Ten Good and Bad Things About Malaysia, by Kate

1. Penang is known for good food.  The food here is excellent.  The restaurants want you to enjoy their food.  Some of our family's favorites are Viva food stalls, Mizi's (European food like chicken, salads, lasagne, etc), Hillside food stalls, TESCO (which is like a Malaysian version of a food court and it also has McDonalds), and the Tuesday night market.
2. In Penang you can exercise all you want.  Some places to go hiking are Pearl Hill, Botanical Gardens, Monkey Beach, and Turtle Beach.
3. Penang is good for the heat.  If you think if you are too pale then grab your sunscreen and head over to Penang.
4. The hotels in Penang make your stay even better.  Two really good hotels are Flamingo and Paradise.
5. Growing plants in Malaysia is really good.  The sun is hotter so it takes a shorter time for the plants to grow. There are new plants that aren't in Canada.  One of the new plants I like growing is Okra.
6. In Penang there is more pollution by cars and there are more car accidents when cars are not careful, and it happens a lot. 
7. Sometimes when the weather is very hot you just want to get out of it. You probably will need to get some kind of body cooling like air conditioning and you need to get used to the heat.
8. The monkeys in Malaysia are like thieves.  When they hear the crinkle of a wrapper they will try to take the wrapper.  Some monkeys are nice though like the Silver Leaf Monkeys.
9. There are lots of tourist attractions.  You have to be careful about buying stuff.  You can ask yourself "Do I really need to buy this?"
10.  Motorcycles try to weave through traffic.  They try to sneak ahead.  Be careful when you drive.

SKTT Service Project, by Hannah

This year for Bible class I am required to do a service project with a small group of students that we create and plan and carry out.  There are four people including me in my group.  I need to do this in order to get my ten service hours for this year.  This project is called the Wonderland Project.  The name comes from the idea of a wonderland where everyone is in service with one another.  This project forces us to get in touch with local people and try to figure out a way we can help them and get our ten hours finished.  It is a very challenging project because of the extent of planning we have to do, but it is wonderful to be able to have the accomplishment behind you when it is finished because it is such a big accomplishment.  For my Wonderland Project, I am helping to teach English at a local school by teaching the kids songs with actions.  The school is abbreviated to SKTT but its full name is Sekolah (which means 'school') Keb. Tanjong Tekong.  The local school is across from the Tesco where we do our grocery shopping.  It is about a 12 minute drive from our house.  The kids who live in that area are in the poorer area of Penang and they are all Muslim.  The school is a local public school for Malay students.  Malay people are Muslim at birth and are not allowed to convert to any other religion.  We are not allowed to do anything that has a Christian message or get them to convert to Christianity.  But it is a great opportunity to connect with the local people in Tanjung Tokong which is the city next to Tanjung Bungah where we live.   I went once this week and I'll go once next week.  I am enjoying having time with the kids and being able to have the accomplishment of finishing this giant project. This week we split into groups and taught them the actions for the two songs we had planned.  Each of the people in my Wonderland group was in charge of a group of the SKTT students.  The two songs were 'O Where, O Where Has My Little Dog Gone' and 'Going On a Bear Hunt'.  We had an animal theme and we wanted to concentrate on teaching directions.  At the end of the morning we presented what we had done in my group to a large audience of the other students in the other groups who did the same songs, and we played musical chairs. The kids really enjoyed playing musical chairs and we could not wait to see the excited kids again.

Next Week:

This week we finished the second day of SKTT.  We finished off teaching the action songs.  We had a friendly competition to see which group of kids could perform the action songs the best.  We had prizes for the best team and my team won.  We also played some games like musical chairs again and had relay races and a three-legged race.

Last Day at SKTT:

On November 9th, we went to SKTT one last time.  We had a lot of fun with the kids.  The boys played soccer and the girls made princess crafts.  We all had sodas when we were finished.

