Reflection on 19 July's visit
Today, our group visited Mdm C. and Mr. T.
Mdm C. was quite cheerful.
Initially she assumed that her clock was damaged because it refused to work
after she had renewed the battery. However, Jun Da later found that the clock
was actually OK. It was because Mdm C. had equipped the battery wrongly. Mdm C.
was also amused at this finding and she laughed at herself.
Independence is a respectable feature that I should learn
from Mdm C. After Jun Da had ‘fixed’ the clock. One of us offered to help hang
the clock onto the wall but Mdm C. refused it. Although she was not as mobile
as us, she insisted that she should do what she could instead of bothering
others all the time. Finally, having experienced some difficulties reaching the
nail on the wall, she managed to hang the clock by herself. Watching her
finishing this, I was questioning myself whether I could be as strong-minded
and independent as Mdm C. when I am aged.
Mdm C.’s hospitality reminded me of my own grandparents. She
offered us biscuits and chrysanthemum tea in rewards of our effort to do some
simple chores for her. Her insist on us taking the biscuits was similar to my
grandparents’. Every time when I visit them, they just keep offering me food.
Sometimes, I feel that they do not know how to express their love to me.
Feeding us is the way that they express their care.
Mr. T. was quiet and friendly. He was watching China Voice
when we arrived. He explained the TV program to us. I felt that it was harder
to initiate topics with him compared to Mdm C. We experienced periods of
silence sitting on the floor. However, my groupmates told me that silence was
not a wrong situation when visiting the elderly. Some of them are not very
chatty and they are actually comfortable with the silence. They told me that
for those volunteers who had been on this project for one year or more, these elderly
were similar to their own grandparents. We do not need to talk all the time
when we are with our grandparents. Mostly, they are content with pure company
from us.
This was the second time that I joined the official visit of T.H.E. Seniors.
Visiting the elderly was a beneficial experience for me. Besides, I made new
friends with other volunteers. As a freshie, I received a lot of useful info
from them during our chats. I do appreciate their advice to me either on doing
community service or learning in NUS. I hope to meet them in future visits.
Siyao
