Monday 28 January 2019

No Pain, No Gain

Esther Kim

With the start of the second semester comes the beginning of the track and field season. This year, over 60 student-athletes kick-started their first week of school with a series of time trials. On Wednesday, January 16, the students faced the infamous mile run. On Thursday, the 18th, they pushed through with field events (shot put, javelin, discuss, and high jump) on Upper Field. Finally, on Saturday morning, the 19th, the athletes drove to City Stadium to record times for their sprints (100m, 200m, 400m) on a real track. 

Blood, sweat, and tears were evident during all of these days. Most of the students were exhausted for the week, and a few were injured in the process. Nonetheless, each person who had become "rusty" over Christmas break was able to loosen up for the PSAC tournament the following week--Thursday and Friday, January 24-25, to be more exact.

The PSAC tournament includes four other international schools across the island: Uplands, Tenby, Prince of Wales, and Fairview. During the meet, the schools were evenly matched in all events, so the spirit of competition was pungent in the scorching hot atmosphere. The students of Dalat, however, showed excellent attitudes to both fellow Dalat athletes and the other schools, cheering at the top of their lungs and interacting with other schools.

What started as tedious and fatiguing practices now became a time to grow in all aspects of life. We improve physically, mentally, socially, and spirituality as we aim to honor God in all that we do. There is still a long way to go before track and field season ends; there is a lot more pain these athletes have to endure--but also a lot more gains to look forward to.

The Last First Day

Sarah Lee

There was a sense of dread and excitement in kicking back the comfortable covers of the blanket to get ready for school on Wednesday, 16 January 2019. It signified the end of the winter break, which meant no more staying up to watch TV shows or sleeping in late.

There was a buzz in the air, as the high school students of Dalat started filing in to find their new lockers. As the Harbor started filling up with kids, you could hear excited squeals of friends reuniting and catching up with how their break was and whether they were dead or alive. Students got busy catching up with each other before gathering to the Vintage Chapel for the assembly.

For some students, coming back to school from winter break signifies the near end of the school year. For the seniors, however, it signifies the end of their high school career and the quickly approaching reality of graduation. When asked about how she felt about it being the last semester, Elisabeth Kilgo (12) said, "On one hand, I'm so ready to leave, but on the other hand, I'm going to miss this place a lot. And the aspect of not being able to see anyone in our class again after this year is surreal."

We [the seniors, myself included] have officially entered into our last semester as high schoolers. The light at the end of the tunnel finally seems to be approaching. But as Pastor Kirk put it, in a strange crawling towards the ocean metaphor, "It seems like we're all crawling towards something. The important question to ask is 'What are you crawling towards?'"

I think that this is a good point that he brought up. We might not know where we're going to be this time next year, but it's good to ask ourselves if we know which direction we are going and if it's towards the right path.

So, as we go on with our last semester, I hope that this will be a time of lots of fun and discovering who you are as a person. Who knows where we're headed? I'm just glad I get to finish this year with you guys, Class of 2019.