Dalat International School: Senior Scribble

Alice Chang What is so special about Dalat drama? What makes Dalat drama unique? Is it the script? Is it the actors? Or is it a unique tradition of our own? The answer to this question would be all of these. Dalat has had this unique tradition for the fall/Christmas productions since 2011. Mr. Sasse, former drama director, formed a new group called the Road Less Traveled Players. Dalat students would perform out of Mr. Sasse’s and student-written scripts, which were unique and special to the Dalat community.                                                                                ...

Justus Goh It’s almost Christmas, and even more almost Christmas break! But amidst all the presents and decorations and the like, especially here, it’s necessary to remember the true meaning and traditions of Christmas. Modern Christmas has become so soft, so commercialized in this modern age. We have lost so many old cultural practices and so much meaning to the inexorable march of the legions of consumerism in this modern age. What is the true meaning of this season? What should it be like? Obviously, a mad bacchanalian carnival of anarchy, social havoc, and quasi-paganism, as the Medieval pioneers of the tradition did. As finals begin to end this year, and Christmas break begins, consider abandoning the tinsel and toppling the Christmas tree onto a pyre; reject these icons of modern Christmas and celebrate a truly traditional, truly consumerism-free Christmas. First among Christmas traditions is obviously the recreational frightening of strangers. Even unto the late Renaiss...

Ashley Kim This recent week, our school has been infested with sneezes and coughs, tears and mourns. It seems that the End-of-the-year Virus we have all learned to dread has struck the Dalat community once again. It was 9:25 AM, November 26 th , in the ES choir room. High school students sluggishly dragged their bodies to class, only to then plop themselves back into the grey couch or the carpet. Some stacked themselves upon each other, like a pile of corpses; their sunken eyes had lost their last vigor. Trudging in upon the death scene, Miss Goh frantically tried to wake the choir up by singing “I’m Alive, Awake, Alert, Enthusiastic.” And as the students sang the chorus, the supposed cheery song turned into a death anthem, “I’mmm…. alive….” *cough* “awake…” *achoo* “alerr-” *yawn* “ennnthusiastic…” Isabel Smith (12) said, “It’s very tiring, but at least the people around me liven me up.” Students were faced with overwhelming stress: juggling projects, tests, social li...

Min Guk Kong November 24 nd , six days before the day of the trial, many students trembled in fear, hoping that their hard work would not result in failure. Due to their captivity in fear, many scrambled to their homes after school to mentally prepare themselves for Doom’s day. Three days before the SAT, I interviewed an applicant for the examination. Audrey Shing (12) stated, “I am very frantic because I just realized that the SAT is coming up because, right now, I have a lot of things due, such as applying to the Universities of California. And because this is my last SAT, I feel very pressured to do well.” Truly, the horrors of this test day encapsulate the minds of many in agitation. Finally, December 1 st , is D-day for many students. The examination entry began at approximately 8:30am, and proctors could see the trembling of many students as they continuously drank water and went to the bathroom. As the test ended at 1:45pm, the air was filled with mixed feel...

Jacqueline Leech     The day has finally come. Some of us just remembered about it, while others have been counting down to this moment for months. Even though some students chose to prepare, while others didn’t, preparation never seems to change the mental strain and pounding headache of this day. This event is truly never easy – physically, mentally, and emotionally. While no one likes to be rated and compared to others, it is the very purpose of this thing called standardized testing, specifically the SAT. Although taking the SAT is stressful, it shouldn’t be overwhelming. The test is just a test, and in the end, doing your best is all you can do. The truth is the SAT is cruel but necessary, and no one at school can avoid it. For high achievers, the pressure is tremendous. As I asked Grace Wan about her plans for Christmas break, she thoughtfully responded with a concerned look, “Oh…but that is like SAT grind time.” I realized then, that she, among many oth...

By Lydia Kim With his lips tucked in his mouth, John Cho (12) proceeded to face the group and screech the word, “pterodactyl.” Everyone in the group teared up in their attempts to stifle their laughter and hide their teeth to escape the punishment of the Pterodactyl Game. On November 23, all three dorms in the Dalat community packed up to leave for their annual Dorm Retreat. Unlike other years, the bus did not take the route to the Chefoo Centre in Cameron Highlands but instead headed to the Swiss-Garden Beach Resort in Damai Laut. After three hours of an anticipatory bus ride, the dorm students found themselves welcomed by a familiar yet foreign ocean breeze and a dance flash mob prepared by the staff at the resort. Following the appetizing dinner with various seafood dishes, the students sat in the main hall for the sessions. This year, the sessions were led by guest speakers Mr. and Mrs. Castro, who shared their testimonies and connected them to the story of the Prodiga...

Seth Kelley On Saturday, November 24, a portion of the high school choir brought the Christmas spirit with a small performance at Straits Quay. The mall’s staff gave this choir a prime-time slot, which meant there was high demand for their angelic mix of voices. The choir performed their November’s worth of work on acapella arrangements of “White Winter Hymnal” by Robin Pecknoid and “Hallelujah” by Jeff Buckley. But they went beyond the standard conglomerating of their twenty voices—give or take. The former song included several body percussion solis from the women, and the latter song opened with a vocal solo by Joseph Chandra (11) and Celestine Teoh (11). “The most challenging part about the solo for me was learning how to blend my voice with Joseph’s, while at the same time, maintaining my projection and conveying emotion,” reflected Teoh. “One reason I enjoyed performing in Straits Quay is that it gave me a chance to exhibit my passion for music.” This short flash-...