Skip to main content

Thick. British. Accents.

By

By Sahana Selvaraja

Don’t get me wrong– the two Hannahs that spoke for us at MEW were absolutely enlightening, but their accents were the main thing that most of us could focus on. I lost count of how many times I was so immersed in their thick British accents that I would forget to actually focus on what they were preaching. 

I did listen! But their accents were my favorite part.  

“My mind is blown! I never really thought that I had barriers in my relationships until this,” said Yuna Lee (11) after the first MEW day where the Hannahs talked about how people put barriers in their relationships. 

They used an analogy where you take a friend out to eat but you keep putting your baggage on the center of the table. The first bag Hannah (with the glasses) put on the table was labeled “EXPECTATIONS” in bright red, and the second bag she put on the table was labeled “RELIGION.”

They weren’t wrong. Sometimes our expectations of people make us overestimate or expect them to be a certain way, but that really brings tension. Expectations cause us to mistrust people or not be patient with them. They cause us not to accept people. And this is really common in our world today, especially with how social media portrays certain people groups. TV shows love to exaggerate stereotypes of certain races, and some people actually take them seriously. As an Indian, I would like to clarify, I do not talk like Apu from the Simpsons. 

We also use religion as a way to distance ourselves from people because we think they are wrong. Muslims have a complicated relationship with Hindus, and even within a certain faith, like Christianity, certain denominations are hostile towards each other because of their differences (Catholics vs Orthodox Christians). 

“But we shouldn’t be doing that! They only make people uncomfortable with our differences, and we begin to assume things about each other,” said Annabelle Low (12). 

And I completely agree. I am so happy that the Hannahs decided to address this topic at an international school like Dalat, where we have a diverse community. Sometimes we might make generalizations about each other because of our different backgrounds (and not always intentionally!), but this MEW encouraged us to let go of those expectations and get to know each other more kindly. Thank you, Hannahs!


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