Day 13

why is there no Day 13?? it's not that i can't count but i was saving space for this entry (to be written in retrospective)...

Went to Moral Home today with LYong and WHao. My objective was to be there as an observer, to see how other organisations run their outings and sessions. It was quite an eye-opener, they've got much more resources then we do. As a student org, we're always handicapped by the lack of funding. ESN shares the same problem of lack of manpower but their "lack" is different from mwh. They 财大势大unlike us. Their so called lack was because the no. of elderly going on the outings was much greater. The result, 2 busloads of ppl took off to Vivocity.

My observer status soon melted down as my "volunteer" mode kicked in. I had to talk to 'my' elderly because the other girl i was paired with cldn't speak Cantonese. My cantonese is not much to boost of either and i had to take ages to answer the old lady that Vivocity was a "xing ga po zhui dai ge baet four gong xi, san kei gei"-- literally the largest shopping mall in spore. newly built. Haha.

After taking the elderly to the deck to see the scenery....She recognises Sentosa! at 88 years old! Recalls taking the cable car, but would not take it again cos she "keng"-- scared. Well, during the bus journey she was regaling me with tales of where she went, seeking my affirmation that we were where she thought we were...(she had been to these places before).

Nice old lady, refused to buy anything more than she needed with the $20 at hand even though it's sponsored. Sigh, others wld hv unceremoniously spent everything but after we 劝得口水都干了，she still spent less than 10 bucks.

However!!! There's sth i realised at dinner at this coffeeshop where we had quite a nice meal. Old people will not 客气 when it comes to filling their stomach. This salient point i had discovered too in my late grandmother. They won't stop until they're full. They're not picky when it comes to food but their stomachs gotta be filled so they can live a ripe long life. Even if they're sick and got no appetite, they'll force themselves to eat an adequate amount.

We shld take a leaf from these 'old books'. Because it's survival. You don't realise unless you are sick. Go to the hospital, you'll see that in the ardous battle the chemo pts fight, food is essential for a high chance of survival. You don't eat, you lose. (I know cos we've been through it)

Ok, the evening ended when we drove through Chinatown to show the elderly the cny displays and sang them countless cny songs on the bus. Oh ya, the volunteers there sing really out of tune but they still sing. People with generous hearts find this courage effortlessly =)