This is at the entrance of the school.  You have to go through this gate

This is the courtyard where we did some relays.  The boys really like to play soccer 

Here we are getting ready to tell them what we are going to do.  I am in the middle and the girl (Kimberly) is part of my Wonderland team.  The guy in the picture has just come to help out.  There were two other guys who were also on my Wonderland team but they are not in this picture

Japanese Exchange Day, by Elizabeth

It all started on November 14th when I got to school. My friends were there and we all agreed this one time that we could hardly wait until the bell rang for the start of school. Finally the bell rang and I ran to my locker. My teacher would not open the classroom door right away because she was still setting up. Some of my classmates were bringing hats back and forth because they would be a gift for the Japanese students. We waited and waited and waited . . . . finally my teacher Mrs. Sasse opened the door. Mrs. Sasse told me that my Japanese buddy could not come. I was sad but Mrs. Sasse said I would be partners with a girl in the other Grade 3 class named Lydia and with her Japanese student. Mrs. Sasse also said that we would be late for lunch. We then made a big line to welcome the Japanese students. They were from a Japanese school here in Penang.  We all met down in the Chapel. Then people said a few announcements. Mrs. Fischer (the elementary principal) and Mrs. Yamaguchi (who is a Japanese mom) called out our partners. I was partnered with Yusana (and Lydia). We started by going with our Japanese buddy to New York which was actually the computer room. Our Japanese buddy would listen to a video about Dalat School and then answer questions. Then we went to Hollywood, which was actually a Grade 4 classroom, where we did a craft. You would write your name on a star and decorate the star. We got our picture taken there.  Then we went to Chicago (actually the Student Centre) which was a dancing station.  We would dance to music and it said what steps to do.  Next it was Texas (the soccer field) which was rodeo games.  We would dress in rodeo clothes and have to run a distance and after that we would have to lasso someone.  That was my favourite station.  Then we had a snack.  It was hotdogs.  I was super hungry.  Then the Japanese students danced to a song and sang a song for us.  Then it was lunch and I was super, duper hungry.  I can't wait until next year when I get to go to their school and have Japanese Exchange Day there.

This is me in "Hollywood"

Spirit Week, by Kate

Spirit Week was great!  It was in the first week of October.  Everyone could dress up according to what the theme of the day was.  Whoever had the best outfit in Middle School and in High School would get a prize.  You could also bring donations for charity each day.  On Monday you could dress up with clashing clothes and bring art supplies as a donation. Tuesday was Fandom Day where you could dress up as someone that you are a fan of.  I dressed up as the book character Elena who is Anne-Marie's friend in Number the Stars. Toys was the donation that day. Wednesday was Nerd Day and you could bring books. Thursday was Crazy Hair Day and you could bring toiletries like soap, shampoo, or a toothbrush. Friday was Blue and Gold Day (our school colors) and you could bring any donation.  My favourite day was Fandom Day.

This is me and Elizabeth on Clash Day

This is me on Crazy Hair Day

This is Elizabeth with her crazy hair acting in a crazy way

Christmas Banquet - Part One, by Hannah

This year, as a freshman, I get the opportunity to go to the Christmas Banquet (CB), a really nice dinner hosted by the student council for the high school.  It is on the 6th of December this year.  It has always been a Sadie Hawkins type banquet, which is where girls ask guys.  There has also always been a special 'asking season' for each grade, meaning each grade could only ask at a certain time. The banquet has become a huge deal in the past few years turning a cute Christmas party into an opportunity to pair up, creating emotional and social drama. This year they changed the rules saying that there was no special time to ask and that anyone could ask anyone to the banquet.  You could go as a group, single, or with a date.  Also, freshmen generally go crazy around this time of year, since it is their first banquet and when they were middle schoolers they greatly looked forward to it.   So my freshman class is pairing off to a huge extent.  The other day I got asked by a boy and I said 'yes'.  This is how it happened.  The other day I was in the science room after school hanging out with my friends.  CB came up in the conversation since most of  my friends had been asked that day by different guys. A nice guy in my grade walked up and heard that the conversation was about CB and he asked me and to go with him.  I was like, "Umm, can I tell you later?" I wasn't exactly prepared to be asked and I don't have a crush on him.  But by the end of the night I had decided I would go with him only as friends.  So that is how I am going to CB this year.  I will write more about how it goes after CB happens.

Learning Not To Assume About Animals

When Hannah and I were walking to school yesterday morning about 7:30 a.m. we came across this snake.


