiments. Each ingredient has a specific purpose relating to the greetings. Fish represents abundance, crackers represent gold, and the condiments and pepper flakes represent great relationships between people.

It is a tradition to hop around from house to house and great the elders first with two oranges in hand and exchange them. At the same time, children and unmarried adults are expected to greet their relatives and family members with Chinese greetings. There are different greetings for women and men, resembling different aspirations for the New Year. Red packets are only given by the married to the younger, unmarried generation. 

The Korean Chinese New Year: A Regretful Apology to Korean Ladies

Harin Park

The pleasing aroma of traditional Korean food spreads through the air as women busy themselves by making the food for the family with increasing groans of tiredness. Men and kids, on the other hand, rarely take part in this somewhat rigorous cooking process. Yes, this very portrayal of "patriarchy" is how Koreans spend their Chinese New Year.

Korea has a long history of Confucianism--its core concepts being respecting the elders and men in the household--and various delicious, almost heavenly, traditional foods. Interestingly, the Korean celebration of the Lunar New Year is where these two seemingly unrelated things overlap, creating a fascinating harmony.

First of all, the concept of respecting the elders is shown through the traditional bowing ceremony of saebae, where younger people bow to the elders and the elders bless them in return. Secondly, the Korean Lunar New Year boils down to nothing much without the tasty traditional dishes cooked by the ladies, and the ladies only; this is where the long history of Korea’s patriarchal society appears through the culture--men hardly participate in any food preparation.

Now one may ask, “Well, what’s the big deal? Cooking is a daily job for most women anyway.” However, his or her mind will be blown away with the complicated and exhausting procedures of making traditional Korean dishes.

For those who would ask this question, here is a glimpse of a typical scenario during the Chinese New Year for Korean families:

On the day before Chinese New Year, Korean moms wake up early in the morning to go to the market accompanied by their daughters (if they are lucky). They shop for all the ingredients they need, carry extra batches of meat and vegetables than usual, and load them in their cars, marking the beginning of the disaster to be faced.

After they get home, they start preparing the ingredients; they wash all the vegetables, cut them into the right sizes, and marinade the meat. Then, the prepared ingredients are kept in the fridge for the big day.

As the bright sun of the next day comes up, the moms get ready for their wars. They arm themselves with chopsticks, spoons, and spatulas, and then they call for help from their allies again: their daughters. Together, the moms and the daughters launch for the fight. They mix the ingredients in humongous bowls and fry them in pieces for hours after hours, cooking a variety of equally mouthwatering dishes. They groan as their back pains worsen from sitting down on the floor and cooking for too long. The once appetizing foods are not very appealing anymore, as they get sick of their smell.

Meanwhile, men and children stay away from the war and enjoy their jolly holiday, conversing with each other and playing the traditional Korean game, yootnori. The tired women give them envious looks, but the men indulge in too much fun that they cannot notice those fierce glances.

After the ladies finally finish their sacred quest of cooking, the family gathers around the table and share the food in celebration of the new year. The food is also shared with neighbors to pass on the happiness and joy.

Though their bodies nearly crumble down with tiredness, seeing the smiles on their family’s and neighbors' faces as they enjoy the food makes the ladies’ hearts melt with a warm joy.

A daughter of a Korean family, Yerin Park (10) had to go through this process twice, once with their family and once again with her friends. With her mom and sisters, especially, she cooked for eight hours on the day of Chinese New Year. She described, “The process seemed endless. We were so tired that we took a nap when we were halfway done. Still, it was all worth it because I saw the bright smiles on my family’s faces as we sat around the table and ate the food together.”

After all, it seems that love for the family and joy of the new year far outweigh the bodily fatigue of Korean women.

Monday 12 February 2018

Speech and Sport

Tian Ooi

Every year, around Valentine’s Day, a small group of students and teachers pile into a van and head to ISKL. But it’s not for the kind of sport you would expect — there’s no volleyball, basketball, or soccer ball in sight. Instead, the forensics team is armed with scripts and the power of speech, ready to showcase their hard work against a collection of other schools.

Hosted by the International School of Kuala Lumpur, the SEA Forensics tournament is not for the weak of heart. Contestants can participate in a variety of categories. For the drama-lovers, duet and solo acts can take the stage. Oral Interpretation lets storytellers bring a story to life with just their voice and facial expressions, while Original Oratory features speeches written by the speakers themselves.

Impromptu forces students to think on their feet to make a five-minute speech with only a minute of preparation, and extempore students do the same with news-related topics and slightly more prep time. There is also a debate between teams of three, often the highlight of the final rounds.

