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