There did not seem to be anything wrong with it, ie not partly flattened by a vehicle, no "guts" coming out, etc.  Of course I kept my distance but I was still curious.  Watching it for a minute or two, it did not move and I came closer.  It was very beautiful with a brilliant green colour and a flat, triangular head.  I asked Hannah to put her foot by it to show the relative size while I took a picture.  Later that night, after showing Garth the picture, he researched these interesting facts about it:

- it is nocturnal
- it can live off 3 meals per month
- it appears "sluggish" but strikes with ferocity when      prey is nearby
- its venom can be fatal to people
- it is one of the most venomous snakes in the world

Whoops!  Probably shouldn't have gotten so close to it, just in case it was in its "sluggish" phase.

If you remember a previous blog about when I was walking one night and a vehicle came along to warn me of a large snake close by me that I couldn't see (title of blog: After the Van Died, May 12, 2013), this green snake was about one half block away from where the other snake was.

Temple Viper (the site from which I took the above information; it also has more pictures)

This story reminds me of last Thursday when I was on duty in the cafeteria and a student came up to me and said there was a centipede on the floor by his chair.  Casually, I said for him to go pick it up and put it outside.  Another duty mom overhead me say this and leaned over to inform me that centipedes here are poisonous.  I promptly rushed over to the boy with a napkin and enclosed the little creature in it, disposing of it in a much less kindly way.

Eileen's class newsletter - November 15, 2013

We had a great time today making this solar system.  Some close-ups are below the newsletter.  The students pictured are all the Grade 2's (both classes).

T.G.I. Fridays and Parasailing, by Elizabeth

  Birthday Dinner!!

We were shopping at Gurney Paragon (which is a new mall) and it was the day before my birthday.  I really did not want to go home because I was too lazy.  So I begged my dad to have my birthday dinner that day instead of the next day when we had planned to go to T.G.I. Fridays.  Thankfully, he said 'yes'.  I decided we should sit outside.  Then the waitress led us to some very comfortable couches with a table.   I ordered spaghetti with cheese sauce.  It was very good.  I saw a person from church.  When we finished we went home and had ice cream sundaes for dessert. 

Para-sailing!!!!

On Saturday, November 9, I got to go para-sailing as part of my birthday present. We got to the beach in Batu Ferringhi and they got me ready to go para-sailing. First, they got a harness so I could sit when I went para-sailing.  Then they got me a life jacket.  I had to go with another person because I was not old enough to go by myself. The boat started to speed away. A line was attached from the boat to our parachute. It did not take long until I was up in the air. My friend Rebekah told me to look for jellyfish in the water. I did see eight jellyfish in the water. It was very uncomfortable para-sailing because the life jacket was too big, but I did not care. Finally we ended with a smooth landing on the beach (because the person with me landed on the beach and he was taller than me and he held me up).   We were clipped on at the same level and I couldn't stand on the beach until after we got unclipped from each other. 

This was just as we were getting ready to go.  I was happy that I got a green sail because green is my favourite colour.

This is me before takeoff when they are clipping the rope from the boat on

This is me in the air

This is me landing

My mom said this girl was waving at me when I was going up in the air.  Maybe she will para-sail on her 8th birthday.

First Grade 2 Newsletter for 2013 - 2014 School Year

This is the first newsletter I sent home this year and shows my class of 14 students from Hong Kong, Malaysia, United States, Japan, and Korea.  Since then I have had one more student join my class (a girl who moved up from Grade 1).  To explain, KICs are elementary school Kids Interest Clubs that meet after school (I am helping to head up the Grade 4 and 5 Girl Scouts this year).  MAP testing are U.S. standardized tests in Reading, Math, and Language Usage that compare students to their counterparts at Dalat, in the U.S., and also around the world.

My Birthday Pary, by Elizabeth

This is what happened:

I got to the party at 12:00.  You are probably wondering why I am typing "got".  It is because I was having a party with my friend Kimmie and it was at her house.  We had scientist name tags for everyone.  It was a mad scientist party so me and Kimmie also had science goggles and a lab coat.

1. Some of the people we invited did a science experiment when they arrived.  The science experiment was where we got a bag, and filled it with water.  Then we put as many pencils as we could in the bag.  The water didn't leak out.  We were able to get 56 pencils in the bag because the bag was made with polymer, which stretches and is difficult to break and wraps itself around the pencils. 
2. An experiment we did was where we put together different liquids to see if they would mix.  Some of the liquids we added were honey, alcohol, corn syrup, blue coloured water, and dish soap.  We could layer the liquids and it looked really pretty like up in space.  Then we put objects inside the liquids and saw how far the object would go down.  Some floated in the different layers.  Then we mixed the liquids and they turned purple.
3. The next experiment was where we got some vinegar and poured it in a bottle.  Then we put some baking soda in a balloon, wrapped the balloon around the bottle, and poured the baking soda into the bottle.  Guess what happened . . . the vinegar fizzed up, and the air had nowhere to go so it blew up the balloon.
4. We got some sand and some rocks and poured it into a bottle.  Then we put water and bones and shells in it.  Then we shook it and it was like sedimentary rock. 
5.  We had lunch and while we ate lunch we created molecules out of candies!  People passed around paper to show what the molecules looked like.  It included purple and green grapes.  The purple grapes were sodium and the green grapes were chloride.  There were also gummies and marshmallows.  The marsh-mallows  were oxygen and the gummies were hydrogen. We used tooth picks to hold them together.
6. Next we got some cabbage juice (yuck, it smelled disgusting). Then we put different kinds of liquids into it. It turned different colors because the liquids were acids or bases. 
7. Then it was the best part of all!!!!!  It was the pinata!!!!!!  Kimmie was first to hit the pinata and then me, and then the rest of the kids made a line.  Kimmie and I did a few other hits and then the candy spilled out.  

   

   Here am I and Kimmie ready for our mad scientist party

   
   These are most of the guests

   
   Here we are doing the liquid layering experiment
   
   
   This is what it looked like

   

   The balloon is blowing up.  This is my friend, Jeta

   

   We made slime and it got on my pants

   

   This is us getting ready for the pinata.  My dad is holding on end of it and Kimmie's dad is holding the other end of it.  The pinata is in the shape of a thermometer.  Kimmie's mom made it
   
   
   This is the pinata

   

   These are the cakes.  Two were brownies and the one in the middle is an ice cream cake

My Favourite Shoes

I have to throw out my favourite pair of shoes one of these days.  

Walking across my classroom one morning I noticed this odd rubber thing on the carpet.  It was the heel of my shoe.  Somehow it had come detached from my shoe bottom.  From that moment on, I knew my parents had named me with the right name: Eileen.  Walking around the rest of the day I was . . . I lean :)

About a week later the other heel fell off.  Does that mean I have to change my name to Noleen?

My Mizi's Birthday Dinner and Para-sailing, by Kate

On Sunday, September 22, I went to Mizi's for my birthday dinner.  Mizi's is located at Tesco where we usually shop upstairs for our groceries.  We always go out for a special dinner on our birthday.  In our family, the person who is having a birthday can pick any restaurant to go out to eat.  I got to pick Mizi's which is a fancier restaurant because in our family a 10th birthday is really special.  The meal at Mizi's was really great.  I chose hot green tea for my drink, mushroom soup for my appetizer and lasagna for my main course.  At Mizi's if you order the special meal deal you get to eat as much ice cream as you want.  I tried mixing different kinds of ice cream and it tasted really good.  Two of the flavours I mixed were mint chocolate chip and chocolate.  Other flavours of ice cream were strawberry, corn, yam, and vanilla.  I didn't try corn or yam.    

The next Sunday afternoon I went para-sailing.  Para-sailing was my birthday present from my mom and dad.  I also got a book.  Para-sailing is a great thing to try.  Before I went I was so scared but when I got to the beach I started to get really excited.  I would be the second person to go para-sailing in our family; my dad was the first.  I got strapped into the harness with one of the para-sailing workers (because I was too young or too small to go by myself).  Then I started getting even more excited.  I would get to be in the air.  When I got in the air I figured out that only a rope was holding onto me.  I felt like I was flying.  The people in the water looked like little figures when I looked down into the water.   The land looked like a mini play land.  When we finally set down I was sad that it ended so quickly.  If I get to do it again I would bring my camera so I could take pictures although the wind was really strong so it might carry my camera away.

This is me after para-sailing.  Now I know that para-sailing is really awesome.

