Skip to main content

The Island of Rats

By Anonymous
By Gabriela Mims

Pushing their paddles hard against the waves, Emma Hofer (12) and Karsten Ladner (12) made their way across the raging water from the Tanjung Bungah beach to Pulau Tikus, or Rat Island.
“Left—right—left—right!” they muttered in unison, trying to keep their paddling synchronized. Clouds filled the sky, blocking the sun from burning their salt-covered skin.
On weekends, students enjoy kayaking to Rat Island, the formation of rocks, trees, and sand that lay in the water a couple kilometers from the school. Although its name assumed the presence of rodents, no creatures other than crabs, birds, and jellyfish commonly visit the island.
Once they arrived, these students pulled their kayaks up to the sand and took a moment to drink some water and rest. After gathering their strength, they began climbing the barnacle-covered rocks surrounding the land. Since large rocks completely enclosed the island, students could easily circle it within an hour or two.
Only a few minutes in, they reached a tomb on the island. This tomb became one of the greatest mysteries among students, even though information on Google awaited those who sought it.
The man buried on Pulau Tikus, Seyad Mohamed Kuddoos Oliyullah, had a shrine dedicated to him, which strangely attracted not only Muslims, but also Hindus and Buddhists. Much of his story remained a mystery, however, his importance did not. Many people from different cultures and religions donated to the building of his grave. In a way, this embodied the mingling of different cultures throughout whole island of Penang.
After peering through the windows of the tomb, these students wandered around the area. They climbed up a ladder beside the grave that led to a solar-powered lighthouse, which gave them the opportunity to look out over the small island and see the coast of Penang in the distance.
The rest of the trek involved many scrapes and scratches, boulder-climbing, sweat, and sitting to enjoy the view from the island.
Once they reached their kayaks again, Hofer, Ladner, Mackenzie Jordan (12), Aaron Kelley (12), and Aaron Chand (11) took a moment to recoup before they started on their way back to the school. The sun began to set, and the group quickly pushed their kayaks into the water and began their trip back.
After several minutes of paddling toward the shore, the group stopped in the middle of the journey to watch the sun fall behind the mountains in the distance.
“My favorite part was when we were on our way back and the sun was starting to set, and we took a moment to rest as the waves calmly pushed us toward the shore,” Jordan said, recalling her experience.

The group safely made it back before nightfall. They made sure to wash their equipment, being careful to spray everyone with the hose until they were soaked. The group then walked down the road in their dripping clothes to enjoy a dinner at Hillside before bringing the night to a close.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

DINGBAT DALAT STUDENT SPENDS PRECIOUS TIME CONJURING UP SELF-REFERENTIAL SENIOR SCRIBBLE RATHER THAN GATHERING LEGITIMATE WORK

By Anonymous
Yusoof Monawvil PENANG, MA - As the deadline drew near and the stars aligned in the night sky above the majestic waters of the Strait of Malacca, one particular Dalat student—Yusoof Monawvil (12), despite a plethora of school events to select and report on—opted instead to spend a remarkably well-wasted 24 minutes staring at a blank Google Docs page, fruitlessly drawing up and shooting down brainstormed ideas.  In a moment of sheer and undeniable epiphany, Monawvil deemed it only fitting to self-referentially satirize his own ingrained incompetence and dingbattery. Commenting on the flash of insight, Monawvil quoted himself, saying: “It all just kinda made sense. I went on DISCourse to look at the little rubric thing Ms. Grad and Mr. Hieber posted, and I checked if I was following all of the guidelines... And I technically am/was; [N]ot like there’s any specific direktive [sic] prohibiting self-quoting.”  In a turn of events, Monawvil did come to find his self-quoting en...
6 comments
Read more

"Spikeball, Swimming, and Sickness: The Remnants of Senior Sneak" by Ee Rynn Ong

By
“Guys, I think we’re here,” said Jonathan Ooi (12) as he peeked out of the lorry to catch the first glimpse of our Senior Sneak location. This year’s Senior Sneak was held in Nomad Adventure, Gopeng, and the organizers planned many activities for the Class of 2026, ranging from traditional games like congkak and batu seremban to adrenaline-pumping ropes courses and whitewater rafting. These scheduled activities proved to be some of the best highlights of the trip, but top of that, the seniors were also given some daily free time to chat, explore, and relax. Josh Stevens (12) had come prepared for this with two spikeball nets, which immediately attracted attention from people eager to spend time in the outdoor sun. The next five days saw spikeball veterans and newcomers alike, spending their precious one and a half hours daily around the unassuming circular net, smashing the yellow ball in hopes of a victory.  Caleb Evans (12) was one of the newbies to spikeball, learning how the g...
Post a Comment
Read more

“I Miss Her” by Nikhil Pillay

By
While most people had a fun week for mid-semester break, whether it was spent with family, or with friends on impact trips, no one had a more emotionally confusing week than Judson Kenneth Robert Nosker (12).  In the light of recent events, Judson, despite all odds, had gotten in a relationship with one of his classmates, and as the break started, he had started to spend a lot of time with her. While with her, he started to experience a new level of joy and completeness that he had never felt before. In the words of Judson Nosker, “The first half of the break was good, but the rest of it was horrible.”  The reason for such a quote and the roller coaster of emotion was because half way through the break, disaster had struck. Judson’s girlfriend had gone on a trip with her family to Thailand, leaving Judson all alone. For the rest of the week, Judson was in a state of longing for her presence.  His friends have reported numerous occasions when Judson would be sitting with t...
Post a Comment
Read more