16th Jan 2016- Visit to Mr L

Hello haha :) This is my first time writing on this blog and I hope that I'll have more stuff to share with subsequent visits.

During last Saturday's visit, I visited Mr L together with Defa and Kevin. As I'm new to T.H.E.S, this was my first time meeting him and I was quite excited. Despite meeting him for the first time, he was very welcoming and kept asking us to make ourselves at home. Mr L seemed a little tired initially, but he still took the effort to talk to us and shared a lot of interesting things.
Talking to Mr L made me feel a bit bad because often, he had to explain some Chinese words or terms that I didn't understand in the middle of his anecdotes but even then, he was still patient. He told us about his dog, Lucky and sang quite a few songs for us that I really enjoyed haha.

After the visit, what stayed with me was even though Mr L was alone at home much of the time because of Mrs L's work, he remained cheerful and didn't complain or grumble about his boredom. Also, even though Mr L really seems to love music and singing, he has no radio or music player that could help ease his boredom and he also said that it's no longer very convenient for him to watch TV because of his failing eyesight.

I'm thankful that I got to visit him that day and hear some of his stories. Just listening to him sing and laughing at his jokes really made my day and even though our visit was brief, but I hope we made his morning a little more interesting and happier. I feel like there is so much I can learn from the elderly and I'm excited to go back and meet Mrs L and the other elderly :) Thank you for reading!

- Bianche

Visit to Mdm A - 16 Jan

My first blog post!

This week, i went to visit Mdm A with Joel. Mdm A just came back from the hospital on Friday and is still feeling some pain in her legs. Despite being in the hospital for the past 1 week, she was still very cheerful and chatty. She shared many things about herself, from the experience in the hospital, her past and her family. I am really very amazed by how optimistic Mdm A is, especially after everything that she has gone through in her life. Chatting with Mdm A also made me realised that the things that we go through in life are all just small parts of our life and we really shouldn't dwell on it so much.

Then, Mdm A requested for us to help her with the cleaning of her fan and buying some stuff from NTUC. Joel started helping her to clean her fans while i went to NTUC. This is the 1st time that i am helping an elderly to buy grocery and the whole time i was thinking what if i buy the wrong stuff. And i really bought the wrong bananas for her. Even though i bought the wrong one, Mdm A kept thanking us. The little things that we do for the elderly felt effortless for us but the elderly really appreciate our help.

After every visit, there will always be something to learn from the different elderly. And these experience enriches my life. Looking forward to the next visit!

- Vigilia

Visit to Mdm L - 16th January 2016

Hi guys! This is my first blog post and I hope that I will have more to share in the future!

This time round, Kai Him, Jeraldine and I visited Mdm L. As usual, Mdm L bought a lot of food for us and kept reminding us to eat them hahaha. I was about to help Mdm L with the usual routine of housework after some chit-chatting when she asked me to explain an English letter to her. It was while attempting to do so that I realised that I need to brush up on my translation skills hahaha. Coming from a Chinese-speaking family, I thought I was okay at translating but I guess I was so used to code-mixing that I had difficulty recalling some terms in Chinese, such as “MSF” and “CPF statement”. Thankfully, Kai Him and Jeraldine were there to help convey a clearer message.

After that, we went on to do some housework while Mdm L washed up. Apart from the usual routine, there was something new to do this time round. We noticed ants trailing across the walls transporting their food and Mdm L mentioned the problem as well. A lady who visited her earlier on noticed the ants and Mdm L was concerned about the impression that others have of her house. I think for many seniors, their homes are really something that they want to be proud of because one’s home can reflect his or her personality. Thus, we traced the path of the ants and killed them with the spray.

On our way to the hawker centre, Mdm L asked a few times if I was following behind when I was not within her field of vision. Although it was just a small gesture, it was rather heart-warming for me. :) On a side note, Mdm L seemed a bit forgetful that day because she forgot to take her medicine and bring the house keys with her until we reminded her hahaha.

I feel that every single visit I went truly widened my horizon and helped me to have a bigger heart. There is so much to learn from both the elderly and volunteers and I did work that I was not used to doing back at home or have never thought that I would need to do. These are the reasons that keep me looking forward to every Saturday morning. At the end of every visit, I learn a little bit more about not just our seniors but also fellow T.H.E.S volunteers and myself. :)

That's all I have to share, have a great day! :)

- Yuan Qin