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06.02.2010 - 8:30 a.m.
Yesterday was a pretty eventful day. Together with a colleague, I was supposed to bring two classes of students to an old folks' home as part of their cop activity as well as incorporating NE initiatives. This is how it went ... -------------------------------------------------- 2pm - The lady with whom I was liaising with called me and told me the technician had gone home therefore we couldn't use the speakers for our mini concert. *faint* 2.05pm - I checked with the fruits stall aunty and discovered that the delivery of the mandarin oranges which we were supposed to bring to the home had been delayed. The bus bound for the home was scheduled to leave at 2.15pm so that we could reach there at 2.30pm. In the end, my colleague went ahead with the bus while I remained with two students to wait for the lorry. 2.20pm - The fruits stall aunty called the delivery company and found out the lorry driver lost his way while trying to reach our college. My colleague then called to tell me the NMA student who was supposed to film this cop activity did not board the bus with them. 2.25pm - I called my other colleague, found out where the NMA student was, texted the colleague at the home and continued waiting for the lorry. 2.35pm - He finally reached, but protested that he couldn't send the 12 boxes of oranges to the old folks' home. Thankfully the fruits stall aunty was fiercer than him, otherwise I'd have to make a few trips to and fro between the college and the home as I don't exactly drive a van. And the consequences will be that I'd have missed the entire cop activity by playing driver. 2.45pm - My two students and I finally reached the home. We entered the hall and realised that instead of the 50 residents as promised, only 20 residents were involved in this cop activity. The small group of students and residents looked pretty pathetic in the big hall as the atmosphere was not festive but awkward. My colleague then told me that the lady in charge told her that she was very busy, and left my colleague to run the entire programme. Any needs which arose was left in the hands of a newbie worker who checked in on the hall every now and then. 3.10pm - The students who were supposed to prepare songs for the concert did not prepare hence other students sang mandarin songs on the spot. The frequent awkward pauses while the students discussed what to do next was conveniently covered up by an mp3 player which perpetually played mandarin and hokkien songs. The lorry with the oranges finally arrived and two boxes were brought up to the hall to be given to the residents. 3.20pm - There were no tables for the students to use for their craft activity and the lady in charge was MIA, therefore an impromptu solution would be to stand or sit on the floor next to the residents (who were in wheelchairs) to complete or direct the craftwork. This was by far the most successful of the activities as the students were very obliging and patient in imparting this knowledge to the residents. As teachers, we supervised the students, interacted with the residents and directed some students to certain residents who did not have any students helping them. 4pm - We finally wrapped up the whole event by wheeling the residents back to their rooms and cleared the hall of litter. Out of the two boxes of oranges, at least 15 oranges were spoilt, mouldy or even flattened into half. --------------------------------------------------- Reflections:
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1. One lesson which the organising students learnt was that what seemed planned may go wrong. The important thing was to troubleshoot for solutions so that the main activities could still carry on. 2. That despite the communication barrier (I spoke in my quarter-past-6 Cantonese in an attempt to get the residents to understand what was going on) between the students and the residents, the residents were truly happy because someone (even if it was a stranger) was fussing over them and paying attention to them. I even saw some male students smiling pleasantly and nodding at the things the residents were saying even though they did not understand what was being said. 3. That despite all the trouble and unforeseen circumstances which cropped up, this short visit to a home was much more meaningful and impacted the students than if we were to send them for flag-selling. Some students left the home with tears in their eyes as they told me the residents they wheeled back kept saying they wanted to go home. And these students were grateful that they, could go home, unlike the residents. 4. That the short briefing for the students before they boarded the bus was helpful. We set the context of the residents for them. We told them that these residents could have been left at the home with minimal visitors, therefore the students' presence there would be a glimmer of sunlight in their world of perpetual waiting. 5. Four students made a deep impression on me. Although it was raining very heavily and visibility on the road was poor, they wanted to go back to college because they had to practice for next week's CNY concert. And this insistence even though their friends were making plans to eat together and not return to college. I happened to go back to college because of my cca so I fetched them back. On our way back, we talked of the things they observed and learnt. One student remarked that it was very amusing to see a resident hoard a lot of red packets during our craftwork activity. I reminded them that although this may be funny, we should also remember that the old lady probably does not have anyone to give these red packets to. And while the other students were describing how the rooms were like - one said it looked like a hospital, the other said it looked like a resort - there is only one phrase to summarise it all - all these residents are waiting for death. -------------------------------------------------- Visits to homes always make me pessimistic, depressed and melancholic as I would think of my own grandmother (also in a home but frequently visited by my aunts and dad) and of my own possible future fate. A fate where once my worth has been utilised, I would be abandoned in a corner of society and left to rot and count my fingers to pass the days, while the world outside the home keeps moving. Forward and onward, ignoring the lives that are too slow to catch up. ------------------------------------------------------- Carpe diem- seize the day before the day rushes past you and you are left with the breeze of the tail of the wind.
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