Spiritual Mentors, by Kate

One Wednesday I headed down to the chapel.  I sat down and soon after chapel started.  I had a fun time singing praises.   Pastor Tom told us that there would be an opportunity to have a spiritual mentor.  What is a spiritual mentor?  A spiritual mentor is where you can meet with someone and you can talk to them about GOD and pray with them.  Pastor Tom told us that he would send us an email about it.  A few days ago I showed my mom the email and I wanted to have a spiritual mentor because I want to know even more about God and I want to see where my faith is, and my mom said yes.  The email said that you could choose your top three people to have as your spiritual mentor but at first I chose my top four people to think about it.  Today I eliminated one of them and I sent the email to Pastor Tom.  Here were my top three choices for people:

1. Mrs. Tayas                                     2. Ms. Geiman                                              3. Mrs. Munson

I know Mrs. Tayas because she is my Eureka leader (after school club) of Passport Club.  (In Passport Club we learn about where all the countries in the world are.)  I chose her because she is a really good person to get to know.   I know Ms. Geiman because she is my language arts teacher.  I chose her because she knows a lot about GOD.  I know Mrs. Munson because she is my Health and P.E. teacher.  I chose her because she and I are really alike.   Also, last year, she was my Gardening Club leader.  When I sent the email I knew that Pastor Tom would receive the email and I hope he will try to pare me up with one of those people.  He might not because all the people might be taken by other students.  Whoever he will pare me up with we will try and find times to meet that work with us both.  I really hope I can get one of those three ladies as a spiritual mentor.

My First Tooth That Came Out, by Elizabeth

What happened:

1. My parents were sending me to sleep but I could not go to sleep so I started to wiggle my tooth (it was already wiggly but I thought it was not ready to come out).    
2. I wiggled my tooth as hard as I could except it would not come out.  Then I went downstairs and I asked my Dad to take it out because I was really excited because I thought my tooth was ready to come out but when my Dad tried to take it out it would not come out.
3. I went back to bed and this time when I tried turning my tooth around it got a little looser. 
4. Now it was getting annoying because it would get crooked in different directions and stuff like that would happen.
5. Then I went downstairs again and then my Dad tried to take it out and...........................it went out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
6. It wasn't even bleeding!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
7. "Yahoo! I want to hold it," I said. My Dad said "No" because maybe he thought I would lose it. Well at least I got to see it.

The End of the Story

My Dad helped me get something to hold the tooth in.  It was a little jar.  I put it at the side of my pillow.  Then, in the morning, first I found the tooth but I could not find the money.  Then my Dad said to look under my pillow and I found RM 1 under my pillow.  Another Yahoo for me.  Now I can tell all my friends about my missing tooth. 

Two days after my tooth came out

Trivia from Cambodia / Vietnam Trip, by Garth

We flew with Air Asia and Vietjet Airlines.  Richard Branson, owner of Virgin Airlines, recently had to serve as a flight attendant on Air Asia when he lost a bet with the owner of Air Asia about whose Formula One racing car was fastest.  Vietjet airlines was fined $1,000 dollars by civil aviation authorities because on its inaugural flight from Ho Chi Minh City to Nha Trang the flight attendants wore bikinis.

We had to carry a lot of cash because it is not worth very much.  The currency in Cambodia is Riel.  1
Canadian dollar = 4,250 Riel.  The currency in Vietnam is Dong.  1 Canadian Dollar = 21,000 Dong.

10,000 Riel (about $5 American):  Amount Garth bribed a policeman after we were stopped at a road block. Policemen set up road blocks in Cambodia at indiscriminate places and stop cars for a particular "violation". You then pay a bribe and then the policeman lets you go. Our guide and driver Bunli suggested that we pay 10,000 Riel and sure enough we were then free to go.  We happened to have been stopped close to the market on our way to have breakfast.

4,000 Riel (about $1 American):  Amount that Garth bribed a border official so we could get our passport processed at the Cambodia / Vietnam border. The border was very busy that night. It was the first time we have gone through a border crossing without talking to a border guard. The guide on the bus, with all the passports of the people on the bus, had us all follow him and go around the border agents.  We had our luggage screened and then we went back on the bus. There were many buses there that night and he suggested that a "donation" may help speed up the process. After our "donation", we were given our passports back and then a border agent came on our bus to give a cursory check to make sure our passports were stamped properly and then we went off to Ho Chi Minh City.  The 4,000 Riel was almost all the Riel we had left after leaving Cambodia.

