Building friendships from experiences

Friendship is always one of the most meaningful things that we have. Friendship when we are students is even more meaningful because we can share good memories without being affected by other circumstances.

For new students, it is not easy to be relevant with new friends, new teachers and a new school. But through classroom activities and trips, students can become more sociable.

“This year is my first year at PennSchool. Where there was the homeroom teacher and the students of class VAP-7A, at first, I couldn’t forget the feelings of shyness, apprehension mixed with a little bit of fear because I did not know anyone. But after only two days, my classmates actively welcomed and talked to me and other new students. This made me very surprised and happy, because of their sociability.

I once heard a quote about friendship: “Best friends make the bad time good and the good time unforgettable”. Indeed, until today, we have studied together for half of the first semester and had many happy memories together. I feel that this is a friendly class, where we can share many stories together, where teachers always encourage and help me with difficulties and challenges in learning. And on the last Field Trip, I gained new insights about the school’s learning activities and education as well as the teachers.”

– Le Ngoc An Nhi – VAP 7A

In addition to time studying in class, friendships can also be built from trips. And the field trip is a good opportunity for PennSchool students to bond and preserve those memories.

The Field Trip begins with a variety of experiential activities.

“I participated in many activities to strengthen teamwork and solidarity such as: Team Building “Dream Wings”, Campfire “Bring fire to heart”, Excursion program at Minera Hot Spring Binh Chau, Tropicana Theme Park; “Gala Dinner”; participate in the fun activity “Color Me Run”… My favorite one is the “Color Me Run” because of the combination of running, colors and music. Participating in this activity, I have the opportunity to experience the colorful line through jogging, walking and fully enjoy the joy of the festival.

Overcome the age gap, class…, all students in all grades have come together to become one. I have made a lot of friends through these interesting activities.”

– Nguyen Gia Luong VAP 10A

The trip is also an opportunity for class members to bond and understand each other.

“My first thought about the field trip was that it was really good. When we were on the bus to each location, we got to share new facts and experiences along the way, during that time, I got to try new things like boiling eggs, going swimming, fire camps,… It was really good for me, I saw a lot of fun and relaxing moments while playing with my classmates and from different places.

It helped me tremendously and I started to build up relationships with people in my community. Perhaps my most memorable experience was when my friends and I went swimming. Here I got to try out the new wave system which is quite fun and entertaining for me. I even had the chance to hang out with my friends at the dinner table, which we all had fun. I truly enjoyed those moments that I shared with my friends”.

– Do Dang Khoa ADP 10

Each trip is a new experience and the trip will be more interesting if you have close friends to accompany you.

“On the first day, my friends and I were already talking about how this trip is going to be first thing in the morning. “I wonder if there will be delicious food to try out?” – I asked my friend. He said, “Oh it’s Vung Tau, I’m pretty sure there are plenty of things to do.” The bus came right on time, and my friends departed on our journey to Vung Tau. We went to various places to eat food; however, since we were still a bit tired from waking up too early in the morning, we couldn’t wait to get to the resort to rest and prepare for the teambuilding event.

Arriving at the resort, the place looks incredibly nice. There was a beach and drink stand, there was also a grocery store to buy some stuff and souvenirs. The view outside the room we were staying in was truly relaxing and enjoyable, as we had the chance to see the waves washing over the shore and a clear blue sky. It is indeed a truly nostalgic feeling. In the next few days, we went to the aquapark but unfortunately, I forgot to pack swimwear. Luckily, I did bring spare sports pants that will technically act as my swimwear. Going down the long water slides was sure scary and fun at the same time.

And on the second last day, me and my friends put on our formalwear to prepare for the gala. My goodness they sure do look good in suits and dresses, it makes me feel like I’m underdressed. It was a very memorable night, there were a lot of fun activities that night, I took part in some of it and made a few good friends in other classes as well.

This field trip was really like a getaway weekend for me, it was like a big stress-reliever. Everyone I’ve met was very nice, and I had a lot of memorable moments with my friends. Hopefully I’ll be able to enjoy field trips like this more in the future and I pray that it’ll be more fun and exciting!”

– Nguyen Le Tung Duy ADP 11