Bonding Through Disconnected Wi-Fi…?

Alice Chang

On March 6th, thirteen musicians gathered in front of the anchor, ready to head on a five-day trip to Manila, Philippines for an honor band festival held at Faith Academy. The honor bandmates from seven different schools started as individual musicians but ended the trip as one whole band and made many fun memories. One of the memories made from the trip was the whole ‘Wi-Fi problem’ at the guesthouse.

After the long journey from Penang to Manila, the team went to a guesthouse. One of the first things people asked for was the Wi-Fi connection at the guesthouse. However, the Wi-Fi only worked in one specific area of the guesthouse. The worst part of it all was the fact that the one Wi-Fi was being used with over thirty people.

When the chaperones and seniors asked for the WiFi password, Esther Tse (10) decided to go down to the kitchen and ask for the password. This was where the chaos began.

Stuttering, Tse asked, “Uhh… What is the WiFi password?”

A student from Morrison responded, “It’s 499XXXX7.”

Tse went back upstairs and told everyone the password. However, it was incorrect.

Immediately, she went back downstairs (the kitchen) and asked for the password again. This process happened about five times. By the time Tse went to ask again, the student had written the password on his palm and told her to take a photo of it. Thinking that this would be the last time, Tse took the photo and went back upstairs. However, all the girls had trouble figuring out what the student wrote in his palm and failed to connect to the internet. When two senior girls went down to ask for the password, the Morrison students said the password aloud, and the girls got the Wi-Fi password after approximately an hour.

Throughout the five days, relationships and bonding were formed in the kitchen — upperclassmen from various schools bonded through all the AP class submissions. Sofia Park (12) remarked, “It was really interesting to see how students from different schools were complaining about AP classes. We carried conversations about the terrible internet connection and online classes.”

With the Wi-Fi working in one specific area, many students gathered at the same place and started up conversations when the Wi-Fi disconnected. Through these ‘fun’ experiences, the honor bandmates bonded and made memories, not only within themselves but with students from other schools as well. Considering it all, the ACSC Honor Band was a great experience and something that will be part of their lives for a long time.