The Dong is a "soft" currency and is not worth anything outside the country.  Once you leave the country you can't exchange it for any other currency.  You may as well throw it away unless you plan to go back to Vietnam.

Number of tourist shirts bought by Garth:  5

Vietnam: Cost of a beer: 50 cents American.  Cost of cigarettes: $1.00 American.

How do you cross the road in Vietnam?

Traffic is crazy in Vietnam. We were told to look for an opening and then slowly cross the street. If you continue to move at a steady pace, the drivers will usually avoid you (see video link).

Crossing the Street in Vietnam

 The video was taken just outside the Ben Thanh Market in Ho Chi Minh City, within walking distance of where we stayed and a place we visited a few times.  We crossed the street many times like this in Vietnam.  It worked very well in Ho Chi Minh City but we had to adjust our strategy in Hanoi.   In Hanoi the motorcycles and cars would just honk at you and you would have to wait until each lane was clear before you crossed each portion of the road.

Our summer trip included 5 of the Top 25 Asia Destinations for 2013 according to Tripadvisor.  It was a fantastic trip!

My 10th Birthday, by Kate

On Friday, September 13, I had a birthday party and sleepover.  I had invited my friends Amie, Ruthie and Abigail.  We had a fun time.

Abigail, Ruthie and I first went swimming at Flamingo Hotel.  Amie could not swim because she had cut her chin and had to get 5 stitches about one day before and could not get her chin too wet so she came after we had gone swimming.  We had a fun time swimming.  Ruthie, Abigail, Elizabeth (my sister) and I had some chicken fights.  A chicken fight is where someone goes on top of another person’s shoulders in the water and then the people on top try and push each off into the swimming pool.  Aimee had brought a friend so she played with her friend. Aimee’s friend’s name is Lydia. After 1 hour we got out of the pool.  Abigail, Ruthie, Elizabeth, Lydia, Aimee and I got changed.  After we went to our van and my mom drove us home.  My friend Amie came to our house just as we were pulling into our driveway.  The pizza delivery man came right after Amie pulled up.  Amie, Ruthie, and Abigail gave me their presents and then we started working on a fashion show.  We got the idea because Abigail did a fashion show for her birthday party.  We had dinner almost right away.  We had four different types of pizzas and they were all really good.  We also had vegetables with it and vegetable potato chips (they had MSG in them L).  Then my mom asked if we wanted dessert but we said we wanted it later J.  We went back to planning our fashion show and everyone said that I should be the Grande Finale since it was my birthday.

The fashion show was about the four seasons:  Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter.  I was Spring since it is a new beginning.  I wore a dress with lots of flowers on it.  Abigail was Summer because she had a sundress on that had some flowers on it.  Lydia was Autumn and she had Autumn clothes except it had short sleeves; the clothes she wore were mine and Aimee’s.  Elizabeth was Winter.  She wore really dark clothes.  Aimee and Ruthie helped us with the outfits and Ruthie did the lights.  Lydia did the makeup.  The makeup was pink lip gloss.  The lip gloss was used for eye shadow and for blush and also lipstick.  All of us pretended to be models and we had a show in front of my mom and dad and when Mrs. Trescott came to pick up Amie, we had a show for her too.  Then we had dessert.

The dessert was banana bread with icing on it and ice cream and chocolate sauce.  It was very, very good.  Then we went back to my mom’s classroom at school to watch a movie called ‘Honey, I Shrunk the Kids’.  The movie was really good.  It was about an inventor who makes a machine to shrink things but it doesn’t work properly.  The kids get put in the garbage.  At the end the kids get a pet ant and get put back to normal size.  We dropped off Ruthie at her house.  When the movie was done we packed up our stuff and took Abigail back to our house for the sleepover.  We stayed in the guest bedroom.  Abigail used her sleeping bag and I used a blanket since I didn’t have a sleeping bag.  We stayed up longer than my mom and dad.

