When you hear summer, the first vibe or thoughts you get is usually going to the beach, getting to relax, and being somewhere that is sunny. Right? Nah, my summer was a special one. Read more to find out what my summer was like… 

My summer was a whole pile of stress, work, relief, then stress again. I had stress from the LAB contest which probably 10 or more students went through as well, and I had stress from my Asian dramas because the plot I expected wasn’t going to happen any time soon and the main actress was messing up the story. I had work from the LAB contest too, as well as my tuition. Day by day I was transforming into a panda, then human, with my face becoming  more pale and my dark circles becoming darker and darker.  But luckily my beauty sleep lent a hand when I came back.

The LAB contest stands for “learning across borders” and this year its theme was on human environmental science. The trip to Vietnam started on the 18th while the contest began on the 20th of July.

The process went like this: On the 20th (Day 1) it was a public exhibition, on the 21st (Day 2) the judges started to interview us, the 22nd (Day 3) was my favorite part of the contest. It was the social party! This was where all the countries that participated performed a particular dance or song but in our case, (Thalun International School) Thalun students prepared some food for the audience to taste. It was such a blast!

Sadly, when you’re enjoying the moment, time flies by fast. The award ceremony was held on the 24th and it was a very proud moment for all of us. Thalun won six special awards plus the gold medals too. I’ll never forget my friends’ eyes that sparkled when they heard their names and got up on stage. I’ll never forget the cold sweat that dripped down our foreheads, but most importantly, I’ll never forget what my dad told me when the last name to come on stage was announced:

“Participating is the main goal,

      Winning is just the bonus…”

With the quote being said, my partner, Wine Wine and I returned home with golden medals hung around our necks. YAY!

Just right after the contest, the next day, Swe Yee, Wahso and I locked away the nerdy parts of us and woke up the summer vibes we were waiting for all along. Our next stop was Ha Long Bay. We luckily had a chance to experience everything you would do in summer in only two days. We went to the amusement park, slept on a cruise, went hiking, went sightseeing, went canoeing, and we even went to a beach. What more could we ask for? Plus we had each other.

To wrap things up, it was such a special summer. To forget even a second of it would be absolutely impossible. Thanks for tasting my summer…

The Thalun student team during Social night, LAB.

My friends and I during social night.