Laos

Allison went to Laos.  It was mandatory.  Okay, not Laos, but the trip.  The Singapore American School requires all high school students to go on what they call "interim" each February.  They all go somewhere and at the same time.  There are approximately 900 students in the four grades.  Each trip comprises of exactly 20 students--no more, no less.  You can imagine what kind of drama this can create.  It was like waiting for the college admittance or church mission location to arrive when your child gets their turn to choose (and then proceed to call you to inform YOU).  You can also imagine how many places there are to go...and where (all over the world).  This trip is mandatory as it goes on the high school transcript, as a grade.  Colleges know to look for it if you attend this school, because SAS has been doing it for a long, long time.  The cost of the trip is not included in the already very, very pricey tuition bill.  

In all fairness, I think SAS has done a good job at how who choses and when.  It starts on a Monday morning.  The Seniors get to choose that day.  Monday night, the Juniors get to see, via internet, what is "left" (which is still 75%).  And so forth through the week.  Within each grade, they divide the alphabet into groups, equally.  Then, the computer scrambles the alphabet groups and then proceeds to scramble the kids within the alphabet group.  It's all supposed to even out by the time you become a senior.  Yes, I sat through an informational meeting on this.

The seniors tend to choose the priciest ($4400) trips, thank goodness, to New Zealand and Switzerland and the such.  Fortunately, the Freshman are not picking the bottom of the barrel, so no worries there.  Allison came to us with her list a few weeks before the "choosing week."  We promptly took off New Zealand and Switzerland ourselves (hey, she was already going to NZ anyways!).  We also took off Bali (been there, done that, too) and Sri Lanka (love the idea, not paying $2500 to do nothing but Yoga in the jungle for a whole week).  Jeremy took off all five Philippine locations (something about terrorist groups...) and then we began discussing ceramics in Japan, house building in Cambodia, etc. etc. etc.  By the time the night before the Freshman got to choose, we and the upper classes had whittled the choices down to about 5-8...with one exception.  We had capped Allison's trip price at SG $2800 and all of a sudden, there were 2 (count them--one, two) spots still open in the $3500 Spanish-immersion trip.  You must be in a Sophmore level Spanish class or higher to attend this trip.  (Continue breathing, this wasn't even the climax.)  We upped Allison's approved budget and told her to take it--now all hopes were up (cue music--duh, duh, DUHHHHH!).  Back to this scramble names stuff, Allison was placed at 150 out of 301 Freshman.  Someone somewhere between 1 and probably unnoticeable 100 chose the #19 spot.  But as Allison is waiting her turn in line, it's still available at 145, and 146, and 147, and 148, and 149 (she's super excited at this point)...and then "the boy" with #149 (standing in front of her) takes the the #20 spot.  Oh the emotions over the next 2 days.  Count them (one, two), maybe even three...days.

And, that's how we arrived at Laos.  It is safe (minus the heightened dengue). It was at the top of the list (after Spain, of course).  It was in the budget given.  It encompasses all three categories of trips:  culture, service, and adventure.  (They visited temples and markets, they made bricks for houses, they went white water rafting--over the course of 8 days.)  Here are some of the pictures she took: