Senior Sneak

Alexandre Shing

In the dark of night, seniors of the class of 2019 gathered at the carpark, a sense of anticipation (and dinner) swimming within their stomaches. A few announcements were given, along with Mr. Steinkamp’s practical reminder to remember DBS (short for Don’t Be Stupid). Parents stood by, sending their well wishes and prayers along, right up to the point of boarding the bus. Thus, began the journey to Telunas, an island off the coast of Batam and a twelve-hour ride away.

Bus ride after boat ride, the class finally made it to their destination, whereupon they were greeted with a welcoming meal, a beautiful resort trailing into the ocean, and a cheerful staff who were already wanting to get to know them. There was barely enough time to get settled into the rooms allocated to each student before free time was announced, allowing them the chance to explore the new environment and all it had to offer. Seniors flocked to the beach, where opportunities for entertainment and sport abounded. Tetherball, volleyball, soccer, ultimate frisbee, and spikeball were all in full swing just to name a few. Shouts of success rang out throughout the afternoon, as there was one triumph over another.

Deck jumping was next, as students clamored for attention trying out different poses held in the air for a split second. Trevor Ronning (12) and Mikaela Steinkamp (12) were among those adventurous enough to attempt exchanging high-fives as they sent themselves leaping into the ocean. A delicious dinner of spaghetti came soon after, followed by a briefing for the classes’ service project the very next day. Telunas’ staff, Petra, Theo, and Rizal, put on a wonderful skit explaining the dos and don’ts of culturally appropriate behavior in the village of Sugi. A full day of activities rounded to an end as the senior class went back out on the deck and gazed upward, faced with the full beauty of the stars above and catching a small glimpse of heaven. It was the perfect end to a perfect day.

Getting back into boats loaded with the tools needed in the morning, the Class of 2019 headed out with eager anticipation towards Sugi village. The objective? To work on building a proper concrete road in replacement of a dirt one. Various stops and time spent elaborating on instructions later, seniors were divided into groups and tasked with mixing the sand and cement together, collecting water from the nearby well to be mixed in, then handing the wet mixture off to the front of the road where it was being paved. Lunch break saw the class learning to use their hands in the traditionally Malay manner of eating, followed by soccer with the local boys continuously vying for the ball. Doing as much as they could for the last half of the day yielded only a third of the entire road getting covered, but to the village, the work done was of invaluable help, as was expressed in the kind words exchanged afterward. Large coconuts freshly plucked from the trees were cut open skillfully and distributed, while others found a volleyball to play with the locals. Bittersweet goodbyes as the seniors prepared to leave validated the friendships built during the short time together.

The day after was hardly a break, as the class headed out once more, this time on a jungle hike. The lingering smell of mosquito repellant mixed with sunscreen indicated that the seniors were prepared for roughing it out in the wild. The trusty Telunas boats brought them as far as possible down narrow rivers of water with marshes on either side, before beginning the slow process of transferring them a handful at a time to a smaller boat, so as to make it through shallower waters. The downtime was not to be wasted, however, as Bethany Davis (12) and Mikaela Steinkamp (12) initiated a singing battle between the boats, hurtling raps at each other from songs of decades past. As Trevor Running (12) correctly commented, “How do they even know the lyrics to these songs, and more importantly, why”? Through the jungle trek, students were exposed to the plantation all along the way, from the common durian and jackfruit to the industrially tapped rubber and endangered trees claiming to be worth as much as an entire four years of college tuition. Photo opportunities abounded as they reached their journey’s end at a small waterfall that could be jumped off of. After enjoying a cool swim and a packed lunch, students once again formed a single file and retraced their steps back to the pickup location, to be brought back to Telunas after long hours of trekking.

  As with every good thing, Senior Sneak had to come to an end and to mark this occasion with closure, all Seniors were invited to an outdoor pizza dinner the evening before departure. It was a time of reflection and laughter of the week’s events as they proceeded to pile toppings into little hills on their pizza, share about the good memories formed, and sing worship songs together. Theo, a Telunas staff member, led the group in thinking about the time spent there using the metaphor of a rose; the sharp thorns being difficulties and discomforts, the rosebud for the growth experienced, and the petals for the beautiful moments.

Senior Class President, Nicholas Khor (12), also took this opportunity to reveal the theme for the Class of 2019: “Legends Never Die.” Coming back to school, there was almost an unspoken consensus that what happened in Telunas would not only refrain from being forgotten, but that mentality would be brought back to influence the rest of the community as well. The senior class had risen to the role of leaders within the school, and they knew their legacy was here to stay.