When we woke up we got to have breakfast.  The breakfast was chocolate chip pancakes with apples inside.  It was really good.  With it we had grape juice and pineapple and watermelon.  We painted nails and then Abigail’s mom came to pick her up.  The birthday party was exciting.  My sister Aimee said that I should have a dance contest but I think it was good as it was.  My highlight was probably the sleepover and I wish everyone could sleep over but that is hard to happen because one girl had a strict bedtime and for the other girl, her mom didn’t want her to stay over for a sleepover.

To be continued.

Kate is in the background and going clockwise it is Abigail, Elizabeth, Lydia, Aimee, Ruthie, and Amie

Making a wish

Getting ready for the fashion show

"Summer"


"Autumn"


"Winter"


"Spring" - new beginnings

Kate and Ruthie

Finishing the party with nail polish

First Month of School, by Hannah

In case any reader doesn't know, this year is my first year of high school.  Being a freshman is really scary sometimes. At first I was aware that everyone is so much taller than me but I think that I am starting to get used to being smaller than almost everybody when I am walking in the high school areas. I think I will survive this school year.  For high school at Dalat everyone gets iPads.  I got my iPad from my parents who bought one this summer for me to use.  This technology is a huge distraction sometimes and even a nuisance because of Internet connection problems.   In my English class, we get disconnected almost every day from the Internet in the middle of class causing people to have trouble completing in-class homework assignments and quizzes.  I am adjusting to that well enough.  Also, being the youngest one in the entire high school is scary because everyone is so much older and smarter.  (I am actually the youngest in my entire freshman class so I am the youngest high school student.) I am having fun with some of the clubs that are offered to high school students only.  I have joined the Ambassadors worship team.  (We, as a worship team, are leading worship at the oldest Anglican church in Southeast Asia tomorrow which is about a 20 minute drive from here.)  I am also taking music theory for x-block (which is the mandatory extra-curricular period at the end of each school day).  We get a lot of music theory homework which is really hard but I chose to take it because it interests me.  In my academic classes I am getting a lot more homework. But I am enjoying the challenge that that has proved to be.  I am also starting with a new piano teacher.  She is a relatively new teacher who just moved to Penang and she has almost no students.   We'll see how that turns out.  Well, I guess it is a year of new things for me.

This is me on my first day of Grade 9

Vietnam - Halong Bay Cruise

We finished off our time in Vietnam by taking a cruise on Halong Bay. Halong Bay is a UNESCO World Heritage Sight, protected for its natural or historical value.  Halong Bay is east of Hanoi, the capital city of Vietnam, in the northern part of Vietnam, just south of China.  We did a Monkey Island Resort Cruise which means that the Monkey Island Resort where our destination was, organized the cruise. But before you think of this cruise and equate it with the North American variety, it was very different than that.  It was more like "cruising" on an old white pirate ship; that is what it felt like to me. The boat used to look even more like a pirate ship when it was painted brown but the government dictated that all the "cruise" ships had to be painted white.

It was spectacular scenery; it reminded me of the scenery when we truly cruised to Alaska, 5 years ago. The food was very good and plentiful, some different kinds of Asian dishes that we had not tried before.  We were able to do some kayaking around a floating village in Halong Bay. We had a tour of Thien Duong Cave.  We also did some swimming in Halong Bay which included jumping off the second storey of the boat into the water, which is about as reminiscent as you can get of the old days of 'walking the plank'. We spent the first night on the boat (sharing our cabins with some cockroaches). The next day we arrived at Monkey Island Resort and did some swimming and kayaking, even in the pouring but warm rain. We spent one night at Monkey Island Resort. In the morning we headed back to the dock where we boarded our boat on our way back to Hanoi.

Scenery in Halong Bay

More scenery in Halong Bay

What our boat looked like

Floating village in Halong Bay

Hannah and Aimee kayaking around the floating village

Vietnamese girl swam up to our kayak

Monkey Island Resort

View from the beach at Monkey Island Resort

We spent one more night in Hanoi. Went to KFC for supper which was one of only a few Western restaurant franchises we could see in the whole city. Even I (Eileen) was happy to see KFC whereas usually I would not darken the door of that restaurant especially.  (In fact, the whole country had little recognizable Western influences like restaurants, and believe me, we looked for some home "comfort" food.  See Hannah's blog 'Getting Sick in a Foreign Country' for more reasons why.)  The next morning we flew back to Penang via Kuala Lumpur with Air Asia.