Dalat International School: Senior Scribble

From Thursday to Saturday, students from eight schools gathered in Dalat for the ACSC Honor Band, directed by guest conductor Dr. Ramos, a former Dalat band teacher. He is currently teaching at Utah Valley University after completing his doctorate. Over the course of three days of rehearsals, students spent about 6 hours each day, working hard to bring harmony to motion.  The six hours of rehearsals pushed students to work hard and stay focused as they prepared their music in a limited amount of time. Although the long rehearsals were physically challenging, many students joked that their lips and mouths felt like they were going to explode and that they would get a free Botox treatment. Katie Yang (9) stated, “My lips and face felt like I got Botox.” Despite the limited time, the band was able to produce an impressive amount of music while learning and growing together, and they brought their love for music. Not only did the event strengthen their musical skills, but it also allow...

Though a side of music seldom explored, the ACSC Honor Band’s Saturday performance was built upon two-and-a-half days of grueling, yet gratifying, practice. While the concert itself took place on Saturday, the ACSC Band Festival really began on Thursday, March 5, when 79 students from 8 different schools washed up on the shores of Harbor Hall. From trumpeters and trombonists to flautists and French hornists, musicians of all specialties and backgrounds showed up at Dalat, most of them for their first time, with the unified goal of making great music. Leading this melodious mishmash was Utah Valley University Director of Bands and former Dalat band director Dr. Christopher Ramos.  Some in Honor Band still had fond memories of Dr. Ramos before his 2020 departure and doctorate - in the words of trombonist Euodia Leung (12), “Dr. Ramos gave me the trombone when I was in 6th grade, and now I’ve been led down an irreversible path.” With his infectious energy and musical brilliance, it ...

Before the sun had risen, we arrived at Gurney Bay, the sky dim, glimmering with deep blue shadows. There was a quiet excitement in the air as Dalat students gathered to meet the residents from the Penang Cheshire Home. Each of us was paired with a resident, and together we prepared to begin our walk. As the sun slowly appeared over the horizon, the golden light reflected across the calm water, soon manifesting its peaceful atmosphere. One student, Takuma Sawazu (12), described the moment well: “I got to see the sunrise in a peaceful park during the PCH walk, which was really refreshing.”  The view was so calm and serene that the resident we were pushing in the wheelchair eventually fell asleep. We were glad that he was able to relax and enjoy the peaceful environment as we continued walking along the park. As we walked, pushing the wheelchair step by step, I began to realize how heavy it actually was. The walk which seemed effortless at first slowly became more tiring, and that ex...

It was day 2 of ACSC, and we had to wake up extra early for a service project. Our service project was to work with an organization that helped disabled people. This organization brought around a hundred disabled people, and our goal was to teach them basketball.  “It was very fun to work with these people and to give them an experience that they will never forget,” said a source. Our service project lasted for around 2-2:30 hours, and then it was straight back into the tournament. We had one more game in our pool play against ICS Hong Kong. We felt extremely confident playing against them and were sure we could secure second seed in our pool. The game started out well for us as we knocked down a majority of our shots. Around the beginning of the second quarter, we lost momentum, and ICS Hong Kong made a push to cut our lead to only two. After a timeout, we got ourselves together and were able to go on a run that would put us up by nearly 20 at half. From there, we were able to cal...

…6:30 PM on a special Friday night, chairs in the front row of the Harbour Hall are moved out, and the choir stand has returned to the stage. Four speakers of the night, Abe Johnson (12), Sharon Baek (12), Yewon Lee (12), and Aaron Andrews (12), are nervously staring at the stage as the worship session is ending… It is the final week of February, where another great Missions Emphasis Week (MEW), along with renewed praise, prayer, and conviction, returned to Dalat. As the night continues, the speakers walk up one by one to the stage to share each of their testimonies of continued doubt, fear, confusion, and the surrender found in God’s embrace. Besides the fact that every speaker of the night has lived through some level of struggle and loss growing up in a Christian pastor and/or missionary household, the testimonies intersected in various areas of spiritual turmoil, offering consoling and encouraging accounts for the audience undergoing their own spiritual battles.  Looking back t...

Just like last semester’s SEW, there came a time of MEW; a week to emphasize mission work. Clustered on the final three days of weekdays, MEW service, both morning and evening, brought conviction to many people. Onyu Cho, currently a freshman, testified about his experience of MEW: “MEW was a meaningful time. I was happy to see a lot of people who were distant from God confessing their wrongdoings and turning back to God.” God’s generosity is truly the greatest gift we receive from him. During many evening services, surprisingly, the speakers challenged not only the students but also the parents. Many impacted parents came out of their comfort zones and asked for prayers, a truly unique and humbling moment. As a member of the worship team, I was present for the chaotic, rushed rehearsal. Not one worship song for the evening service was rehearsed more than once, so many small and big mistakes were made, but even so, God still came. It’s crucial to remember that whatever we do is never a...