Skip to main content

Papa John’s and History

By Anonymous
Sam Hofer

Every March, a group of high schoolers pack into a van with hopeful hearts and full bags. The object of their expedition? The Malaysia History Bee and Bowl, a quiz competition that is mainly attended by schools from KL. Each year, we drive down to KL, typically spending the night, then we compete and drive back to Penang. The ride there is typically spent talking about history or politics, reading, or quizzing.

This year’s group was a lot different than those used in previous competitions. For one, there were only two seniors, who typically form at least half of the group. Also, instead of two teams of five, which is normal, we had three teams of three. Despite the irregularities, Mrs. White, the leader and organizer of the trip, assured us that we would win. We had one of the best teams we’ve ever had, and Dalat has a long and proud record at the event. Dalat won the Varsity Bowl last year, and the JV Bowl for the past two years. In the individual competition, the Bee, Dalat has won JV for two years and varsity for one.

Despite Dalat’s good and consistent record in the History Bee and Bowl, I was somewhat nervous. I had won the individual round two years running, as well as getting fifth place in the International History Olympiad, so I had a lot to lose. Though I knew I was fully competent, I was just scared of messing up in a fatal way.

After spending the night in a shady motel after a long van ride, we set out for Sunway, the high school where the event was being hosted. The History Bowl had been hosted there in Malaysia since its introduction, but lately, attendance has waned. My first year we competed against three schools, but this year we competed against just one. Even though the competition was lacking compared to normal, the Dalat teams worked hard and scored victories. We won the Bowl for both JV and varsity, as well as both JV and varsity for the Bee (though Dalat was the only team in JV). We won medals and plaques, exhibited significant amounts of history knowledge, and, overall, had a good time.

Sadly, our favorite post-bowl haunt, Papa John’s, was closed this time. It has been tradition to eat there, and one of the incentives for those less interested in history. But we ate at Carl’s Junior instead. Though the van trip back to Penang was long, we were in high spirits and content with our victory, another win for Dalat’s record. Let’s hope we do just as well next year.

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