The road to competition isn’t easy. Forensics students practice their categories furiously for weeks, sacrificing hours after school to perfect every word or sharpen their debate skills. But in the tournament, it’s all worth it. “It’s amazing how much students, through discipline and hard work, can grow in skill throughout the year,” said Mr. Anderson, the debate coach. “Every year, I’m always impressed.”

However, it’s not all work either — indeed, the trip itself is half the fun, allowing students and teachers to bond, make new friends, and enjoy a different environment. Inside jokes are common, asserts Raven Chua (10), saying, “The forensics trip was really fun. But if Aaron Errol had managed to make more references to Norway, I think the debate team could have gotten further.”

All in all, students and teachers alike returned late Saturday night, tired, perhaps, but happy with their experience.

Monday 5 February 2018

A Moment of Silence

Tommy Han

Silence filled the air as seniors stayed rooted to their spots. The only sound that could be heard was the occasional cries of a bird. Outside, the waves came crashing onto the beach as the trees swayed slightly back and forth from the winds. Bible class has never been this quiet; no one dared utter a single word.

Mrs. Allen’s senior Bible class gathered in Jaffrey dorm during class time for the entire week for silent time. Unlike the traditional class in which the students listened to the teacher discuss Christianity, the week would be free for students to do what they wished; however, the students had to be silent and try to engage with his/her thoughts or God in the absence of technology. Students could choose from a menu of activities provided by Mrs. Allen. They could draw the scenery, run up Pearl Hill, read the Bible, reflect on the week, or even remain silent for the 45-minute period. The goal of the experiment was to free ourselves from the distraction of noise and dedicate the time to thinking about our relationship with God.

During the first day of silence, students seemed awkward in the new environment. They struggled to do nothing, and their eyes wandered from place to place. They endeavored to adapt to the new situation, as they continuously worked to occupy their times with things to do. Some students chose to write in their journals while others drew the exquisite scenery of the ocean just outside of the school. Students also went outside to experience the nature firsthand, feeling the cool breeze and listening to the waves crash onto the sands. Personally, I decided to stay inside and just reflect upon my life as some others did. Away from all the work and commitments in school, students learned to enjoy the silence.

As days progressed, seniors began to find the joy of silent time in Bible. Their posture showed relaxation as their faces often showed emotions of peace and comfort. They were realizing the secret to transforming the silence into meaningful actions and thoughts. One task that all students were required to complete was writing about their personal desires. They could either write about their needs to Jesus or just about their desires for the year.
“It was a much needed time to reflect on a lot of things. As a senior, I could think about what I want for my future. I was able to transfer my desires onto the paper,” responded Chan Woong Won.

After writing out the desires, students carefully folded the paper, placed it into an envelope, and stapled it into the journals to read at graduation.

Overall, the silent time allowed students to take a break from college applications and school. Although awkward at first, students progressed to enjoy the essence of the activity. They will certainly remember this in May, opening the envelope to read the desires for the year to see if they have been met. 

Not-So-Freaky Friday

Hyun Ji Kim


“Here you go,” smiled Doris Koay (12) as she handed a middle schooler an ice cream cone.

The seniors invited all middle school students for an entertaining evening, all free of charge. As a part of their Legacy service project, the seniors planned “Freaky Friday” on February 2nd. Through a delicious dinner and carefully-planned games, both the middle school students and seniors interacted and connected with each other, adding a little more warmth to the campus.

Unlike the name of the event suggested, however, the evening was closer to another ‘F’— Fun. For weeks, seniors worked hard to come up with the “perfect night” for middle schoolers. In response to the seniors’ hard work, most of the middle school students showed up that evening, eager and ready to have fun.

After beginning the evening with a scrumptious meal, including Sloppy Joes, chips, and ice cream for dessert, the middle schoolers participated in various games all over campus including dodgeball,  ultimate chicken, animal-crossing, and balloon popping. Seniors, too, joined in on the fun by either playing with them or cheering them on. 

“The middle schoolers enjoyed themselves, and it was fun for me to watch them. They reminded me of when I was a middle schooler myself. It was also nice to see how each grade was so united and close to each other,” said Zachary Kok (12).

Although the rain that sprinkled later towards the evening did cut things slightly short, everybody had fun regardless. But the fun had not yet ended for some of the middle schoolers.

To connect with their “buddies,” seniors invited the eighth graders especially to a smaller party after the main event. Seniors bonded with their buddies through interactive activities such as Never Have I Ever and Fashion Show. Unlike the seniors’ concern that the eighth graders would be exhausted after the intense games, the students participated actively with much enthusiasm.

“I’m the emperor of China,” said Jacky Park (8) about his newspaper outfit while other students roared with laughter below the stage.

Time flew by quickly that evening, and students left the chapel wishing they had more time together. Both middle school and senior students went back home, reflecting back on the evening that would be embedded in their hearts as a pleasant memory.